Part two of the series Beloved is about:

Jonathan and David have a close friendship

 

We read from the Bible (NIV):

1 Samuel 18:1-4

Saul’s Growing Fear of David

1After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. 3And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.

 

2 Samuel 1:25-27

25How the mighty have fallen in battle!

Jonathan lies slain on your heights.

26I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother;

you were very dear to me.

Your love for me was wonderful,

more wonderful than that of women.

27“How the mighty have fallen!

The weapons of war have perished!

 

Sometimes someone can just walk into your life and you instantly click with them.

That's what happened to Jonathan. His father was anointed king, and as the king's son, he lived in the palace. Perhaps he had seen David walking around the palace before. David played the harp for his father when he was tormented by an evil spirit.

But here he gets to know David. David stood before his father and had just defeated Goliath. He still had Goliath's head in his hand! What a hero, who is this boy?!

David says: I am a son of your servant Jesse, the Bethlehemite.

When David had finished speaking, we read that Jonathan became attached to him with all his heart and soul. They became best friends.

We sometimes say of girls: they are best friends. Something similar happens here. A close friendship develops. Their hearts become attached to each other.

When your heart becomes connected to another, something happens: you start to share. We read that here too: Jonathan gives him his cloak, his clothes, his sword, his bow, and even his belt. He gives everything he has to his new friend.

In 1 Samuel 23:17, Jonathan says to David: you will become king over Israel, and I will be your most important servant.

Jonathan even grants David the kingship to which Jonathan, as the son of the current king, is humanly entitled.

Jonathan looks beyond this earthly life; he knows that God sees David as the new king. And David probably told Jonathan that Samuel had anointed him as the new king. Friends have no secrets from each other, right?

Jonathan doesn't mind. He is not jealous. He knows: David should be the new king, not me. I may be his most important servant. He is more than satisfied with that position.

But his father, King Saul, does not want David to become king; he wants to remain king himself! Saul wants to kill David. Jonathan warns David, and David flees.

Saul searches everywhere with his army. David flees from the mountains to the hills, the caves, and the desert. Where Saul cannot find David, Jonathan finds him and speaks the above words to David to encourage him. Then Jonathan goes home again.

It's strange when your father wants to kill your best friend. Especially since Jonathan also loves his father. A loyalty problem. But Jonathan has made a covenant with David.

Some people wonder if David and Jonathan were more than friends, if they were lovers. But they were both married, Jonathan had a child, and David later had children with different women...

Their hearts and souls were connected. While David was physically attracted to Bathsheba (and other women). (2 Sam. 11:2)

Jonathan and David were soulmates. True friends, how many do you have? Some people never experience such a friendship in their lives.

When Jonathan (and his father Saul) dies, David writes a lament. He calls it: the song of the bow.

In it, he expresses his grief. His best friend has died. He writes that Jonathan and his father were beloved in their lives and died together. Heroes have fallen. They were swifter than eagles and stronger than lions. Enemies will celebrate, but the daughters of Israel will weep. Jonathan, you were very dear to me; your love was more wonderful than that of women. And now he is gone.

After this, David leaves with his two wives for Hebron. There he becomes king over the house of Judah. Life goes on. Without his best friend.

 

Prayer: Lord, You have created something wonderful: friendship. True friends care for each other and wish each other the best. You gave Jonathan and David such a close friendship. And Jonathan was there for David when he was going through such a difficult time. Please give us people like that in our lives. And please help me to be a friend to others.

 

Questions:

– Do you have such a close friendship in your life?

– Do you think it is important to have Christian friends? Why/why not?

– Love can take many forms: love for your parents, love for a friend, love for your child, love for your partner. Have you ever had a loyalty problem? How did you solve it?

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