1 Samuel 13:19-23 Trust God for Everything!

 ”Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears.” But all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen each man’s plowshare, his mattock, his ax, and his sickle; and the charge for a sharpening was a pim for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to set the points of the goads. So it came about, on the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found with Saul and Jonathan his son. And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.“ I Samuel‬ ‭13‬:‭19‬-‭23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. There was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel: The Philistines had superior military technology and they wanted to keep it that way. Since they were a seafaring people, the Philistines traded with the technologically sophisticated cultures to the west, especially the Greeks. They imported weapons and acquired know-how from those distant lands.

i. “For decades archaeologists working at many different sites have unearthed iron artifacts in bewildering number and variety dating from the period of greatest Philistine power and leading to the general consensus that the metal was introduced into Canaan - at least for weapons, agricultural tools, and jewelry - by the Philistines.” (Youngblood)

b. All the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen each man’s plowshare: By carefully guarding their military technology, the Philistines kept the Israelites in a subservient place.

i. We might imagine that the Philistine blacksmiths, even though they charged each Israelite a pim for sharpening, would never put too fine an edge on anything. First, this was because these farm tools were the only weapons the Israelites had, so why make them so sharp? Second, if you make it really sharp, it will be longer before they come back with another pim to get their ax sharpened.

c. There was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people…. they were found with Saul and Jonathan: There were so few iron weapons available that only the royal family could be properly equipped. The rest of Israel fought with whatever they could.

i. It was bad enough to be outnumbered so badly. Now, we see God allowed the Philistines to have a huge technological advantage over the Israelites. The only way the Israelites could ever win was to trust in God for everything.

Trust God for Everything 

As we can see in these verses the Philistines were well armed but the Israelites weren’t, it came down to, trust God for everything.

That’s all He wants from us too!

Philippians 4:6-7 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Present your requests to God! And don’t give up, keep presenting them. 

I’m reminded of a quote from Charles Spurgeon:

“Prayer pulls the rope below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so languidly. Others give but an occasional pluck at the rope. But he who wins with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously, with all his might.”

Are you pulling continuously, with all your might?

Blessings