Jonathan knew that he could not force God’s hand or compel him to intervene on his behalf. As a result, he proposed a test to see if God would bless his plan. Similar to Gideon, he looked for a sign of confirmation before he acted (see Judges 6:37–40).1 Contrary to Gideon, Jonathan did not get a clear command from the Lord, and so he was seeking what the will of God was in these circumstances.
8 Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them.