Introduction
The story left off (see The Tidings, July 2013, p. 217) with Jonathan and his armor bearer in the midst of the Philistine garrison. After they had slain twenty Philistine warriors, Yahweh shook the earth and caused confusion throughout the Philistine encampment. No one knew exactly what was happening and no one knew where the enemy was. Each Philistine took up his sword and attacked whoever was around him.
It was a remarkable victory through the faith of two men. Because of their willingness to give up their lives (they didn’t know if God would bless their efforts or not) Yahweh smote the Philistines. Their actions were a remarkable contrast to the king of Israel, who had done nothing. He had set up his camp and had sat beneath his tree, neither choosing to enquire of God or stand up against the enemy. Throughout the rest of this battle, Saul continued the contrast, acting with the exact opposite spirit of his son, and even trying to kill him at the end of it all. Thus, the story will focus not only on Jonathan, but on both Jonathan and his father — and will ultimately show the troubling things that a man can do when he is overtaken by his pride.
Back in the Israelite camp
As the dust settled and as the ground stopped shaking, the watchmen in Saul’s camp looked over to the camp of the Philistines and saw the signs of battle. They saw their enemies fighting — but they weren’t fighting against any Israelites. The Philistines had turned upon one another. The earthquake had caused a great confusion and the Philistines had no idea what they were doing! For the Israelites, this was exactly what they had needed. Their troops had been dwindling, the morale of the soldiers was declining, and the king was deliberating.
But now, after this miraculous and sudden earthquake, everything changed. The enemies were melting away. What joy this change in the tide of the battle would have caused among the ranks of Israel! What surprise! But there was at least one person in the Israelite camp who didn’t seem pleased. That person was Saul:
“Then said Saul unto the people that were with him, Number now, and see who is gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there” (1 Sam 14:17).
It was a strange thing that Saul commanded here — in front of him, his enemies were thrown into confusion after an earthquake, and it was the perfect time to attack. Yet Saul didn’t. Why? Why throw away this opportunity for victory? Perhaps something troubled him: armies don’t simply start attacking one another after an earthquake. Confusion generally results, but rarely would an army destroy itself. However, what if an enemy had attacked just at that time? What would have happened then? Perhaps the Philistines would have been aware that an invader had come, and with the confusion that resulted in the earthquake, they would have jumped upon anyone that didn’t look familiar—including other Philistines. Those could have been some of Saul’s thoughts — and on realizing this, Saul’s pride got the better of him. If someone else had initiated the attack, then he wouldn’t get the credit for the victory. For Saul, that simply wasn’t an option.
As we consider this possibility, let us take a quick diversion from the story to try and consider Saul’s mindset at this point.
Saul’s vanity
Saul was a very vain man. He had not always been this way (1 Sam 11:13; 15:17), but after a time of being king, Saul began to focus entirely upon himself and upon his own name. No more was it about extolling Yahweh’s name and about encouraging the nation to follow Him — instead it was about Saul’s victories and Saul’s abilities. Hence, when Jonathan went to fight against that first garrison of the Philistines, Saul made sure that all of his people understood that he was the one who had defeated the garrison — even though he hadn’t really done anything:
“And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal” (1 Sam 13:3-4),
When Jonathan made an attack on the Philistine garrison, Saul was swift to take the credit. Saul wouldn’t share the glory with anyone, not even his own son. All Israel needed to recognize their king as the one who would deliver them — and thus, he made sure that his name was glorified, even though he didn’t do any of the work.
Such were Saul’s actions at the beginning of this battle: just consider how his thinking would have progressed as time passed. As the days went by, Saul’s army became smaller and smaller. Israel’s army was in a humiliating state: people were deserting because of pure terror, and no one had any confidence that they would win. Then, in trying to improve the situation, Saul chose to offer a sacrifice, the one which cost him the kingdom. Yet the issue wasn’t simply Saul’s disobedience of the law and who was supposed to have offered. Both David (2 Sam 6:17) and Solomon (2 Chron 1:6) broke the letter of those laws without punishment. In this case, instead, the issue was with Saul’s attitude:
“And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; therefore said I, the Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering” (1 Sam 13:11-12).
When Saul explained his actions to Samuel, his words were all about himself! He saw that the people were scattered from him! The people were deserting their leader! It wasn’t that the people were distressed and they needed a man of faith to lift them up — it was that they were deserting him and leaving him alone. Such was Saul’s perception. His focus was on himself, his reputation, and his name alone. Yet because of this attitude, he was told that the kingdom would be taken from him, which was the exact thing that he dreaded. It was the complete opposite of his name being exalted and praised; and it would have made him yearn for respect and honor even more. We want what we don’t get.
Thus, throughout the rest of this battle, a thirst for praise and recognition fueled Saul’s actions. He constantly thought about his own pride reputation. This became fairly evident soon after he had numbered his troops. Before going to attack the Philistines, Saul put the people under a vain oath:
“And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food” (1 Sam 14:24).
Amongst other reasons, Saul specifically forbade the people from eating until the evening, so that he could be avenged on his enemies. Saul wanted all of his followers to understand that this was a battle that they were fighting for him — it wasn’t about God’s name or God’s glory. This was a battle which they were fighting to honor the king. Such was Saul’s mindset just after he numbered the people, and likely before he numbered them as well.
Numbering the people
Therefore, as Saul looked out over the Philistine army after the earthquake, the effect of this battle upon his own name was his chief concern. He wasn’t overjoyed that the enemies were defeating themselves. Instead, he wanted to know how this had happened. He wanted to know who had been the one from Israel’s ranks who had deserted the camp and attacked the Philistine garrison without telling him. Who had been the one that had stolen this chance of victory and fame from their king?
So the command went forth. The army was not going into battle against the enemy. Rather, they would take a census. The king demanded to know who was missing from their ranks. Eventually, the report came to Saul: almost everyone from the camp of Israel was present. There were only two who were missing: Jonathan and his armor bearer.
Consider how these words would have affected the jealous king. This was the same son who had “stolen” the victory from him just previously, and now he had done it again. Throughout this whole story, Jonathan had consistently outplayed his father. Jonathan appeared to be more faithful, more courageous, and even more strategic! Saul, whose mind was filled with vanity and the desire to stand against Samuel’s prophecy, would have burned with envy when he realized that it was again his son who had won this victory for Israel. Yet he wouldn’t make his envy known. In keeping with the actions of a man propelled by jealousy, Saul hid his thoughts within his own mind — and instead considered how he might somehow smear Jonathan while exalting himself.
Enquiring of God
It would seem as though his opportunity to do so was instantaneous — after hearing that it was Jonathan who was missing, Saul suddenly made an intriguing demand:
“And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God, For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel” (1 Sam 14:18).
Have you ever wondered why Saul suddenly waxed spiritual and decided to enquire of God in the middle of this battle? Everything just seems poorly timed. All around the camp of the Israelites, the noise of battle and slaughter could be heard, coming from the camp of the Philistines. The soldiers would have been anxious and ready to charge against the Philistines. Even more, an earthquake had just occurred: something which was clearly an act of God, showing that God Himself had blessed the attack.
It truly was an odd situation, yet perhaps the strangest thing was what Saul had commanded. When did Saul honestly enquire of God for direction? Even during his period of faith when he fought against the Ammonites, he didn’t do this. Later in the battle against Goliath, he didn’t seek God. Only twice throughout his entire reign (at least that is recorded) did Saul try to ask God for guidance — and both of those times show the lack of value which he placed on God’s commands. The first time was actually later in this battle, and he did so because the priest told him that he should seek guidance: he had to be prompted to seek Yahweh’s direction:
“And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither unto God” (1 Sam 14:36).
Ahiah had to remind Saul that he should ask for God’s counsel. This wasn’t something that Saul developed on his own, because it wasn’t like him to enquire of Yahweh! Again, the second time was marred by a similar type of issue. When he looked for God’s direction at that time, God didn’t answer him!
“And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. And when Saul enquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets” (1 Sam 28:5-6).
Saul sought for God’s wisdom, and it was hidden from him. Yahweh would not answer, showing that there was clearly something wrong with Saul’s attitude. He didn’t truly want to follow God, he simply wanted to be able to know what would happen in the battle. Again, this is reinforced by what he did after God’s refusal to answer. He went to a medium (1 Sam 28:7), something which had been explicitly forbidden by God (Lev 20:27)!
It wasn’t typical behavior for Saul to enquire of God for the purpose of knowing God’s will. It appears to be the same in this situation. As Saul called to Ahiah and requested that he might ask for guidance from Yahweh, it doesn’t appear as though Saul was particularly concerned with what God wanted. Instead, there seemed to be another motive. This is further supported by what happened afterward.
“And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand” (1 Sam 14:19).
Before the priest could even ask God for direction, Saul called off the entire process: clearly, God’s answer wasn’t all that important to Saul. Thus, why then did he call the priest over in the first place? Saul had an army behind him who was waiting to fight, it was already clear that God had blessed the Israelite invasion of the Philistines, Saul didn’t typically enquire of Yahweh, and the answer to his enquiry wasn’t important enough to him to wait for it. So, what was this all about?
There certainly could have been a number of reasons, but after considering Saul’s current mindset, it seems likely that the reason was somehow connected to Saul’s reputation. Saul’s actions here were not the actions of a wise leader. Instead, they were the actions of a leader who was seeking to serve his own agenda, by proving that his own inaction and laziness as he sat underneath the pomegranate tree was actually what God required. Thus, perhaps Saul had called Ahiah because he wanted to put on a show for the people — showing them that he still believed that God didn’t want them to fight. He didn’t want to give his support to the attack — because it had gone on behind his back. He didn’t want to admit that it was right, and he held to that as long as he could — even by using the priesthood to try to show the people that he wasn’t sure if Jonathan’s assault had been sanctified and blessed by God. Saul was trying to back up his own lack of attack.
There he stood, surrounded by his army, with the Philistine army melting away in the background, and with his name slowly becoming smaller and smaller amongst his soldiers. Why was their king wasting time? Why was he preventing them from honoring their God and smiting the enemy?
Conclusion
Sadly, all of this confusion was the result of Saul’s pride, pride which is just so human. For each of us, pride and envy can be such a challenge. We want people to know our name. We want people to know our achievements and talents. We want to be lifted up and praised. Yet it’s that spirit that can lead us down the road of Saul. Instead, when we find ourselves seeking recognition or feeling jealous over the successes of others, may we remember Jonathan’s attitude:
“And Jonathan said unto his armour bearer, Come up after me: for the Lord hath delivered them into the hand of Israel” (1 Sam 14:12).
God is the one who deserves the focus. God is the one who deserves the recognition. May all honor and praise go to Him. Truly, that is the attitude that wins victories and triumphs over the enemy.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One