The Value of Mining
Today's article will concentrate on the first five verses of 1 Samuel
13. As I read this Biblical account of
Jonathan's battle, I found a strange curiosity arise, causing me to recognize
that there were far deeper treasures buried within the content of this story
that I might discover. As we read Biblical
accounts, we may be inclined to fill in the details with our imaginations rather
than learn how to glean information from the content to produce a clearer picture
of the story. I will begin by looking at
the first two verses. The subheading located
in my English Standard Version tells me that Saul is fighting against the
Philistines. We read, "Saul lived for one year and then
became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel, Saul chose three thousand men of
Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel,
and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people
he sent home, every man to his tent."
Notice the part of
the passage above that I have underlined. Does it bring up any questions you
might like to ask? You might find yourself
asking how old was Saul when he was appointed king, or you might wonder how
many years King Saul reigned over Israel.
With this translation, it would be hard to draw any conclusions. Information regarding the reign of many kings
during the Divided Kingdom period is readily available, but one is left with curiosity
in the wording found here.
Let's look at a
different translation of the same verses, say the New International Version
(NIV). In this version, the subtitle
above this passage indicates that this is the story of Samuel rebuking Saul (depending
on how far you read). But looking beyond
this man-made summary, let's explore the content of divinely inspired verses. "Saul
was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-
two years. Saul chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with
him at Mikmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with
Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their
homes."
We know that the
Bible was written for our instruction, and please forgive me as I support this
statement with one of my most quoted verses found in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. You may have seen this in my articles so often
that you can reproduce it word for word. "All Scriptures is breathed
out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for
training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for
every good work." The reason I quote this verses so often is that it
contains the purpose behind my writing.
I genuinely believe that the Bible must be the most significant source of
information that we take in to build a firm foundation that supports our faith.
Even John in his
gospel tells us that he wrote purposefully (see John 20:30-31). John also tells the reader that if he had
told the complete story of Jesus' life, that the world could not contain all
the books that would inform us of him (see John 21:25). Here in the age of technology where information
seems to be at our fingertips, and many people desire to be published authors,
I suppose we are tempted to fill the world with books. But are our writings aimed at teaching others
how to walk with Jesus, or are we retelling contrived historical fiction attempting
to sound clever as we unearth deeper Biblical truths? One must be very prudent as we read
publications. We must use caution not to
be sway by popular opinion or conjecture but discern what rabbit holes to pursue. Will they add value to our
understanding? Will they distract us
from God's purposeful message?
For example, you
may have noticed that Michmash was spelled differently in different
translations. I'm not sure many of us would find that a worthy debate. However, many scholars have created arguments
for far less offensive inconsistencies, like this passage found in 1 Samuel
13:1. While some translations will offer
numbers, others use an ellipsis (…) to indicate the omission of words. In the NRSV (New Revised Standard version we
find ellipses. In the NET Bible
translation, they use brackets [which is a squared-off notation] within a sentence
denoting a technical explanation that when removed does not change the
sentence's meaning. Your Biblical
translation may include a footnote that tells you that the Septuagint curiously
omits 1 Samuel 13:1 and begins at verse 2.
The Septuagint is a Greek version of the Hebrew Old Testament made for
Greek-speaking Jews around the 2nd or 3rd centuries BC
and used by early Christians.
One can easily
slide down a rabbit hole trying to uncover the mystery behind these inconsistent
recordings, like the 60-page essay called "The Chronology of Saul and
David," where the author consumed twenty minutes of my time trying to explain
her analysis. If you are like many, you
might refuse to get sucked into these enigmas and never consider the hidden treasures
that research unveils. As we read this
account of Jonathan and Saul, shouldn't character traits or obstacles be far
more relevant than getting hung up on how long or how old these men were when
they held their position?
Samuel's account
of events tells us of two times when Saul was anointed. Once when Saul received word, he would become
king and a second time when he was appointed to the position at Gilgal. To
follow the logic of how 1 Samuel 13:1-2 might have been recorded. Let's say Saul
was recognized as the future king of Israel in 1 Samuel (…), and then he was
appointed to his kingship in 1 Samuel (…).
These two ellipses represent the author's intention to go back and fill
in the missing information but forgot to do so.
Rather than lose this opportunity to uncover these two passages, might
you be inclined to look back and fill in the missing pieces? It is my thinking that if God had truly felt
this missing information was relevant to our understanding of the lesson, he
would have provided it. This is an
example of a rabbit trail that does not produce anything of appreciable value
to change the lesson.
I want to backtrack
to 1 Samuel 12:1-2 (ESV), where we read Samuel's confession to the Israelites. He says, "Behold; I have obeyed your
voice in all that you have said to me and have made a king over you. And
now, behold, the king walks before you, and I am old and gray, and behold, my
sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day." After stating his position, Samuel gives
a long list of God's goodness toward the Israelites and asks the people not to
forget Jehovah (see 1 Samuel 12:6-16).
Then Samuel does something shocking, almost spiteful, yet it is a
purposeful demonstration intended to put the fear of God back in Israel. Samuel asks God to send an untimely
storm. The results would be much like we
experience in the Springtime when we receive several days of summerlike
weather, the trees begin to bud, and then they're hit with a severe frost. We feel devastated when we realize we will be
cheated out of enjoying these trees' luscious fruit at harvest time. A valuable
lesson that Jonathan must have understood at harvest time. He realized that created man holds far less
power than the Creator (a lesson for us also).
Within the first
five verses of 1 Samuel 13, several somewhat obscure facts are shared about
this battle between the Israelites and the Philistines. If you're not into war stories or strategies,
it is easy to overlook these details, so I'm going to help you create a simple
map that will give you some additional information buried within the text. First, let's make a note of three distinct
locations: Michmash, Geba, and
Gibeah. The name Michmash means laid up
and concealed. Both words, Geba and
Gibeah, mean hills. We learn from the
text that all three locations are in the hill country near Bethel, located within
the Benjamite territory, the smallest land allotment to all the tribes of
Israel because they had the fewest people.
These cities were near the famous city of Jerusalem [a city, according
to Wikipedia, that has gone through 70 name changes in its long history.] This is yet another rabbit trail of seemingly
useless information, but interesting nonetheless.
Let's make a map;
in the center of a piece of paper, place a dot and label it Geba (hill). Move your pencil down two inches and to the
left about a half-inch and mark another dot.
Label this dot Gibeah (hill).
From the center dot, move your pencil one inch north and one inch east
(right) and mark the third dot. Label
this dot Michmash (concealed location).
Now you have more information than when you began reading this
story. The parenthetical information
provided above was determined by doing a simple google search of the meaning
behind the name. Because of how I had
you create these dots, they may appear like objects in a rearview mirror, closer
than one thinks. As the crow flies,
Gibeah is only about two miles from Geba and Michmash, only about one mile away
in the opposite direction. The text tells
us that Saul chose 3,000 men. He held
2,000 men with him in (a concealed location) Michmash and gave Jonathan, his
second in command, 1,000 men to take to Gibeah, the homestead of both father
and son. Geba lies directly between
these two outer cities, and was known as a garrison, contains Philistine
troops. A garrison (or regiment) is
often referred to as a fortified outpost, meaning that it is secure and
protected. What one might not realize is
that Geba was one of the designated Levitical town assigned to descendants of
Levi.
The landscape
between these three locations created natural obstacles making travel more complicated
than one might imagine. From Gibeon, the
foot soldier must travel north then east to arrive at Geba (about a four-mile
journey). Ten-story cliffs (Bozez and Seneh)
lie between Michmash and Geba, making the journey by foot a little longer. So although logic might tell us that 2,000
men in Michmash with Saul may seem better than 1,000 men in Gibeah with Jonathan,
the terrain may have justified Jonathan's pursuit over Saul's. If you
had been either Saul, Jonathan, or any of the 3000 farmers that Israel called
foot soldiers, they would have recognized the Philistines possessed superior
power by their expertise in ironwork.
The Philistines refused to share these skills with the Israelites
because it was for their advantage to limit the Israelite's weaponry and become
a reliable source for sharpening their farming tools.
Concluding this concise
story explained in five short verses, Jonathan defeats the Philistines in Geba,
and Dad takes the credit. Using one's
imagination may tell us that Jonathan could have been offended by his father's
need for honor, but Scriptures do not reveal that pride was a problem for Jonathan. The exclusion of Jonathan's response toward
this news might tell us more about his character and understanding that the victory
belonged to Jehovah.
Following this victory,
the Israelites were called to gather at Gilgal (circle of stones). From Gibeah,
men would have traveled south about 3 miles to Jerusalem and then 15 miles northeast
passing through Jericho's ruins to arrive at Gilgal. A similarly inconvenient route resembling a
semi-circle would move the inhabitants of Michmash south and then northeast
about 10 miles to arrive at the same location.
Gilgal was a familiar location for the Israelites. It was the location
where they had crossed over the Jordan River to arrive in the land promised to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This location
was where their chiefs had stacked twelve stones, which would be used to remind
their children of God's goodness. This original
cairn [or heap of stones] ironically resembles the name given to Gilead, a
location in the east side of the Jordan that many Israelites would soon flee
for safety in fear of the Philistines they would soon be called for a more
difficult battle.
We soon learn in
verse six that the Philistines are a formidable enemy gaining strength and encamping
at the exact location where Saul had just departed. So what can one learn from this story?
1.
The
one who appears to be in the most strategic may not be the one who is
called.
2.
The
one with the most human resources may not receive the call.
3.
The
one with the most life experience may not be the one God desires to use.
4.
God
values humility and uses this to win battles.
5.
It
is not necessary to receive credit for our efforts.
6.
Just
because we win one battle doesn't mean we won't face another.
7.
When
we face inconsistencies in Scriptures, consider the relevance of the information.
8.
When
pursuing rabbit holes, we must use discernment to decide whether they are
worthy of our time.
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