Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 14:52

"And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul: and when Saul saw any mighty man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him." — 1 Samuel 14:52 (ASV)

All the days of Saul. —Although after the rout of Michmash the Philistines were driven out of their strongholds in the land of Israel back into their own coastal districts, yet throughout the reign of Saul they continued to be powerful and were a constant source of danger and trouble to the people. We know that in the end Saul lost his life in an engagement with this warlike and restless people, who were not finally crushed until the days of his successor, David. To keep them in check necessitated maintaining a standing army, which, in the days of David, became one of the great armed forces of the East. The reader of this verse is reminded immediately of a similar military inclination of King Frederick William of Prussia, the founder of Prussian military greatness, and the father of Frederick the Great.