His Eyes were Enlightened

This is the fifth post about eyes being opened.

Near the end of 1 Sam 14 Jonathan (son of King Saul) ate some honey, and then said, my eyes have been enlightened. Let us now look into what happened to bring this experience.

Jonathan’s eyes were opened when he ate of the honey – which came after a victory he had. In 1 Sam 14 we read the account of Jonathan and his armor bearer who defeated a garrison of Philistines. This comes during a troublesome time in Israel’s history where they were oppressed by their enemies the Philistines.

One morning Jonathan took initiative. 1 Sam 14:1, Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.

As we read on it is clear that Jonathan is a warrior, but one who knows where his strength comes from.

1 Sam 14:6 - Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the LORD will work for us. For nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few.”

Jonathan’s confidence is not from his own strength or skill; rather it was in the Lord. (Phil 3:3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh)

Jonathan also has tremendous support from his armor bearer, who encourages him on.

1 Sam 14:7 - So his armorbearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart.”

As they went forth the Lord was with them and prospered them so that the enemy could not stand against them. Jonathan would know them down and his armor bearer would slay them. The continued until they completely routed the enemy. Afterwards, on the way home Jonathan tasted of the honey and his eyes were enlightened. God not only gave them the victory, but Jonathan tasted of something that changed how he saw things.

That day Jonathan was stirred in the Lord and he took action, and the result was a powerful victory and the enlightening of the eyes. In this chapter there is another part of the story, which is about the lack of initiative in the rest of Israel. We see them distressed by their circumstances and it got so bad that Saul put them under an oath to not eat that day. As a nation, Israel could have done as Jonathan did, to take initiative, get the victory, and then taste of the honey that would have enlightened their eyes.

We all have the same opportunity to follow the example of Jonathan, to attack issues and problems in life with the heart of a warrior. As we have confidence in the Lord we are able to take initiative. Too often we sit back, especially us men, because we don’t see ourselves as God sees us. As we follow the example of Jonathan, we can break out of this cycle, and we too can have our eyes enlightened. We too can taste the sweetness of victory and know the power of the Lord in us.