That's what we're going to be looking at tonight, it's page 243.
We've been going through the book of 1 Samuel in our evening services over the last few months
and seen God's work through raising up the prophet Samuel first,
and then we've seen sort of the rise and fall of Saul, Israel's first king,
and we've seen David more recently come on the scene as God's chosen and anointed,
the future king of Israel.
But now, more recently, Saul has been plotting against David and opposing him.
I wonder if you've ever been in a situation where it feels like the world is against you,
where the people around you are out to get you.
Maybe you have a fault-finding boss or professor who seems to be constantly criticizing you,
constantly ignoring your request for help, trying to fire you or fail you.
Maybe you've been in a situation where you don't trust the people that you're living with.
You feel like you wonder if they're stealing from you.
They talk behind your back.
They undermine you.
They accuse you.
Perhaps you've been betrayed by a friend or a family member.
Maybe you've been in a situation where someone literally wants to hurt you,
where you've literally had to relocate for your own physical safety.
Maybe you just feel alone and isolated.
You know, when it feels like the world is against you,
when people in authority over you can't be trusted, where do you turn?
This is a situation that David was in at the beginning of this passage tonight.
In the last two chapters, Saul, who is both the king of Israel, the ruler, and also David's boss,
David worked in King Saul's court.
Saul has tried to pin him to the wall with a spear on three separate occasions.
Saul set him up by sending him out to fight against the Philistines,
hoping that they would kill him, giving him no military support.
Saul spoke to his son and his servants and told them to kill David.
Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him all night and kill him in the morning.
So David's on the run.
And at the beginning of this chapter, David goes to the one person that he knows he can trust.
Now surprisingly, this person is also King Saul's son, Jonathan.
What we'll see in this chapter is Jonathan's loyalty to David.
His steadfast, sacrificial loyalty to David.
And this chapter is one of the most amazing stories of friendship, of brotherhood, of loyalty, anywhere in the Bible.
So I want to walk us through the story.
It's pretty long, so I'm going to read some of it and summarize other parts.
And then I'm going to ask us what can we take away from this picture of loyalty and friendship.
So verse 1, David fled from Naoth and Ramah and came and said before Jonathan,
What have I done?
What is my guilt?
And what is my sin before your father that he seeks my life?
In other words, is there any rhyme or reason to what Saul is doing?
Is there anything that I need to understand?
Is there anything I can do to avoid making him mad at me?
Now at first, Jonathan's a little bit naive.
Verse 2, he said to him, Far from it you shall not die.
Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me.
And why should my father hide this from me?
It is not so.
But David vowed again, saying, Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes.
And he thinks, Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.
But truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.
Jonathan said to David, Whatever you say, I will do it for you.
So David then proposes a plan for Jonathan to sound out Saul's motives at the king's monthly dinner party
while David remains safely in hiding for a day or two.
Verse 8, David says, Deal kindly with your servant.
For you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you.
Now flip back a page for just a second to chapter 18 and verse 3.
It says, 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.
Now that might sound a little odd.
You might be wondering, What exactly is this covenant between David and Jonathan?
In modern times, some people have speculated, perhaps Jonathan and David had, perhaps there was a sexual dimension to this covenant between Jonathan and David.
But that's actually not what's going on at all.
There's nothing sexual going on between them.
What is going on is that Jonathan was the king's son.
Which meant he was in line as the heir to the throne.
He would receive the power and authority that belonged to his father, King Saul.
But Jonathan also knew that God had said to Saul,
Saul, you have disobeyed me.
And so I am not going to let your kingdom continue.
And God had instead chosen David to replace Saul as the future king of Israel.
And Jonathan knew this because Samuel had proclaimed it as the prophet of God.
And Jonathan says, You know what?
I'm going to be loyal to what God says.
Even when it conflicts with my own self-interest and my father's plans for my life.
I'm going to be loyal to what God says, even if it means giving up everything that belongs to me.
And so that's why Jonathan takes off his royal robe and gives David his armor and all the symbols of his authority.
He was symbolically transferring his royal and military authority to David and saying,
It belongs to you because God has chosen you.
Now Jonathan and David do express deep affection for each other.
It says their souls were knit together in loyalty.
At the end of this chapter, chapter 20, they embrace each other and weep when they part.
Their brothers, their comrades, their friends.
And you know, just as a side point, deep affection is part of God's plan, not just for married couples,
but also for same-sex friendships.
You know, God didn't, in particular, God did not design men to be loners who never express any emotion to each other.
God designed us to flourish in bonds of brotherhood, as a band of brothers.
And with brotherly and sisterly love towards one another.
As we're bound together by a common pursuit of God's purposes in our lives.
So that's what we see with David and Jonathan, that they're bound together by a common pursuit of God's purposes in their lives,
by their loyalty and their friendship.
And Jonathan being willing to sacrifice his own position and his own future for the sake of what God had said.
And God's plan for David.
So, Jonathan's pledged allegiance to David as the future king of Israel.
And Jonathan stands by his word to protect him even when David is in mortal danger.
Now go back to chapter 20.
Go down to verse 18.
Jonathan and David work out a signal.
Basically, David's going to go in, Jonathan says, verse 18,
Tomorrow's the new moon, the monthly dinner party, and you will be missed because your seat will be empty.
On the third day, go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself.
And basically, Jonathan says, you go into a field, and here's our signal.
We're going to have this signal.
I'm going to shoot three arrows.
And you're basically either going to know it's either going to be all clear or run for your life.
And they're creating this signal so that nobody is able to see, that they're basically to protect David.
So that nobody potentially even have to see them communicating.
Anyway, so verse 24, David hides in the field.
Jonathan goes to the dinner.
That day, nothing happens.
Saul doesn't say anything.
Second day, Saul says, verse 27, he says,
Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal?
Either yesterday or today.
Now already, in the way that Saul speaks of David, there's a hint of his attitude.
He calls him the son of Jesse.
In other words, he doesn't even call him by his real name.
That son of a farmer.
Verse 28, Jonathan replies,
David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem.
He said, let me go.
Our clan holds a sacrifice in the city.
My brothers commanded me to be there.
So now if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers.
For this reason, he hasn't come to the king's table.
In verse 30, everything comes to a climax.
Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan.
And he said to him, you son of a perverse and rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness?
For as long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established.
Therefore, send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.
We see here the darkness of Saul's heart.
His murderous rage.
Not just at David, but at Jonathan.
For defending David.
We see his blame shifting.
His jealousy and envy.
And his desperate, fearful desire to cling on to all the power that he has, even if it means killing one of his most loyal and faithful servants.
But you know, even more than that, we see what's at stake for Jonathan in being loyal to David.
And the answer is absolutely everything.
Jonathan's future career.
The approval of his parents.
His inherited identity.
His very own life.
Everything's at stake.
And yet Jonathan is unhesitating and unwavering in his loyalty to David.
At the beginning of chapter 19, Saul was angry at David.
Jonathan tried to step in the middle as a mediator.
He sort of got Saul to calm down and got them to be happy and agree together.
Saul agreed not to harm him.
But you know, there wasn't any possibility for him to do that anymore.
He had to choose.
One side or the other.
He had to choose to be loyal to Saul and kill and basically abandon David to be killed.
Or to be loyal to David at the risk of his own life.
And Jonathan completely identified himself with David.
Jonathan said to Saul, but why should he be put to death?
What has he done?
Jonathan stands up for righteousness.
Instead of holding on to his own self-interest.
Even when everything was on the line, he didn't back down.
And so Saul began to treat Jonathan the same way that he had treated David.
He throws a spear at him to strike him and kill him.
Just as he did to David.
Basically all the anger and rage that was directed against David was now directed against Jonathan as well.
And Jonathan left the king's table.
He could no longer have a safe place in his own home.
Now what do we take away from this story of Jonathan's sacrificial loyalty to David?
First, I think Jonathan and David's relationship is a model for our human relationships.
Human beings, we were meant to flourish in relationships like Jonathan and David.
Relationships characterized by loyalty and steadfast love.
You know, we live in a commercial world.
Right?
A consumer world where you pay for everything.
Right?
We have all these sort of short-term contractual arrangements.
Where we enter into relationships with one another as long as it benefits us.
Sometimes that's even how people approach friendships.
Or dating relationships.
I'll enter into this relationship as long as it seems to be benefiting me.
And then I'll move on.
When it doesn't.
Now the Bible is very realistic.
Proverbs 20, verse 6 says,
Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love,
but a faithful man who can find.
Let me ask you, is there someone like Jonathan in your life?
Is there someone who stood by you
even when everyone else has turned against you or left you alone?
Maybe it's a parent.
Maybe it's a spouse.
Maybe it's a sibling.
Maybe it's a friend.
Maybe it's a brother or sister in Christ.
If you have someone like that in your life,
thank God.
Thank God for putting that person in your life.
who will stand by you
and be loyal to you
and take care of you
even in your darkest hour.
Let me also challenge us.
Have you been that person to someone else
when everyone else has turned against them or left them alone?
Dale Ralph Davis
was one of the commentators on this passage.
He said something which I think is very wise
and very challenging.
He says,
Life does not consist in achieving your goals,
but in fulfilling your promises.
You know,
we live in a society
that defines success
by achieving your goals.
But the Bible defines success
in God's eyes as
living up to your promises.
So Jonathan and David's relationship
is a model for human relationships.
For friendships.
But also,
Jonathan and David's relationship
is more than that.
It's also a picture
of our relationship with God.
On the one hand,
God requires
our undivided devotion,
our loyalty,
our steadfast love.
Love,
what's the first and greatest commandment?
Love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
with all your strength.
Without holding anything back.
Jesus Christ
calls for
undivided loyalty.
He says,
no man can serve two masters.
You can't serve God
and money.
He says,
don't be anxious about your life,
about clothes,
about food.
The nations of the world
seek after all these things,
but as for you,
seek first
the kingdom of God
and his righteousness.
He also says,
whoever loves father or mother
more than me
is not worthy of me.
Whoever loves son or daughter
more than me
is not worthy of me.
And whoever does not take his cross
and follow me
is not worthy of me.
Strong words.
Just like Jonathan's sacrifice
in order to be loyal to David,
God's anointed king,
we're called to sacrifice
in order to be loyal to Jesus.
You know,
sometimes following Jesus
will be unpopular.
You might lose the approval
of some of your peers
or even your parents
or extended family.
There's a guy
who went to college with me.
He
became a Christian
his freshman year.
He was from another country,
from another religious background.
And when he became a Christian
and told his mother,
his mother threatened
to commit suicide.
You're dishonoring the family.
You're abandoning
the religion of our ancestors.
You're rejecting
the way we brought you up.
She prohibited him
from going to church
or Christian meetings.
He was patient
and for a while
he honored her request.
In the meantime,
the Christians he knew
would come to his dorm room
and pray with him.
He wasn't going
to any Christian meetings,
but the Christians
came to him.
It's a good thing to do.
But eventually he decided
that since he believed,
since he had trusted
in Jesus Christ,
that he couldn't stay,
he needed to meet together
with other Christian believers.
And so he went back to church.
And he,
it took a long time
and he always did
what he could
to honor his parents.
He was an excellent student.
He was really a genius,
more than almost anyone else
I've known.
He was patient
and honoring
toward his parents,
but his loyalties
were first and foremost
to Jesus Christ.
Gradually his parents
became more open
to learning.
What was this thing
that had made
such an effect
on his life?
In our story tonight,
Jonathan,
he was on track
for a high-level
leadership position,
the highest of all,
to be the king of Israel.
And the rug was pulled out
from under him
for no fault of his own.
It was his father, Saul,
who disobeyed
and messed everything up.
And yet he wasn't envious.
When God chose David,
he gladly gave
his full loyalty
to the person
that God had appointed
to take his place.
It's pretty amazing.
It's not what people
normally do.
In the New Testament,
this is exactly
what happened
to John the Baptist.
Right?
He was called by God
to be a prophet.
He gathered
a group of followers.
He was the leader
of a movement.
movement.
But when he saw Jesus,
he said,
look,
the Lamb of God
who takes away
the sin of the world.
He says,
I'm the voice of one
calling in the desert.
Prepare the way
for the Lord,
but he's the Lord.
And so he said,
he must become greater
and I must become less.
John the Baptist said,
don't follow me anymore.
Follow him.
There's a cost
of following Jesus.
But you know,
there's also
an even greater reward.
Because this passage
isn't just about
the cost
of being loyal
to Jesus.
It also is about
the cost that Jesus
paid to be loyal
to us.
You know,
most of this chapter
is about
Jonathan's steadfast
love for David.
When David was in trouble,
but actually later on,
the roles would be reversed.
Because David
would rise to power
and Jonathan
and his descendants
would be completely vulnerable
and powerless.
Go to verse 14.
There's this speech
that Jonathan makes
from verse 12 to 17
that sort of
sticks out
in the middle
of the story.
And I didn't read it
as we were reading
the story.
I skipped over it.
But if you read
the story,
these verses stand out.
And so it's what
I want to end with.
Particularly,
go to the end
of verse 13.
Well,
I'll read the whole thing.
Verse 12.
Jonathan said to David,
the Lord,
the God of Israel,
be witness.
When I have sounded out
my father about this time
tomorrow or the third day,
behold,
if he is well disposed
toward David,
shall I not then send
and disclose it to you?
But should it please
my father to do you harm,
the Lord do so
to Jonathan and more
also if I do not
disclose it to you
and send you away
that you may go in safety.
So basically,
he promises his loyalty
to David.
May the Lord be with you
as he has been
with my father.
Then verse 14.
He says,
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.
You see,
when David
would one day
ascend to the throne,
everyone who was
a potential rival
was liable to be eliminated.
In the ancient world,
that's the way
it normally went.
There's even
examples of this
that happened
in other places
in the Old Testament.
Some king comes to power,
a new dynasty.
What does he do?
He kills off
every male associated
with the old dynasty.
He cleans
house.
Fires everyone.
Kills them.
That's what they did
back then.
The Bible talks about
a lot of things
not approving them.
It just,
that's how it happened.
But it was different
between David
and Jonathan's household.
David says,
As you have been loyal to me,
I will be loyal to you.
And you will have a place
in my house forever.
And in 2 Samuel chapter 9,
David keeps his promise.
By then,
Jonathan has died,
but David takes care
of Jonathan's descendants,
of his family.
He doesn't wipe them out,
even though they were
part of Saul's family.
Potential rivals.
He takes care of them
and gives them
an honored seat
in his kingdom.
And,
just like David,
Jesus Christ
extends to us
his
steadfast
love,
his
loyalty,
by including us
in his kingdom.
You know,
this is how God
is described
in the Old Testament.
Abounding
in steadfast
love
and faithfulness,
same words
that are used
in verse 14
and 15.
And this is how
Jesus Christ
is described
in the New Testament,
full of grace
and truth.
Now,
sometimes when we hear
that,
we think,
we think of truth
as sort of an abstract
thing.
But it's the same
idea,
full of mercy,
of grace,
and full of truth
and faithfulness
because he keeps
his word.
He holds
to his word.
And Jesus
keeps his word
to us.
Now,
earlier I quoted
two verses
from Jesus
where Jesus
talks about
the cost
of following
him,
but I actually
only quoted
half the verses
because at the
end of the
verse,
there's a promise.
So when Jesus
says,
seek first
the kingdom
of God
and his
righteousness,
he also
says,
and all
these things
will be added
to you as
well.
And when
he says,
whoever doesn't
take up his
cross and
follow me
isn't worthy
of me,
he also
says,
whoever finds
his life
will lose
it,
but whoever
loses his
life for my
sake will
find it.
Jesus is
saying,
whatever you
have to give
up to follow
me,
I'm going
to give you
something far
better and
far more
enduring.
Jesus said
to his
disciples,
truly I
say to
you in
the new
world,
when the
son of
man will
sit on
his
glorious
throne,
you who
have
followed
me will
also sit
on twelve
thrones
judging the
twelve tribes
of Israel.
That's a
promise to
the twelve
disciples.
And then he
gives a
promise to
every one of
his followers
who has
had to leave
something in
order to
follow him.
He says,
everyone who
has left
houses or
brothers or
sisters or
father or
mother or
children or
lands for
my name's
sake will
receive a
hundredfold and
will inherit
eternal life.
You may need
to give up,
maybe a lot,
to follow
Jesus.
I don't know
what that's
going to look
like for
each of you.
But if you
join yourself
to Jesus,
there's one
thing that you
will never
lose.
You'll never
lose a place
in his kingdom,
a place at
his table,
a place in
his house,
a place where
you belong as
part of his
family forever.
And there's a
peace in
knowing that
you belong to
him.
Go to the
conclusion of
chapter 20,
verse 41 and
42.
basically Jonathan
goes out to
the field,
shoots the
arrows,
gives a
signal to
David that
all is not
well with
Saul and
that he
needs to
flee.
As soon as
the boy who
had gone to
fetch the
arrows had
gone,
David rose
from beside
the stone
heap and
fell on his
face to the
ground and
bowed three
times.
And they
kissed one
another and
wept with
one another,
David weeping
the most.
Then Jonathan
said to
David,
go in
peace,
because we
have 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.
We see a
tearful parting
of two close
friends.
David still
running for
his life,
Saul still
out to get
him,
he's still
facing great
trials and
tribulations,
his future
is still
completely
uncertain,
at least
from his
own
experience.
But Jonathan
says,
go in
peace,
because the
Lord is
between us
forever.
Have you
ever felt
like the
world is
against you,
you don't
know who
you can
trust,
but there's
at least
one person
in the
world that
you know
you can
trust,
and because
of that
person being
there,
you have
peace.
in the
midst,
in the
midst of all
the turmoil,
in the
midst of all
the uncertainty,
there's a
peace in
knowing that
someone is
there for you,
and isn't
going to leave
you.
And Jesus
says,
I am that
person
who will
never leave
you,
who will
never die,
who will
never betray
you,
more than
anyone else in
the world,
because everyone
else,
at the
very least,
they'll one
day die,
and they
won't be
able to
help you
anymore,
or they
might move
away,
and circumstances
might change,
and sometimes
people disappoint
you,
even closest
friends.
But Jesus
said to his
disciples,
I've told you
these things so
that in me,
you might have
peace.
In the world,
you'll have
tribulation,
but take heart,
I've overcome
the world.
So whatever
trouble,
you may be
facing,
whoever else
may be
against you,
or seeking
to undermine
you,
Jesus is
offering you
his friendship,
his peace,
his steadfast
love.
And if you
receive him,
and if you
trust him,
he will never
leave you,
nor forsake
you.
Tonight,
we're going to
celebrate communion,
where we see
what Jesus
sacrificed to
bring us into
his kingdom
forever.
we're going
to take the
bread and
the cup
that remind
us of
Jesus'
death
on the
cross,
his body
that was
broken,
his blood
that was
shed for
us.
It's a
reminder of
Jesus'
steadfast love
for us,
the price
that he
paid,
the sacrifice
that he
made,
so that
we could
be included
in his
family,
so that
we could
know his
love,
so that
we could
be forgiven.
It also
calls us
every time
we take
the bread
and the
cup,
it calls
us to
reaffirm
our loyalty
to him
as well.
You know,
the apostle
Paul says,
he says,
before you
take the
bread and
the cup,
examine
yourself.
And it's
good to do
that,
periodically.
The Bible
says if
you're living
in what
the Bible
calls unrepentant
sin,
that means
if there's
some era
of your
life where
you're
shutting
God out,
and you're
saying,
I don't
want you,
I'm not
going to
listen to
you.
Don't
come in.
Paul warns
us,
don't take
the bread
and the
cup with
that kind
of attitude.
But if
that's what
God is
showing you,
if God
is showing
you some
part of
your life
where you've
been disloyal
to him,
where you've
fallen short
or failed,
this is an
opportunity to
not just
stay in a
place of
guilt and
shame.
Don't
just stay
isolated and
feeling far
away from
God,
draw near to
him.
Because Jesus
has drawn
near to you
and he is
drawing near
to you
tonight.
So Jesus
is inviting
you to
admit your
sin,
admit where
you've
fallen short,
ask his
forgiveness,
receive that
promise of
forgiveness,
and receive
his renewing
power through
the Holy
Spirit.
And when
you take
the bread,
remember
just as
surely as
you hold
that piece
of bread in
your hand
and put it
in your
mouth,
you can
know that
surely,
that Jesus
Christ has
forgiven your
sins if you
turn and
trust in
him.
So if you're
trusting Jesus,
come and be
renewed.
If you've
fallen short,
we're just
going to take a
moment of
silence.
If you need to
confess the sin
to the Lord,
if there's
something God's
brought to
mind,
if you need
to renew
your commitment
to Christ,
let's just
take a moment
of silence
to do that.