Please have your Bibles open and stand with me for the reading of God's Word. Our text for tonight is the second half of chapter 20, 1 Samuel. So 1 Samuel 20, we're going to pick up at verse 24. I believe we left off at verse 24 last time. And so we're just going to pick up there and then finish reading to the end of the chapter. 1 Samuel chapter 20, we said that this is Jonathan's finest hour. I've entitled this two part as friend or foe. Definitely Jonathan was a friend of the Lord's anointed and saw his father from the same family, the foe of the Lord's anointed. Let's learn from the Holy Spirit's inspiration of His Word to highlight for us the character of Jonathan, who is a model and example of a godly follower of the Lord's Anointed. 1 Samuel 20, beginning with verse 24. This is the reading of God's Word. So Dawid hid in the field, and when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. The king sat on his seat as usual, the seat by the wall. Then Jehonatan rose up, and Avner sat down by Shaul's side, but Dawid's place was empty. Nevertheless, Sha'ul did not speak anything that day, for he thought, it is an accident, he is not clean, surely he is not clean. It came about the next day, the second day of the new moon, that Dawid's place was empty. So Sha'ul said to Yehudah his son, why has the son of Isa not come down to a meal, either yesterday or today. Yonatan then answered Sha'ul, Dawid earnestly asked leave to go to Bethlehem, for he said, please let me go since our family has a sacrifice in the city and my brother has commanded me to attend. And now, if I find favor in your sight, please let me get away that I may see my brothers. For this reason, he has not come to the king's table. Then Shaul's anger burned against Yehonatan and he said to him, you son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you are choosing the son of Esai to your own shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? For as long as the son of Esai lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Therefore now, send and bring him to me, for he must surely die." But Yonatan answered Sha'ul his father and said to him, why should he be put to death? What has he done? Then Sha'ul hurled a spear at him to strike him down. So Yonatan knew that his father had decided to put Dawid to death. Then Yahonatan arose from the table in fierce anger and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon for he was grieved over Dawid because his father had dishonored him. Now it came about in the morning that Yahonatan went out into the field for the appointment with Dawid and a little lad was with him. He said to the lad, run, find now the arrows which I am about to shoot. As the lad was running, he shot an arrow past him. When the lad reached the place of the arrow which Yehonatan had shot, Yehonatan called after the lad and said, Is not the arrow beyond you? And Yehonatan called after the lad, Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay! And Yehonatan's lad picked up the arrows and came to his master. But the lad was not aware of anything. Only Yehonatan and Dawid knew about the matter. Then Yonatan gave his weapons to his lad and said to him, go bring them into the city. When the lad was gone, Dawid rose from the south side and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept together, but Dawid wept the more. Yonatan said to Dawid, go in safety. And as much as we have sworn to each other in the name of the Lord, saying the Lord will be witness between me and you and between my descendants and your descendants forever. Then he rose and departed while Yonatan went into the city. Amen. Please be seated. Now, we concluded that Jonathan, the son of Saul, is a model of a loyal Israelite, who is a covenant keeper, who fears the Lord, who is a man of faith, and who is a supporter of the Lord's anointed. Therefore, he is for the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God right now is God's plan and purposes for Israel. And if we translate that directly into the New Testament, then we have to look at a model of a godly and faithful Christian, who is loyal to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is not about doing his own thing, setting up his own agenda, and promoting his own vain ambition, but seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness, counting the cost of following Jesus, denying himself, picking up his cross, willing to die, forsake everything, for the sake of his relationship with the Lord Jesus. Now that sounds just almost like a New Testament theology, but we have an imagery and illustration in the Old Testament. So Jonathan is one of the greatest illustrations of faithful, loyal, chesed, friendship in the Old Testament that the Holy Spirit commends for all God's people throughout all ages to emulate and follow. And that's why this study is so personally and applicationally enriching. In the previous section, we saw how Jonathan fully recognized the coming of the Kingdom of David. Even though he was next in line to be king, as far as everybody else was concerned, all of Israel was concerned, and all of the surrounding nations were concerned. Saul was king, Jonathan was the crown prince. And yet he sought the kingdom of David. Which is just an amazing thing to behold here. He is renewed in his vow of loyal chesed, love toward David and David's house that he will never harm but he will always seek the benefit of David's house and his posterity. Jonathan wanted to accommodate for that future reality of Davidic kingship and asked David to show him mercy by not killing him or harming any of his family members for the sake of political expediency. That was humble fear. You have to be humble enough to say, I have no ambition. I recognize God's plan and purpose for you as king. And then, yet I fear that when you become king, you will have authority. You will have power over me. That's just humble fear that is also commended in the scriptures. When we think about the Lord, We think about the humility of the fact that He has chosen us and called us, not only to follow after Him, but to serve Him. He has redirected us to be servants in the Kingdom of God. That is humbling. And yet, at the same time, we are filled with fear, for we know that we can't do this haphazardly or independently. We have to do it according to His will. And this is the heart of Jonathan. He refused to confront God's purposes for the anointed. That was his humility. His father, Saul, continued to confront God's will. That's his pride. Jonathan appeals to David for kindness and the eventuality of David's accession to the throne. That's fear. Saul wanted to kill David, get rid of him. That's his lack of fear. That's his self-authority. Saul is a worldly man. He just happens to be an Israelite. And he is a model of all those who follow the schemes of the devil and are minions of Satan, doing Satan's work and not God's work in the kingdom of God. Both these attributes are highly commended throughout the Old and the New Testament that Jonathan possesses that the Word of God commends for us to adopt as virtues of godly people to humbly walk in fear of the Lord and His anointed is to please and honor the Lord. David also vowed and renewed his commitment to Jonathan and humbly received Jonathan's word in full trust. All this happened in the context of Saul's commitment toward David's death and Jonathan's lack of knowledge and assurance of his father's evil. David proposed a method to find out the truth of this dire situation. Jonathan agreed. That's where we left off. Last week, we've seen loyalty argued, loyalty acknowledged, and loyalty attested. Now today, in this section, we're going to see the remaining two points, loyalty attacked and loyalty affirmed. First, verses 24 to 34, loyalty attacked. Now there's the absence of David in this expected new moon festival. Verses 24 and 25. David hid in the field, and when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. So a day went by, 24 hours passed, now it's the first day of the feast of the new moon. We have a description of the typical monthly meal where the dignitaries are all expected to participate. That sets the stage for Saul's questioning and Jonathan's excuse for David So that he can take a look at Saul's response and to see if David's assumptions are correct or his assumptions or his hope. is fulfilled. Jonathan has hope that his father is not that evil. Jonathan didn't quite buy David's argument. Jonathan is hoping that David's wrong. Jonathan wants to be a peacemaker. He's optimistic. Verse 25, the king sat on his seat as usual, a seat by the wall. Then Jonathan rose up. There's a textual variance here. It's translated rose up because in Hebrew to rise is kum. And here is that word that appears here. But if you add one extra letter to KUM and you put it in this context here, Vav, consecutive here, then you have east of or in front of so that sounds more sense because it says jonathan rose up and abner sat down but that doesn't make sense contextually because later on it says jonathan got up and and left in anger right verse 34 jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger so jonathan was clearly the crown prince he was seated And there's probably one letter that's missing in this context. So it fits that context better. So let's read this together in that context. The king sat at his seat by the wall. Level of protection and dignity there. His royal position. Then Jonathan sat in front. And Abner sat down by Saul's side. But David's place was empty. Positioning of Saul shows his regal posture. Abner, being the commander of the army, and the cousin of Saul, probably to his right. Crown Prince, to the front. Most likely David, to the left. Son-in-law. The great hero of Israel. The most revered and celebrated decorated champion in Israel's army. His seat was empty. The noticeable absence of David triggers surprise, but no one is talking about it. It's like the 500 pound elephant in the room. That would be a small elephant, but no one's talking about it. It's there, but no one wants to mention it. We're given the reason for Saul's silence, verse 26. Nevertheless, Saul did not speak anything that day. So the absence of David, causes Saul to assume, in his assumption, as the Holy Spirit inspired the omniscient understanding and recording of this passage, we have an understanding of it, is that Saul has a very queer thinking. He has a very warped, deranged mind. He assumes that after multiple attempts of wanting to kill David, that David actually is going to show up, and he expects it, and he gets upset when he's not shown up. That is a deranged person. A person who thinks like this is not in his sound mind. And his sin is just wreaking havoc of different types of evil in his heart. And this is what this assumption highlights. The assumption is simple. According to the Levitical law, it says if a man has a relationship or he has seminal emission, that he is unclean for one day, he must bathe himself and wait until the sun down, and then the next day he is clean. And so there could be accidental ways that many Israelites could become ceremonially unclean. And ceremonial uncleanness was this qualification for celebration in this corporate ceremony. And so that's typical because if you accidentally touch a dead animal or brush up against something that's unclean, You know, if you want to be faithful to the Torah, you have to do that. So the law disqualifies a person. Saul's assumption is telling because of his spiritual obtuseness as well as his own willful ignorance of his own evil toward David. So he makes up a reason in his mind saying, okay, he may be absent. Surely he's absent because He is ceremonially unclean. Surely he dare not excuse himself without any reason. I'll wait another day." That's what he says. So there was the absence, there was the assumption. Now here's the asking of verse 27. It came about the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David's place was empty. So Saul said to Jonathan his son, why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal, either yesterday or today? Now, that issue of ceremonial uncleanness is out of the question in Saul's mind. He realizes, okay, this can't be it, because you have a way of washing yourself, waiting until the next day. But he's absent two consecutive days. Why is he not here? And he decides to ask Jonathan. Who else would know his whereabouts better than Jonathan? Jonathan was a pro-David individual. Saul knew this. Saul kept the details of his evil plot and plan and purposes from Jonathan. Well, the first person Saul would ask, naturally, would be his son, who favored Jonathan. This was precisely the opportunity to test the true nature of Saul's relationship with David. David had foreseen this scenario. David had devised a plan to bring forth the two options. One was a good option. One was a bad one. Depending on which way that Saul reacted, Jonathan could be sure whether Saul was pro-David or anti-David. Notice how Saul refers to David in the phrase, son of Jesse, not my son or your brother-in-law or even by his name David. Already the hint of Saul's alienation, disdain and hostility for David is embedded in the question, where is the son of Jesse? After all this time, David is still called son of Jesse. Why? Because there's no love. There's no love in Saul's heart. There's only hatred. There's only jealousy. There's only animosity. There's only hatred. That's what happens when you don't love the Lord. You begin to despise and not like the Lord's anointing. The answer is here in verse 28 to 29. Jonathan then answers Saul. David earnestly asked to leave, to go to Bethlehem. For he said, please let me go, since our family is a sacrifice in the city. Jonathan dutifully complies with David's request and responds to Saul in the manner that David had instructed him. Furthermore, Jonathan adds the extra element of the familial authority and responsibility in the phrase, and my brother has commanded me to attend. And he uses that strong verb there, command. So this additional improvisation by Jonathan seems to be his own attempt at making David appear in the most positive light possible. That David was pulled between his court responsibility and his family responsibility. And his brothers, him being the youngest son, commanded him that he must fulfill his family responsibility. And so, instead of making his own decision, he sought permission from a royal member, Jonathan. So he repeats, and now if I found favor in your sight, please let me get away that I may see my brothers. Now Jonathan relays to Saul of David's humble plea to be excused from the feast in order to fulfill his family responsibilities. But in so doing, whether knowingly or unknowingly, Jonathan uses this phrase, please let me get away. Was that a mistake or was it purposeful? We don't know for certain. We could look at it one way or the other. If Jonathan made a mistake, maybe because he was nervous. He was talking to his father and said, please let me get away. Oops, that could have been it. Most likely, in my opinion, that he purposely chose this verb, get away, because it's the malat verb in Hebrew that appears again and again and again. In chapter 19, verse 10, translated as slipped away. Verse 11, save in the NASV, escape in the ESV. Verses 12, 17 and 18 as escaped. So all the way in chapter 19, this verb is used multiple times to show David's flight from Saul. That word appears here again in chapter 20. Purposeful? Could be. It could be Jonathan's hint to see what his father's response would be. Let me escape. So Jonathan is pretending not to know. He's giving this detail. David said, let me escape. Jonathan just repeats as though he is completely unaware of the hostility between his father, Saul and David. And therein lies the test. And Jonathan has listened to David very closely. He set up the whole situation of the test very carefully, methodically to see where his father's heart lies. So in light of all the grammatical consideration, Jonathan may have purposely communicated this all and hint of David's escape in his report. For this reason, he points out the obvious reason for Jonathan's absence. He has not come to the king's table. I gave him the okay. That triggers some of the most vehement words of shame and assault upon a person recorded in the Bible. Saul expresses a threefold verbal assault upon Jonathan, and in the process reveals the truth of his evil intent against David, which David personally feared, and the evil which Jonathan hoped did not exist. This reveals it all. And when we look at the threefold assault, We look at it as a very heavy, pressure-ridden, one-sided pounding of Jonathan's defense system. Whatever defenses that Jonathan has, Saul intends to pound that out of him. And let's take a look at this in verses 30 to 31. We've seen the absence that triggered this, the assumption that Saul made, the asking of the question, the answer that Jonathan gave. Now, the aggravation in verse 30 to 31. Saul's anger burned against Jonathan and he said to him, David had predicted two possible responses, remember? One was positive and the other was negative. One was approval. Good. Oh, he had family obligations, good. We hope to see him when he comes back. But the other was disapproval and anger. He specifically said, if he gets angry, then you know he means ill against me. Notice how Saul is aggravated by what he hears from Jonathan. And he pounds this pressure-ridden attack and assault in the form of shame. He first heaps shame upon his son as a form of deterrence. In other words, the indirect message is, you should be ashamed of yourself allowing this to happen. That's the idea. You son of a perverse, rebellious woman. That abusive speech is an extreme expression of Saul's vicious fury. He is angry, but he's just off the wall angry. Why is he so angry? Why is he flying off the handle? All Jonathan said, oh, he had obligations. He asked for permission to flee. I mean, I mean, to escape. I mean, I mean, to go visit them. I just say, yeah, go for it. Why the fury? And why the fury directed toward Jonathan? Because Jonathan himself masterfully presented the entire case as a completely unknowing, uninformed, a royal son who gave permission to his brother-in-law and thought it was a no big deal. Saul is now assaulting him with abusive speech. And he, first of all, disassociates himself with his own son and using shameful language to debase Jonathan. You son of a perverse, rebellious woman. Now, when we see the reality clearly, Jonathan was not a son of a perverse, rebellious woman, but he was an innocent son of a perverse and rebellious man. Saul was the problem, not Jonathan's mother. But of course, that's his disassociation, using shame as a deterrence for Jonathan to feel small so that he will be pressured into acquiescence. Most of us hate to be ashamed, especially someone who has authoritative position over us. Shame is a powerful deterrent and motivator of compliance. Would Jonathan buckle under that shame? Would Jonathan buckle under that shame? I have to be a bit more transparent here. You know, when the Word of God comes and the Word of God as a double-edged sword pierces through us, judging the attitudes and the intentions of our hearts, it is not the preacher that brings conviction, it is the Word of God that brings conviction. If you do not feel any godly guilt, when the word of God exposes your sin and you have a hardened heart, a cirrhosis of the heart, that you have a hardness that you need to deal with quickly. Because that means that you have made multiple justifications for your sin where the spiritual impulses, the nerve endings of your spiritual senses are not working properly. And before you know it, if you let it continue, you will sear your conscience. So there's a sense that guilt is a powerful motivator toward repentance and renewal. But this type of guilt is manipulation. It's a manipulative guilt. Being a bit transparent here, as a preacher, I've been at the end of probably more manipulative guilt than probably most of you. You don't know how many times people say, look, I really like you and everything, but that kind of preaching, that's just got to stop. Or somebody comes in to say, I know you mean well, but that little phrase that you said there, that was offensive. The multiple times of nitpicking around the ministry of the Word have been incredibly guilt-bearing. It's a tremendous pressure to adjust, to not continue to preach and proclaim with conviction and sensitivity. But yet, because multiple people have multiple needs and desires, these things become multiple pressures. And anybody who is in the position of the receiving end of this manipulative guilt knows what that's like. And so when you experience a lot of shame, which the world or people around you place upon you, especially your boss or spouse or parents, be very careful that you don't buckle under that irrational, unbiblical, manipulative shame. Because that's something that we despise. We don't want to feel that way. We don't want to feel that bad. Especially in the gospel, there's shame that's part of the component of the gospel. So we need to be very careful that we don't buckle under the pressure. When we see reality very clearly, we would readily recognize Jonathan wasn't a son of a perverse, rebellious woman at all. So when you look at the reality of what is being said, you can discount it. And Jonathan may have recognized that already because he's already prepared for two types of responses from his father. One was good and one was bad. Here was a bad one. He didn't think it would be this bad. But it's coming. It's coming with the full brunt of his father-son relationship. As a son, could he talk back? Could you say, no, you're the son of a rebellious woman? No, he can't do that. He's a receiving end. He's like the punching bag right now. He has to accept it. But is it true? No, it's not true. Here's where a clean conscience and upright heart can be a nice Teflon coating toward all the manipulative name calling and pressures and all these things that people put on you to get you to conform to them. So Saul uses this masterfully, deterrence through shame. And then here's pressure through guilt. Do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? There's extreme guilt there. He's saying, you're choosing this son of Jesse over me, over the shame of your shame and your mother's shame. That's a powerful guilt trip. Saul was pressuring Jonathan to renounce choosing the son of Jesse and to conform to Saul's desires. But the fact of the matter was that God had chosen the son of Jesse, David. And Jonathan was simply recognizing that fact and responding appropriately. When God has anointed somebody to be the next king of Israel, what should your reaction be? You're the subject of the great king of Israel. That's part of your worldview and your faith. This is your identity as a Jew, a nation of Israel. This is the Lord's kingdom. A king is just an accessory. Saul also recognized that God was with David but chose to oppose the Lord's anointed while Jonathan chose to support the Lord's anointed. So here's where your righteousness and your faithfulness and your obedient life can be a nice Teflon coating for none of the guilt trips to stick. You can rest well at night knowing that this is all just a false accusation. Saul was rejecting the Lord's anointing to his own shame. while Jonathan was supporting the Lord's anointed to his own glory and to his own benefit. God is honored when we continue to magnify Christ among the nations. He is dishonored when we seek our own. Again, by invoking Jonathan's mother's nakedness, Saul has chosen the harshest and the most shameful vocabulary to pressure his son into compliance. The third wave of his abusive speech comes through motivation, through ambition. Saul pressures Jonathan to see the jeopardizing of his own future kingdom and saying, you're a weakling. You're a wimp. You're a fool. You're an idiot. You must seek your own. Your very career, your life, your future is at stake. That's usually how our parents talk to us when they're certain that their way is better than the way that we have chosen. To seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness. If you have not received this kind of pressure, then consider yourself blessed. Blessed. But if you have, I want you to know you're not the first one and you're not the one who has received the brunt of it. The people of the world who think like the ways of the world just simply do not understand the Christian mindset of denying ourselves, picking up the cross, and following Jesus. They do not understand it, do not expect them to understand it, do not try to rationalize with them, explain to them they won't understand it. They will try to conform you to their own way of thinking so that you will adopt their way of thinking and abandon the way that you think in Christ. That's the spiritual battle here with pressure. And sometimes it comes through motivation. Sometimes it comes through ambition. Don't be a fool. You need to seek your own glory, your power, your wealth, your ambition, your career. You, you, you, you, you. That's the message of the world. And sometimes it comes in very attractive packages. Through the voice of our loving parents. Here it comes through Saul to Jonathan as pressure. That statement is true. That statement is true. As long as Jesus Christ is reigning, None of us will be able to fulfill our own desires for our own glory and kingdom. That's true. But it's telling. Saul wants the opposite of what God wants to happen. The complete destruction of David's kingdom and continuation of his own personal kingdom. That's what Saul wants. There's two kingdoms in opposition, in competition. Saul believes that he could kill the Lord's anointed and continue what he has. Obviously, that's just foolhardiness, right? Psalm 2 says it. Why do the nations rage and conspire together against the Lord and His anointed? It's just foolhardy. It's futile. God will crush them all. Jonathan had already rejected his own kingdom and desired that David's kingdom be established. But Saul doesn't know that. Nor can he understand what such heavenly thinking is all about. Saul has never thought this way. He doesn't have capacity to think this way. But Jonathan not only thinks this way, he doesn't want to think any other way. In our surrender of our lives to Christ's Lordship, we will be perceived as stupid and ridiculous by the world's people, and they will try their best to get us to renounce our commitments to Christ. Jonathan's perspective of what Saul so desperately wanted to keep is akin to what the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3, verse 8. He says, more than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them all rubbish so that I may gain Christ. And then Paul continues to talk about into fellowship that I may know him and even to fellowship in his own sufferings. Saul makes his final statement and says, David must surely die. What a radically different worldview. Therefore, even if it comes in attractive format, like friend, or family, or someone that is your mentor, someone that is caring, you have to do what Jonathan does. Jonathan simply recognizes those kinds of statements for what they are. That is an ungodly statement. out of hostility against the Lord's anointed, and Jonathan has made up his mind. He is a man who is consistent with his beliefs, his covenants, and his speech and action is consistent. And this is why Jonathan is such a model of godly, mature believer in the Old Testament, who should be a model for all of us to follow in the New Testament age. So Saul has made up his mind too. Therefore now, send and bring him to me so that he must surely die. The Hebrew literally says, for he is a son of death. Send and bring him for me for he is a son of death. Saul called Jonathan, you son of a rebellious woman. He calls his son-in-law, he's a son of death. That is Saul's ultimatum. There you have it. You have a king of a nation, earthly king, but a king indeed, and he's putting the pressure on you with an ultimatum and saying, you reject the son of Jesse, you reject the Lord's anointed. And here's Jonathan, caught between a rock and a hard place, very precarious situation. He is loyal, he loves his father, he cares for him, but he can't do what his father is telling him to do. Indeed, the psalmist wrote, the kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed. And that's what Saul is doing. His father had just driven three stakes through Jonathan's heart, and his heart was crushed and broken. And yet, Jonathan decides to appeal to Saul again, as he did before. So in verse 32, we have the appeal. The appeal. But Jonathan answered Saul, his father, and said to him, that's just an amazing statement of contrast. It is a loving individual whose maturity and character is truly commendable. He doesn't budge. He doesn't succumb. He doesn't fret or fear, but he speaks from conviction. This is not a betrayer who dishonors his father, nor an immoral man who dishonored his mother. This is a godly man of conviction, virtue, righteousness, courage, love, and faith. But such men will be interpreted wrongly in a world filled with hostile, jealous, angry people. Will our generation understand such people? He will be called a fool. He will be called a betrayer, shameful individual. And yet we call him a godly Christian or say in the Old Testament times, a spiritual, godly, spiritual man, God honoring man, loyal friend who refuses to submit to evil, refuses to reject the covenant with the Lord's anointing. Jonathan asks a twofold question. which is impossible for Saul to answer. There is no answer for an evil, wicked man. Why should he be put to death? That's a question regarding justice. How can a person who's practicing evil, injustice, and raging jealousy know anything about justice? He's the executive. He needs to practice justice, but he doesn't know how to practice justice. He's only for himself. If it doesn't please him, then it's injustice. If it pleases him, it's justice. It's purely subjective in the mind of Saul. He can't answer this question rightly. There is no standard according to the law of God that should put such an innocent person to death. So Jonathan appeals to him based on his justice. He clearly sees the irrationality of Saul's furious rage against David and questions Saul to provoke an obvious response. Someone like David, can he really be put to death? Should he be put to death? On what basis must David die? And then the second question is basically the same question. But it is the same question that David asked Jonathan. He said, David said, what have I done? If you tell me and if you see any guilt in me, you cut me down. I rather die in your hands than face your father who hates me. What have I done? Jonathan asked the same question. What has he done? No answer. No answer. To say the truth at this point, to speak the truth, would be to indict himself. What has he done? Let me tell you what he's done. He's loved God. He's been anointed by God. He's fought off Israel's worst enemies. He's protected the nation. He won victory after victory. That's what he's done. He deserves death. That's the truth. All right, now. If Saul had any answer, then it would have to be a lie. He made an attempt at my life. He wants to dethrone me. He's not loyal. He's looking for an opportunity for a coup d'etat. He's a threat. We need to get rid of him. That would have been a lie. That would have been a lie. because David exhibited no such ungodly sinful ambition. So there is no rational answer. Just as David was the Lord's anointed and Saul felt threatened by his very presence. So the appeal fell on deaf ears. That appeal now conjured up deeper animosity. Here's the animosity, verses 33 and 34. Then Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him down. We saw this action before. Jonathan's double questioning enraged Saul. His spear throwing was the only answer to Jonathan's questions. I will kill him and you and all those who are on the side of the son of Jesse if necessary. That's the answer. That's the throwing of the spear. Saul now identifies Jonathan with David and by his own identification, Jonathan has become another innocent victim who must dodge spears. However, what's in Jonathan's favor is that as long as he distances himself with David, Saul will not see Jonathan as a perpetual threat. Therefore, Jonathan could still live and hopefully advocate for David and hopefully look for an opportunity to convince his father. He'll be no good as a dead man. And so Jonathan decides to distance himself from David and to not be involved. It's a very precarious situation. Here the scripture says that Jonathan knew. Remember I said this entire chapter is about who knows what, who knows the full detail, who knows a little bit, who knows completion, and who is absent from knowledge. The whole thing is about that. Knowledge is a major theme in this section. Finally, Jonathan knows as much as David knows. However, Jonathan has not fully experienced what David has experienced. Jonathan had to dodge the spear only once. David, multiple times. Jonathan was not pursued again and again by his father. He was not sent spies to watch him at night and to kill him in his bed. None of those things happened to Jonathan. But Jonathan knew. He knew for certain that his father had decided to put David to death. That, he was certain. Just as Saul knew Jonathan was on David's side, so Jonathan knew that Saul was committed to putting David to death. Would Jonathan buckle under this pressure? Now, before it was different kinds of pressures. It was guilt trips, it was manipulation, it was different kinds of pressures. Now, it's just death threats. This is like spear throwing. What would be his response? The next passage gives us the answer to Jonathan's resolution, verse 34. Then Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger. Jonathan was filled with righteous indignation against his father's sinful heart and his sinful actions. He was also filled with deep grief for David and for his father, no doubt. David's seat was empty and now Jonathan's seat is empty. I wonder if Saul continued to eat and the feast along with others. He probably did. But Jonathan was in no mood to celebrate, so he wept and he fasted, and he did not eat food on the second day of the new moon. Jonathan now knew what David must have gone through. How many spears must David have dodged if my father is able to throw one at me? It would have been easy for him to throw at David. And yet David kept going and going and playing the harp and trying to soothe Saul. He must have thought about all that time that David endured this. How many terrifying situations and close calls did David have to endure? How many sleepless nights were spent under the evil treatment of his father Saul? Wondering whether he would live. How much more suffering must David have to endure because Saul would relentlessly hunt him down? You know, we suffer. And some of us suffer because we stand on the side of the Lord Jesus. But you and I know that once we spend some time before the cross and look at the Lord's anointed and how much he suffered, not to say that we can, any man can compare, but really puts things in perspective. He suffered. and he was innocent. We suffer because, you know, frankly, if we're really honest, we're partially to blame in most of our suffering. Even if we're completely honest and innocent and righteous in that area, we can't claim all righteousness and all integrity and all honesty all the time. Surely, we must recognize the fact that We don't deserve perfect protection and justice from the Lord when we know we're guilty. And so we bear these things knowing that we deserve our own situations and circumstances. But the Lord Jesus, how much must he have suffered for us in our place? For he was grieved over David, because his father had dishonored him. It says, Jonathan was deeply saddened, not because he had been so shamefully treated, but because David has been so shamefully treated, dishonored by his father. If any man deserves honor, it was David. David deserved honor in Israel by the king who risked his own life to defend the nation and to bring Saul many victories. If anyone deserves medals and good treatment from Saul, it would have been David. He did more good for Saul than Jonathan ever did. And yet David was treated shamefully by Saul. It's one thing for Saul to not to pay attention to him. It's another thing for wanting to want to kill him. Jonathan's response to Saul's venom honored God. That's why the Lord wrote these words to highlight his pure devotion and loyal love toward the Lord's anointed. When you and I love the Lord's anointed, we honor God also. We please the one who called Jesus. This is my beloved son. And I'm well pleased. We honor Him when we think such things about our Lord Jesus Christ. Think about your meditations during the typical day. Is it just filled with yourself, your needs, your desires, your wants, your fulfillments, your frustrations? Think about how self-absorbed we really are in our meditations. Do we honor the Lord with our thoughts and with our desires? And you love the Lord's anointed, the Lord Jesus. We honor him. We honor him. We've seen loyalty argued, loyalty acknowledged, loyalty attested, loyalty attacked. And now, fifthly and finally, loyalty affirmed. Loyalty affirmed. Here is Jonathan's commitment. Here's the commitment, verse 35. It came about in the morning, that's the next morning, that Jonathan went out into the field for the appointment with David, third day of the new moon. A little lad was with him. We see Jonathan keeping his promise to David. Despite the terrible news, Jonathan is undeterred in his favor toward the Lord's anointed. He's a promise keeper. The little lad becomes an unknowing instrument in helping Jonathan communicate what is in his heart. He's almost like, in literary fashion, he's almost like the counterpart, a young, naive, innocent counterpart to an old, wicked, evil, unknowing Saul. But Saul doesn't know that Jonathan and David had already met, had covenanted, and had already agreed upon this secret code to communicate. Neither does the young lad. But if the young lad did find out, he would eventually get to the years of Saul. And that's not good. So here's the communication. Verse 36. And he said to the lad, run. I find the arrows which I'm about to shoot. As the lad was running, he shot an arrow past him. Now Jonathan instructs the boy to run and retrieve the arrows, then shoots the arrow beyond him, and the boy finds the arrows. He's a quick and fast boy. Verse 37, the lad reached the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot. Jonathan called after the lad and said, Is not the arrow beyond you? That's the code, the secret. A code word, a phrase, verse 38, and Jonathan called after the lad, look at the three verbs, hurry, quick, do not stay. And Jonathan's lad picked up the arrows and came to his master, because the lad thought that message was for him. He was a little too slow for his master, so he has to move quickly, pick up the arrows and then go back. But those three words were for David. He was hiding among the rocks beyond the boy. When the boy returned after retrieving the arrow, this is what Jonathan does. Jonathan gives him his bow and his arrows and sends him into the city, most likely probably to his own quarters, probably at his armor stand where he would place the bow and the arrows. So it's a routine that the boy knows very well. Now why is that detail important here? Why does the Word of God give that detail? It's because this arms Jonathan. In other words, if Jonathan and David are to have a close encounter, then the lad has to go away. But Jonathan could hold on to his bow and arrow just for protection in case David begins to suspect that Jonathan and his father are together. Because no matter what the secret code is, if there is no love and trust, it doesn't matter, does it? You know, people have used sophisticated deception to show that they're very innocent and they're pro-you, pro-me. But at the last moment, turned on a dime to reveal their true colors. Didn't Judas Iscariot do that? He did that. Betrayed his master with a kiss. The fact is that Jesus knew about it. But here, David doesn't know. So Jonathan makes himself vulnerable. He has no weapons now. David could come out if he suspects some foul play. He could just take out his sword and, you know, for self-protection, finish the job. Who knows who'll be lurking in the background. If there's any soldiers that pop up from the bushes, it's all over, right? It'll look very, very fishy. But it doesn't end up that way because that's not what the passage communicates. It's not what the Lord honors. It's not what happened here between David and Jonathan. All of the suspense and the evil and the suspicion of the modern thinking is absent from this beautiful, innocent picture of loyal friendship and commitment between these two individuals. By sending the boy away, Jonathan could now finally personally speak to David, because Jonathan doesn't know if he'll ever see David again, and he wants this opportunity to look at David in the face, to embrace him, and to wish him peace, and to send him away in prayer, not knowing what would happen to him and what would happen to David. The coast seems to be all clear of any spies and onlookers, so Jonathan sends the the latter way and here is now verse 41 to 42 the consolation. When the lad was gone, David arose from the south side and fell on his face to the ground. Jonathan didn't know exactly which location David was hiding. Here the narrator says he was on the south side and fell on his face to the ground. The language indicates that David not only heard, but he saw the whole thing. David also saw that Jonathan had disarmed himself, indicating his total vulnerability before David. No doubt David had a sword with him. He was armed. We can easily assume that. David came out and paid homage to Jonathan in a deeply respectful gesture of bowing his face to the ground, not just once, but three times. I believe this is the only reference in the Hebrew narrative where a person is said to bow to any individual three times. It's the most humbling form of submission. This was to clearly demonstrate David's lowly service toward Jonathan and his humble gratitude toward Jonathan's rich friendship. One of the most amazing passages that we've already studied in the Gospel of Luke is the parable of the master and the servants, of the servants that were waiting up for the master who went on a journey, who comes kind of late, and they waited up all night with torches and everything to greet their master. And this is what Jesus said in Luke 12 verse 37. It's just unheard of. Unheard of. the magnanimous treatment that the Lord Jesus promised to his slaves for being alert and faithful to the very end. You see, faith and loyalty are richly rewarded by the king. And we must understand this. And here, David was so moved by Jonathan's faith and loyalty and friendship. that he bows before him in utter respect and submission three times. And then it says, they kissed each other. Now, this is, of course, friendship. It's a gesture of mutuality on the cheeks, signifying deep friendship. In Psalm, it is written in the ESV, Psalm 2, verse 12, So kissing each other is not only a sign of friendship, but it is also a symbol of complete submission and adoration. And even here in the case of worship, because surprisingly that very word, the Hebrew words translated in the Septuagint, in the Greek, in the form of worship, says worship the son. And that's why in the NASB translation says do homage to the son. So there's that. It's the sense of loving someone to the point of worshiping him. It is a call to worship the Messiah. So kissing each other on the cheeks to signify deep friendship, but of course David kissing Jonathan and Jonathan kissing David, there's two different kinds. We cannot say it is the same, it is reciprocal. simply because they're in two completely different positions. When Jonathan says, I love you and I'm committed to you and your kingdom, that's loyal chesed love. When David kisses Jonathan, Then it's out of appreciation, response to that love. So what we have here is really, Jonathan is still in the higher position, but in Jonathan's mind, David is in the higher position. This is amazing perspective from two people who see themselves lower than how the other person sees it. And this is the mind of Christ who did not consider himself. equal with God, but he humbled himself. It is an amazing way of thinking. And this is the biblical agape love. This is the hesed loyalty that is coming together. And notice they weep together. That spontaneous weeping was due to the fact that David, all that he had assumed and suspected was true. And now Jonathan finally is aware of it. Therefore, Jonathan, David doesn't need to convince Jonathan any longer. David already knows, like if you think about the flood of information that comes into David, Jonathan finally knows. He is now not only in agreement with me, he sympathizes with me out of knowledge. And yet he is still my friend and he doesn't take the side of his father. I mean, all that information is just flooding into David's mind. And Jonathan, we can imagine what's flooding into Jonathan's mind, why he would cry, because it says they wept together. The ramification of this, oh David, this might be my final fellowship with you, my final embrace. How I desire to fellowship with you. I found in all of Israel, no man after my own heart except you. And now I have to say farewell. It's sad. The ramification of the truth is that Saul's murderous intentions toward David places their friendship in a difficult situation. There's a deep tragic sorrow that separates godly friendships and makes fellowships difficult, if not impossible. Both of these men deeply sense this tragic circumstance. And the scripture says, but David wept the more. David wept the more. That emphasizes David's greater commitment to Jonathan. That's what that means. The emphasis is that Jonathan was so committed to David, but David wept the more, which meant that David was more committed to Jonathan. That is an apologetic for Davidic right to rule and David's refusal to wipe out Saul's lineage. That contrary to all the false accusations that David had to receive during his reign, that he was power hungry, that he wanted to kill Saul and Jonathan and take over. He had always wanted this and he finally engineered it. That's the kind of vitriol and lies and stuff that a person like Shimei and others have hurled against David. And David had to endure that. And yet, This is an apologetic that says David loved Jonathan, sought Jonathan's favor, and tried his best to establish his house. So contrary to what later skeptics would indicate, David was deeply and profoundly committed to the house of Saul. David had multiple opportunities to kill Saul, he refused. So the scripture says Saul and Jonathan both died in a battle against the Philistines, not in the hands of David. It is amazing for us to find a passage in the Bible that says, David shed much blood. He was a warrior, but he did not shed innocent blood until he sinned against Uriah the Hittite. That is a fascinating passage, therefore. And so, when we get there, we'll study that dynamic. What causes a man, a shepherd king, to go and do such a thing? And we'll see that. Verse 42. Jonathan said to David, go in safety. Literally, the Hebrew says, go in peace, shalom. And shalom is only possible because Jonathan has counted the cost of being not at peace with his father. He had counted the cost of supporting David. But because he's in a right relationship with God and with God's anointed, Jonathan can enjoy peace and grant peace to David. So Jonathan says, go in peace in as much as we have sworn to each other in the name of the Lord, saying the Lord will be between me and you and between my descendants and your descendants forever. Again, he reiterates the stipulations of the covenant invoking the name of the Lord and talking about forever. Their friendship was forever. The covenant was good as forever because God is forever. Anyone who invokes the name of the Lord and continues to maintain this friendship. And the Lord has that friendship and peace and relationship forever. You and I, as long as you be faithful to the Lord, and I be faithful to the Lord, and we love one another, advocate for each other, we will spend eternity together. And that's what's guaranteed in the Scriptures. That should humble each one of us to work out our differences, our problems, to the very end. Romans 5.1, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what matters. Do you have peace with God? That's what matters. If you have peace with God, then you can have peace with others. If you don't have peace with God, you won't have peace with others. And peace with others won't mean anything unless you have peace with God. It's the gospel of peace that we can also offer to people who don't know that peace, who are struggling with fear and pain from a hostile world. We're often gonna meet people and their greatest need is peace with God. Not a better job, not a relationship, not more money, not promotion, but peace with God. Although they would be physically apart, David and Jonathan invoked the name of the Lord who would continue to spiritually connect them as they would pray unto the Lord for one another's welfare. Jonathan would have another encounter with David, as we will see later on in 1 Samuel. But at this point, neither of them knew whether they would be able to see each other. going forward. As far as they were concerned, this could be their last meeting and encounter. And then they rose and departed. David rose and departed. Jonathan went into the city. Now if the condition to associate oneself to the Lord's anointed is as depicted in the first Samuel, that which the Lord proclaimed as the conditions of Christ's discipleship was not much different. If we have to choose between our family and the Lord's anointed, the conditions are not much different. Jesus himself said in Matthew 10, 37, He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Luke 14, 26, it says, If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Luke 14 33. So then none of you can be my disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. Wow. That sounds extreme until you really analyze very carefully what Jesus says. He says, wait a minute, my father and mother, if they're not believers in the Lord, we are already eternally separate. If they are believers in the Lord, then they should never pit me against my Lord. It's an issue. When God saves me, I'm already eternally separate. I think we have a wrongful thinking, thinking that, you know, when God saves me, now He's going to use me to automatically save everybody around me. Well, brothers and sisters, let's not be presumptuous. It doesn't work that way. Even your godly parents cannot ultimately bring salvation to your children. It doesn't work that way. That is a low view of salvation. That's a man-centered view of salvation. That's an engineering view of salvation. That's an Armenian, that's a kind of a man's ultimate decision view of salvation. But that goes contrary to what the Bible teaches, which is the Lord saves. Salvation is of the Lord. And it's rich. It's eternal. And those who don't understand it may misunderstand this and blame God. Fall into despair. or as if they're filled with pride, thinking that they can't do anything about it, and they think that that's not right, and they'll do their utmost to do something about it. And the scripture says that all that we do, if the Lord wills, He will use, but salvation is of the Lord. So the moment that God saves us, which is a great mystery, but it's one of great grace and wonder is that how come we're the only ones saved in our family when all of our family members, extended family members, still do not know Christ? We have an obligation to walk in a godly manner, witness to them. But that's what we're called to do as witnesses. We can't convert anybody. That's what the Holy Spirit does. And at the same time, He brings new people. eternally save people into our life and that we're connected with them. So it takes faith to really believe what Jesus says. When Jesus saves you, you're automatically eternally separate from those who are unsaved. And so if anyone comes to Him, does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brother and sisters, Even his own life can't be my disciple. That's absolutely correct. If anyone wants to follow after Jesus Christ and be a Christian, they need to understand that the Lord is the giver of life. He's the redeemer. And he has every right to such an exclusive relationship. And no one should come between the worshiper, the follower, and the Lord and try to break that up. Not even the closest family members. Because if you allow, then there's divided loyalties. You're saying that other people are temporary people who are cut apart from Christ's eternity are more important to you than the one who laid down his life to receive you into that kingdom. It is a form of unbelief couched in cowardice and fear. But that's what it is. It's faithlessness and unbelief. And same thing with possessions. It says, so that none of you can be my disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. Well, obviously, who takes anything with us? It's all Lord's. So we need to use it for his glory. So giving up possessions should make natural sense. But what about giving up relationships? Well, like I said before, spiritually speaking, we're already cut apart. We're part of the same condemned humanity and the Lord saves us. So instead of looking at the negative, why are these people, the people that I love and care about, why are they lost? It's the wrong question. How did I find favor and grace by the mercies of God? Why am I saved? And so we need to seek God's favor and His grace for our unbelieving family members. Therefore, you need to live extra circumspectively, humbly, witness boldly, and make sure that you pray earnestly for those unbelievers. Use your resources to win them to Christ. Do your best. And then as you find them progressively turning away from the Lord, you will gain greater appreciation for those strangers that the Lord brought into your family through adoption and you realize they're just as much as a child of God as you are. A new spiritual eternal family. And you have a different perspective. And I frequently talk to people who care more about their unbelieving family members than they do about their adopted siblings, spiritual brothers and sisters that will spend eternity together, either because they are extremely immature, or they really don't believe what the Word of God teaches, and they haven't gotten over the hang-up with their man-centered, kind of Armenian type of theology that says, I can do something to change their salvation status. It's a combination of those factors. And it's a really hard and difficult counseling session at that point, because you have to both administer to their thinking, the warp thinking, to the biblical ministry, at the same time be sensitive enough to point them to the reality of the matter, that they are not the savior of their unbelieving family members. So this is where Jonathan was. Study very carefully what Jonathan did, the process he went through, the commitments he already made, and then how faithful he was to keep those commitments. Think of what he let go. Jonathan had a kingdom that was owed to him. That's how Saul thought, that's how everybody else thought. If you go out there and you talk to the secular people, worldly people, they'll tell you about your life, your happiness, your fame, you, you, you, you, you, your marriage, your relationship. They'll talk about that as if it is your right. But you and I know, as we adopt Jonathan's worldview, that is not the way reality works. We have been purchased at a price through Christ. And if we adopt that worldview, then we become just like them, unbelieving. Jonathan teaches us that our goal in life is not to fulfill our personal ambitions. Church, do we really believe this? I don't think some of you believe this. I know, as soon as somebody, a teacher or preacher comes and says, go for it, you're worth it, you can do it. You love that stuff, I see you lapping it up, instead of in your mind saying, I reject that. Why can't you say what Paul says? I count all these things as rubbish. Why can't you say that instead? But you think that there's value in rubbish, bathroom water, and you want to save that and redeem that. No, flush it down. Nothing, I consider it rubbish. It'll free you to really do what God wants you to do. Stop engineering your life and get God to bless and rubber stamp what you want to do. Free yourself and saying, I'm nothing. I deserve nothing. I don't want anything. I want to seek your kingdom and your glory and your righteousness first. That's Jonathan's mentality. Let's learn from this, brothers and sisters. Many teachers and preachers and counselors and other people are going to tell you what you deserve, what would make you happy and great. But we have to fight that. Because the Bible says, denying ourself. Get ready to die. Give up everything. If you're ready to die, believe me, you're not going to hold on to anything. If you even despise your own life and you'd rather be with Jesus in heaven, don't worry about it. None of these things that you're concerned about matters a whole lot. and then follow Christ. Just because we're weak and we can't think like that all the time doesn't give us the excuse never to think like this. That's the way we ought to grow in thinking. That's the way Jonathan thought. He's an illustration of a loyal disciple. If he were in the New Testament, he would be the one who would say amen to Matthew 6.33, but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. That's what Jonathan did. He didn't seek his own. He sought the kingdom of God, David's kingship. Jonathan teaches us that our life is not about our personal ambitions, but our life is about keeping our covenant with the Lord and with His anointed. How exciting is that? That's freeing. My life is not about success or glory. My life is my faith and my relationship with the Lord. He laid down His life for me. Lord, use me any way you want, and even in my death may I glorify you. That's what Peter wanted. That's what Paul wanted. That's what all the godly saints wanted. They want to live life and die with Christ. That would be to gain. Do you love the Lord's anointed? And do you love those who love the Lord's anointed? That's the basis of Christian fellowship. Did this love for the Lord's anointed cost you alienation? animosity, and even outright hostility from those closest to you? Some of you have experienced some of this. The Lord understands. Self-seeking and self-oriented people of the world will never understand loyal discipleship of a committed Christian. You're going to be an oddball. You're going to look weird. And some may be angry at you. And they may throw spears at you because they crucified our Lord. Cultures which value family relationships as supreme will never understand how a person may choose the Lord's anointed over even parental love or familial loyalty. I hope that none of us will experience that kind of pressure, but the word of God is very clear. Some people must go through it. We don't know why, but they must. And if anyone comes to Him and doesn't give up their family loyalties, they cannot be loyal to the Lord's anointed. Yet all of eternity will bear attestation to those who love the Lord with a love incorruptible, undying love. And that's what the Lord honors. He will be honored by you in this life. as your commitment and your covenants to Him. And the new covenant of His blood is maintained to your very life and end. And you desire this for your children as well. You don't tell them to become successful. You don't tell them to make a lot of money. You tell them, I don't care, but I want you to love the Lord and His people. If you believe that, then you do it, and you communicate that to your children, you will be blessed and you will be honored. You will be that kind of a servant that the Lord Jesus will allow you to recline and minister to you. Isn't that passage awesome? That's what's gonna happen in glory. Our life is short, brothers and sisters. Let's not buy into the worldly lies. The whole world is against the Lord and His anointed. Let's not contribute to that. Let's be different as his disciples. Let's learn from Jonathan, the one who loved the Lord. And you know, love is the greatest. It will last throughout all of eternity. And it's what honors the Lord. Love him and love his people as Jonathan loved the Lord and loved the Lord's anointing. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the great gift of eternal life through your son. We thank you that you loved us first and demonstrated what love is by giving up your own son and his sacrifice to us so that we might know that it is not sentimentalism, it's not just passing emotion, but it is the ultimate sacrifice for our eternal good. And Lord, we are amazed and humbled by the fact that you gave up your only begotten son and we call ourselves Christians. Lord, but we are weak and we're selfish and self-focused people living around the world that tells us that seeking the self is the ultimate. And we know that's a lie and that is empty and it is meaningless. And so we desire to deny ourself, love the Lord and love others by serving them so that we might serve you. Lord, teach us to find freedom to live like this, joy to live like this, and help us to appreciate brothers and sisters who have the same heart and spirit that we may, along together as we join hands, serve you together. Thank you for your gracious work in our lives, and thank you for Jonathan's in our midst. Thank you for his great covenant faithfulness to the Lord's anointed King David as we see that we are called to the same relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, would you strengthen your people and allow them to daily rejoice, give thanks and pray without ceasing so that their entire lives may be marked with the joy of the salvation that Lord Jesus Christ brought to each individual believer? And would you continue to be honored and glorified through the living faith of your people in Jesus name? Amen.