The Feed Mill

Today’s Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 14-15

Today’s Devotional: 1 Samuel 14:1-10

Confidence in the Lord is taking bold steps when at times no one else will. Jonathan took steps which were spurred by:

1. His knowledge and trust of who God is from His Word
2. Having an understanding of what sin is and what it does in our life

King Saul is with a part of the army around him sitting idle in their comfort below a pomegranate tree as if all has been completed and resting in their past successes and a love for what has happened previously. A pomegranate has beautiful flowers to look at, a beautiful smell when in bloom giving off the smell of orange citrus, pineapple, and strawberry; and a refreshing taste from its fruit. While his son Jonathan, moved by his sense of defilement and reproach for Israel for having and allowing what would cause them to stumble and become enslaved once again to, and drawing them away from the Lord. Having this so close and at arms length, this moved Jonathan to act when no one else would. When this heart of Jonathan was brought in line with the conviction and knowledge of the strength of the Lord we see that Jonathan and his armor barer were rewarded with a deeper knowledge and understanding of God’s strength which started and continued because of his trust in God’s Word to Israel. We also see that they were rewarded by not being overtaken and enslaved to those things again as well, which Jonathan along with all of Israel were familiar with their history during the times of the Judges of constantly being enslaved to. But unlike Saul, Jonathan knew that past victories of overcoming does not ensure forward ease and success but it’s only a continued and constant forward movement acting on and trusting God’s Word and desire for Israel.

This is the same for us today, and should be an example for us. It’s only by staying close to God’s Word that we continue to understand and keep a knowledge of His strength and His desires on our hearts and minds. But this knowledge is not the end of knowledge that Paul writes about, the “Epignosis” knowledge, which is a full understanding and active participation. God desires more than a text book knowledge “Gnosis”, He desires an active and practical knowledge “Epignosis” a knowledge which has and continues to put into practice what has been learned about God: who He is and what He desires. And “Epignosis” does not sit in what it has learned but it continues to grow and go deeper in both understanding and practice. This is the exact call of the Christian life, Jesus Christ never called anyone to just know the Way but it was to know and to walk in the Way. For the Christian we can not only sit and learn, we are 100% expected and commanded to act and test out the knowledge of who God is and has revealed to us. Not to be a hearer of the Word only but a doer also; James 1:22.

The world is littered with hearing and resting in the past works, will we not be those who are doers of the Word that we are also growing in daily?