The calling of an armor bearer

1 Samuel 14:6-7
Then Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying his armor. “Come and let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; perhaps the LORD will work for us, for the LORD is not restrained to save by many or by few.” And his armor bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart: turn yourself, and here I am with you according to your desire.”

If you are familiar with the story in Samuel, you’ll know that Israel is at war with the Philistines – again. A garrison of Philistines is encamped on the other side of the valley. Jonathan, Saul’s son, has snuck across the battlefield to the edge of the enemy’s camp. So, here’s Jonathan, looking down on the camp and he has a mind to attack it. At his side his ‘young’ armor bearer.

An armor bearer was an assistant to the mighty warrior. They would often be a young warrior in training. They would carry the shield and some of the extra weapons of the warrior, as well as their own weapon. They would need to keep pace with the warrior in the heat of battle watching and using the shield to protect the vulnerable side of the fighting warrior. They were a team and each needed to trust the actions, motives, intuition and instincts of the other. The armor bearer often had to respond to the quick command of the warrior without hesitation, because to question could mean death, for both. If the warrior fell, it was almost certain that the armor bearer would be dead as well. Additionally, there was not much pride in being the armor bearer of a fallen warrior – your career would be pretty much over for it tended to indicate perhaps you didn’t do your job. It was not the kind of job that ‘removal’ of your leader created advancement opportunities for you – your fates were linked in life and death.

Here’s Jonathan, the warrior, looking down on this encampment of at least 20 men. He turns to his young armor bearer and says, “we can take them.” It is the individual response of both these men that I find so remarkable. On one hand Jonathan’s faith in God, “He is not restrained by many or few”. I’m not sure that would have be my response in this situation. I’m not great in math, actually, I’m pretty bad – but I know that the 2 is significantly less than 20 or more. Yet Jonathan does not see the issue with the natural mathematical eye. He counts like this. “God on my side, that makes 2 plus the LORD of Hosts, they got, um, let see, only about 20 or so, they’re toast”. Remarkably, the young armor bearer is not looking at the situation, but focused entirely on Jonathan and states, “Whatever you do, I’m completely with you, and I totally trust your assessment of the situation”. Here’s the thing, Armor bearers were not stupid or foolish people, in fact the contrary was true. Warriors would only pick the best and the brightest as their shield bearers, because they were fully aware that they were placing their lives in the hands of this person. The trust, faith and commitment of a warrior to his armor bearer was critical to survival and the desired victory.
Even when Jonathan presented what seemed to be a hair brained idea, the armor bearer was right with him. I mean, consider this as a plan of attack. Rather than sneaking up on them in the night and quietly dispatching the sleeping enemy, Jonathan proposes “lets walk right up to them and wave saying ‘look! Here we are.’” Here’s the kicker, it was only if the enemy said “Come over here we got something to show ya” that they’d know that the LORD has given them into their hands. Now there’s a great plan if I ever heard one. Man, if I was that Armor bearer, at this point I’d be saying, “buddy, I’m behind you, way, way behind you”

They both hit the road, shouting, ‘youuuu hooo’. Before you know it, they’re in the battle, and the armor bearer is right behind Jonathan putting ‘some to death after him.’ Sounds like the team of Batman and Robin, Jonathan whacks and wounds them, and as they fall, the armor bearer finishes the job.
Anyway, what’s the point you may be asking. Good question, at the moment I’m reflecting on how is it that I fill both roles and when. There are times when I need to be the warrior. I see the battle, I know what needs to be done, and need armor bearer to come along side and trust me. Other times, most frequently, I am the armor bearer for a warrior. As an armor bearer I don’t often have the perspective or insight. It may even seem like a fool’s game. It reminds me that if we are going to gain the victory in the situation that trust, faith and commitment must be part of our relationships. We must know when it is our time and role to lead, and when it is to follow and take up a function of defense against spears and arrow. I’m not talking about blind mindless adherence. I’m suggesting that we must be conducting ourselves with each other, whatever our function, in a way that builds trust, faith and commitment. An armor bearer was not likely to sign himself up with a foolish warrior. Communication is vital between these two roles. It is where trust and faith is built. As always, there’s a challenge. The other vital element here is me. We cannot just expect the other person(s) to earn our faith, trust and commitment, but that it also my function to give it, as a gift. Perhaps this sounds simplistic or idealistic. In fact my concern is not so much who the warrior is, but who I am as an armor bearer. I am an armor bearer, for many that I come into contact with. Maybe it is the person with a disability that is the warrior, fighting the battles of prejudice, isolation, and barriers. I am called to carrying the shield for them as they fight the battle. I need to constantly look around me and consider how I can be your armor bearer.

Anyway I was just thinking.
Neil