Video Transcript: Jonathan and David

I always loved the stories of David in the Bible for obvious reasons. They're exciting stories. And my name is David. But I also loved the interaction between David and Jonathan. And in part because my name is David, Jon. J.O.N is the middle name. And my mother often called me, Jonathan David. I was named after David and Jonathan. And so today, I want to reflect with you on some of the chapters that we've been reading and that focus on Jonathan and David BFF: Best Friends Forever. When we think about David and Jonathan and about friendship in general, one of the first things to be aware of is that we live in a time where friendship is seldom practiced well and is often misunderstood. Misunderstood in various ways by different people. 

Here's some common confusions about friendship. One is that close friendship is really for women, not for men. Men can't really get that close to each other and be that good friends. Showing your feelings is wimpy, not manly. Friendship is mainly for sharing fun times, playing video games together, playing other stuff you like doing, hanging out, enjoying a bit of time together. But it's not for more serious, difficult things. Parents have a positive impact on people. Friends drag you down. Protect the children from friendship, and make sure they are under the control of parents and kept within their family at all times. Family matters, friendship, that doesn't matter. Your spouse should be your best friend. My best friend proposed to me. I'm married to my best friend. Well, maybe so sometimes not. Intense friendship, where people of the same sex have strong feelings and care about each other a lot must have a sexual element to it. You must be gay or lesbian if you're really, really committed and care about somebody of the same sex. And friendship is just one of those things where the chemistry is right, and it doesn't have much to do with God. Now, not everybody holds all of these at the same time. But they are different mistakes about friendship that are floating around. And we'll notice as we go through the story of David and Jonathan, how these ideas are all contradicted by this story. 

When read about Jonathan, I just want to start out with Jonathan the hero. And at this point in the story, in First Samuel, we hear at the very end of First Samuel 13, that basically Saul and Jonathan are about the only men in Israel with decent weapons. Because the Philistines won't allow anybody to refine iron and make metal weapons. So, most of Israel, if they're armed at all have sticks and sharp poles and stuff like that. And Saul and Jonathan are about the only ones with good weapons. But Johnson sure knows how to use this. Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come let's go over to the garrison, the military outpost, of these uncircumcised Philistines.” The Philistines have been dominating the country and there is a pass with a cliff on each side of the pass. And they've got a small outpost guarding the cliffs on each side. And nobody can really get through those passes. And the Philistines have got control of that. And Jonathan says, “It may be that the Lord will work for us for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” And his armor bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you, heart and soul.” Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. And if they say to us, “Wait until we come to you,” then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. But if they say, “Come up to us,” then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.” So, both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.” And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor bearer and said, “Come up to us and we'll show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.” Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet and his armor bearer after him.

And Jonathan was killing, and his armor bearer was following behind him. And at that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor bearer made, they killed about 20 men. And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic. Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle. Saul's got his army; they all join the battle. And behold, every Philistines sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. And now the Hebrews who had been with the Philistines also turned to be with the Israelites, and likewise, all the men of Israel, who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim, heard that the Philistines were fleeing, and they too followed hard after them in battle. So, the Lord saved Israel that day.

It all started with one guy with some guts, who got things going. Jonathan, and then one thing led to another, and it resulted in a tremendous victory. Saul didn't even know about this, when Jonathan started out. Jonathan had just kind of done it on his own initiative. And after the battle, Saul finds out that Jonathan had broken an oath or command that Saul had given that that Jonathan didn't even know about and wanted to kill Jonathan. But Jonathan was rescued by the people because he'd been the hero that day. So, Jonathan kind of did even this great victory in spite of his father, and not because of him. Not out of spite toward his father, but his father just wasn't involved until things are already well underway. So that's how Jonathan becomes a great hero in Israel. He takes on almost impossible odds, takes down 20 people on top of some cliffs and sets off a great military victory.

Then, of course, David also faces some very tough odds against the Philistines. The mighty giant Goliath comes out and defies the armies of Israel and David to doesn't get a lot of encouragement from his family. Back when David was a shepherd boy, and one of the members of the family was to be anointed king, David wasn't even part of the lineup. Dad left him out with the sheep while the other brothers were all there in the championship lineup. And none of them were chosen. And so, Dave was chosen, but not because his family thought he could do it. And then when David shows up, and he's visiting the army and Goliath is shouting these challenges, David says, “Well, isn't anybody going to do anything about this?” And right away, his older brother Eliab gets on him, and scolds him and tells him what a dunce he is, and how foolish he is and how he's got a bad attitude. So, if Jonathan and David depended simply on their family to launch them into action, they'd still be sitting on the launching pad. But David takes on this giant Goliath, like Jonathan, against very difficult odds. 

And David knows why he can take him on just as Jonathan knew. Jonathan said, “The Lord can win a victory by many or by few.” And David says to Goliath, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day, the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hand.” And sure enough, he fires the stone, he hits Goliath, he goes over to Goliath and cuts off his head. And as in the case of Johnson's victory, one victory on a small scale, sends the whole army into action, and the whole enemy army fleeing, and David wins this great victory. So, Jonathan, has won a great victory against nearly impossible odds. And now David has done the same. 

And then David and Jonathan meet and, “as soon as David has finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.” So, all the symbols of royalty and military power that Jonathan has, he just hands over to David, because he loves him and sees in him such a tremendous friend. Just to pause a moment, would you say that friendship is for wimps? If somebody took down Goliath and the whole army, and another guy killed 20 people on top of a cliff single handedly, you might not want to call them wimps, and they certainly they weren't women either. So, it says to say that friendship may be for men, and even for some rather manly, even nasty men. And after Saul turns against David and is very jealous of him and wants to kill him, Jonathan stands up for his friend David. “And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David. And Jonathan told David, “Saul, my father, seeks to kill you. Therefore, be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself. And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything, I will tell you.” And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you and because his deeds have brought good to you. For he took his life in his hand, and he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?” And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan.” At least for a while, and he brought David back to court. 

But you see the kind of man Jonathan is again. He's standing up for his friend, he's defending his friend, he's using wisdom. He doesn't just side with his friend against his father, but he tries to talk with his father and reason with him and to bring about peace. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.” Jonathan reasons with Saul, he talks with him and gets David brought back into the court again, and he still loves his father, just as He loves his friend.

So, Saul reverts, and again tries to kill David and at that point, David is almost worried that Jonathan will turn against him as well. After all when push comes to shove, do you side with your father? Do you protect your own right to the throne that you're going to inherit if David's out of the way? David said to Jonathan, “Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?” And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that it was determined by my father that harm should come to you, would I not tell you?” Jonathan said, “May the Lord be with you as he's been with my father. If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David saying, “May the Lord take vengeance on David's enemies.” And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him, as he loved his own soul.” That conversation took a strange turn. Jonathan speaks with David and David is worried that Jonathan might turn on him and kill him because Jonathan has all the power. And Jonathan instead says “I would never do that! And please, don't wipe me out.” Jonathan is not in a position to get wiped out by David at this point, and yet he understands that the Lord is going to make David very powerful and make him king. So even when Jonathan is in the position of power, he asked his friend to make an everlasting covenant with him never to wipe out Jonathan, or his family members. 

Well, when Jonathan goes back – he and David agree, and Jonathan is going to check things out. And when Jonathan checks things out one day and David doesn't show up for a feast, then Saul exploded in anger at “Jonathan you son of a slut! Shame on you, and on the mother who birthed you!” And then he got so angry at Jonathan he said, “Don't you know that as long as David is alive, you'll never have the throne?” And then he chucks his spear at Jonathan. Well, if the spear hits, Jonathan probably won't have the throne either. But Saul is not a model of rationality at this point. And so, the father tries to kill his own son and Jonathan evades the spear and gets away. Then he has pre-arranged a signal with David where he says, “I'll check things out my father, and if it's, if it's good, I'll go out with my boy and shoot some arrows. And I'll say, “Hey, the arrows are on this side of you.” And if you're in trouble with my father, I'll say, “Hey, the arrows are beyond you.”” And so, he goes out, and David is hidden nearby. And Jonathan fires the arrows far and he says, “Hey, boy, the arrows are beyond you!” And then the boy brings the arrows back and Jonathan can't bear to just leave it at that. Because he had the whole signal arranged with David and once David has heard that David's got to hightail it out of there and Jonathan, go back to the palace, but Jonathan can't bear to just send that signal and call it good. He sends the boy back with his weapons. And then he has to just meet David again before David takes off. And the Bible says, “David came out of his hiding place. And he bowed with his face to the ground before Jonathan, three times. And then he and Jonathan embraced each other and kissed, and they wept and wept, and David wept the most. And Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we’ve both sworn, both of us in the name of the Lord saying, “The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring forever.” And he rose and departed. And Jonathan went into the city.” 

And from there, they don't see each other very much because David is on the run and Saul is out there on the prowl, always trying to hunt David down, always trying to kill him. And there are times when it gets so close, after this farewell between David and Jonathan and David is nearly killed, and Saul is right on his tail. And sometimes God will send other news just in the nick of time. One time David and his men are running away on one side of the mountain and Saul and his troops are on the other side of the mountain, don't even know David is there on the other side, they've just about caught him and then they get news that there's been an invasion. They got to go back and deal with the Philistines. And so, David gets away yet again. But the hunting keeps on going and it gets very hard and very discouraging for David. “David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. And Jonathan, Saul's son rose, and went to David at Horesh and strengthened his hand in God.” What a statement! David is out in the desert, on the run for his life and Jonathan goes to him and strengthens his hand in God. Now, that's a friend. When you're in danger of your life and you're very discouraged, your friend strengthens you, and he doesn't just strengthen you by being a nice guy in general; he strengthens your hand in God. And He said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul, my father, shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul, my father, also knows this.” And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home. So, they renewed their covenant and sometimes you just need to hear it. David had the promise from God through the prophet Samuel. He had been anointed to be king. He knew he was supposed to become king. But hey, when an entire army is after you, and a mighty king is trying to hunt you down, you probably have your moments when you wonder. And then when the king's own son, and your best friend comes to you and says, “Yeah, you're going to be king alright. I know it. Even my father knows it, though he doesn't want to admit it.” That lifts David's heart and strengthens his hand in God. And a true friend is that way. 

Sometimes all they only do is tell you what you already know. But you needed to hear it again. And you needed to hear it again at that particular point in time. Because when you're down, it's hard to believe what you know. You need to believe what you know, and sometimes a friend can help you do that. Jonathan and David, true friends, best friends forever, they make this everlasting covenant with each other, that they will always treat each other and their household well, and they stick with each other through good times, and bad. 

And then there is that heartbreaking day when Jonathan falls in battle, and David finds out about it. “How the mighty have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights. I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women. How the mighty have fallen! The weapons of war have perished.” And David's heart breaks as the person he loved perhaps more than anybody else in the world is gone. Again, some people nowadays read out and say, “See David and Jonathan were gay!” Well, this tells you more about the age we live in than it tells you about David and Jonathan. Because David and Jonathan were both married men with children. The Bible never hints at anything that our age would talk about. They were simply the dearest of friends, loyal to the death and loved each other with a tremendous love. 

And even after Jonathan lies slain David did not forget that covenant. Jonathan had a son, who was crippled in his feet. It happened that day of that battle where Jonathan died. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse took him up and fled. And as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth. David said to Mephibosheth, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father, Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul, your father. And you shall eat at my table always.” So, Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king’s sons. So, David gives him the inheritance of a king, all the land that his grandfather Saul had owned. And he gives him a spot right along with all the other royal princes at David's own table, because he is the son of Jonathan and his dear friend. 

So that's, that's the story of David and Jonathan, as we read of it, at least some of the main excerpts from First and Second Samuel. Again, what do we learn about friendship in that? We've seen some of the misconceptions or mistakes or the confusions. Close friendship is for women, not men. Really? Showing feelings is wimpy, not manly. They're both weeping and David is crying the most, the killer of Goliath and the destroyer of armies. Friendship is for fun times. Well, there was a lot of not so fun times, and they stick with each other. Parents, not friends have positive impact. Well, not necessarily. Family matters and friendship doesn't matter? Your spouse must be your best friend. Intense friendship must be homosexual. Friendship has little to do with God. 

In this story, we find just the opposite: friendship is for men as well as for women. Brave warriors show strong feelings. Friends are often into very serious things together, whether it's partnerships and ventures, sometimes where they have heroism in common, they’ve both taken on great enemies. And part of what they love about each other is that they were men of courage. They do serious things. And in your own life, sometimes your friends are those who have the same vision with you, the same sense of mission that you have, and you work together in that. And it makes you powerful in that. So, my dearest friends are those who've been involved in ministries with me on starting this church or being part of this church. Friends can bring out the best in you, not just the worst. Sometimes friendship can be bad if you have the wrong kind of friends or if it takes a bad turn. But it's a mistake to think that parents are always good and healthy, and friends are always bad. In this story, it's David's family who sometimes pulls him down from what he could be. It's Jonathan's father who's trying to turn him into a murderer, and his father who's trying to get him to pursue his father's dream for him. His father is desperate for him to be king, no matter what, no matter who has to die. But Jonathan knows that his father's vision for him is wrong. And so, he pursues God's vision for him. Friendship matters. Family matters a lot, but so does friendship. And I know that some parents, in their concern about what friends might do to their children, try to shield their children from any tight relationships. It's a matter of pride, sometimes. Sometimes the parents aren't quite as wise as they think. Sometimes they're not as healthy for their kids as they think they are. And so, we need to be aware that we're not infallible as parents, either. And that parenting and family is one kind of friendship that is very, very important. And friendship is another kind of relationship, that is very, very important. And it is a great error to think that one wipes out the other. You need friends beside your spouse. Maybe some of you married your best friend. Hey, I have other friends besides my wife. My wife has other friends besides me. When we would move to a new area, she would not be very happy for a while. And I could give the speech, “Well, aren’t I enough for you?” And the short answer would be, “No, you're not.” 

It puts tremendous pressure on a marriage relationship to try to be the other person's be-all and end-all. That magnificent specimen of humanity who is all that anybody would ever need. Well, maybe you can do that. But I'm not cut out for that, okay. So the marriage relationship is a very precious one, but it's not the only one. And don't feel bad about that. Don't feel guilty about that and find ways to enjoy friends. Your marriage will be stronger, if you've got good friends as well. And if you're not so desperately needy and dependent for every good thing on just one person in the world. Again, I won't repeat it too often. But intense friendship isn't always something that's romantic or sexual. You can be dear friends; you can even be roommates with somebody and not have a hint of that between you. And this God is central in the best friendships. In David and Jonathan, you read that. If you reread the passages that I select, you see again and again the references to the Lord, the covenants they make in the Lord, the way they strengthen each other in the Lord, the way they win battles in the Lord. 

And before just summing things up and some of the application for friendship, just look again at Jonathan. There's only a handful of people in the Bible that the Bible doesn't say anything bad about. I'm sure he had his sins and his faults, just doesn't mention any of them. You read Daniel, maybe Joseph, a couple others, you know there, where you just don't hear anything bad about them. And as I say, we're all sinners. But look at what kind of man this was. He was brave. Outnumbered, facing superior weaponry, yet totally unafraid. He's strong. He wins victories for his people. He's wise. He understands his father's anger, his tormenting by a spirit. He understands that and does his best to try to make peace. He understands what's going to happen with David. He's got this vision of what's going on. He's protective. He defends his friends. He pursues peace, He's faithful. He sticks with his father. He dies in battle with his father. Sometimes you go all the way to death with somebody who doesn't deserve it. But he did anyway. He was loyal to his father. He was loyal to his friend, David. He was encouraging. He strengthened his friend in God. And he was generous. He gave everything he had to his friend. When good weaponry was rare, he gave all he had to David. He gave his royal robe to David. When he knew David was going to be taking his throne, he remained David's friend and tried to work to protect David, so that David could get his throne. Think about that. If you had interest, if you were friends, and both of you had interest, let’s say in the same guy, and one got him, would you say, “I'm so happy for you!” If you were both seeking the same kind of job position, and one of you got it, and the other one didn't, would the one who didn't truly rejoice and say, “Well, I'm so happy you got that position.” Somehow, Jonathan did.

You read a hint of that in the New Testament where Barnabas is the main leader in the church at Antioch. And it's going great and the Lord's adding to their numbers, and they're growing in grace and things are fantastic. So, what does he do? He goes off and gets a guy named Saul from Tarsus and brings him in to be a leader too. And in doing so he probably already knows that he just knocked himself down to number two, because he's bringing in this great genius who nobody else really wants to touch with a ten-foot pole at that point. And he brings him in and pretty quick, you're not reading about Barnabas and Saul, you're reading about Paul and Barnabas. It's Paul first now. But these tremendous friends and encouragers are actually willing not to be number one. And that takes a tremendous amount of love. And he's content. He knows God's plan. And he accepts that plan for himself. And he even advances God's plan. And then he dies, and you say, “Rats!”. 

If you read, if you read the story of Jonathan, hey, when I read the story of Jonathan and David, by the time it's all over, I'm thinking, “You know what? Whatever reason God had for not allowing Saul's dynasty, his family line to continue on the throne, you can’t say it’s because Saul’s son wasn’t going to be a good guy.” He was about as good as you could get. And yet he was not chosen and appointed to be king. But at another level, shed no tears for Jonathan. He died, he died heroically. He died without the blood on his hands that David would later accumulate. He died without the adultery that David would later commit. Don't shed too many tears for Jonathan, because in the eyes of the world, it's not always the guy who gets the throne, who is great in God's eyes or great in God's kingdom. And though we remember, the great David and the even greater Son of David, Jonathan was dear to God, is dear to God because God is the God of the living and not of the dead. And Jonathan, though he died in battle, was mourned here on earth by David, lives and reigns with God. And so, when you hear of just Jonathan, the kind of person he was, one thing you can say and pray is, “Lord, give me a friend like Jonathan, somebody who will be there no matter what and will always be wanting what's best for me and strengthening my hand and God. Give me a friend like Jonathan!” And it's legit. We should pray for that. Pray that you'll have friends like that. But don't stop there. Don't just say, “Lord, give me a friend like Jonathan.” Say, “Lord, make me a friend like Jonathan. Help me to be a person like him, as noble, brave, strong, wise, faithful, encouraging, generous, willing to follow God's plan wherever it leads, even if it doesn't seem to lead to my greatest glory here on earth. Make me a noble friend, like Jonathan.” 

Thinking about the friendship between David and Jonathan in the wider context of the scriptures. Just a few statements from the Proverbs, from David, son, Solomon. “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” There's a reason why your parents worry about your friends. Because if they're not good ones, they will bring you harm. So, pick good ones. “Whoever walks with the wise grows wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” That's why we need other people. We're not so strong and so heroic that we can always do it on our own. At those times, that are tough need a friend who loves all the time and lifts us up again. "A man of many companions may come to ruin.” Just because you're popular, just because you're a lot of people hanging out with you, that does not mean they are true friends. “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” So, friendship is a wonderful and beautiful thing. It's something that's been misunderstood and maybe fallen on hard times in our age, but it is still worth pursuing.

That statement in First Samuel 18, verse 18, is worth thinking about. “The soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved David as his own soul.” Just souls being knit together. There's a statement in the New Testament that echoes that. The apostle Paul says, “My goal is that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” What is the church? Really, a church is meant to be a place where hearts are knit together in love. A church is not a place where you go for an hour on Sunday, and you say, “Well, what am I looking for? Well, there's, you know, I'm looking for certain kinds of music, and you know, a place that makes me feel a certain way.” Is that how you pick your friends, and the people you really depend on? You happen to like, the same music? I mean, I know, husband or wife, for one likes country and western and another one likes something totally different. They don't get divorced, because they had a different musical preference. But somehow in church, music reigns supreme. You know, this is nutty! Look for a place that teaches the Word of God and where hearts are knit together in love and everything else is pretty much negotiable, okay?  Paul just prays for hearts knit together in the full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mysteries, which is Christ. David and Jonathan were knit together in God's kingdom, and because they belonged to God, and they were serving God together. And I think that the very fact that very phrase of being knit together in love is applied to the church should be instructive for all of us in what we're looking for in a church as well as what we’re being as part of a church. May God knit our hearts evermore closely together in love. 

And then there's these covenants that are always centered in God. David says, “You’ve brought your servant into a covenant to the Lord with you.” And Jonathan says to David, “May the Lord be with you. Show me the steadfast love of the Lord, and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever.” And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David. Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we've sworn both of us in the name of the Lord saying, “The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring forever.” You want to talk about BFF Best Friends Forever, a covenant of love that they're just going to have, even with their offspring and families forever. Jonathan went to David and strengthened his hand in God. And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. They made promises. They knew that God is somebody who is there; He's faithful. He makes promises, He keeps them. And so, they had a God-centered covenant of friendship together. 

And as you think about that, think about God's own friendship. It is a tremendous thing to have human friendship with people who know the Lord and can encourage you in the Lord. But the Bible goes on to say that God's friendship is for those who fear Him, and He makes known to them His covenant. You can have a better friend than Jonathan or David. You can have the friendship with the Lord Himself. When you revere Him, you worship Him, and He makes known you, His covenant. Our Lord Jesus said, “My command is this: love each other as I've commanded you, Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants. Instead, I have called you friends.” What a friend we have in Jesus. 

And then you if you're alert to the phrases that come up again and again and again in the Bible, in story of David and Jonathan, you'll hear that phrase over and over: steadfast love, steadfast love. When God revealed His name, “I am who I am” and when Moses asked to see God's glory, and proclaim His name, this is what God said, “The Lord the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and faithfulness.” Steadfast love, and faithfulness. God is the source of that. If you want to truly be a friend, and to find friends, who are full of steadfast love and faithfulness, then you need to be friends in the Lord.

David is well-known as a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, Jesus is even often called the Son of David, in the New Testament, and he foreshadows the victories of Jesus over the giants and the enemies that he faces just as Jesus conquered Satan and sin and death. And so, it is certainly appropriate that when you read the Old Testament, you see stories of David, there are important respects in which David is kind of a preview, a trailer, an advance notice of Who's coming after him, his great Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. But in his own way, Jonathan, is also a foreshadowing of David. Jonathan, who lays down his sword, and his robe, and his kingdom, and gives it all to David “Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself.” Our Lord Jesus Christ when He laid aside the throne of heaven, and the robes of heaven, and came down to us and lived as a servant, and suffered terribly, and died, was very, very much like his dear friend, Jonathan, who gave it all up so that his friend could have his throne. Jesus gave it all up, so that you and I could have a throne, and reign with Him forever. So, when you read the story of Jonathan, you're getting hints again, of the greatness of our Lord Jesus Christ, and what He would later do and what He continues to do for us. 

And one more thing that I do want to mention, in connection with the story of Saul and Jonathan and David is this: sometimes when you read of these Old Testament figures, you can learn ways in which they compare to God and to Christ, and how that reveals something more about God that you can learn from and appreciate and praise God for. And sometimes also, the contrast between what God is like is very valuable. And I mention this because there can be among, even Christians, a sense that we relate to God the Father and God the Son kind of the way David did to Saul and Jonathan. The Father is out to get us. He doesn't like us very much. But lucky for us, He's got a Son who does like us, and He protects us. And he rescues us from that sort of mean and nasty Father. And so, though God the Father would zap us at every chance He could get, Jesus came through and plucked us from His Father's wrath. This is a terrible mistake. Everything Jesus did was not done contrary to the wishes of His Father, but because of the will of His Father. All the love that Jesus pours out on us and His friendship is because our Father has loved us with an everlasting love. As First John puts it, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Everyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” So, we love each other because love is from God and God is love. It's not God is like Saul and Jesus is like Jonathan. It is God is and always has been and always will be pure love pouring out His love upon us. And that love comes to us in the person of His Son Jesus, because He is the Lord, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, the one who keeps covenant forever. This is the God you can trust.

We pray, Lord, that you will give us that trust in You that You are loving Father from everlasting to everlasting in Your eternal plan for us. We praise you that You destined us even for a throne and that You Lord Jesus did not count Your throne and Your equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Yourself, that we might have Your fullness, and left Your throne that we might sit on the throne with You forever and ever. We thank You, Lord, for the great stories of David and Jonathan, and the wonderful love and friendship between them. And we pray that in our own lives, we will experience and taste something of the love and the power and the courage that You give. And then also Lord be friends, and helpers and encouragers to those around us and that we may also Lord, seek and be open to receiving encouragement and friendship from one another, rather than being isolated and cut off from one another. We thank You, Lord, that the way of greatness is often the way of serving, that even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. And so, as we hear of the heroism of David, remind us also of a different kind of heroism that Jonathan had, and all of these wonderful traits combined in the perfect person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, give us trust in You and make us more like You, for Your sake and for Your glory. Amen.