(4) And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa. (5) And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. (6) And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
It is more than probable, that Saul in his haste to destroy David, had neglected even the common means of safety respecting his kingdom. His army perhaps dwindled and scattered abroad; so that when the Philistines came forward with so formidable an host, and even advanced as far as Shunem, which lay in the tribe of Issachar, and in the borders of Israel itself, there was great cause for dismay. But all this would have been nothing, if Saul had made God his friend. Israel had found, upon all occasions, while the Lord of hosts fought their battles, that one would chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight. But when the Lord is turned to be their enemy, and to fight against them, this sums up the full heaped measure of human misery.