Read 1 Samuel 14:1-52
Saul’s son Jonathan seemed to have been a man of action while his father was a man of inaction. Jonathan took his armour bearer (perhaps the nearest equivalent in the British army would be an officer’s batman) on a reconnaissance trip a scored a minor victory in a skirmish (v14) while his father the king sat under a pomegranate tree with the army. Jonathan was a courageous, perhaps even headstrong, man but he was also a man of faith.
Jonathan knows that God saves and that gives him confidence in his military manoeuvre even though there are only the two of them, ‘nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many of by few’. But he is also aware of God’s sovereignty saying, ‘perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf’ (v6). He does not take success for granted. He is aware that God can do wondrous things with very little at his disposal, but that he may choose not to. Who knows what God will do? We cannot be arrogant and assume.
Jonathan’s action brought success as it threw the Philistines into a panic (v15) and Saul and the army took advantage of the confusion and routed the enemy, though the Bible gives credit to God, ‘the Lord rescued Israel that day’. But all was not as well as it seemed. We are told the men of Israel were in distress. This was because Saul had made the army swear an oath not to eat until they had defeated the enemy. Note too that in v18 Saul instructed the Ark of the Covenant to be brought to the camp. This puts us in mind of 1 Samuel 4 when the Israelites had the Ark of the Covenant brought into camp and then took it into battle on the grounds that if God was with them in battle they could not possibly be defeated. This superstitious attempted manipulation of God was shown for what it was when the Israelites were defeated and the Ark captured by the Philistines. Saul was perhaps thinking on the same lines here and what with committing his men to an oath (which in practical terms was unwise as it would weaken them and make them less able to fight a battle) appears to trying to manipulate God to give him victory in battle. God honoured Saul and gave him the victories, but not because of Saul’s questionable actions, but because God is God and does as he sees fit. Verse 47 shows that Saul was no coward and fought valiantly leading Israel to many successful campaigns, but the damage was done.
Chapters 13 and 14 show that it was Saul’s son Jonathan who was the man of faith and perhaps better material as King. Saul showed himself to be impatient, prideful and attempting to be manipulative, trying to force God’s hand. Jonathan acknowledged the sovereignty of God and that it was God who gave him victory. From this point on Saul’s star diminishes and we see that he is rejected by the Lord as king, and at the same time we see David being groomed as his replacement.