Scripture
– NIV
1
Samuel 20 –
Then
David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I
done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to
kill me?”
“Never!”
Jonathan replied. “You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn’t do
anything, great or small, without letting me know. Why would he hide this from
me? It isn’t so!”
But
David took an oath and said, “Your father knows very well that I have found
favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know this or
he will be grieved.’ Yet as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, there is
only a step between me and death.”
Jonathan
said to David, “Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do for you.”
So
David said, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon feast, and I am supposed to dine
with the king; but let me go and hide in the field until the evening of the day
after tomorrow. If your father misses me at all, tell him, ‘David earnestly
asked my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because an annual
sacrifice is being made there for his whole clan.’ If he says, ‘Very well,’
then your servant is safe. But if he loses his temper, you can be sure that he
is determined to harm me. As for you, show kindness to your servant, for you
have brought him into a covenant with you before the Lord. If I am guilty, then
kill me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?”
“Never!”
Jonathan said. “If I had the least inkling that my father was determined to
harm you, wouldn’t I tell you?”
David
asked, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?”
“Come,”
Jonathan said, “let’s go out into the field.” So they went there together.
Then
Jonathan said to David, “I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel, that I will
surely sound out my father by this time the day after tomorrow! If he is
favorably disposed toward you, will I not send you word and let you know? But
if my father intends to harm you, may the Lord deal with Jonathan, be it ever
so severely, if I do not let you know and send you away in peace. May the Lord
be with you as he has been with my father. But show me unfailing kindness like
the Lord’s kindness as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, and do not
ever cut off your kindness from my family—not even when the Lord has cut off
every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”
So
Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord call
David’s enemies to account.” And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of
love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.
Then
Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon feast. You will be missed,
because your seat will be empty. The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to
the place where you hid when this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel. I
will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a
target. Then I will send a boy and say, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to him,
‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them here,’ then come,
because, as surely as the Lord lives, you are safe; there is no danger. But if
I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then you must go, because
the Lord has sent you away. And about the matter you and I discussed—remember,
the Lord is witness between you and me forever.”
So
David hid in the field, and when the New Moon feast came, the king sat down to
eat. He sat in his customary place by the wall, opposite Jonathan, and Abner
sat next to Saul, but David’s place was empty. Saul said nothing that day, for
he thought, “Something must have happened to David to make him ceremonially
unclean—surely he is unclean.” But the next day, the second day of the month,
David’s place was empty again. Then Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why hasn’t
the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?”
Jonathan
answered, “David earnestly asked me for permission to go to Bethlehem. He said,
‘Let me go, because our family is observing a sacrifice in the town and my
brother has ordered me to be there. If I have found favor in your eyes, let me
get away to see my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.”
Saul’s
anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and
rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to
your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you? As long as the son
of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established.
Now send someone to bring him to me, for he must die!”
“Why
should he be put to death? What has he done?” Jonathan asked his father. But
Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father
intended to kill David.
Jonathan
got up from the table in fierce anger; on that second day of the feast he did
not eat, because he was grieved at his father’s shameful treatment of David.
In
the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his meeting with David. He had a
small boy with him, and he said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.”
As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. When the boy came to the place
where Jonathan’s arrow had fallen, Jonathan called out after him, “Isn’t the
arrow beyond you?” Then he shouted, “Hurry! Go quickly! Don’t stop!” The boy
picked up the arrow and returned to his master. (The boy knew nothing about all
this; only Jonathan and David knew.) Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy
and said, “Go, carry them back to town.”
After
the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone and bowed down
before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each
other and wept together—but David wept the most.
Jonathan
said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in
the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord is witness between you and me, and
between your descendants and my descendants forever.’ ” Then David left, and
Jonathan went back to the town.
Bob’s
thoughts:
It is
always special to be greeted by a Marine at the door to the church.
Seeing
the three crosses on the outside wall prepared me for the great wooden cross
inside flanked by two smaller ones. We were warmly welcomed, including by
another Marine, and a number who thanked me for my service.
I had
hoped that we could offer to lay hands and pray over a woman who seemed to be
in some distress during the service, but couldn’t locate her afterwards.
A
recent sermon elsewhere dealt with friends from whom we should distance ourselves;
today’s included some of the aspects of being a good friend. The odd part was
both times I heard Christ’s message for me before the pastor spoke.
When
Christ claimed me, all those I had thought of as friends left me, so that message
was a little late for me. But I realized I was burdened just the same with too
much stuff. Today it was clear that some of my friends about whom I have been
judgmental are maybe those to whom I haven’t been enough of a friend.
We
have a Friend to emulate in Christ, and I pray we are up to the challenge.
A
member I spoke with was lamenting the lack of tithers. I would offer that there
has never been anyone who was having financial troubles to whom I recommended
tithing who came back to complain. You can’t out-give God.
Jan’s
thoughts:
A
Marine greeted us warmly at the door and others welcomed us as well as we made
our way to the restrooms and then to the sanctuary.
The
fellowship time was winding down as we found our way downstairs, and had we arrived
earlier we would have enjoyed the coffee and donuts. It looked like a generous
spread.
In
addition to the three crosses we noticed on the outside of the building, there
were three at the front of the sanctuary as well.
This
traditional church and blended service included somewhat contemporary songs led
by an organist and several women who exhibited a pleasant harmony.
The
pastor referenced last week’s message about Ruth and Naomi and stated the
takeaways: loyal love is important; we must be the reflection of Jesus; we must
be an encourager; and friendships matter to God. Today’s message was Friends to be Thankful For: #3 Jonathan and
David.
He
pointed out that Jonathan was the eldest son of the king while David was the
youngest son in his family and a shepherd. They could not have been more
opposite, and their relationship of mutual respect and care could only have
been orchestrated by God.
This
message reminded me that I need to nurture the friendships with which God has blessed
me.
Our
prayer for this church:
Lord,
we pray You will continue to comfort and guide Your church to new life in You.
Amen.
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