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1 Then David fled from Naoth 
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.' 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 ask 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?" 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. And 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. 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. 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, 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. Then Saul's anger was aroused 
against Jonathan, and he said to him, you son of a perverse, 
rebellious woman, do I not know, or 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? And Saul cast a spear at him 
to kill him, by which Jonathan knew that it was determined by 
his father to kill David. So Jonathan arose from the table 
in fierce anger and ate no food for 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. The lad did not know, I'm sorry, 
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. 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. Amen. Well, the central or one 
central theme, obviously, in this particular chapter is the 
covenant bond that exists between David and Jonathan. It is conspicuous. It is wonderful. It is a friendship, 
not just founded on similar interests like golf or sports or some other 
sort of thing, but it's rooted in their love for God and their 
desire to honor God. And oftentimes they use language 
in this chapter that speaks of this covenant arrangement. Though 
the word covenant is not mentioned often, it is certainly a unifying 
theme in the chapter in terms of David and Jonathan. Now, some 
suggest that chapter 20 is a bit out of place. I don't always 
like to deal with these sorts of things, but I think it's helpful 
for us to see how the narrative flows, and oftentimes when people 
complain about a particular chapter, suggesting that it may be out 
of place, or it was added later, or it's redundant, or it's repetitious, 
it's good for us to try and clear that away and see how it does 
indeed function. Some would say, why does David 
need to determine if Saul is really against him? Why do we 
have another chapter that seems to be the case or seems to have 
David seeking this information concerning whether or not Saul 
is after him? That's not the issue. David knows 
that Saul is after him. David wants to know, what have 
I done? He wants to know the why as to 
or the reason why Saul is after him. In the second place, why 
does David believe he should attend Saul's feast? I mean, 
if Saul tried to throw spears at David twice, if he's tried 
to attack him in his home, if he has gone to Ramah with the 
expressed purpose of finding David and murdering him, why 
in the world would David think that he's obliged to go to this 
new moon feast at Saul's home. Well, part of the emphasis in 
this particular chapter, and I think part of what David is 
doing, is he understands the threat that is posed against 
him, but as well, he's a man under obligation. He is a man 
under responsibility. He is a man officially attached 
to the court of Saul. Interestingly enough, when we 
get to the New Moon Feast itself, Saul expects David to be at this 
particular feast. So it's not an odd thing that 
David would think this. In fact, if you turn to 1 Samuel 
25, Nabal seems to at least insinuate that David did not fulfill his 
obligations and David was not a responsible man. Notice in 
1 Samuel 25.10, that Nabal answered David's servants and said, who 
is David and who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants 
nowadays who break away each one from his master. David wants 
to make sure that that's not how things look. David wants 
to be upright and do all things well. So him attending the feast 
was a natural assumption, at least on the part of Saul to 
be sure. But then in the third place, 
the whole sign or the whole signal with the arrows seems to fly 
contrary to the reality that David and Jonathan do meet. David 
and Jonathan do have this time, this last interchange. There's 
one final conversation or reference in chapter 23, verses 16 to 18. That's very brief. This is the 
last full interchange that we have between David and Jonathan. 
Some suggest, why do the arrow thing if the arrow or the lad 
coming back was the sign for David to depart? Well, when they 
contracted or when they covenanted to do the arrow thing, they didn't 
know that they would be all alone. They did not know that Saul wouldn't 
dispatch spies. As far as they were concerned, 
there would be people watching this so that when Jonathan let 
the arrow fly, if there was people around, David would have got 
the signal and he would have hightailed it out of there. So 
all of these things are easily answered. Now, as I've suggested, 
when we come to this chapter, there are two primary concerns 
for David, or two primary motivations. One, he had obligations and responsibilities 
to Saul, and he wanted to deal righteously. He is a man that 
is governed by God, and he wants to do what is consistent with 
the Lord. And, as well, he feared for his 
life. For Jonathan, and Mike and I 
talked about this earlier today, I can't find anything bad about 
Jonathan. Jonathan is a sterling specimen 
of a human being, and it is unfortunate to me that there are few Jonathans 
in this world. Jonathan is a self-effacing man. Jonathan is a Matthew 6.33 man. Jonathan is about God's kingdom 
and about the progress and advancement of God's kingdom. Jonathan will 
gladly get out of the way. Jonathan will sacrifice himself. 
Jonathan will do everything at his disposable to make sure that 
Yahweh's kingdom advances. So for Jonathan in this particular 
situation, I think Vanoy summarizes Jonathan's position well. He 
faced a crisis that arose out of the strife between Saul, his 
father, and David, his close friend and compatriot. In Jonathan's 
case, the conflict was between the advancement of God's kingdom 
and the advancement of his own personal ambition. Now remember 
that Jonathan is the heir to the crown. Jonathan is the heir 
to the throne of Israel. And yet for Jonathan, what matters 
is not his personal ambition, but the advancement of God's 
kingdom. And if that means David sits in the throne, then Jonathan 
will facilitate that. We saw that in chapter 18, after 
the battle in the Valley of Elah, before Saul starts to whine and 
grumble and complain, and he starts to have his heart overfilled 
with envy because the people are praising David more than 
him. What does Jonathan do? Jonathan takes off his royal 
robes to hand them to David, essentially saying that you ought 
to be the heir apparent to the throne because God is using you. 
Jonathan is a man that unfortunately is not emulated and imitated 
by people in the church today. Not saying you guys, I'm talking 
about myself here. He says, in Jonathan's case, 
the conflict was between the advancement of God's kingdom 
and the advancement of his own personal ambition. Jonathan was 
the crown prince. He had every right to expect 
to succeed his father on the throne of Israel, but he was 
ready and willing to renounce his own interests and aspirations 
for the sake of submission to the Lord's choice of David to 
be the king. Well, let's look at this particular 
chapter under three considerations. We will not go through every 
jot and tittle. I don't think we need to focus 
upon each arrow as it flies and upon the makeup of the lad and 
how he ran after the arrows. We'll give an overview of those 
particular sections. But in the first place, we have 
the meeting with Jonathan, verses 1 to 24a. Secondly, the New Moon 
Festival in 24b to 34. And then the report concerning 
Saul in verses 35 to 42. This is Jonathan's report to 
David concerning Saul in verses 35 to 42. But note three things 
with reference to this meeting with Jonathan. In the first place, 
the danger. David knows that he's in a dangerous 
situation. He leaves Ramah. He leaves Naoth. Remember, that is a place, probably 
a neighborhood in Ramah. Ramah, of course, is where Samuel 
was. David, in chapter 19, had gone 
to tell Samuel that Saul and his men were after him. Remember 
how the Spirit of God foiled their plan when they descended 
upon that neighborhood to destroy David. The Spirit of God overpowered 
them such that they began to prophesy. While they were prophesying, 
they weren't killing David. While they were prophesying, 
they weren't hunting David. So now David departs from Ramah 
and he goes back to Gibeah. Gibeah is where Saul and Jonathan 
lives. We know it's Gibeah because Jonathan 
is here. We know it's Gibeah because David 
is going to attend or is asking about attending this feast of 
the new moon. Now notice, David's concern, 
as I've already mentioned, he knows the danger he is in, but 
he's asking, what have I done? What is my iniquity and what 
is my sin before your father that he seeks my life? That is 
perfectly legitimate. Those are good questions. What 
has David done? David has played his harp to 
calm Saul when he comes under this distressing spirit from 
the Lord. David is a champion. David is 
a hero. David is a man that is able to 
calm the king of Israel when that distressing spirit overtakes 
him. David then goes to the valley 
of Elah and destroys Goliath. He's a national hero. He is a 
national treasure. He is a good warrior for the 
kingdom of God. And yet all he has had is Saul 
on his heels trying to destroy him with spears, with an ambush, 
and with these men coming to Samuel's place in Ramah. David is legit here. What have 
I done? What is my iniquity? And what 
is my sin before your father that he seeks my life? It's kind 
of like in the book of Romans when Paul tells us, we're to 
rejoice with those who rejoice. We're to weep with those who 
weep. We ought not to weep when someone rejoices. We ought not 
to rejoice when someone weeps. We see somebody in misery and 
we got a smile on our face, they might be inclined to say, why 
are you taking pleasure in this? What is your deal? What is your 
issue? Or if somebody's rejoicing and 
we're weeping, they might have just cause to say, why is it 
that you are so upset at the good things that have happened 
to me? Well, because I'm envious and because I'm a petty wretch 
and because I want to have what you have and I don't want you 
to have what you have. That's probably the case at times. People are rejoicing and we're 
weeping because somehow we think God left us in the lurch and 
didn't give us good things. or people are weeping because 
they've had some bad stroke of providence, and we find a secret 
delight in that because it's not us, and because they deserve 
it. Brethren, we need to make sure 
that we're not operating from a place of envy, because it is 
truly puzzling. It is truly mind-blowing. David 
has no clue whatsoever why Saul is doing what Saul is doing. 
We the reader know, we know that Saul is upset Because David has 
now become the national hero. David is the one who Israel loves. David is the one whom they compose 
songs about. And they praise him more than 
Saul. Saul is seething in anger. Saul is upset. Saul is full of 
anger and hatred and envy. And so Saul takes his javelin 
and tries to murder David. This is legit. What have I done? What is my iniquity? What is 
my sin before your Father that He seeks my life? Now, notice 
Jonathan's response. In some respects, Jonathan's 
response here is a failure to rightly assess the situation. 
Now, no doubt, he doesn't know the full gravity of it. No doubt, 
he doesn't see all that we have seen, the careful reader, as 
we work our way through this narrative, but certainly there 
should have been enough at this point for Jonathan to at least 
acknowledge that, yeah, you got a point. My father has got some 
problems here. I mean, it was in chapter 19 
where Saul tells his servants and Jonathan that we need to 
liquidate David. We need to eliminate David. I 
think Gil makes a good observation here. He says, and if he did 
know anything of the matter, which Gil says, it would be hard 
for us to believe he didn't know. I mean, we see that again in 
chapter 19 that Saul tells Jonathan, we need to kill David. So Gil 
says it's really difficult to believe that he didn't know something. 
But then he says, and if he did know anything of the matter, 
he made the best of it to David, partly to allay his fears and 
partly that his father might not appear so black and vile 
as he really was. So Jonathan wants to allay the 
fears of David, according to Gil, and he wants to not admit, 
probably in his own heart, I mean, it's probably a difficult thing 
to admit your dad is Saul, wouldn't it be? I mean, if your dad was 
David, yeah, there's some things there that he did that wasn't 
that great, but he's a national hero and a champ and a treasure 
and one that we all love. But could you imagine telling 
people, yeah, my father was Saul. He tried to kill the national 
hero. He tried to kill the man that killed Goliath. He tried 
to kill the man that neutralized the Philistine threat. That'd 
be kind of embarrassing. So perhaps there is a softening 
here or a failure to rightly assess the threat. Because of 
a filial attraction, he loves his father, he loves David, he 
wants to try and make it not look as bad as it could possibly 
be. His logic, he said, if that was 
my father's plan, he certainly would have told me. He would 
have shared it with me. Well, again, Jonathan, he did 
share it with you. So, what we find here, and again, this doesn't 
touch on the badness of Jonathan, just some observations here. 
And then the insistence by David that the threat was real. Notice 
what David says in verse 3. Then David took an oath again. 
Again, that language is used throughout. An oath, as the Lord 
lives. This is the language of covenant, their friendship. isn't 
about sports. Their friendship is rooted in 
the God of heaven and earth. So he says, 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. David is a man on the run. David 
knows the score. He knows the time. He knows what's 
happening. And he's trying to convince Jonathan 
of this. He knows, Jonathan, that we have 
this relationship. So he hasn't been as forthcoming 
with you about his evil plans for me as he otherwise would 
have been. Now notice what we find in this 
particular test in verses 5 to 9. Essentially what we have is 
the occasion, the new moon feast. Samara says, this is the day 
of the new appearance of the moon in the western sky at sunset. For the royal family, the new 
moon festival was seemingly presided over by the king as the clan 
head. Now, depending on the moon, depending 
on things that I certainly didn't have time to go into today, it 
could have been one, two, lasting into three days, depending upon 
the moon, and that sort of thing. That's why when you read through 
the passage, you have this reference to two or three days. It wasn't 
just a one-day thing, necessarily. But there was a feast there, 
and there was a burnt sacrifice that is offered. Now, when there 
was a burnt sacrifice that was offered, The participants had 
to be clean. Remember that when Saul recognizes 
David is absent the first day, he reckons it's because he's 
unclean. Initially, this does not rock 
Saul. Initially, this is how he writes 
it off. David's not here, perhaps he's 
unclean. Now, uncleanness wasn't contracted 
just through, you know, contact in a sexual way. If he would 
have touched an animal, he would have been uncleaned till evening. 
So as far as Saul's concerned, he'll probably be here the next 
day. So at this New Moon Festival, the participants that were involved 
would have to be clean. That's why David, or that's why 
Saul, made that particular statement. So what David proposes, 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." So David works 
for Saul. David is an official. David is 
part of the royal court. David is the son-in-law of Saul 
and as a result would be expected to be there. But as a court official, 
not the case that he never gets time off, it would not be outlandish 
for David to get a day off to go to Bethlehem and to attend 
a family feast. In many respects, that family 
feast would be more noteworthy than the monthly New Moon festival. So in theory, it all sounds legit. It all sounds good. This is a 
story that Saul should buy. Now, notice what this is rooted 
in, this test, verses 8 and 9. He says, therefore, you shall 
deal kindly with your servant. Now, we've met this word before 
in our studies on Wednesday night. It's the Hebrew word hesed, and 
the idea here is steadfast love. I like the way Davis defines 
it. He says, Hesed carries the ideas 
of love, compassion, affection, but often with the additional 
connotation of loyalty, reliability, faithfulness. I think ESV and 
others translate it steadfast love. Love, but it's steadfast. It is in the context of this 
covenant that they have between one another. He goes on to say 
that Chesed often has that flavor of loyalty, reliability, faithfulness. He says it is not merely love, 
but loyal love. Not merely kindness, but dependable 
kindness. Not merely affection, but affection 
that has committed itself. So notice what David says in 
verse 8, Therefore you shall deal kindly with your servant, 
for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with 
you. Back in chapter 18, verses 1 
to 4. Jonathan is willing to give his 
royal robes, he enters into a covenant with David. It's a covenant of 
friendship. It's a covenant of companionship. 
It's a covenant, again, that is loyal, that is faithful, that 
is steadfast. You see, David is appealing to 
Jonathan. in this time of crisis. And the 
way that he appeals to Jonathan in a time of crisis is via covenant. I'm going to lean on Davis in 
terms of application tonight. This is one of the things that 
he points out. In times of crisis, what is a 
sure recourse for the people of God? It is to seek refuge 
in covenant. That is what David is doing here. Therefore, you shall deal kindly 
with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant 
of the Lord with you." In other words, when we face trials, or 
when we face confusion, or when we are on the run, where should 
we seek our solace? It is in the covenant that we 
have with God because of the Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn't 
remove us from the trial. It doesn't remove us from the 
difficulty. It doesn't keep us from harm's 
way, but it steadies us in the midst of that particular battle 
or of that challenge. So David appeals to the covenant 
here. Verse 8b, he says, Nevertheless, 
if there is iniquity in me, kill me yourself, for why should you 
bring me to your father? And this is all covenantal language. 
He is putting his own self on the line. That's what happens 
when men swear covenants together. They agree together in these 
very radical terms. And this is precisely the arrangement 
that David and Jonathan had together. Jonathan thankfully agrees, verse 
9, 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." Now notice the plan. They go out to the field to discuss, 
verses 10 to 13. We gotta go out, we gotta discuss, 
we gotta figure out how we're going to go about this in this 
particular instance. Now notice this condition that 
Jonathan sets forth in verses 14 and 15. This is very important. 
Verse 14, and you shall not only show me the hesed of the Lord 
while I still live that I may not die, but you shall not cut 
off your hesed 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. Now here's what's going on. David 
invokes covenant and so does Jonathan. And the way that Jonathan 
does this is pretty particular. In the first place, Jonathan 
asks that David extend Esed to him. David is to extend that 
self-same kindness to Jonathan. You see, Saul didn't fully appreciate 
the reality that the kingdom was not going to go to Jonathan. Jonathan already had this understanding. He knew that David would ultimately 
be the king in Israel. Do you know what the kings in 
Israel did to rival dynasties when they occupied the throne? 
They killed them. Okay? So what Jonathan says is 
when you come, when the Lord puts you in that place of prestige 
and power, you shall not only show me the hesed of the Lord 
while I still live, that I may not die. Now, Jonathan says, 
I want you to extend that hesed to the entirety of my family, 
which David does in 2 Samuel 9. There's a man by the name 
of Mephibosheth. And David invokes this very chapter 
by extending this hesed to Mephibosheth. Now, what is interesting to see 
here is that the practice of kings outside of Israel was to 
destroy rival dynasties. But even within Israel, Basha, 
1 Kings 15, Zimri, 1 Kings 16, Jehu in 2 Kings 10. Davis says, when a new regime 
or dynasty came to power, the name of the game was purge. I quite like that. When a new 
dynasty or regime came to power, the name of the game was purge. You get rid of the enemies. How do you secure your kingdom? 
you get rid of your enemies, right? Isn't that how God ultimately 
secures the new heavens and the new earth? All the ungodly, the 
immoral, the cowards, the abominable, the sorcerers, the murderers, 
the liars, they will all have their part in the second death 
or in the lake of fire. That's how God ultimately secures 
the new heavens and the new earth. Yes, of course, the redemptive 
work of Christ, the ushering in of God's elect, but it is 
the execution of all the enemies of the Lord. As I mentioned on 
Sunday morning, we ought to take great comfort that while the 
world yesterday, at least in America, they were crying and 
shedding tears over the death of Cecil the Lion, there's still 
those who are not shedding tears over baby parts that are in pie 
pans that are being peddled for money. It's an amazing thing, 
brethren, but we ought to take comfort in the fact that that 
enemy of Christ, Planned Parenthood, will be stepped on by him because 
he must reign till all of his enemies are made his footstool. 
Now, I'm not advocating we go shoot lions willy-nilly. But 
I am advocating that we ought to weep over babies far sooner 
than we ought to weep over Cecil the lion. Now, something we ought 
to appreciate here. Not only is Jonathan faithful 
to covenant, but so is David, right? What does Jonathan want? Spare my life and spare my family. And when push comes to shove, 
Jonathan makes good on his covenant promises. When push comes to 
shove, David makes good on his covenant promises. David, don't 
you know you should kill Mephibosheth? You don't invite him to your 
table. Do you know the way that the pagan kings around us, they 
function? They destroy all of the rival 
dynasty. That's just part and parcel. 
That's the price of doing business in a royal situation. Even the 
kings in Israel adopt such practices. But you see, David doesn't invoke 
that privilege because of this reality. Covenant. You see? He is faithful in this regard. 
Now, I love what Davis said here. This is one of those nights I 
could have just said, just read Davis. It's about seven or eight 
pages and you'll get a good meeting out of 20 and you'll be fed and 
edified. But one of the things he points 
out is that we don't live in a dynastic rivalry setting. Right? We just don't. We don't 
have to fear this. Our covenants are not involved 
with me sparing Mike's life because I took the dynasty and he's got 
a Mephibosheth in his line and I've got to show him kindness. 
That's just not where we're at. This concept of covenant does 
affect where we're at. And this is just another reason 
why I like Dr. Davis, or I love Dr. Davis. He 
gives these snippets about windows into things that really help 
you to quantify this. And this is a bit of biography 
from his own life. He says, God's people today are 
not living on the edge of a dynastic transition directly involving 
them. No matter, you still see this 
uncommon fidelity in the Christian life of God's people, though 
perhaps in a less dramatic form. And he's going to give an illustration 
in just a moment. But brethren, where, where of 
all places, should we see Jonathan's and David's functioning together 
but in the church? Why is there such broken relationships? And why do we avoid each other? 
And why can't we covenant with one another and engage in a steadfast 
love? A steadfast love that even accepts 
our Jonathan or David when they sin. or when they offend us, 
or when they hurt us, or when they do something that doesn't 
just meet our expectations. We need to let love cover that, 
especially a covenant love wherein the Lord God has called us to 
function. The Church of Christ, our marriages, 
this is the specific illustration that he's going to show. In what 
other realm in terms of covenant, should persons show the kind 
of fidelity to one another that Jonathan and David do. Now I 
know there's wicked people out there that say, Jonathan and 
David were probably homosexual, because look at how the text 
talks about that. You know, Jonathan loved him 
as if he was himself. You know, that's just wicked, 
abominable, ungodly garbage. Jonathan and Dave were God-fearing, 
heroic men who loved one another. If men can't love one another, 
if ladies can't love one another without some charge of homosexuality 
by the enemies of Jesus Christ, I mean, is that what we're going 
to do? I can't really be your friend because people might think 
I'm gay. No, no, no. We need to love the way that 
God calls us to love. Now listen to what Davis says 
here. He says, I have seen it in my own family, in my mother's 
care of my father in his last years as his health, but particularly 
his mind began to slip. Nine months after my father died, 
my mother died, perhaps because she felt she could. She had accomplished 
her mission, taking care of her husband. Not sensational or glamorous, 
just covenantal. It had something to do with in 
sickness and in health. something about a covenant. You see, that's what undergirds 
this relationship between David and Jonathan. David invokes the 
covenant, deal graciously or kindly with me. Jonathan invokes 
the covenant, deal kindly with me and with my family. This is 
how men of God functioned in these days. It's beautiful. And 
now notice, verse 16, they renew the covenant and then the love 
described by the author concerning Jonathan and David. Verse 17, 
now Jonathan again caused David to vow because he loved him, 
for he loved him as he loved his own soul. One commentator 
says, genuine love, person to person, sealed by a covenant, 
such as there was between David and Jonathan, provides a most 
telling model of an unbreakable relationship. It's beautiful. Again, if our marriages look 
like the covenant that David and Jonathan had. If our friendships 
in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ look like the covenant 
that Jonathan and David had, if we accepted one another, even 
when one another lets us down, it would look like the covenant 
that we have in 1 Samuel chapter 20. Now notice the specific details, 
verses 18 to 22, it's quite simple. Jonathan's going to go out for 
target practice and he's going to send his lad to pick up the 
arrows. Notice he takes three, and he shoots at a target. So 
that when someone sees Jonathan, they don't suppose that he's 
sending one arrow out into La La Land that might possibly be 
a signal for somebody who's hiding in the bush. You see, Jonathan 
has taken care of these details. I'll send out the arrows, I'll 
send the lad, if Everything is cool with my father. I doubt 
he said cool. If everything is okay with my 
father, then I'll tell the lad to go right or left. If it's 
bad with my father, I'll tell the lad to keep going. That will 
be your sign, David. Then you will know how it will 
be with reference to this particular situation. Now, before we leave 
this point, notice the guardian of the covenant. Verse 23, and 
as for the matter which you and I have spoken of, indeed, the 
Lord be between you and me forever. You see, that's why this is a 
good friendship. That's why this is rock solid, 
that's why this is hesed, because he invokes God as witness, because 
they do it under God, they do it unto God, they do it for the 
glory of God. You see, that is the nature of 
this covenant that these two men shared together. Now notice, 
the new moon festival, 24B to 34, the absence of David and 
the anger of Saul and Jonathan. I got a parenthetical, and Jonathan. Jonathan gets angry too. Jonathan 
gets angry at Saul. But note first, the absence is 
noted, the conclusion that David is unclean. Verse 24, then David 
hid in the field, and when the new moon had come, the king sat 
down, excuse me, to eat the feast. It was interesting because John 
Gill said, he probably didn't spend three days in the in the 
field. He probably went back to Bethlehem and then came back 
on the appointed day. And Gil's reasoning was because 
he would have starved. Dude, you don't starve after 
three days. I mean, if you've got water, 
you're going to be all right. You can tent it for three days, or 
cave, or whatever. Maybe because Gil was a bigger 
dude, and he couldn't see going three days without some vittles. So I don't know. I just found 
that intriguing. Three days? Man, I'd like to 
think we could all do three days. I mean, come on. Anyways, I just 
thought that was interesting. More than likely, it was a cave, 
he was hanging out, whatever he did. David was a warrior. 
He didn't mind sleeping on the dirt. He wasn't so delicate that 
he had to have the big bed and, you know, the whole fancy spiel. 
David killed lions and bears with his bare hands, so he could 
sleep just about anywhere he wanted to. He could sleep in 
a tree if he had to. So anyways, 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. 
See, Saul expected him here. Saul expected an official of 
his court, a warrior, man-given responsibility in terms of military 
leadership. Saul expected David. But he was 
okay because, you know, he's perhaps unclean. Now as on that 
next day, he now understands, or he sees something is wrong. 
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? Now Jonathan tells him this particular 
story, and people stumble here. Oh, Jonathan, why? They cooked 
up a story. They're just pawning this off 
on Saul. This isn't true. David's standing out in the field. 
This is all a ruse. This is all a fake. This is a 
lie. Christians stumble here because 
they feel like this is to always present the ethics of how we 
are to live. You know, in wartime situations 
and in self-defense situations, as you see punctuated throughout 
the Old Testament, Rahab the harlot lied and God never said, 
you're a bad girl. In fact, in Hebrews chapter 11, 
she's a hero of faith. Camouflage, subterfuge. When you're trying to evade a 
warring enemy, it is legit, at least as far as we see here. 
Davis says, this is not recommending to us ethics. It is simply stating 
what is. I'm going to suggest that it's 
not ever condemned in this particular section or else afterward. And that's not the point of the 
passage. If you want to learn about Christian ethics in terms 
of when do I tell the truth, what would be a better place 
to go? Probably Deuteronomy 5 or Exodus 20 or Ephesians 4. We go to those didactic, imperatival 
statements that tell us not to lie. Do you want to know what 
the Bible says? Never lie. That's what you are told as a 
Christian. That is your ethical lesson for 
this evening. Now, if you say, well, what would 
I do if I was hiding Jews under my floor and the Nazis came and 
asked me the question? I personally believe God's going 
to give you grace and wisdom to make those decisions at that 
particular time. And he's going to guide you according 
to his sovereign plan and purpose. That's not the point here. We're 
not supposed to go, wait a minute, Jonathan's not telling his father 
the truth. Jonathan and David in covenant 
with each other and in covenant with the living God are seeking 
to deal with a tyrant, a tyrannical wretch. That is what's in view 
here. So Jonathan tells him what's 
going on. And now notice the anger of Saul. Then Saul's anger was aroused 
against Jonathan, and he said to him, you son of a perverse, 
rebellious woman. Now, I've not ever read the New 
Living Translation of the Bible. I just haven't. But it is intriguing 
the way they interpret this statement. This is how it is in the New 
Living. I don't know why I would think the New Living Translation 
would not have a reading like what I'm about to read. They 
have you stupid son of a whore in the New Living Translation. 
One commentator says that does somewhat bring out the force 
of the statement. This is what Saul says to Jonathan. Jonathan basically at this point 
has simply told Saul I gave David the night off. OK? That's all Jonathan has said. 
Jonathan has not said, David's hiding in the field. We concocted 
this story to figure out if you're opposed to him or not. And once 
I find out, I'm going to go shoot arrows. No, no, no. All Jonathan 
is saying to Saul is, I gave him the night off. He had a feast 
in Bethlehem for his family. So I said he could go in the 
absence of Saul. Certainly the son of a king could 
make such a decision. That's all that Saul is reacting 
to. You understand that? That's it. David took the night off. He's 
not at the New Moon Festival because he went to Bethlehem 
just for this feast, but he'll be coming back. And this is Saul's 
anger. It's aroused against Jonathan, 
and he says 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. So there's a direct attack, 
you son. of a perverse woman. Notice as 
well that Saul rightly understands what's going on. You chose David 
over me. He doesn't like that, does he? 
He doesn't like it when the people are singing praise that David 
is killed as 10,000 and Saul is only as thousands. Saul is 
upset because he understands what's happening before his eyes. 
And notice the implication of his choice. 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. That's the implications involved 
in Jonathan's choice. If you choose David, Jonathan, 
then you are not the heir to the crown. If you choose David, 
Jonathan, then the Saulide dynasty is destroyed. If you choose David, 
you're throwing it all away. You're giving it all up. He sought 
to promote David by relinquishing his own right to the throne. 
Saul sees that, it angers Saul, and Saul lays in to Jonathan 
as a result. Now notice, we know something 
that Saul obviously doesn't get, that what Jonathan is doing here 
is seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. 
He is not seeking to fulfill his own personal ambition. He 
is not seeking to wear the crown or to have the throne. He is 
seeking the security in the advancement of God's kingdom. And now Saul 
has put him in a place of aggressive anger, not only toward David, 
but toward Jonathan. The king orders Jonathan to bring 
David so he could murder him. It's all clear now for Jonathan, 
isn't it? Jonathan basically then returns 
to David's question posed at the beginning. Why? What has 
he done? What has David done to invoke 
the wrath of the king? So how does Saul respond? He 
throws his spear at his own son. I mean, the man is absolutely 
gone. He has descended. He has gone 
from defection to full-blown apostasy. to complete madness 
and idiocy. This is the situation. He cast 
a spear at him to kill him by which Jonathan knew that it was 
determined by his father to kill David. Jonathan responds, he 
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. That brings us to the final bit, 
35 to 42, the report concerning Saul. We don't need to read through 
the signal, 35 to 40. We don't need to see the young 
lad's hair sort of bouncing in the wind as he runs to fetch 
those arrows. It works. The lad finishes his 
task. Jonathan looks around. There 
are no spies. He and David meet. He and David 
have the last real conversation that they're going to have. They 
kissed, they wept, David more so. And now notice how it ends 
in verse 42. Then Jonathan said to David, 
go in peace. Does that mean go without ever 
being harassed by my father? No. Does it mean go without ever 
facing another trial or difficulty in your life? No. Does it mean 
go and skip your way to heaven and be attended to? No. It means 
go in peace in the reality that we are in this covenant bond 
together. And whatever turmoil and whatever 
stress and whatever distress or trials may come, nevertheless 
realize this, you have peace. Just like Romans 5, isn't it? 
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with 
God. In that same chapter, Paul tells 
us we will go through afflictions, we will go through trial. Biblical 
peace, according to Davis, is not often a general tranquility, 
but rather a rightness at the center in the midst of much turmoil. Doesn't that characterize true 
covenant relationships, say again, in marriage? When you're in a 
marriage bond together and that covenant is in place and there 
is peace afforded to the parties, whatever life throws at you, 
whatever trials may come, whatever difficulties may upbraid you, 
nevertheless, you have the peace and the safety of that covenant 
situation. Truly is beautiful. And he says, 
and 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. Now, the folly of Saul, by way 
of conclusion, is obvious. We don't need to spend a whole 
lot of time on that. I mean, every time he sees somebody, 
he wants to throw a spear at them. It's not hard to prove 
that Saul's in a bad state, but the faithfulness of Jonathan. 
Jonathan did know that David should be king. He knew that 
because he saw the mark of God all over him. Today at the Cascade 
and what we heard last time when Mike preached, the seal is the 
spirit, isn't he? Ephesians 1.13, the spirit himself 
is the seal. When you meet a blood-bought 
child of God, I don't mean you see him on the street and there's 
an ass over their heads or something like that, but when you get to 
know somebody that is sealed by the spirit, It becomes evident. They have a love for Christ, 
they have a love for other people, they try to do the right thing, 
they repent and ask for forgiveness when they sin, all that sort 
of thing. Jonathan saw something in David. He saw God all over David. When 
David goes out there to battle, When David comes back from battle, 
Jonathan knew. Jonathan saw. Jonathan was able 
to discern God's ways in this world. That's why Jonathan took 
off his royal robes and said, here, you take this. Here, you 
wear this. You are the one that should be 
on the throne. As well, Jonathan was happy with 
God's choice of David. Jonathan was happy about it. 
Could you imagine if God said to you, look, that guy next to 
you is the guy I actually want to bless and use. Would you be 
happy about that? Would you say, look, fella, God's 
chose you to use. God's going to put his marker 
seal upon you. You're going to be the national 
hero. You're going to be the king. You're going to be lauded 
by the people. You're going to be the national 
treasure. They're going to sing songs about you. They're going 
to write poems about you. Would you do that? Or would you 
push him off his chair and say, I think God wants you? Jonathan 
was actually happy. The kingdom mattered more to 
Jonathan than Jonathan mattered to Jonathan. That's the lesson 
that I really think we need to get. When we look at Jonathan, 
what's in a name? Jonathan spells loyalty. Jonathan spells fidelity. Jonathan spells a kingdom mindset 
because the kingdom mattered more to Jonathan than Jonathan 
mattered to Jonathan. That is not typical. That's a 
rare commodity to actually find people who put Christ first, 
who put others before themselves, and are genuinely self-effacing. Those few moments in our lives 
that we self-efface, we spend countless hours telling persons 
about it. I was so self-effacing. I was 
so humble. I was so lowly in that situation. We write volumes about it. We 
post on Facebook concerning it. We tweet it. We update our status. We will never let anybody forget 
the self-effacedness that we manifested in a particular situation. The kingdom mattered to Jonathan 
more than Jonathan mattered to Jonathan. That's a mindset that 
we ought to imbibe from this godly, valiant hero in the Old 
Testament. And Jonathan was faithful in 
his covenant with David. He was faithful. Right? When all was said and done. And 
that faithfulness was tough. That faithfulness resulted in 
his father throwing a spear at him. Now, I cannot sit here tonight 
and say my father was the greatest human being on the face of the 
earth. But I can tell you, he never 
chucked a spear at me. I cannot ever remember a time 
that he did such a thing. Jonathan is willing to undergo 
such things because he swore a covenant under God with David. Beautiful stuff. Now here's where 
I lean on Davis. He breaks the chapter down, and 
this doesn't mean I'm going to lean on him for the next hour. 
This is going to be quick. He basically breaks 1 Samuel 
20 down into four considerations. I think they're valuable. I'm 
going to tell you them, because it occurs to me not everybody's 
going to go out and read Davis. So if you don't, I'll give you 
the Cliff Notes. And I'm giving him credit. I 
can email him and tell him. I quoted him at length tonight. 
But his four ways. First, the covenant provides 
recourse in uncertainty, verses 1 to 9. David's on the run. David knows Saul's hunting him. 
What does David do? He invokes covenant. In the second 
place, the covenant proves a vehicle for uncommon faithfulness. Verses 12 to 17. He's not only 
told Jonathan to show me this hesed, but now Jonathan has said, 
show me hesed. I don't want you to eliminate 
me, and I don't want you to eliminate my family. We get to 2 Samuel 
chapter 9, and we see David made good. Covenant faithfulness, 
or uncommon faithfulness. That's what the covenant proves 
a vehicle for. And then thirdly, the covenant 
demands costly commitment, verses 24 to 34. costly commitments. Already I've mentioned that Saul 
chucked a spear at his own son. But as well, he is sacrificing 
his royal rights and prerogatives for David. Saul understands this. Saul gets this. Saul says, as 
long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be 
established nor your kingdom. That's the beauty of it. Jonathan 
is willingly giving that up. But Saul sees that as a bad thing. We ought to see that as a good 
thing. This is Matthew 6.33 fleshed 
out right before our eyes. Davis, again, and this is a bit 
of a lengthy quote, he says, if Jonathan is a scribe, discipled 
about the kingdom of heaven, what does he teach us? We asked 
Jonathan in 1st Samuel 20. We asked Jonathan in 1st Samuel 
18. You are a scribe, discipled in 
the kingdom. Teach us. Let us know what you 
have for us. this, that true life does not consist in securing 
you and your kingdom, but in reflecting Yahweh's faithfulness 
in covenant relationships. He says there is something liberating 
about that. Jonathan had acknowledged that 
the kingdom was Yahweh's and therefore David's. So his life 
did not need to be centered in his ambition. What can I get? But in God's providence what 
Yahweh has given. Now Davis draws this out. Even as a believer and not as 
a crown prince, my reigning passion is not to make my way, my living, 
or my mark, not to gain my place or to get ahead. That may be 
costly, but it is certainly liberating. This is money. Life does not 
consist in achieving your goals, but in fulfilling your promises. That's Jonathan, isn't it? Isn't 
that what we love about Jonathan? You look at this fellow and you 
say, man, the kingdom actually came first. He gives his robes 
to David. He takes a spear thrown at him 
by his father. This was his father at one time 
in the history of Jonathan. Saul bounced him on his knee 
and now he's throwing a spear at him. Jonathan has willingly 
resigned himself to the government of God. And my question is, are 
there any Jonathans today? I almost asked, are there many 
Jonathans today? But are there any people that 
really are self-effacing? People that really do what God 
calls us to do. And then the last observation 
that Davis makes is verses 35 to 42. The covenant provides 
peace. in the middle of confusion. Isn't that it? This is a confusing 
situation. It's been verified. David has 
seen or at least heard the lad run away with the arrows. Jonathan 
comes out. They weep together. David more 
so. David knows he's a man on the 
run. It's not. Come on back, David. We got a seat for you at the 
new moon. My father is happy and ready 
and willing to see it. No, he's just gotten terrible 
news. My dad hates you. My dad is going 
to stop at nothing until he destroys you. David, you need to run. 
It's a time of confusion. But what affords peace in the 
midst of it? It is this covenant. Go in peace 
since we have both sworn in the name of the Lord. Well, let us 
pray. Our Father, we thank you for 
your word and we thank you for these clear illustrations of 
the things that we ought to be pursuing. God help us as we look 
at passages like these that show us Jonathan. Certainly what he 
imbibes is what Christ demonstrates. Christ willingly humbled himself. 
Christ went to the point of death, even the death of the cross, 
so that he might save his people from their sins. We thank you 
that you did not leave him on that cross or in that tomb, but 
he was raised the third day. And we thank you that he will 
come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. Grant 
us grace now as we leave from this place. Watch over us in 
this week. I know people are traveling. I pray for the Lawsons that you 
would grant them safety. I pray for Pastor Cam as he goes 
to Sea-Tac this Sunday. Bless his preaching there. May 
he be a source of encouragement. to the people of God in that 
local church. And may you bless Pastor Robert 
Martin. Father, bless his treatment, give him strength physically, 
and just continually renew him day by day in the inner man. 
And we ask these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.