Tuesday, June 26,
2018
Saul now urged
his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his strong affection
for David, told him what his father was planning. “Tomorrow morning,” he warned him, “you must
find a hiding place out in the fields. I’ll ask my father to go out there with me, and I’ll
talk to him about you. Then I’ll tell you everything I can find out.” The next morning Jonathan spoke with his
father about David, saying many good things about him. “The king must not sin against his servant
David,” Jonathan said. “He’s never done
anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could. Have you forgotten about
the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the Lord
brought a great victory to all Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you murder an innocent man like
David? There is no reason for it at all!” So Saul listened to Jonathan and vowed, “As
surely as the Lord lives, David will not be killed.” Afterward Jonathan called David and told him
what had happened. Then he brought David
to Saul, and David served in the court as before. 1 Samuel 19:1-7(NLT)
The proof of Jonathan’s
friendship with David is found primarily in the fact that he had everything to
lose by helping David, and virtually nothing to gain. Jonathan was the king’s son, and therefore
heir-apparent to the throne of Israel. It
was a dangerous game to play, helping David, when the king wanted him
dead. But Jonathan not only loved his
friend David, he was bound by integrity to do the right thing. Many years later David’s son, Solomon (perhaps
remembering his father’s friend, Jonathan) would write:
A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of
need.
Proverbs 17:17(NLT)
“Always loyal” is the key to
friendship. Now, that doesn’t
mean always patting you on the back or being ready to follow you down an
ethically-questionable pathway. Loyalty does
always mean being truthful, and to be depended upon to stand with you in the
hard times and rejoice with you in the triumphs of life.
I believe if David had in
mind a coup d'état to overthrow King Saul, this story would have had a very
different ending; Jonathan might have let David sink! David may have been Jonathan’s dearest
friend, but Saul was his father and the king.
When loyalties collide, friendship must take second place to truth
and doing
the right thing.
Solomon also wrote: It is wrong to punish the
godly for being good…. Proverbs 17:26(NLT)
For You Today
It’s an easy thing to imagine what you’d
like a friend to be in your life…loyal, courageous, funny, helpful, strong,
supportive. All this and more roll
quickly off our brain’s must have list for friends. But we should also consider our friendship
effort we give to others. If you’ve got
a Jonathan in your life, treasure the gift, and thank God. And while you’re at it, ask God for the
wisdom, generosity and faithfulness to BE a Jonathan to your
friends.
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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com
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