One day Jonathan son of Saul said to his young armor-bearer, "Come, let's go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side." But he did not tell his father. – 1 Samuel 14:1

Today's Scripture Reading (April 8, 2022): 1 Samuel 14

In 490 B.C.E., the Persian Empire was the great civilization on the world stage. During that era, the Greeks were an insignificant nation on the edges of the civilized world, and in 490 B.C.E., the Persians decided to invade Greece. The Persian plan was to offload their troops at the Bay of Marathon, about 43 km (27 miles) northeast of Athens. It was a solid military strategy. It left the Greeks with a serious decision about how they could respond to the invasion. The smartest defense was likely to try and amass a force at Athens and wait for the Persians to make the trip from Marathon to Athens. But they needed time to get that defense force together. And so, they decided to send a small party, less than a tenth of the attacking Persian force, to the Bay of Marathon, where they would engage the superior Persian army. The hope was never that the defending force at the Bay of Marathon would defeat the Persian army. The purpose of that small group of fighters was only to delay the Persian Army, allowing the Greeks a chance to mount a defense of the City of Athens.

But things didn't go as planned. The small group of Greek fighters didn't just delay the larger Persian force; they defeated them. According to the legend, Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to deliver the news that the Greek delaying party had won the battle against the Persians. Then, Pheidippides fell dead once the message had been delivered. (Contemporary marathon races are run in memory of Pheidippides's run.) But the reality is that because a group of Greek soldiers decided to sacrifice themselves and show up at the Bay of Marathon, the Greeks received a great and unexpected military victory.

The Philistines and Israel are at war. And Jonathan, Saul's son, decides that he will sneak off to the Philistine encampment and examine the enemy. Jonathan's attitude seems to be that, maybe, if he is willing to show up, God will do something. And so, Jonathan leaves the Israelite camp alone with his armor-bearer or assistant. Maybe Jonathan remembered the story of Shamgar from the era of the Judges, "who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad (basically a sharp stick). He … saved Israel" (Judges 3:31). Or maybe this brave son of Saul was just thinking of the promise that God had made to Israel back in the days of Moses.

"'I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you (Leviticus 26:6-8).

In any event, Jonathan wanted to put himself in the position for God to work a miracle. Who knew what God might do through him if he dared just to show up.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 15