1 Samuel 13:15-18 – With God, we shall prevail

Having chided Saul for his disobedience, Samuel moved from Gilgal to Gibeah. Meanwhile, we are told that the men that remained with Saul totaled 600. There was a drastic reduction from the 3,000 men that he had. Those who were fearful had gone into hiding and many left him. Even if Saul should have a much bigger force, it would count for nothing if they were all uncommitted. Victory for them was not dependant on the number but their ability to walk in obedience to God. They had been through situations where with a much lesser amount of people, they were able to overcome greater forces. We must remember that the number we have is not an issue with God. It’s faithfulness that He is looking for. When God can find a small company of faithful and committed men, He can work wonders through them. We learn to live our lives for the audience of one, God Himself.

Meanwhile, the situation for Saul, Jonathan and his men looked bleak. They were stationed at Geba, while the Philistines were congregated at Mishmash. These people became a constant menace to them. They kept sending raiders to trouble the Israelites. In verses 17-18, we are told that the Philistines were divided into three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual, the second company turned toward Beth-horon, and the third turned toward the border which overlooks the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness. What lesson can we glean from the battle array of the Philistines? Like them, the people that could trouble us do not come from only one direction. When someone wants to trouble us, they will come against us in different directions. Peter in his letter tells us that our enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion. He can come against us in different directions. It calls for us to be alert and be ready for his attack.  

Two lessons to take away. Firstly, know that our victory in Christ in life is not dependent on the number of people we have on our side. Our victory in life is very largely dependent on our obedience to keep in step with God. Even if those that are for us may be small, our God, whom we serve and live for, will give us the wisdom and empower us for victory. Secondly, we need to stay alert and sensitive to the circumstances that could come as a surprise to us. If we stay alert in our Christian journey, God will enable us to handle the enemy's sudden and surprising attacks to take us down. Take heart, with God we shall prevail!