Reflections on 1 Samuel 14.
There are moments in life when faith becomes costly. Moments when obedience to God requires courage, initiative, and risk. It is easy to trust God when circumstances are comfortable. It is far harder when the odds are against you, the future is uncertain, and everyone else is retreating in fear.
That is exactly the situation we find in 1 Samuel 14.
Israel is under enormous pressure from the Philistines. The enemy army is massive. Saul’s troops are deserting. Weapons are scarce. Fear is everywhere. Humanly speaking, Israel has little chance of victory.
And yet into this dark moment steps Jonathan — a man willing to take a risk for the Kingdom because he was convinced that God could save “by many or by few” (1 Samuel 14:6).
Saul: A King Who Would Not Trust God
The contrast between Saul and Jonathan is striking.
In the previous chapter, Saul was under intense pressure. His soldiers were abandoning him. The Philistine army was gathering. The walls were closing in. Saul needed God’s help.
But instead of trusting and obeying God, Saul took matters into his own hands.
Only priests were permitted to offer sacrifices, yet Saul impatiently performed the sacrifice himself rather than waiting for Samuel. When the pressure mounted, Saul disobeyed God’s Word because he did not truly trust God.
That was the tragedy of Saul. Outwardly he looked like a king, but when the decisive moment came, he trusted himself more than he trusted God.
As a result, Samuel announced that God had rejected Saul’s kingship. God would raise up another king — a man after God’s own heart i.e. God’s own choice.
Then chapter 14 introduces us again to Jonathan, Saul’s son. Ironically, Jonathan displays the very kind of faith and courage Saul lacked.
And that is deeply encouraging.
Even imperfect parents can, by God’s grace, have children who walk faithfully with the Lord.
No Odds Are Too Great for God
1 Samuel 14 opens with Jonathan quietly deciding to act:
“Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” (1 Samuel 14:1)
Meanwhile, Saul sits in a pomegranate cave. Or, in some translations, under a pomegranate tree.
The king whose calling was to fight Israel’s enemies has become passive, fearful, and spiritually compromised. Saul is even accompanied by a priest from the rejected line of Eli — another sign that things are deeply broken.
Jonathan, however, has had enough.
Together with only his armour-bearer, he secretly leaves the Israelite camp and heads toward a Philistine outpost positioned between two dangerous rocky cliffs — Bozez (“slippery”) and Seneh (“thorny”). Even the geography sounds threatening.
The mission seems impossible.
Two men.
A heavily armed enemy.
Treacherous terrain.
No backup.
No guarantees.
And yet Jonathan says one of the great statements of faith in Scripture:
“It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.” (1 Samuel 14:6)
That sentence changes everything.
Jonathan knows the odds are terrible, but he also knows God is not limited by numbers.
God does not need impressive resources, large crowds, financial strength, political influence, or favorable conditions to accomplish His purposes.
He can save by many.
He can save by few.
He can save through two exhausted men climbing slippery rocks toward an enemy army.
Jonathan understands something Saul forgot: God’s power matters more than human odds.
Faith Is Not Presumption
Notice Jonathan’s humility:
“It may be that the LORD will work for us…” (v24)
Jonathan is confident in God’s ability, but humble about God’s plan.
That is biblical faith.
Faith is not demanding that God must bless our plans. Faith is trusting God enough to obey even when we do not know the outcome.
Jonathan does not presume upon God.
He simply knows this: God can.
And because he trusts God’s power, he acts.
Too often Christians become frozen by uncertainty. We want complete clarity before taking action. We want guarantees before obedience. We wait for perfect conditions before stepping out in faith.
Jonathan reminds us that courageous obedience often comes before certainty.
God Fights for His People
Jonathan and his armour-bearer agree on a sign. If the Philistines summon them upward, they will go.
The Philistines spot them and mockingly call out.
So Jonathan climbs the steep cliff on his hands and feet, armour-bearer close behind.
Imagine the danger.
Imagine the vulnerability.
Slippery and thorny.
Enemy soldiers waiting above.
And yet Jonathan climbs.
He is willing to risk everything because he trusts God.
Jonathan and his armour-bearer strike down around twenty men, and then chaos erupts:
“There was a panic in the camp… and the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.” (1 Samuel 14:15)
God enters the battle.
Confusion spreads through the Philistine army. Fear grips the camp. Israel rallies.
And the chapter concludes:
“So the LORD saved Israel that day.” (1 Samuel 14:23)
That is the crucial point.
Jonathan did not save Israel. The Lord did.
Jonathan simply trusted God enough to step forward and participate in what God was doing.
The Greater Jonathan: Jesus Trusted the Father Completely
Jonathan points us forward to someone greater.
Jesus also faced impossible odds.
He entered enemy territory to rescue sinners. He walked toward suffering and death knowing exactly what awaited Him.
Yet Jesus never doubted God’s power.
When He was arrested, Jesus said:
“Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53)
That is more than 72,000 angels.
Jesus was utterly convinced of God’s power.
At any moment He could have called for rescue.
But unlike Saul, Jesus trusted His Father completely.
He knew the Father’s plan — even the path of suffering — was the best plan.
So Jesus willingly went to the cross, trusting His Father in the darkest circumstances imaginable.
And through apparent weakness came the greatest victory in history.
Sin defeated.
Death conquered.
Salvation secured.
Jesus knew that nothing is impossible for God.
The question is: are we convinced too?
Are You Willing to Take Risks for the Kingdom?
Jonathan climbed slippery and thorny cliffs into enemy territory because he trusted God.
Jesus walked toward the cross because He trusted His Father.
What about us?
Will we trust God — even in difficult circumstances?
Even when we feel surrounded?
Even when we find ourselves in the “Philistine camp,” climbing the slippery and thorny places of obedience?
Will we believe that nothing is impossible for God?
Or will we play it safe?
It is easy to sit in the comfortable “pomegranate cave” like Saul — comfortable, passive, cautious, letting others take the risks while we preserve our convenience.
But faith acts.
So where might God be calling you to trust Him more?
- In your daily witness for Christ?
- In your evangelism?
- In your ministry involvement?
- In sacrificial generosity and finances?
- In career decisions?
- In difficult decisions about the future?
- In leading and discipling your family?
Throughout church history, God has used ordinary believers who trusted Him enough to step forward.
People who believed God could save by many or by few.
People who knew the outcome was uncertain, but the Lord was trustworthy.
The Kingdom advances through believers who refuse to sit comfortably in the pomegranate cave.
A businessman in Cape Town
I know a businessman who owns many commercial properties around Cape Town. About eight years ago he became convinced that Parow needed a faithful gospel church.
Instead of maximizing profit, he decided to rent out a large property for just R1 a year to whoever would plant a gospel church there.
That was a Kingdom risk.
Our church council decided to support the church plant.
That was another Kingdom risk.
Today, years later, that church faithfully proclaims and lives out the gospel in a tough neighborhood.
Recently, the pastor was robbed in Parow at gunpoint. Yet he continues preaching Christ week after week.
Why?
Because the Kingdom of God advances through people who trust that God can save by many or by few.
Jonathan was convinced that God is able.
Jesus was convinced that God is able.
Are you convinced?