The forefront of the one was situate northward over against Michmash, and the other southward over against Gibeah.
The verse describes steep cliffs standing on opposite sides of a gorge or pass, with one crag lying northward toward Michmash and the other southward toward Gibeah. Israel lay to the south toward Gibeah while the Philistines were to the north at Michmash. The Philistine outposts stood on both sides of the pass, one to the north of Michmash and the other to the south of Gibeah.
God brought matters to a crisis at this place to rebuke Saul's perversity and to teach humility and faith. Because of Saul's sin in making a presumptuous offering, God would not give Saul the honor of defeating the Philistines but chose Jonathan, who feared the Lord and was moved by a divine impulse, together with his armor-bearer, a man of faith and prayer. With earnest prayer Jonathan and his armor-bearer agreed on a sign to determine how they should proceed.
They went down secretly into the gorge under the shadow of the cliff and partly concealed by mounds and ridges, making a dangerous approach to the Philistine garrison. When the Philistines taunted them, they accepted the challenge to come up as evidence that the Lord would prosper them. They then climbed by a secret and difficult path to the top of a cliff regarded as inaccessible and not strongly guarded, and killed the sentinels, who in surprise and fear offered no resistance. Through Jonathan and his armor-bearer at this place, God brought deliverance for Israel.
The verse describes steep cliffs standing on opposite sides of a gorge or pass, with one crag lying northward toward Michmash and the other southward toward Gibeah. Israel lay to the south toward Gibeah while the Philistines were to the north at Michmash. The Philistine outposts stood on both sides of the pass, one to the north of Michmash and the other to the south of Gibeah.
God brought matters to a crisis at this place to rebuke Saul's perversity and to teach humility and faith. Because of Saul's sin in making a presumptuous offering, God would not give Saul the honor of defeating the Philistines but chose Jonathan, who feared the Lord and was moved by a divine impulse, together with his armor-bearer, a man of faith and prayer. With earnest prayer Jonathan and his armor-bearer agreed on a sign to determine how they should proceed.
They went down secretly into the gorge under the shadow of the cliff and partly concealed by mounds and ridges, making a dangerous approach to the Philistine garrison. When the Philistines taunted them, they accepted the challenge to come up as evidence that the Lord would prosper them. They then climbed by a secret and difficult path to the top of a cliff regarded as inaccessible and not strongly guarded, and killed the sentinels, who in surprise and fear offered no resistance. Through Jonathan and his armor-bearer at this place, God brought deliverance for Israel.