Jonathan Made a Covenant With David

I have been reading through the book of 1 Samuel the past few weeks.  This morning I came across one of my favorite stories that is found there.  It is the story of the friendship between Jonathan and David.  I'm sure you all remember this story.  Saul, Jonathan's dad, had been made king over Israel.  However, he messed things up by going his own way instead of trusting in God.  So the LORD took the kingdom away from him and gave it over to a man after his own heart, David the son of Jesse.  Saul realizes what is happening and begins to hate David more every day until he begins to try to kill him.  But his son Jonathan strikes up a friendship with David that lasts until Jonathan's death.

David and Jonathan

Something struck me as interesting this morning.  In chapter 18, the writer of 1 Samuel records something interesting.  He states, "Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul.  Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that he was wearing, and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.  David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him..." (3-5a).  The significance of this interaction is lost on us living in the 21st Century Western world.  However, Jonathan does an amazing thing here.  He recognizes that David is God's true choice to be the king of Israel.  He is essentially giving up any right he may have had to the throne to the true king.  Instead of fighting against the will of God for himself, he supports his friend David.

That must have been a very difficult thing to do.  In our own selfishness, we don't like to give up something that is good for us that would be good for someone else, no matter how close we are to them.  That is part of our growing in submission to God and allowing his work to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

One of the surprises of seminary for me was friendships that were formed.  I met a lot of wonderful people and I made many friends while I was in Kentucky.  I had to leave most of those friends behind when I came back to Texas.  Thankfully, some of the friends I made at Asbury are from our conference, so I get to see them occasionally.  But the best friend I made while I was there did not come to Texas; he moved to Michigan.

Beth, Tom, Me, and Myranda on graduation day

I met Tom and his wife Beth during new student orientation the first day I stepped on campus as a student.  He is a few years older than me, but we hit it off from the very beginning.  Thankfully, our schedules lined up the first semester and we had a class together.  Every semester after that, we tried to have at least one class together and we sat together during chapel.  I told him more than once that I would not have made it through seminary without him.  He was a true blessing from God to me while I was struggling through classes.

My Bible has this to say about Christian friendship.  "A true friend is one who, during our darkest hours, offers hope, encouragement, and support.  Our emotional stability is predicated on whether or not we have someone who is willing to stand with us and sometimes behind us to push us over the hump of despair.  That's the kind of friend we all ought to strive to be."

Friendship is a true gift from God.  It pleases him when we have close friends that we can go to for help.  It also pleases him when we are friends to others, especially those who lonely.  I thank God that Tom is my friend.  Even though he lives over 1,000 miles away he remains one of my closest and best friends.  Until next time...



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