THE REALITY OF WAR

World War I soldiers gather round a fallen comrade - like Saul at Gilboa?

When we read about warfare in the Bible, we tend to forget that it was every bit as bloody and ruthless as fighting today. Distance and time have made it seem unreal.

But it was perhaps even more brutal than warfare today, since most of the fighting was hand-to-hand. A soldier could see and smell the man with whom he struggled.

Moreover, battles took place near or inside cities and towns. The defending soldiers knew that, if they lost the battle, their parents would be murdered, their wives raped and killed, and their children either killed on the spot or sold into a harsh life of slavery.

This photograph captures the grim reality of battle: dirt, exhaustion, sudden death. It was much the same for soldiers who fought in Saul's army, or David's - or in a modern war.