Master Teacher. R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you” (1 Sam. 15:28, NKJV). In Saul’s mind, David presented that kind of threat, so he ordered his son and servants to kill David just to be sure. The desire to kill David was rooted in Saul’s disobedience of God and his anger at God’s chastisement. Sin clouded his judgment and ability to see David as innocent and chosen by the Lord.
Jonathan clearly showed his love and willingness to take great risks to protect David by arguing David’s case to his father. In the effort to protect David, Jonathan undermined his father’s desire to ensure Israel’s kingdom was passed down to his son (Jonathan). Saul was motivated by self-interest while Jonathan was motivated by the interest of another. Deep friendship cares for the other even at times of sacrifice. This kind of love is best exemplified on the cross, as Jesus sacrificed His life not for His own benefit, as He needed nothing from humanity, but for humankind.
Connect with Learners: What are you willing to lose on behalf of a friend? Have you ever sacrificed anything on behalf of a friend? Do you have any friends for whom you would put your life in peril?
II. A Friend’s Impassioned Plea (1 Samuel 19:4–7)
| KJV | NRSV | |
| • • • 1 Samuel 19:4–7 • • • | • • • 1 Samuel 19:4–7 • • • | |
| 4 And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good: | 4 Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have been of good service to you; | |
| 5 For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause? | 5 for he took his life in his hand when he attacked the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced; why then will you sin against an innocent person by killing David without cause?” | |
| 6 And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain. | 6 Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan; Saul swore, “As the LORD lives, he shall not be put to death.” | |
| 7 And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past. | 7 So Jonathan called David and related all these things to him. Jonathan then brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before. | |
The impassioned plea of Jonathan suggests he and David were not mere associates but beloved friends who found a common cause to support each other. Yet Jonathan and David’s backgrounds could not have been more different. How did these two become so close? Jonathan was a prince of Israel. He lived a life surrounded by wealth, servants, and an awareness that he someday would be crowned king after his father. This was his father’s dream, who would have it no other way. Missing from his father’s thinking was that it was God who appointed him to be king through the prophet Samuel and it would be God who saw to the next king. “But it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another” (Ps. 75:7, NRSV). Jonathan in his own right was a man of courage, strength, and determination who was a veteran of combat. In one battle with the Philistines, he alone killed over twenty Philistines (1 Sam. 14:14). His single act of courage inspired others to join forces with his father. Jonathan garnered such respect among Israel’s army that when Jonathan violated an oath of his father that would have resulted in the punishment of death, the leaders in Israel’s army interceded to his father in order to spare his life (1 Sam. 14:24–46). Jonathan’s life dispelled any notion that a child raised in such wealth and grandeur could not relate and partner with another person raised on the opposite side of the tracks.
David on the other hand was raised in the small town of Bethlehem where the Judaean mountains that stood between them could not have been more symbolic of the differences in the way David was reared from Jonathan’s upbringing. David, the youngest of seven sons of Jesse, grew up as a keeper of sheep. There his character was molded into a young man described by servants of Saul as a fine-looking brave warrior who played the harp and a man whom the Lord was with (1 Sam. 16:18). It was David’s skill in playing the harp that first gave him favor with King Saul. Saul had a troubled and tormented soul after God’s Spirit departed from him (1 Sam. 16:14). David’s harp and maybe other instruments David created refreshed and calmed Saul’s soul. David did this so often with good results that Saul appointed him as his armor-bearer. This put Jonathan and David in proximity daily, and their friendship grew as each day passed.
True and lasting friendship requires commitment to aid one another in times of distress. David needed Jonathan’s help and did not know his life was in danger. David had built trust with Jonathan from the time David delivered Israel from the hands of Goliath. During that time, it was Jonathan who stripped himself of military armor as David, smallest of his brothers, insisted on fighting Goliath. For Jonathan to show such care for David, he would have had to push aside any feelings of jealousy, insecurity, or threat at the fact that his friend would be the next king of Israel and not him. So while Saul was angry at David and wanted him killed, Jonathan wanted to save his life. Therefore, as David proved his trustworthiness, Jonathan demonstrated he was a reliable friend (Prov. 18:24).
Christians can rely on the beloved friendship of Jesus. He is a friend like no other, placing Himself in danger for our sake. He took on sin that we might become the righteousness of God.
Connect with Learners: As a friend, what have you done to prove your reliability? In your most important friendships, what more can you do?
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