Sunday Morning Service

I Samuel 20

Audio Access Available Above

“What A Friend We Have In Jesus!” • 7.19.15 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service

Intro.

- We noted last week that David had been stripped of most sources of trust, including a government position, a home life and a Pastoral mentor.

- There is yet one trusted person in his life who has yet to fail him and it seems now that David is compelled to go to Jonathan to discover if there is any help to be found in him.

- He must have closure and must know where he stands with the house of Saul and there is only one possible place to discover that.

Text

• I Samuel 20:1-4 : "Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and went and said to Jonathan, 'What have I done? What is my iniquity, and what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?' So Jonathan said to him, 'By no means! You shall not die! Indeed, my father will do nothing either great or small without first telling me. And why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!' Then David took an oath again, and said, 'Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘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.' So Jonathan said to David, 'Whatever you yourself desire, I will do it for you.'" : David fled from Naioth in Ramah. This is very curious. He has come to a place of safety, a place dedicated to the receiving of God's Word.

- Without fortification, it has proven itself by God's presence, to be impregnable! Why should David flee? Did the danger increase? Would there be a more secure place found elsewhere?

- The author doesn't mention his reason, but somewhere between chapter 19 and 20, David makes a decision to flee, seeking out his friend and final resource Jonathan.

- David has been stripped of every other source of comfort, save his friend who not only remained viable, but had had some measure of success with Saul previously.

- Jonathan had dissuaded Saul before. Perhaps he would again be able to act as an intermediary, and thus provide David with some relief and closure.

- When David asks what he has done to deserve Saul's wrath, Jonathan seems genuinely confused. He had talked with his Dad. It was settled. Saul had even swore by the Name of the Lord!

- Jonathan overestimates his influence on Saul and is naively blind to what David sees as an obvious conclusion. Because of this, David believes himself to be a step away from death.

- To one degree or another, that sentiment is universally true: We are all one step away from death. But David appears to have missed the lesson of Ramah!

- Without weapons or conflict, the King's best men had been neutralized and David, saved.

- Being a man of faith doesn't mean that you will always be immune to times of unbelief! In fact, great waves of doubt plague the very best men and usually, after a great victory.

- In this moment, the fear has caught David off guard. His friend, not knowing what to do, asks him to make his request plain and it will be done!

- There are so few with the wisdom to ask what can be done and fewer still who will actually do what needs to be done!

- In an effort to help his friend and despite the pressure that would inevitably bear upon him, Jonathan is willing.

• I Samuel 20:5-8 : "And David said to Jonathan, 'Indeed tomorrow is the New Moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go, that I may hide in the field until the third day at evening. If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked permission of me that he might run over to Bethlehem, his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.' If he says thus: ‘It is well,’ your servant will be safe. But if he is very angry, be sure that evil is determined by him. Therefore you shall deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. Nevertheless, if there is iniquity in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?'" : Israel marked the passage of time by the lunar cycles, which also signaled a large monthly, King's staff feast which David would have been expected to attend.

- David presents a conclusive test, revolving around his absence from that feast. Saul's response would reveal his true intentions clearly.

- A non-chalant response would prove Jonathan's theory that all would be well, but an angry response would prove David's theory that evil was determined, decided by Saul against him.

- Whatever he discovers, David asks for Jonathan's loyalty and kindness in light of the covenant that Jonathan initiated with him before God.

- In light of that covenant, David is also willing to forego his privilege if there was a sin deserving of death that Jonathan discovered.

- David is willing to accept death, but wouldn't be able to stomach Jonathan's betrayal.

• I Samuel 20:9-13a : "But Jonathan said, 'Far be it from you! For if I knew certainly that evil was determined by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you?' Then David said to Jonathan, 'Who will tell me, or what if your father answers you roughly?' And Jonathan said to David, 'Come, let us go out into the field.' So both of them went out into the field. Then Jonathan said to David: 'The Lord God of Israel is witness! When I have sounded out my father sometime tomorrow, or the third day, and indeed there is good toward David, and I do not send to you and tell you, may the Lord do so and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleases my father to do you evil, then I will report it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety." : Jonathan really believes that David has made a mistake. He would not have hid this from David.

- Jonathan promises a report, one way or another, no later than the third day. If things are good, Jonathan will bring David back in. If they are bad, he will help him escape.

- Either way, Jonathan promises his allegiance to his friend, willing to give up all the riches of the Kingdom and favor with his Father in the light of God's promises to David. Look at verse 14.

• I Samuel 20:13b-16 : "And the Lord be with you as He has been with my father. And you shall not only show me the kindness of the Lord while I still live, that I may not die; but you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever, no, not when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.' So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, 'Let the Lord require it at the hand of David’s enemies.'" : With all that has happened, Jonathan breaks away from their secret plan to remind David of what was still true.

- He says, "The Lord be with you as He has been with my Father." This refers to God's initial choice and installation of Saul as King, for God was not currently with the King.

- Jonathan believes, despite what is currently seen or felt, that God would still install David as the future King of Israel and that he will be in a position someday to dole out favor.

- This is why Jonathan is willing to risk this behavior. He is acting according to his faith!

- Jonathan is right to speak to David this way and we are right to follow that example.

- God has given us His truth and it is our duty both to seek it out and to hold onto it with ferocity when the storms of life tempt us to release our grip!

- A godly friend does indeed remind his brother or sister of the truth that God has revealed. May that resonate in your heart. You are called to bear the truth that sets God's people free!

- God will bring His promise to pass and that David will have years to bless Jonathan's family.

- Usually a King would wipe out all of the former dynasty's survivors. Jonathan is asking him not to treat his family that way.

• I Samuel 20:17-24a : "Now Jonathan again caused David to vow, because he loved him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul. Then Jonathan said to David, 'Tomorrow is the New Moon; and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. And when you have stayed three days, go down quickly and come to the place where you hid on the day of the deed; and remain by the stone Ezel. Then I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target; and there I will send a lad, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I expressly say to the lad, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them and come’—then, as the Lord lives, there is safety for you and no harm. But if I say thus to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you’—go your way, for the Lord has sent you away. And as for the matter which you and I have spoken of, indeed the Lord be between you and me forever. Then David hid in the field.'" : Jonathan saw that David's heart was drowning in doubt. I'm convinced that David's heart was not in the last oath. How could he believe it?

- Jonathan wouldn't let that persist and he looked at David and said, "Listen, I need you to promise me that you will do this when you are King." He wouldn't let him fall to his disbelief.

- He grabs him by the shoulders and tells him to look him in the eye and promise like he believed it! Jonathan loved him as his own soul!

- He hated to see David down in the dumps. He wanted to do what he could to lift him up.

- Jonathan is not exaggerating or making up a future that he doesn't believe. He remains confident and wants David to be encouraged by the truth of the situation.

- At this point, Jonathan concocts this plan of the arrows, predicated on a pre-arranged group of signals between the two. Can you imagine what it was like to be David in this moment?

- You've gone from the field to the palace and now, you are back in the field, only this time, as an enemy of the state! What a turn of events!

- David hid in the field wondering what would come next. Would Jonathan come back with a welcoming set of arrows or would it be the signal for exile? The next days would have been long.

• I Samuel 20:24b-29 : "And when the New Moon had come, the king sat down to eat the feast. Now the king sat on his seat, as at other times, on a seat by the wall. And Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty. Nevertheless Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, 'Something has happened to him; he is unclean, surely he is unclean.' And it happened the next day, the second day of the month, that David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, 'Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat, either yesterday or today?' So Jonathan answered Saul, 'David earnestly asked permission of me to go to Bethlehem. And he said, ‘Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. And now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me get away and see my brothers.’ Therefore he has not come to the king’s table.'" : Meanwhile in the palace, Saul rationalized David's absence, reasoning that he was ceremonially unclean.

- If you had touched a dead body or engaged in marital relations, this would have disqualified you from participating in a feast on that same day. Saul reasoned, "He must be unclean."

- When the next day was gone, Saul asked Jonathan about David's whereabouts and the Prince promptly and calmly shared their cover story. Saul didn't buy it for a moment! Verse 30.

• I Samuel 20:30-33 : "Then Saul’s anger was aroused 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? For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Now therefore, send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.' And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, 'Why should he be killed? What has he done?' Then Saul cast a spear at him to kill him, by which Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to kill David." : What a shock for Jonathan to hear! I imagine Jonathan answering his Father and returning to his meal, hardly aware of his Father's growing rage.

- Saul rips into him in front of everyone, calling him a son of a crooked and rebellious woman!

- In questioning his parentage, he intones that Jonathan was acting like an illegitimate son!

- He wants to sell him on the motive of Jonathan's posterity as King. In truth, he wants David dead and if he can look noble in seeking a position for Jonathan, all the better.

- Jonathan, for the sake of your kingdom, bring him here to me for he shall surely die! "Wait Saul, you said that he would NOT surely die?" There is no anchor to Saul's words.

- He is completely directed by the whim of his most current emotion, driven and tossed by each new wave!

- Once again, Jonathan seeks to reason with Saul. He's asking in the moment of passion and Saul takes out a spear with the intention of killing his own son!

- Apparently, Saul is not as concerned about Jonathan's future as he lets on! One thing is certain to Jonathan at this point, and that is that there is no going back for David.

• I Samuel 20:34-40 : "So Jonathan arose 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 treated him shamefully. And so it was, in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad was with him. Then he said to his lad, 'Now run, find the arrows which I shoot.' As the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. When the lad had come to the place where the arrow was which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried out after the lad and said, 'Is not the arrow beyond you?' And Jonathan cried out after the lad, 'Make haste, hurry, do not delay!' So Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows and came back to his master. But the lad did not know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew of the matter. Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad, and said to him, 'Go, carry them to the city.'" : Jonathan was burning hot and refused to eat on the second day of the feast, royally embarassed to be related to the King.

- Did you notice that Jonathan also refused to exchange spears with Saul? He arose from the table in fierce anger, but that anger did not lead to retaliation!

- If you are going to be a person with God's heart, your best friend better be a person with God's heart as well!

- It wasn't long before the real source of his grief came to the surface. Jonathan needed to return to the field and play out the signal for David to learn of his unpleasant fate.

- Can't you see Jonathan's face break up as the child runs to collect the arrow? Can't you see him cover his mouth as the coded message passes through his lips?

- "Is not the arrow beyond you. Make haste, hurry, do not delay!" When these words left Jonathan's mouth and hit David's ears, it's no doubt that his heart sunk deep into his stomach.

- Any ray of hope of returning to his life was gone. Jonathan sent his young man away in order to receive his friend for the last time on this planet.

• I Samuel 20:41,42 : "As soon as the lad had gone, David arose from a place toward the south, fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times. And they kissed one another; and they wept together, but David more so. Then Jonathan said to David, 'Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘May the Lord be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever.’ So he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city." : David's bowing was out of respect and gratitude for Jonathan's kindness. Jonathan has literally put his life on the line for David.

- There is such deep love here, though these actions are hardly out of the norm in that part of the world. Kissing is a normal greeting, as is the comfortability to weep.

- But it was David that wept the most. Perhaps he knows that he will never see Jonathan alive again or perhaps he's simply caught up in the pain of the moment.

- What he has lost in Jonathan's friendship via his presence has been the most cruel blow of them all, but as they part, there is a promise that their friendship will never be broken!

- "May the Lord be between you and me, between your descendants and my descendants forever!" May there always be a connection. This is their last meeting on Earth.

- As Jonathan had said in verse 22, they now knew together that the Lord was sending David away into exile.

- With a dedicated love for each other and a quiet submission to the Lord's will for his friend, Jonathan left David and went back into the city.

Conclusion

- Proverbs 17:17 (NLT) says "A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need." Jonathan embodies this verse.

- He stands firm in his friendship, willing to discover the truth, no matter how painful. He lends a faithful ear, speaks encouragement in the Lord and is willing to risk his own life to deliver his friend.

- God sovereignly employs Jonathan as an agent of righteous help for His anointed and this godly friend chose righteousness over family ties and royal rewards.

- These are valuable lessons worth emulating toward our friends or characteristics that we'd seek in making friends. But if this is what this chapter is about, our hearts are left a little empty.

- John 15:13 records our Lord's own words, saying, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends."

- Ultimately, that is where chapter 20 leads us: Jonathan's faith in God made him the friend to David that Jesus will eventually reveal Himself to be toward us!

- Unlike David, who was innocent before the King, human beings stand guilty and condemned before a righteous God in who cannot tolerate sin.

- Every man and woman on this planet is born with a nature bent away from the Lord and we prove our sinfulness by committing acts of sin.

- Unlike David, who had a case against the King, we are hopeless, no-contest, voiceless creatures before the Lord, and by ourselves, are deserving recipients of His righteous wrath.

- Ah, but thank God for Jonathan and his true role in this redemptive drama!

- Jonathan stood between his Father's wrath and David and delivered David from his hand! Our Jonathan, Jesus Christ, stood between His Father's wrath and us!

- Jesus has saved His people from their sin, their flesh and the Devil, but most importantly, from His own Father's wrath when He voluntarily died for us!

- Jesus was not only willing to lay down His life for His friend as was Jonathan, He actually laid down His life for His friends!

- Jonathan momentarily protected David from the King's wrath, sending him away into exile. Jesus has permanently absorbed God's wrath, bringing us securely into God's family forever!

- Jonathan was ridiculed by his Father for acting like an illegitimate son who didn't care about his rightful place. Jesus forsook His rights and gained His Father's favor, grace for eternity!

- Jonathan pledged a loyal oath in faith: May the Lord be between you and me forever! Jesus IS THE LORD between us and God forever! What a friend we have in Jesus!