First Samuel 20:14

Jonathan is speaking to his best friend, David. The Bible says in First Samuel 20:14-17, “And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of the LORD, that I die not:[15] But also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the LORD hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.[16] So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David's enemies.[17] And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul.” It finally dawns on Jonathan that David is going to be king, and that means that Saul will no longer be king. The most likely situation to bring that about is that Saul will be killed, and probably the entire family of Saul will be in danger in order cut off any claims to the throne that might eventually come from Saul’s family. Because Jonathan was loyal to his family, he wanted them to be preserved if possible. Of course, because Jonathan and David were such good friends, Jonathan’s request was granted readily without hesitation. As it says in verse seventeen, “for he loved him as he loved his own soul.” You may never know this kind of friendship from another human being, but you can know it from God. Jesus is your friend. Jesus is the lover of your soul.

The Bible says in First Samuel 20:18-23, “Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.[19] And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone Ezel.[20] And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark.[21] And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as the LORD liveth.[22] But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way: for the LORD hath sent thee away.[23] And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD be between thee and me for ever.” Jonathan is going to find out if his father, King Saul, still plans to kill David. And then Jonathan comes up with a plan to communicate to David by using the arrows and the boy who will be fetching the arrows. What is noticeable about Jonathan is that he mentioned the Lord often in his conversation. Too bad that more Christians do not do that.

The Bible says in First Samuel 20:24-33, “So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat.[25] And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty.[26] Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean.[27] And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, that David's place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to day?[28] And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem:[29] And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto the king's table.[30] Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness?[31] For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die.[32] And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done?[33] And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David.” Once again we see the terrible person that Saul became in his reaction to his son, Jonathan. Jonathan defended David, and so Saul even tried to kill his own son. Why did Saul become so evil? One reason is that once Saul started going away from God, Saul kept going further away from God. It is not just what kind of a person you are today, but what path are you on? If you are on the wrong path, you will end at the wrong destination. That is one reason that Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
[14] Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

The Bible says in First Samuel 20:34-42, “So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.[35] And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him.[36] And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.[37] And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond thee?[38] And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.[39] But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter.[40] And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city.[41] And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.[42] And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.” Jonathan kept his promise. That is not surprising because we know what kind of a person he was. It says in verse forty-two that “they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.” What wonderful friends they were. What a wonderful bond tied them together: the bond of friendship. They know that because of Saul, they have come to a difficult situation in life. We must all follow God and accept the part we each must play. Of course, we will need wisdom to recognize it. Love will show us the way even when it hurts. Never give up on love. Do the right thing. Love your neighbor, love your fellow man, love your friends, and love your enemies. David and Jonathan loved each other as only true friends can, but the time came when they had to go their own ways in life. God leads in mysterious ways to perform His will for each of us, but He always leads.

The Bible says in First Samuel 21:1-6, “Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?[2] And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.[3] Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present.[4] And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women.[5] And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.[6] So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.” This is actually an important incident in the life of David because Jesus referred to this incident in the gospels when Jesus was accused of breaking the law. According to the law, the “shewbread” could only be eaten by priests, and David was not a priest. In other words, David being symbolic of the Messiah, the chosen one, was able to make exceptions to the law and set aside the law if and when necessary. The Bible says in Matthew 12:1-8, “At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.[2] But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.[3] But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;[4] How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?[5] Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?[6] But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.[7] But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.[8] For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.”

The Bible says in First Samuel 21:7-15, “Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.[8] And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.[9] And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me.[10] And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.[11] And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?[12] And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.[13] And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.[14] Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me?[15] Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?” There are several interesting things to notice about these events in the life of David. First notice that “Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.” In other words someone who was loyal to Saul knew what David was doing with the priest. Some details of your life you might want to keep from your enemies if possible. People who hate you will use against you what they know about you. This is one of the problems with putting information about yourself on the internet. Another thing to notice about these verses is that the only weapon available to David was Goliath’s sword. Of course, that sword was there because of the previous victory that David had won over Goliath. As much as you can, serve the Lord now, plant seed, do what is right and you will be building up benefits and blessings that will come back to you over time. The fact that David fled to Gath, one of the cities of the Philistines, shows how much David knew that his life was endangered in Israel because of King Saul. David thought he had a better chance of survival around the mortal Philistine enemies rather than being in Israel. We must trust in the Lord to protect us, but we also must use the brain that God gave us to do the best that we can at the same time that we trust in Him.

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