King Saul and his son Jonathan faced a life-threatening crisis with the Philistines, but they handled the dilemma in very different ways. Jonathan responded in faith by trusting God in spite of the odds (1 Sm 14:1–14). God came to Jonathan’s aid by sending great confusion into the Philistine camp, and the Israelites were thus enabled to defeat the more powerful Philistine army without a casualty (1 Sm. 14:15–23).

Saul, on the other hand, handled the crisis with fear and panic. Saul’s fear led him to place unrealistic demands on his soldiers, thinking that if he made them physically hungry they would fight like ravenous dogs (1 Sm. 14:. 24, 1 Sm. 14:28). They did indeed fight day and night, but, as a result, they became exhausted. Saul was an insecure leader who constantly overworked his people. Saul placed his faith in himself rather than in God, leading him to ignore his troops’ need for food, water, and rest. His troops were deprived and severely overtaxed, all because Saul was concerned mainly about himself. He had lost touch with God and therefore all spiritual perspective. His men became nothing more than objects at his disposal. Saul’s lack of good judgment caused a desperate situation, and his army suffered as a result.

Jonathan criticized his father’s method of selfish leadership when he pointed out, “How much better if the troops had eaten freely today from the plunder they took from their enemies! Then the slaughter of the Philistines would have been much greater” (1 Sm. 14:30).