THEOSISTheodoret of Cyrus
Why did Jonathan, planning to engage the adversaries, communicate certain signals to his armor-bearer? (1 Kings 14:8-11) His intentions were not rooted in divination, but as a faithful believer, he sought to discern God's will. He believed that receiving a summons from the enemies would indicate that he should confront them, confident that God would clearly support his actions. Jonathan expressed this conviction: “let us go up, because the Lord has delivered them into our hands: this is a sign unto us” (1 Kings 14:10). However, he stipulated, “if they shall say unto us, Let us tarry therein, we will not go unto them” (1 Kings 14:9). His willingness to rely on God placed him in a position of considerable risk, as his words reveal.
Read more (132 words)
He declared, “Let us go into the camp of the uncircumcised, for it is not difficult for the Lord to save by many or by few” (1 Sam. 14:6). These proclamations display a soul firmly trusting in the Lord. With such faith, Jonathan was not let down in his expectation. When he launched an immediate attack, striking with arrows and hurling stones, he bewildered the enemy camp; the foes, having come together from various regions, failed to identify one another and ended up fighting amongst themselves. Saul, observing the chaos from a distance and feeling assured of the victory thanks to the priestly garments, charged toward the foreign forces. Yet, when he saw that the enemies were in retreat, he foolishly imposed an oath on anyone who had consumed food before nightfall.