Day 1076: The mismatch at Michmash! - 1 Samuel 13 vs 15 - 23

15-16 And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, about six hundred men. And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17-18 And raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned towards Ophrah, to the land of Shual; another company turned towards Beth-horon; and another company turned towards the border that looks down on the Valley of Zeboim towards the wilderness.

19-21 Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.” But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his ploughshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle, and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the ploughshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads. 22-23 So on the day of the battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash. 1 Samuel 13:15-23 English Standard Version

Earlier in this book we were told that Jonathan, Saul's son, had defeated a garrison of Philistines at Geba. The Philistines then mustered an army of thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen to fight against Israel. Their footsoldiers were 'like the sand on the seashore in multitude', and they set up camp in a place call Michmash. Saul blew the trumpet throughout the land to call the Israelites to join him at a place called Gilgal. Israel had become a stench to the Philistines and now a huge battle now loomed. What was the size of Saul's army in the face of the threat they were facing? (vs15-16)

Only around 600 men! What was another extreme factor Israel had to contend with? (vs 22-23)

“There was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan!” Israel was an occupied land at the time, and vs 19-21 describe how the Philistines had taken great care to keep the Israelites from arming themselves. This is a good example of how detailed the Bible can be, and strong evidence for it being written at a time the events actually took place, rather than hundreds or thousands of years later like some secular history. But in view of the small unarmed army of Israel, and the enormous well armed forces of the Philistines, you can see why I called today's post 'the mismatch at Michmash'. If ever there was a situation where the odds were totally stacked against someone, this was it.

But is this not so true of the journey of God's people in the world throughout the ages? Again and again, the forces of evil seem to be overwhelming, and it often looks as if God's people will surely be wiped out completely. The German reformer, Martin Luther, put this well in the quaint style of his generation when he wrote: “The ancient prince of hell - hath risen with purpose fell; Strong mail of craft and power, he weareth in this hour; On earth is not his fellow! With force of arms we nothing can, full soon were we down-ridden.”

There's a real sense in which we are often no match for the devil's footsoldiers, let alone Satan himself. And in places where Christians are only a small handfull of the population, the chances of their surving seem small. But Martin Luther went on to say: “But for us fights the proper Man, whom God Himself hath bidden.” King David expressed the same truth when he wrote: “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side - let Israel now say - if it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us!” (Psalm 124:1-2) Indeed, if it were not that Christ is on our side, our struggle against Satan would be a total mismatch. Praise God that He provides us with the spiritual armour we need to face the foe.