And both of them shewed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines; and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves.
Jonathan and his armour-bearer step out of cover in full view of a Philistine outpost, and the enemy sneers at men crawling out of holes. That insult was the sign they had been waiting for.
Jonathan did not creep up on the garrison. He stepped into the open where the enemy could see him. One writer reads that openness as the mark of faith, and notes that Jonathan still waited for a sign before acting:
Faith does not hide. It is not afraid to show itself or to reveal its plans: "Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them." In the eyes of the world this boldness is sheer recklessness. Yet Jonathan is careful to avoid a path of self-will, and seeks a sign to show the will of God. "This shall be the sign to us."
The Philistines do not call them Israelites. They call them Hebrews. The two names carry very different histories:
"Israel" was the name of grace. "Hebrews" was a term that only recalled how Abraham, their father, first came into the land from across the Euphrates. But many things had happened since Abraham's day. By the grace of God, Abraham's descendants had crossed both the Red Sea and the Jordan. They were now God's covenant people in the land of promise.
The taunt stings for another reason: the Philistines were not the first to use that word.
The Philistines spoke of Israel in the same language Saul had used before. It was the same word God used for those who shamefully abandoned their true ground through fear.
The taunt about holes was not made up. Israel had hidden. One writer turns the mockery back on anyone who keeps quiet about belonging to Christ:
We can well imagine the sneering smile of contempt with which the Philistines say, "Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves." What a reproach it is, dear friends, when we are afraid to say that we are the Lord's and hide in secret places. What a reproach when we are afraid to let our neighbours know that we belong to Christ, and that the word of God is all the guide we need, which we are seeking to obey… Of course there may be, and there is, a morality and an upright outward walk. There may even be, to a degree, religious practices that Philistines themselves can join in. But where is that bold confession of loyalty to Christ our Lord?
The Philistines felt safe. Inviting two climbers up a rock face threw away the advantage of the high ground:
"Come up to us" was the language of smug security. One boulder would have been enough to destroy two men struggling up rough rocks. Yet the Philistines rolled none down on them. That is how secure they felt, and how deep their contempt for the two climbers ran. Nothing is more deadly than a human sense of strength and security. Nothing is more blessed than a spiritual sense of weakness and dependence on God.
Commentators differ over Jonathan's asking for a sign. One reads it as care, not bravado, and spells out how the sign was to work:
But courage does not mean rashness, though it may often look like it. Jonathan is really working with God, as the people say later on, and so he must be sure he is in God's path. He proposes, therefore, that the sign should come from God Himself. Jonathan and his armour-bearer will show themselves to the Philistines and attract their attention. If that stirs the enemy enough to come down to them, they will stand and wait for the attack. If instead the enemy invites them to come up, they will go forward, confident that God is leading them on to victory.
Another sees a flaw in the asking itself:
The defect in his faith appears in the words, "if they say thus," and so on. Faith never says "if"; it has to do only with God… Had Jonathan's soul been resting simply in the ability of God, he would not have looked for a sign. True, the Lord graciously gave him the sign, just as He had given one to Gideon before, for He always meets His servants in all their need.
- Shown, not hidden. Faith does not hide. Jonathan crossed over in the open and let the enemy look at him.
- Hebrews, not Israel. "Israel" was the name of grace. "Hebrews" only recalled Abraham crossing a river — and Saul used the enemy's word before the enemy did.
- Mocked, not wronged. The taunt about holes was earned: Israel had hidden. The same reproach falls wherever believers keep quiet about belonging to Christ.
- Secure, not safe. The scorn behind "come up to us" was smug security. A human sense of strength is deadly; weakness before God is the safer place.
- Answered, not refused. Commentators differ on the sign. One sees care rather than rashness; another sees an "if" that faith need not have spoken. Both agree that God answered it.
And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armour-bearer and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you something. And Jonathan said to his armour-bearer, Come up after me; for Jehovah has delivered them into the hand of Israel.
Jonathan and his armor-bearer have shown themselves on purpose to an enemy camped above them on rocky ground. The Philistines answer with a jeer. That jeer is the sign Jonathan has been waiting for. His reply hands the coming victory not to himself, but to the whole nation.
Jonathan does not hear the taunt as an insult. He hears it as direction.
The pride and scorn of the enemy tell him what to do. "Look," say the men of the garrison to one another, "Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves." Then, in lazy self-confidence, they taunt these true Israelites: "Come up to us, and we will show you a thing!" That is the sign for Jonathan: "The LORD has given them into the hand of Israel."
Their words also show how safe they felt. That feeling is why they never crushed the two climbers.
"Come up to us" was the language of men who felt perfectly safe. A single boulder would have destroyed two men with ease as they struggled up the rough rocks. Yet the Philistines rolled none down on them. That is how safe they felt, and how far their contempt for the two climbers went. Nothing is more deadly than a human sense of strength and safety. Nothing is more blessed than a spiritual sense of weakness and dependence on God.
Jonathan had set two possible answers before God in advance. The plan was bold, but it was not reckless.
But courage does not mean rashness, though it may often look like it. Jonathan is in fact working with God, as the people say later on. So he must be sure he is in God's path. He proposes that the sign come from God Himself. He and his armor-bearer will show themselves to the Philistines and draw their attention. If that stirs the Philistines enough to come down to them, the two will stand and wait for the attack. If instead the Philistines invite them up, they will go forward, sure that God is leading them to victory.
Notice what Jonathan does not say. He had every reason to claim the moment for himself, and he claims nothing.
Jonathan says, "Come up after me, for the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel" — not into Jonathan's hand, but "into the hand of Israel." Here we see not only faith, but the largeness and unselfishness of faith. Here is a man whose heart was set on God blessing His people, and this was the right thing.
Israel was in no state to earn such a promise. Another writer says this is the point.
His faith is marked by something else too: he knows the link between God and His people can never break. The state of that people is sad. The Philistines rule among them and plunder a defenceless land. They have nothing left to fight with; no sword or spear is found in Israel except with Saul and Jonathan. Even the king among them is one they sinned in setting up. None of this touches God's faithfulness. In the judgment of the man of faith, the Philistines are given into the hand of Israel — not into his own. By separating itself to God, faith identifies itself with His people. It loses sight of self, passes over their ruin, and recognises all that is theirs in God.
The Philistines mocked Israel for hiding. One commentator turns that mockery on the reader.
What a reproach it is when we are afraid to say that we are the Lord's, and hide in secret places. What a reproach when we are afraid to let our neighbours know that we belong to Christ, and that the word of God is all the guide we need, and that we are seeking to obey it. And when one man, in the boldness and simplicity of faith, does show himself and speaks out for his Lord's honour, the reproach may well fall on all the rest of God's people, if even a few are coming out of their holes and showing themselves.
Jonathan's call, "Come up after me," is answered on hands and knees. One commentator finds a lesson in that posture.
So Jonathan and his companion climb on hands and knees to the attack. Knees matter as much as hands when you climb spiritual heights. And the Philistines fall before them. Fear and trembling fall on the army. The earth trembles and quakes, for God Himself is there. The victory is already won.
- Contempt. The enemy's mocking invitation came from a sense of total safety. That is the most dangerous state a person can be in. It is the opposite of depending on God.
- Confirmation. Jonathan did not charge on impulse. He fixed the sign in advance, so the go-ahead came from God and not from his own daring.
- Climb. Faith takes the hard route, on hands and knees. The difficulties do not go away. God outweighs them.
- Company. "Into the hand of Israel" — not into mine. Faith claims the victory for God's people, even a people in ruins, because God's link with them holds.
- Conquest. God Himself was there, and that settled the outcome.
And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armour-bearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan; and his armour-bearer slew after him.
Jonathan's attack on the Philistine outpost begins with a crawl, not a charge. Two men climb a cliff against an army in a strong position — so how does the victory come?
The place itself ruled out any ordinary attack. One writer weighs what human strength could do there, and what faith counts on instead.
The Philistines' position is a strong one among steep rocks: what could human energy achieve? Jonathan has to climb up on his hands and feet (v. 13). The oppressors are there too in great numbers, and well armed. But faith with a single sword counts God enough... He can give strength to one sword to subdue a host.
A man on hands and feet cannot walk upright into battle. One writer finds two things in that.
They climb up, as has been said, on their hands and feet, suggesting both work and prayer. It is not idleness or empty confidence. It is the toil of those who know that in themselves there is no strength. We read very little of the details of this conflict. The victory has already been won in Jonathan's heart, and further details might distract us from the real lesson involved. Faith that has conquered our own cowardly heart can conquer any Philistines that oppose.
Before the climb, Jonathan told his armour-bearer why they were going up (v. 12). Notice his wording. He did not say that God had given the enemy into his hand.
"And Jonathan said to his armour-bearer, Come up after me, for the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel." He does not say into the hand of Jonathan, but "into the hand of Israel." Here we see not only faith, but the largeness and unselfishness of faith. It was a man whose heart was set on God blessing His people; and this was the right thing.
Another writer sets that out as an order for every conflict a believer faces:
How important it is, for all our spiritual conflicts, to realise that we are fighting first of all with God, then for God, and then for all His people!
The verse keeps the two men in order: Jonathan first, his armour-bearer after him.
In the energy of faith he goes forward and climbs the rock, his armour-bearer following. The Philistines fall before him. It is much easier work for the armour-bearer to kill after him. The power that inspires Jonathan acts for him. The LORD is really there. He uses Jonathan as an instrument and puts honour on the arm faith has strengthened, but He shows Himself.
Jonathan reached the top with his hands on the rock, not on a weapon.
Jonathan fights without human weapons. He has to use his hands and feet to climb up in front of the Philistines (v. 13). In this condition he wins God's victory.
The same writer sets Saul beside him — the king who looked like he had everything:
As for Saul, in appearance he lacked nothing, but in reality he was lacking everything. God was not with him... He had the army with him, that is to say, strength. But it was a strength that melted away when the Philistines came near, so proving his weakness.
Two men climb, and the effect runs far past them, because of who is there:
So Jonathan and his companion climb on hands and knees to the attack. Knees as well as hands are a great necessity in climbing spiritual heights. The Philistines fall before them. Fear and trembling fall on the army. The earth trembles and quakes, for God Himself is there. The victory is already won.
- Hands empty. Jonathan had to use his hands and feet just to climb, so he fought without human weapons. In that condition he won God's victory.
- Hands and knees. Hands and knees suggest work and prayer. Not idleness, not empty confidence, but the effort of those who know they have no strength of their own.
- Hands not his own. Jonathan said God had given the enemy into the hand of Israel, not into his own hand. That is faith that is large and unselfish, set on God blessing His people.
- Hands behind him. The armour-bearer kills after Jonathan. The power that moves the man in front carries the one who follows.
- Hands of God. God uses Jonathan as an instrument and honours the arm faith strengthened. But it is He who shows Himself. The earth quakes, and the victory is already won.
And that first slaughter which Jonathan and his armour-bearer wrought was about twenty men, as it were on the half-furrow of an acre of land.
Two men have just climbed a rock face into an enemy outpost, and the count is oddly exact: about twenty men, on ground the size of a morning's ploughing. So who won this fight, and what does God count as a victory?
By any military reckoning, twenty dead men is nothing. The text also says almost nothing about the fighting itself.
We read very little of the details of this conflict. The victory has already been won in Jonathan's heart, and further details might distract us from the real lesson involved. Faith that has conquered our own coward heart can conquer any Philistines that oppose. The killing does not look very great by human measure, and yet what mighty results flow from it! There is a trembling everywhere.
The verse measures the ground by ploughing, not by feet or yards. An older English translation reads "half an acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow."
Here the word is maanah, "a furrow," and the margin reads "half a furrow of an acre."… The "acre" was as much land as a pair of oxen could plough in a day… We have no way of knowing exactly how much the Jewish acre held. It is not listed among the usual weights and measures as a fixed measure of land.
The order of events matters here, and so does the location. Which came first — the panic in the Philistine camp, or the blow of these two men?
Jonathan and his armour-bearer had struck down just twenty men. Then the Philistine army in the field trembled. The garrison trembled, the raiders trembled too, and the earth quaked. Hearts and the earth are both in God's hands. Where faith is at work, He can make the proud heart lose its courage and the ground under them shake. But notice: the enemy was as boastful as ever until Jonathan and his armour-bearer went on the attack. They had to strike first. Then God acted, and trembling seized the army of Philistia. But where did this happen? Exactly where Saul had been afraid of his enemies.
Behind that first blow lies a decision not to wait for help.
Saul has his six hundred men, but they have no spirit, and they are armed only with rough, blunted weapons. This lack of resources, however, is only God's hand shutting them up to Himself… What would an army of such men achieve? Nothing but their own defeat. So Jonathan, who has faith, will not burden himself with them: made strong by God, he strikes with his own hand for deliverance, and strikes effectively.
The verse credits the strike to both men, but they did not do the same job.
They reach the top of the hill, where the scornful enemy expected to make fun of them. But they attacked at once with a strength born of faith in the living God. The Philistines fall one by one before the sword of Jonathan, and his armour-bearer makes sure they are dead. This first sudden attack killed about twenty men. And it did not end there: confusion spread through the ranks of the Philistines.
Jonathan's words before the climb show who he thought the victory belonged to.
"And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, 'Come up after me, for the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel'" — not of Jonathan, but "into the hand of Israel." Here we see not only faith, but the largeness and unselfishness of faith. It is a man whose heart was set on God's blessing His people; and this was the right thing.
Later in the chapter the people gave their own verdict on the day. One writer draws a careful distinction from it.
In 1 Samuel 14 he handled himself so well that the people declared, "he has worked with God this day" (verse 45). It is a great thing to work with God, and we must not confuse it with working for God. To work with God is to have His mind for the moment. The worker then moves as God moves, along the line that He marks out… Such discernment comes from exercise of heart before God. There is no other way to get it.
- Small. Twenty men on half a furrow's ground. By human measure the win is tiny, so its size is not what the record celebrates.
- First. The two men had to strike first. The trembling, the earthquake and the rout all came after the blow, not before it.
- Alone. Jonathan would not wait for Saul's six hundred men, who had no spirit. He struck with his own hand, and struck effectively.
- Shared. One led with the sword and one made sure of the fallen. The verse credits the strike to both men.
- Wider. He said the enemy was given into the hand of Israel, not his own. The people later said he had worked with God, which is not the same as working for Him.
And there was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison, and the ravagers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked; for it was a trembling [from] God.
Two men had just climbed a cliff on their hands and feet and killed about twenty Philistines, and then the ground itself moved. Where the ESV reads "panic," older translations read "trembling," and the writers quoted below use that word for what struck the whole Philistine army and the land under it.
Word for word, the Hebrew calls this "a trembling of God." One writer lists this verse among the places where the Hebrew name for God marks something as mighty:
Our translators keep the same idea where they judged the word was used as an adjective. In Genesis 23:6 they translate not "a prince of God" but "a mighty prince." See also Exodus 9:28 and 1 Samuel 14:15.
The name is not decoration. It tells you whose hand is on the camp, and what a small act of faith can set off:
Faith that has conquered our own cowardly heart can conquer any Philistines that oppose. The slaughter does not seem very great, judged by human standards, and yet what mighty results flow from it! There is a trembling everywhere. It is as though God were laying His mighty hand on everyone. He makes proud oppressors, the camp of Israel, and the land itself feel the weight of that arm — the arm that will shake not only earth but heaven too. There is a trembling of God.
The trembling did not come first to clear a path. It came after Jonathan and his armour-bearer had already struck the garrison.
The host of the Philistines in the field trembled. The garrison trembled, and the raiders too, and the earth quaked — and Jonathan and his armour-bearer had killed just twenty men. Hearts and the earth are both in God's hands. Where faith is active, He can make the bravest heart lose its courage and the earth under them shake. But notice, the enemy was as boastful as ever until Jonathan and his armour-bearer went on the offensive. They had to strike first; then God acted, and a trembling seized the host of Philistia.
The verse lists the camp, the open field, the garrison, the raiders and the ground. Twenty deaths cannot explain a reach that wide. One writer sees God's answer to faith in it:
Here are these two men climbing on their hands and knees, and their enemies fall before Jonathan, and his armour-bearer killed them after him. Everything on the right hand and on the left, in heaven and on earth, is made to serve the full triumph of faith. There was trembling in the host and in the field, the earth quaked, and there was a great trembling. What an answer from God to the faith that honours Him!
Another writer names the cause in one line:
Fear and trembling fall on the host, and the earth trembles and quakes, for God Himself is there: the victory is already accomplished.
Later in the chapter the people say Jonathan "worked with God" that day. One writer reads this verse as the other side of that partnership.
The victory was certain before the battle began. After the battle the people gave their true estimate of Jonathan: he "worked with God" (v. 45). The Philistines were therefore powerless... But if Jonathan worked with God, God also worked with His servant. He sent a trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people. The battle was the Lord's; faith recognised it, and the Lord Himself secured the result. There was no restraint on Him, as Jonathan had confessed, to save by many or by few.
Saul and his men heard the same uproar. Their first instinct was to count their own soldiers.
Saul and his company soon learn of the commotion among the Philistines, and of an apparent conflict and victory they had had nothing to do with. But there does not seem to be any thought with them that God is at work — surely it must be that some of his own little company have gone to fight the enemy. His order to count and see who had gone from them seems to show he thought human power had been at work. He finds that only Jonathan and his armour-bearer are missing, and that would not be enough to explain the commotion.
- Strike — the boasting enemy did not break until two men moved; they had to strike first, then God acted.
- Shake — the trembling reached the camp, the field, the garrison, the raiders and the ground. God Himself was there.
- Name — the phrase is literally "a trembling of God"; the divine name marks the size and the source of the panic.
- Partnership — Jonathan worked with God, and God worked with His servant. The battle was the Lord's, and He secured the result.
- Blindness — Saul watched the same collapse and looked for a human explanation; he counted his own men instead of seeing God at work.