Today's reading: 1 Samuel 14; Romans 16
Everything about 1 Samuel 14 goes wrong for Saul as he tries to be the tough, worldly king Israel wanted, and this cuts a sharp contrast against how things go for his son who trusts in God rather than his own strength for deliverance.
Every decision Saul makes, starting from making the offerings to God himself in chapter 13 and on through chapter 14, is to try to be a king the way you would expect to need to be a king if you didn’t have the backing of Yahweh. He made the offering to try to encourage and rally his frightened and scattering army, but then he holed up in his camp refusing to advance on his attackers. The Philistine army was massive and incredibly well equipped, so what was Israel’s tiny, swordless army even going to do? But then when he sees the Philistines start fleeing, he not only capitalizes on it to try to build momentum, but again, trying to be the tough king he thinks he should be, he bans his army from eating any of the spoil so that they will spend more time killing Philistines and not stop to eat, making for a smaller victory. After all that, when God doesn’t answer Saul and they realize it was some sin that caused it, in haughty self-righteous assurance, Saul puts himself and Jonathan up against all the rest of the people, only to be made a fool of when the lot is cast against his son. Then, again playing the part of the tough, strong king, Saul condemns his own son, the man who gave the Israelites their victory, only to have to backtrack on it when the people he is supposed to be ruling refuse such a foolish execution.
So the more Saul tried to do the strong, “kingly” thing, the more he messed up, got in the way of the deliverance God was trying to work for Israel, and ended up embarrassing himself before his whole army.
Now contrast this with Jonathan. When the Israelites are sitting in camp afraid of the Philistines, Jonathan actively recognizes that it is the Lord that gives victory, not the strength of their army, and so he goes alone with his armor bearer to take on the Philistine camp in the name of, and under the power of, the Lord. And when they go up, God gives the Philistines into Jonathan’s hand, even fighting for him, making the ground shake, terrifying and scattering the Philistine army.
Israel was under the protection of the God of gods. They didn’t need a powerful, strong, majestic commander in chief who could rally the troops and deliver great victories, they needed a king who would rely on God for victory and point the nation consistently back to Him.
The irony is that Jonathan could have made an incredible king for Israel in this respect. He will continue to show himself humble and faithful to the Lord throughout 1 Samuel, even supporting David to be king rather than promoting himself as heir to the throne.
Saul was chosen because he was a head taller than anyone else in Israel, and was handsome. He looked imposing, and that was the kind of king Israel thought they wanted. In our chapter today we see Saul playing exactly the part that the Israelites were looking for him to play, but it doesn’t work because Israel is not just any other nation, they are the people of Yahweh Himself. So as much as Jonathan could have made a great king for Israel, leading them to trust in the Lord more than in their own strength, he never has the chance because Saul’s disobedience costs his line the throne as God seeks to give it to a man after His own heart.
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