The scene set in 1 Sam 14 is quite a desperate one and serves well to highlight the difference between the religious man and the Spiritual man. The Philistines are encamped in great numbers on the high ground in this scene. They are multitude in number as opposed to Saul’s 600. Now this is far from a Gideon story. Saul’s ranks had been whittled down but not by God. And Saul is a man who has been rebuked by the prophet Samuel and so we can see, as we watch what Saul does, how the religious, those of the flesh, operate without the direction of the Holy Spirit. Even Ichabod’s brother is in their ranks ( the presence of God has departed)
Now it is interesting that while Saul is giving instructions to his troops “Cursed is the man that eats food until evening, so that I may be avenged on my enemies. So none of the people tasted any food,” Jonathon , the man of God, is already gone. You see Saul is afraid and fretting over what he sees as his enemies and how he can be avenged, we hear nothing about God from him. The religious man takes things personally and seeks to avenge himself on his enemies and he must try to work out all the details himself since he cannot converse with God. Now Jonathon on the other hand, so full of the Holy Spirit, decides to go to the enemy. He has a simple faith in God. He is so trusting that while all the other men are listening to instructions from religious men on how to gain victory, Jonathon is on the move. He is headed towards the enemy.
A Call To The Remnant 