There is One, Part 5: One Lord

1 Samuel 14:1–14

¹ One day Jonathan, son of Saul said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.
       ² Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree in Migron. With him were about six hundred men, ³ among whom was Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod. He was a son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD’s priest in Shiloh. No one was aware that Jonathan had left.
       ⁴ On each side of the pass that Jonathan intended to cross to reach the Philistine outpost was a cliff; one was called Bozez, and the other Seneh. ⁵ One cliff stood to the north toward Micmash, the other to the south toward Geba.
       ⁶ Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”
       ⁷ “Do all that you have in mind,” his armor-bearer said. “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.”
       ⁸ Jonathan said, “Come, then; we will cross over toward the men and let them see us. ⁹ If they say to us, ‘Wait there until we come to you,’ we will stay where we are and not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the LORD has given them into our hands.”
       ¹¹ So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine outpost.
        “Look!” said the Philistines. “The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in.”
       ¹² The men of the outpost shouted to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, “Come up to us and we’ll teach you a lesson.”
        So Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Climb up after me; the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel.”
       ¹³ Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer right behind him. The Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer followed and killed behind him. ¹⁴ In that first attack Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre.

A Story of Four Hearts

1. A heart — the Philistines

There is only one answer for a defiant heart:

2. A heart — King Saul

There is only answer for a distant heart:

3. A heart — the armor-bearer

“Do all that you have in mind,” his armor-bearer said. “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.”

4. A heart — Jonathan

A desperate heart never presumes on

A desperate heart is willing to do the and the

A desperate heart will go till

A desperate heart fears nothing but

Rend your heart and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.

– JOEL 2:13

Small Group Questions

1. Do you or your family have any Easter traditions? What are they?
2. Name someone in your life who has your back. How did they prove to be someone you could always count on?
3. Read the scripture again, out loud. Which heart do you have in this present moment? Why?
4. What does it mean to have a heart that is desperate for God? How does Jonathan’s heart show his connection to God?
5. Read Joel 2:13 out loud. In what ways do you need to return to God today?
6. How can we pray for you right now and throughout the week?