“The men of Israel saw that their options were limited and that the people felt so hard pressed that they were hiding themselves in caves, thickets, crevices, watchtowers and cisterns; while some of the Hebrews crossed the Yarden to the territory of Gad and Gil‘ad. But Sha’ul was still in Gilgal, where all the people were eager to follow him. He waited seven days, as Sh’mu’el had instructed; but Sh’mu’el didn’t come to Gilgal; so the army began to drift away from him.”-1 Samuel 13:6-8
As the Philistines set up their battle encampment at a spot called Mikhmas (located slightly east of Beit-Aven), I want you to notice there were three groups of people among the Israelites.
The first group, out of fear, left their homes and villages and hid out in caves, thickets, crevices, watchtowers, and cisterns.
The second group fled to the territory east of the Trans-Jordan River where they most likely had relatives waiting to take them in.
The third group was those men who were strong in faith and showed up at Gligal to fight alongside Saul.
Now contrast and compare what I just said with this parable of the sower.
“A farmer went out to sow his seed.
As he was scattering the seed,
some fell along the path,
and the birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky places,
where it did not have much soil.
It sprang up quickly,
because the soil was shallow.
But when the sun came up,
the plants were scorched,
and they withered because
they had no root.
Other seed fell among thorns,
which grew up and
choked the plants.
Still other seed fell on good soil,
where it produced a crop—
a hundred, sixty or thirty
times what was sown.”
-Matthew 13:3-8
The point is whenever there’s a crisis or a trying situation, you’re basically going to have two types of men.
Those who are like the hard ground or bad soil, and let fear take control of them.
These are the men who hid out in caves, in the crevices of large rocks, and even in empty water cisterns.
Then you have those who are like the good soil and filled with faith.
These are the men who eagerly joined Saul and rushed to the battlefield to fight for the Kingdom of God.
The takeaway here is if you want to know how strong your faith is, see how you respond when a crisis arrives.
Anyone can have faith in God when things are going well.
But how about when things are tough?
It’s your response to a crisis that really determines what type of soil you are.
Done.
God knew of this well before Shaul wore the crown.
In the Torah (Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9) , when the men gathered for war, the leaders would ask who had just been engaged but not consumated the marriage, or who had built a new house and dedicated it but not yet lived in it, and who had planted a vineyard but not harvested it’s crops- those men were told to go back and enjoy what they did because if they died, someone else would be able to do that instead.
And finally, if there were any who were afraid, they should leave now, before their fear demoralizes the other men.
People may ask “How could they afford to lose so many men?” and the answer is- when God is on your side, you don’t need anything else. Ask Gideon.
Great points!