1. David Runs to the Covenant for Protection in Uncertain Times (20:1-11)
20 Then David fled from Naioth in 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?” 2 And 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.” 3 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.” 4 Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” 5 David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit at table with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening. 6 If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the clan.’ 7 If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant, but if he is angry, then know that harm is determined by him. 8 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?” 9 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?” 10 Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?” 11 And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So they both went out into the field.
After David flees from Samuel he heads to Jonathan’s house. He has time to get away because Saul and his military police are all prophesying.
David runs to the only safe haven there is now, Jonathan. Why would David ever think that Jonathan, Saul’s eldest son would be a safe place? Why would he trust Jonathan? The reason is the covenant they made together. The covenant is the place of safety.
David gets there and begins asking Jonathan why his father, Saul wants to kill him? If David could discover the reason, perhaps he could address the issue. At least, if David knew why Saul’s radical behavior might make more sense.
1 Samuel 18:3–4 (ESV)
3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 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.
Here we are to see this as a covenant between Jonathan and David with God as the witness. They promise in covenant form, hesed.
Hesed is Hebrew for continual and dependable loving kindness
David could expect loving kindness from Jonathan every time they met. He knew Jonathan could be trusted. So, when things became irrational with Saul, David ran to Jonathan. Now apart from the love and the covenant they shared that should have been the last place David should go to Saul’s son the son of Saul, the prince.
I want to explain that this is a picture of the continual loving kindness we experience as we turn to God through Jesus by faith.
Exodus 34:6–7 (ESV)
6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
If we were to bring the teaching about God and His attributes from Exodus 34 to the New Testament it reads like this…
John 1:14 (ESV)
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Do you see that Jesus, the Son of God is abounding in hesed? Jesus should be the last place we should run to in times of struggle and sin. He is completely holy and righteous. Jesus is sinless and the Son of the Father but by faith we have entered into a covenant with the Lord and He has promised to show us continual loving kindness.
2. The Covenant Flies in the Face of Culture and Politics (20:12-17)
12 And 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? 13 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. May the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father. 14 If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die; 15 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.” 16 And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord take vengeance on David’s enemies.” 17 And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
The more we consider what has taken place between Jonathan, David and the Lord, the more we see just how amazing and not normal this covenant is.
First, Jonathan was not acting as the normal Crown Prince. If you were Crown Prince, you didn’t hand over your position to anyone, especially to your father, the King’s enemy. This goes against everything in our world, culture and politics shout no! according to our world, people are to seek power and wealth at all costs, not give it away.
Jonathan is going to go from being the Crown Prince to being hunted by his father, Saul much like David was.
God had done a work in Jonathan and now Jonathan is seeking first the Kingdom of God and not his own kingdom. What a strange thing the Covenant accomplishes.
The Covenant working in David as well. He too was seeking another Kingdom and he too was doing things against the norm.
One thing that the new King did was to purge the old kingdom to not have any rivals. When a new regime came into power, the old regime was put to death. Everyone knew this was the normal practice. But what did David promise to Jonathan?
14 If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die; 15 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.”
The Covenant extends to the next generation just as David promised…
2 Samuel 9:1–8 (ESV)
9 And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” 3 And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” 4 The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” 5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. 6 And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.” 7 And David said to him, “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.” 8 And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?”
3. Commitment to the Lord’s Will Seems Very Foolish to the Lost (20:18-42)
18 Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19 On the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain beside the stone heap. 20 And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. 21 And behold, I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then you are to come, for, as the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. 22 But if I say to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the Lord has sent you away. 23 And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, the Lord is between you and me forever.”
24 So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. 25 The king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty.
26 Yet Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him. He is not clean; surely he is not clean.” 27 But on the second day, the day after the new moon, David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” 28 Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. 29 He said, ‘Let me go, for our clan holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has 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 has not come to the king’s table.”
30 Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, 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? 31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.” 32 Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 33 But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death. 34 And Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had disgraced him.
35 In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little boy. 36 And he said to his boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37 And when the boy came to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” 38 And Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay!” So Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master. 39 But the boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40 And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go and carry them to the city.” 41 And as soon as the boy 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. 42 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.
So, David is absent from Saul’s monthly gathering and Saul knows that Jonathan has sided with the Lord and with David. Saul is greatly angered by this. Saul thinks that Jonathan is extremely foolish to forsake his kingdom one day.
31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established.
Here is a wonderful example of what Jesus calls us to. Like Jonathan we must let go of ourselves and our kingdoms. We are not the most important thing, Jesus is. Like Jonathan’s commitment to God’s King, King David we must be committed to King Jesus.
What that looks like is first the world thinks we are crazy because we’re not seeking first our kingdom but God’s Kingdom. It means that we sometimes suffer loss in the world for gain in the next.
A great example of this is found in Hebrews
Hebrews 11:24–26 (ESV)
24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
Moses too would have been viewed as unwise and very foolish to Saul. Moses was also the prince, and he was willing to give everything up in order to follow Christ.
Jonathan and Moses, you could say emptied themselves and were willing to suffer the loss of all things to follow Christ. What both Jonathan and Moses did are pictures of what Jesus ultimately did to save us.
Philippians 2:7 (ESV)
7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Philippians 3:8–9 (ESV)
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
We are also called to empty ourselves of ourself and not pursue our kingdom but to follow Christ.
This is what Saul and the lost world cannot fathom. This is why they think you’re dim-witted and dense.
The world may tell you if you are a Christian, you will never be anything, and you and your kingdom will be nothing and never will be established. The right answer is yes; I know that. Jesus is worthy of all my glory and all my fame or wealth.
Here’s another verse Jonathan would have understood from the NT…
Luke 14:26 (ESV)
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
Jonathan understood that he could not have his kingdom and God’s Kingdom and when his father was going a different direction than his Heavenly Father he had to let Saul go and seek God and the true Kingdom. This was to be found in honoring God’s King. For him it was David for us it is the King of Kings, Jesus Christ.
There is found security, peace, love, and continuance of all these things in the covenant. David found security and safety in the covenant he and Jonathan made. For Jonathan there was a great cost. He gave up everything…his wealth, kingdom, and power to be in covenant with David.
Think about all that Jesus gave to be in a Covenant Relationship with us. As David fled to Jonathan for safety we must flee to Christ. Jesus is our surety and our hope. In this life we will struggle…run to Jesus and find continual love and peace.
Mark 14:22–24 (ESV)
22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
I pray we can answer when the lost tell us in being a Christian… neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Yes, I know that, Jesus and His Kingdom are all that matters.
Resources Used:
1 Samuel by Dale Ralph Davis
1 Samuel by Tsumura
Promise and Deliverance by DeGraff
Leave a Reply