Shadows and Sadness in Success

In Bill Stern’s Favorite Baseball Stories, he shares what’s probably a tall-tale story about two semi-pro teams in Minnesota, Benson and Willmar, around the turn of the century. The two teams were locked in a scoreless tie at the end of regulation, so into extra innings they went. In the top of the 10th, Benson finally scored, 1-0 going into the bottom of the 10th. Willmar, the home team, had one last at-bat to either tie it up or win the ball game. Willmar’s pitcher Thielman steps up to the plate and cracks a single. Next up, O’Toole…and he hits a shot deep into the corner. A diving outfielder misses the ball and the race is on. Thielman rounds second, headed for third. O’Toole is hot on his heels, churning up the dirt as his cleats dig in. But, as Thielman reaches third, he collapses. O’Toole can’t pass him, so he picks him up and carries him to home plate, making sure that Theilmen touches the bag first. The crowd fell silent waiting for the umpires call…SAFE! Both men scored and the home team hoisted O’Toole in heralding hallelujahs! There was only one problem. Thielman’s collapse wasn’t from exhaustion . The tying run, the winning pitcher, died from a heart attack as he’d reached third base.

A feel-good story that is shrouded with sorrow — a reminder that there can often be shadows and sadness even in our success. Such is the case with the reign of Saul.

The first five verses of chapter 14 sets the stage for us, the writer giving us context for what unfolds. And, here’s what we see.

1.) Jonathan puts a plan in place with his armor-bearer to check out this Philistine garrison.

2.) We see where Saul and his “godly” leadership are at when Jonathan makes this plan.

3.) We see where it all goes down.

These seem to be unimportant details with the text — simply descriptive writing, much like any good story. But, there’s more to it than that.

Jonathan is acting boldly, but he doesn’t tell his father (v.1). We’re not sure why, but I can tell you this: Jonathan is painted in a much better light in these accounts than his father is. He operates in faith and seems much more fit to wear the crown.

On the other hand, while Jonathan is on the move, Saul is sitting in the shade. And notice who accompanies him: Ahijah, the grandson Phinehas. Remember him? He was the meat-loving, woman-chasing son of Eli, the corrupt priest who’s first son was named Ichabod because the glory of the Lord had departed. He has no right to be a priest — Eli’s line was rejected. In the face of the dire circumstances at the end of chapter 13, 600 men vs. 30,000 chariots, 6,000 special forces dudes, and an army that outnumbers the sands of the seashore, what good is a cowardly king and a pushed-away priest?

Finally, there’s the topographical setting starting in vs.4. On one side, Bozez, which roughly translates slippery, and on the other side, Seneh, or thorny. And, the rocky crag is cut by the Wadi Suwenit, a creating a deep trough as it winds its way to the Jordan. Suffice it to say, this isn’t the place for a leisurely stroll. Most sane people would’ve counted the area as impassable. But, that’s the path Jonathan has chosen. Perhaps he has a tactical advantage in mind.

As we get to the end of verse five, we have a plan, laid out in secret. We have the king and his priest, who have both been rejected. And we have the place, which seems quite impassable. But, Jonathan has a secret weapon in his back pocket: faith.

Courageous Confidence (v. 6-23)

Jonathan, trusting in God's power to save "by many or by few," boldly proposed a daring attack on the Philistine garrison with only his armor-bearer, who loyally pledged full support. As a test of God's will, Jonathan waited for a specific response from the enemy before advancing—and when the Philistines invited them to "come up," he took it as a divine sign. Climbing on hands and feet, Jonathan and his armor-bearer launched a surprise assault, killing about twenty men and triggering widespread panic. God amplified their courage with an earthquake and confusion in the Philistine camp, causing the enemy to turn on each other. Saul, seeing the chaos from afar, rallied his troops to join the fight. Even Israelites who had previously defected or were hiding rose up and joined the battle. The victory was complete, and the text concludes triumphantly: “So the LORD saved Israel that day.”

Interpretation:

In this passage, Jonathan displays phenomenal faith, though I don’t think it’s simply a product of his environment. His circumstances were, as we’ve seen, bleak? But, we’re not talking about blind hope or optimism. We’re talking about faith, and faith can spring up even when optimism is lacking.

And, for good reason, because faith doesn’t look to circumstances. Rather, faith focuses on God. And, Jonathan’s conviction about God is clear: 1 Samuel 14:6 “…nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” Verse 6 also expresses his expectation: the Lord will work for us.” And, Jonathan is well-aware that God doesn’t need their help, for he can save “by many or by few.” So, Jonathan’s plan and confession reveal that he doesn’t have faith in his scheme and wisdom, but in God Himself.

Fair enough, there is a bit of uncertainty. “It may be” that YHWH does these things. In essence, he encourages his armor-bearer, “Let’s go and place ourselves at God’s disposal. We’ll never know what He may do unless you give ourselves to Him and trust Him to use us.”

Isn’t it encouraging to hear Jonathan’s uncertainty? We have a tendency to think that doubt severs the nerve of faith and that we always have to be 100% certain about matters…absolutely positive. But, there is faith in doubt. And in Jonathan’s “it may be,” he confesses both the ability of God and the freedom of YHWH to act as He wishes. Truth is: I don’t know of a single person God has given the entire script of salvation history and how He works in the lives of every individual person. I know right here, right now, and I know the end, but there’s a lot in the middle that I am still clueless about!

To assure his faith, Jonathan puts forth a sign: 1 Samuel 14:9–11 “If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.” So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.”

Jonathan and his armor-bearer get their confirmation — indeed God was in this, so they slipped up and into the camp and before the soldiers could even say, “Dagon,” they struck, causing “panic in the camp” (vs.15). The result is found in vs. 23: “…the Lord saved Israel that day.” And we would do well to remember that this victory didn’t happen due to diligent scheming but because of imaginative faith that said, “Maybe God will use us…let’s go see!”

Let us not forget that that’s it more our “Here I am, send me,” and less our careful plans, that the Lord will use

Foolish Foreswearing (v. 24-46)

In 1 Samuel 14:24–46, Saul places a rash oath on his troops, forbidding them from eating until evening, which leaves them exhausted during battle. Unaware of the command, Jonathan eats some honey, which revives him. When told of the oath, he criticizes his father’s decision, noting that the people could have achieved a greater victory if they had been allowed to eat. After the battle, the starving soldiers sin by eating meat with the blood still in it. Saul intervenes by having a proper altar built, but when he later inquires of God about continuing the attack, God does not answer. Suspecting sin, Saul casts lots to find the offender, and Jonathan is revealed. Though Saul vows to execute him, the people intervene and rescue Jonathan, recognizing his role in the day’s victory. The pursuit of the Philistines ends there.

Interpretation:

If vs.23 concludes on a resounding note of victory — God saved Israel — then what we have in these verses is an aside, supplementary material, the rest of the story if you’re a Paul Harvey fan. If Jonathan’s actions proved to be heroics born out of faith, then Saul’s? Rash at best.

We find out that the men of Israel were “hard pressed” (v.24). Why? Saul had placed a curse on any troop who ate food before evening — read: total victory. So, the men were exhausted and when they’re finally able to eat (vv.32-35), they transgress God’s rules by eating meat with the blood in it. To top it all off, the hero…the Savior, if you will…nearly loses his life over this insane decree. The irony of the whole thing is that Israel is hard pressed the entire time, first because of the Philistines in 13:6, and now because of Saul! What a tragedy when the leader turns victory into vitriol.

In these past two chapters, the writer has actually established a pattern for us that contrasts Jonathan with Saul. It starts with Jonathan and paints him as the hero somehow before giving way to Israel’s response. Every time, following Israel’s response, we see the folly of Saul which again leads to a response from Israel. The first two times, Israel is in distress, and the third Israel responds to save Jonathan. It’s hard to not walk away thinking the true hero of the story is Jonathan, not Saul. And, what a wonderful king he would have made?! Talk about true royal material. But, he’ll never get his shot. And, it’s not even his fault. Remove yourself from the rest of the story…think only on Jonathan and Saul, and the “What ifs?” surely abound. It’s natural to ask these questions.

But…

Jonathan doesn’t. What does he know that we do not? Perhaps it is the fact that the text has sought to sear into our minds all along: the kingdom belongs to God. As Davis puts it,

“For Jonathan, then, the kingdom was not his to seize, not his to rule, but his to serve.”

So here’s the challenge: What if we took this life we have, and we judged it only by our fidelity to Christ? The old Rich Mullins song, “Step by Step” said, “I will seek You in the morning, and I will learn to walk in Your ways…” So, judge life by our pursuit and faithfulness. Not outcomes. Not success as determined by the world. Not by bank accounts or accumulated toys or relational conquests or friendships or social circles. Faithfulness to the kingdom…service to the kingdom…that’s it. How would that change your life?

Commendable Campaigns (v. 47-52)

After becoming king, Saul fought successfully against Israel’s enemies on all sides, including Moab, Ammon, Edom, the Philistines, and the Amalekites, delivering Israel from plunderers. His family included three sons—Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchi-shua—and two daughters, Merab and Michal. His military commander was Abner, his uncle’s son. Throughout his reign, Saul faced constant conflict with the Philistines and recruited strong and valiant men into his service.

Interpretation:

These verses actually wrap up the second structural division of 1 Samuel. It’s a wrap up Saul’s reign, and the surprising thing is that it’s quite positive. I mean, we get to the end of a couple of chapters of blunder and folly, the portrayal of Jonathan being better suited for the job, and the story will only go on to amplify Saul’s shortcomings, and the writer’s like, “All in all, not that bad!” So, what do we believe about it?

How ‘bout both?

It seems that what we have here is a historical judgment of Saul’s reign. What do I mean by that? It’s a summary of his life based on achievements, contributions, and relative success. It’s being an objective, outside the circle observer, and if you take a step back and think about what Saul has done: successfully leading his country to fight against Moab, Ammon, Edom, Philistia, and the Amalekites, having three sons and two daughters, there was a good deal of success. He recruited well. Israel fought hard, and Saul led them.

But, historical success is not the final judgment of any person’s life. It’s not the applause of men that serves as the ultimate judge…The Honorable Judge History does not make the final call. For that, we must look to the One who reigns over history. And this One, King Jesus, judges on the basis of covenant…of relationship and faithfulness. He isn’t looking for the heroes of history but for disciples who are deeply committed to the Kingdom of Christ. It’s a humbling reminder that we can have all of the worldly success we want, but it doesn’t make US a success. Faithful obedience will always be the determiner of a life well-lived.