Jonathan and David

Just look around you at the world.  Everyone wants to tell you how to live your life!  The government, the politicians, the bureaucrats, the lawyers, the partisans, even the ignorant want you tell you how to live your life.  Cultural expectations often guide and inform how one is expected to live life.  But the culture of the world is ever-changing.  The world can’t make up its mind as individuals struggle for partisan political power, so the result is there is no stable guidance from the world.  But God does NOT change. God is absolute good and when we see where God is at work we can embrace that good and join with God.

Here we look at an example of one individual who didn’t let cultural expectations define his role in life. We see him choose the goodness of God over potentially becoming a king.  We are looking in 1 Samuel 18, verses 1-4; chapter 19, verses 1-4; and chapter 23, verses 15-18.

Scripture introduces Johnathan in chapte 13: 1-4 of this book.  Saul comes to power as king and he raises a 3000 man army from the nation of Israel.  He takes 2000 soldiers to Michmash, whose name means treasure house, a town about 6 miles northeast of Jerusalem.  

He leaves 1000 soldiers under the command of Jonathan at Gibeah.  Jonathan attacks the Philistines there and the war is on.  Saul gathers his army and there is an epic battle at Michmash.  1 Samuel 13:5 relates “and the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward ….”  This battle is one of the most detailed in the Bible, covering two chapters. The Historian Josephus also documents the battle. The Israelites won the battle although they were greatly outnumbered and inferior in arms.  

The writer does not reveal that Jonathan is Saul’s son until later in verse 16.  Jonathan’s battlefield observations during the earlier conflicts and the Battle of Michmash were followed by watching Saul and the rest of the Israelite army quiver in fear during the forty days of Goliath’s challenges for a “championship match.”  

When David killed Goliath and did what King Saul should have done, Jonathan also took note of that.  The victory that David won led to the Philistine army’s humiliating defeat.  The result is that Jonathan discovered a tremendous respect for David and devoted himself to David’s support.

So let’s investigate how Jonathan dealt with cultural expectations.

1 Samuel 18:1-4

1 When David had finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan was bound to David in close friendship, and loved him as much as he loved himself.  2Saul kept David with him from that day on and did not let him return to his father’s house.  3 Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as much as himself.  4 Then Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his military tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt. 

The prevailing culture would’ve expected Jonathan to be king after his father. The impressive victory against Goliath notwithstanding, David’s words with Saul impressed and clinched matters for Jonathan.  A bond of respect and friendship between David and Jonathan formed immediately, a relationship marked by unity and commitment. That Jonathan gave David his robe, military tunic, sword, bow, and belt signaled his admiration for David and that he recognized God had chosen David to be Israel’s next king. It was illustrating, “dude, YOU need to be the next king not me! Here, YOU take the princely robes and take my military command…YOU need to be the next king!”

Although already known by the royal family because of his soothing music, Jonathan now found in David a soul mate. Rather than becoming potential rivals, they became like brothers. They became one in spirit. Jonathan, already a commander in Israel’s army, had to be at least twenty years old but perhaps could have been much older than David. Yet they also had much in common. Both demonstrated courage in fighting the enemy and both possessed profound faith in the Lord. 

Jonathan previously had shown little interest in David, the harpist who had soothed his father’s tormented soul. However, his recent heroism had kindled within Jonathan’s heart a deep respect and love for David.  While some try to make this into some form of homosexual relationship there is no possible scriptural basis exists to describe such a relationship. The Hebrew word used in this verse also described Saul’s fondness for David. If the writer intended to mean their relationship included homosexual activity another Hebrew word meaning “to know” would have been used. That word is never used to describe the relationship between Jonathan and David. Nor would this gel with David’s commitment to God‘s word, as seen in one of David’s songs, Psalm 119, which clearly prohibits homosexual activity.  This was just the brotherly love and respect that two warriors develop.

This respect was so deep that they didn’t just agree to friendly support, they made a contract, a treaty, a binding agreement of support.  The phrase made a covenant reflects a technical phrase meaning “to cut a covenant” that referred to the ritual practice of sacrificing an animal and cutting it in two. The covenanting parties would walk through the pieces of the animal, each vowing not to break the covenant on the pain of death such as the parts of the animal they were walking between. In a covenant, one party would solemnly pledge to bless or to serve the other in a specific way. 

Although the son of the king and heir apparent to the throne, the language suggests that Jonathan took the initiative to make a covenant with David. It appears that Jonathan could perceive what Saul could not.  Saul was no longer king, so the struggle for kingship would exist between Jonathan and David. Jonathan pledged HIS support to David when the time came.  To use a similar current illustration, Jonathan, like RFK, “withdrew from the race” and pledged his support to David.

By giving his robe to David, Jonathan symbolically acknowledged that he believed David would one day succeed Saul as king of Israel. Jonathan yielded all the symbols of his royalty, his uniform and belt along with his weapons to David. These gifts signaled his willingness to surrender his right to the throne and to transfer it to Israel’s new champion. By doing so, Jonathan expressed his loyalty to David and his acceptance of God’s will for Israel and David.

In the next passage we will see that Jonathan took this covenant seriously, even to the point of defying his father, the king.

1 Samuel 19:1-4

1 Saul ordered his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Saul’s son Jonathan liked David very much,  2 so he told him, “My father, Saul, intends to kill you. Be on your guard in the morning and hide in a secret place and stay there.  3 I’ll go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are and talk to him about you. When I see what he says, I’ll tell you.”  4 Jonathan spoke well of David to his father, Saul. He said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David. He hasn’t sinned against you; in fact, his actions have been a great advantage to you.

Saul’s jealousy over David’s successes led Saul to make several attempts to kill him. First, he tried to kill David by spearing him, failing twice. Then he assigned David to a command that took him into conflict with the Philistines, where Saul hoped his commander would become a casualty of the fighting. Saul crafted another plan involving his servants and a daughter; however, that plan did not succeed either. Driven by paranoid jealousy and what he perceived as a serious threat to his throne and dynasty, Saul ramped up attacks on his rival. 

Up to this point, apparently few knew about Saul’s attempts to kill his young rival  As every attempt failed, his fear of David’s threat to the throne increasingly consumed Saul. The king no longer disguised his thoughts and talked openly with his son and officers regarding his intent. He likely spoke of David’s death as a necessary evil so he explicitly ordered his son and attendants to assassinate David. It seems that human politics has LONG been plagued with jealousy and assassination attempts.

Hearing Saul’s order to kill David brought about an internal crisis for Jonathan. How could he please his father while remaining faithful to his commitment to David? Jonathan seemingly said nothing to anyone but would tell David in secret. He acted on the covenant of friendship they had previously made when they pledged mutual loyalty. They had promised to meet each other’s needs and look after each other’s welfare. 

Jonathan refused to help in Saul’s insane attempt to kill David; however, he did not remain neutral and simply wait for God to work things out. Not bound by misplaced loyalty to his father, Jonathan secretly brought David up to speed of Saul’s intention to kill him, not only that, but  Jonathan took the initiative and proposed a plan for David to hide, while Jonathan put himself as a go-between on David’s behalf. He would join Saul and talk with him about his intentions and plead with him not to do away with David.  

The one who had the most to lose by David’s growing popularity defended Saul’s young soldier with great intensity. He did more than secretly help David with information. He argued on David’s behalf before the king.  Speaking with boldness, he called Saul’s plan to assassinate David sin, urging his father to mull over possible consequences of such an action. Shedding innocent blood would have led to bloodguilt according to the law. 

David had risked his life when he killed the dreaded giant. Furthermore, he had defeated the Philistines on several occasions. Jonathan reasoned David’s actions had provided the king with political and military advantages that Jonathan wanted to make sure his father understood. In fact, David had provided invaluable services for both the king and Israel.

Jonathan couldn’t persuade Saul, but Jonathan was in tune with God’s plan and faithfully adhered to supporting God’s plan to make David King of Israel.  In the next passage we will see that Jonathan even pledges the support of Saul’s lineage to support David’s Kingship.

1 Samuel 23:15-18

15 David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in Horesh when he saw thatSaul had come out to take his life.  16 Then Saul’s son Jonathan came to David in Horesh and encouraged him in his faith in God,  17 saying, “Don’t be afraid, for my father Saul will never lay a hand on you. You yourself will be king over Israel, and I’ll be your second-in-command. Even my father Saul knows it is true.”  18 Then the two of them made a covenant in the Lord’s presence. Afterward, David remained in Horesh, while Jonathan went home.

Jonathan recognized that God was at work in David’s life and willingly accepted the role God had given him in that relationship. Jonathan was a true leader, a team player.  He recognized God’s intention for David to become King and Jonathan took steps to be a good follower of God’s plan.

Jonathan’s intervention resulted in David returning to Saul’s house. However, the king could not control his anger and once again attempted to kill David with his spear. David took refuge with the prophet Samuel at Ramah. David met with Jonathan and appealed for his help. Jonathan acknowledged that the Lord had chosen David to succeed Saul, and the two reaffirmed their covenant with each other. David determined Saul would not stop pursuing him until he had been killed. Saul even tried to kill his own son, but Jonathan escaped to warn David. 

Here is brief summary of David’s exploits following Saul’s “bounty hunt”. Fearing for his life, David decided to take matters into his own hands and took refuge in the Philistine city of Gath, the home of the giant Goliath that he had killed resulting in the loss of many innocent lives. From this tragedy David learned again to depend on the Lord to escape Saul. When Saul heard that David had fled to the Philistine town of Keilah, Saul searched for him with fierce determination. Although David and his men had previously rescued the Philistine town of Keilah, he feared the townspeople might turn against them when Saul came. David followed God’s guidance to move from Keilah and stayed in the hill country.

With Saul on his heels, David and his men hunkered down near Horesh, a town about twenty miles southeast of Keilah. This dry and destitute mountainous wilderness area would have tested David’s faith and courage greatly. The writer further described David’s hiding place with a word that meant a wooded area or one with heavy thickets. 

So obsessed with killing David, Saul focused everything he had on this single pursuit even to the neglect of his main responsibilities as king of Israel. While Saul looked for David, Jonathan found him. The noble-minded prince Jonathan easily made his way to David before his father could. Jonathan assured David to reject any fear he may have had because God would ultimately protect him from Saul. If God had purposed that David would become the next king, then no one, including Saul, could prevent it from happening. 

Jonathan told David he could reject his fear because he had a loyal friend who would willingly serve him. Sadly, Jonathan never got to reign with David because he died in battle with his father. Jonathan had not kept his loyalty to David a secret from his father. Saul likely had come to believe David would succeed him as king. Although Saul knew it would happen he fought against the will of God with everything he had. 

Jonathan and David had already made a covenant but now renewed their covenant in the presence of the Lord, meaning they fully trusted in God’s promises. Renewing or reconfirming their covenant strengthened their commitment to one another. It also meant Jonathan acknowledged David’s right to the throne of Israel.  While Jonathan went home to Gibeah, where Saul was, he had accomplished his mission. Ironically, David and Jonathan never saw each other again on earth.

More than a sidekick, Jonathan WAS a noble prince with the welfare of his people and devotion to the will of his God foremost in his mind.  Jonathan went contrary to the expectations of the world, and of his father, and committed all to the success of God’s plan for David to become king.