Jacob Chanikuzhy

Is it possible that the soldiers of an army attack each other and kill hundreds of their own soldiers? Some 235 years ago, this happened with the Austrian army. During the battle of Karansebes, the Austrian battle against the Turks (1788), the Austrian camp of around 100,000 soldiers sent different groups of soldiers to observe the movement of the Turkish troops. On the way, one group met a group of gipsies who sold them alcohol. They drank alcohol and began to celebrate, the sound of which attracted other groups of soldiers who also wanted to drink with them. But the first group refused to give them alcohol, and soon a fight broke out. During the mayhem, some shouted that they were being attacked by the Turks. So everyone started killing those they found to be strangers. They could not identify their own soldiers because the army was composed of people from other countries and languages. In the end, the Austrian army lost hundreds of its own soldiers (some books estimate 10,000 casualties).

The Holy Bible narrates a similar story in 1 Samuel 14. The Philistines had an army with 30000 chariots, 6000 horsemen, and a multitude of troops. It camped against Israel. The strength of the Israelite army was just 600 soldiers. While Philistine soldiers were all well-armed, in the Israelite camp, only Saul and Jonathan had a spear or sword. One can predict the outcome of the war. But Jonathan made an adventurous move, which created unaccountable confusion among the Philistines, who started slaughtering each other. In the end, the Israelites defeated the Philistines, who far outnumbered the Israelites. Yes, where there is God, the might of the enemy is equal to naught.

This miraculous and exciting experience of divine power and protection should have made Israel celebrate the victory by gathering before the Lord with hymns of praise and thanksgiving in sheer joy and gratitude. Unfortunately, what happened was that on the same day when they were blessed with such an unbelievable victory, they sinned against God by directly violating his ordinance about food. All this was caused by an impractical and senseless order from King Saul!

When Saul noted the flight of the Philistine army, he ordered the Israelites to attack them. He also imposed on the soldiers an oath of abstinence from food. Saul made his decision with good intentions. He imagined that if people feasted on the sumptuous food in the Philistine camp, they would not be able to chase and kill the Philistines. But this was not an ideal move. If the soldiers had at least some food to energise themselves, the story would have been different, with a much more impressive victory over the Philistines. The most disastrous consequence of Saul’s order of abstinence was that in the evening, when people were finally allowed to eat, they were so hungry that they killed animals and ate meat with blood—a direct violation of the divine command. In effect, by issuing a hasty and senseless order, King Saul indirectly created a situation that forced people to disobey the divine command. King Saul was full of himself, and in his craving for military victory, he failed to reckon with the needs and conditions of his own people. This religious disorder among the people proved Saul a failed king. When people ate meat with blood, Saul accused them of sinning against God. However, he did not acknowledge his own role in making people sin against God. This evasion from soul searching and corrections, led him to take further rash and ridiculous decisions.

Unaware of the king’s order prohibiting people from eating, Jonathan, son of Saul and the real hero in the victory over the Philistines, tasted honey that he found on his way. In another insensitive decision and with a legalistic mind, King Saul decided to put Jonathan to death. Hitherto, the people of Israel complied with all the directives of Saul since he was their king. But this time, the decision of the king crossed all boundaries, and people openly defied the decision of the king.  Thus, the firm and bold stand of the people of Israel saved the life of Jonathan. Saul’s fall from grace and his ultimate rejection from Israel’s kingship remind the lawmakers in the church and society to be doubly cautious when making rules and regulations for their people.