MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
6/19/2026 10:25 PM
My
Worship Time Focus: Intro
to “Common Men, Uncommon Calling-Part 2:Andrew, James”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: Luke 6:14b, c
Message of the verse: Andrew his brother; and James
I continue to quote from the introduction that John
MacArthur has in his commentary for this verse.
“The Bible illustrates the principle
that God has often turned history using a few people, or even an individual, to
accomplish His purposes. He chose Gideon
to deliver the people of Israel from their Midianite oppressors (Judg.
6:1-6). At God’s command, Gideon’s initial
force of thirty-two thousand was reduced to ten thousand (Judg. 7:3). But lest the people boast that the
deliverance was from their own strength (v. 2), God directed Gideon to further
reduce his force to three hundred men (vv. 6-8). The Lord used Gideon and that small force to
rout the vast (v. 12) forces arrayed against them (vv. 16:25). Later in Judges, God used Samson to single
handedly deliver the people of Israel from their perennial enemies the
Philistines (Jud. 15:15-20). Still later
in Israel’s history, Elijah alone was enabled to triumph over 450 prophets of Baal
on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18:17-40).
“Less familiar, but no less significant,
is the account of God’s deliverance of Israel through Jonathan and his armor
bearer. As in Samson’s day the
Israelites were being oppressed by the Philistines. Jonathan’s father, Saul, had already been
disqualified as king because of his disobedience (1 Sam. 13:7-14). The Philistine invasion force was huge (v.5),
and the Israelites (except for Saul and Jonathan) had no weapons (vv. 19-22). Defeat
seemed certain, leading many of ‘the people [to hide] themselves in caves, in
thickets, in cliffs, in cellars, and in pits’ (v. 6). Others fled and ‘crossed the Jordan into the
land of Gad and Gilead’ (v. 7). Israel
seemed on the verge of being annihilated as a nation.
“But Jonathan did not share the
people’s defeatism. Putting his trust in
the Lord, he and his faithful armor bearer approached the Philistine camp and
hailed it. Taking them for deserters
seeking to surrender (1 Sam. 14:11), the Philistines called to the two men to
come up to their camp. Jonathan,
followed by his armor barer, promptly attacked the Philistines, killing twenty
of them (vv. 13-14). The result was
panic in the Philistine camp, a panic heightened by an earthquake sent by God
(v. 15). The Philistines fled in
disarray (v. 16), and their flight quickly turned into a rout (vv. 20-23). The courage and faith of Jonathan and his
armor bearer saved the nation (vv. 45-46).
Jonathan’s words in verse 6, ‘the Lord is not restrained to save by many
or by few,’ summarize not only his own exploits, but also those of Gideon, Samson,
and Elijah.
“Just as God used individuals such
as Gideon, Samson, Elijah, and Jonathan, to change the course of Israel’s
history, so also in the New Testament He used twelve men to change the course
of the world’s history. Those common
ordinary men, chosen, trained, and commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ, are
the subject of this section of Luke’s gospel.
Having introduced Peter, Luke turned to the next two members of the
Twelve: Peter’s brother Andrew, and James, the brother of John.”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I have stated in several earlier SD’s that it
is my belief that the Lord called me to write my Spiritual Diaries and place
them onto my two blogs (2Twokens.blogspot.com) so that the Holy Spirit of God
can get them to those He desires to read them, for the cause of Christ.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to trust the Lord to strengthen my
wife as she continues to battle cancer.
6/20/2026
11:07 AM
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