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Samuel chapter 20 reminds us of our need for trustworthy friends. It
is almost cliché to tell a friend to “trust God” when they are
going through tough times. The chapter describes how true friendship
will be inconvenienced, and even endure hardships and be an
encouragement. The chapter begins with David leaving Samuel to find
his friend Jonathan. Although Jonathan was the son of King Saul, he
had acknowledged that David was chosen by God to be the next king.
David needed to understand his circumstances and he needed to hear
the truth from a friend. “What
have I done… have I wronged your father that he is trying to take
my life?”
David expressed his heart to Jonathan without hesitation, “There
is but a step between me and death“.
Listen to Jonathan’s response, “Whatever
you want me to do, I’ll do for you“.
Sometimes friendship requires us to get our hands dirty. David had
to find out if the King’s heart had been changed by his experience
with Samuel, or if he still intended to kill him. David devised a
plan that would require trust and risk for both of them.
David
explained “Tomorrow
is the new moon festival and I am supposed to dine with the king, but
let me go hide in the field“.
David continued, if your father misses me tell him I asked your
permission to go to Bethlehem to be with my family because of an
annual sacrifice and note his reaction. “If
he says ‘very well’ then your servant is safe. But if he loses
his temper, you can be sure he is determined to harm me.”
Obviously Jonathan would then be in danger of the king’s wrath.
And to complicate things, David asked, “Who
will tell me if your father answers you harshly?”
His friend Jonathan thought of a plan to signal David, “I
will shoot three arrows… then I will send a boy to find the arrows…
If I say, ‘look the arrows are beyond you’ then you must go
because the Lord has sent you away“.
David trusted Jonathan with his life.
At
the dinner feast when Jonathan explained David’s absence, King Saul
exploded with anger, “You
son of a perverse and rebellious woman… As long as the son of Jesse
lives on this earth neither you nor your kingdom will be established…
bring him to me, for he must die“.
Jonathan’s plan worked and David’s fear of Saul was confirmed.
David then came out to meet Jonathan. We read, “They
wept together– David wept the most“.
David understood he would no longer have his friend Jonathan and he
would now become a fugitive because the king was against him. At
their parting, Jonathan said to David, “Go
in peace, for we have sworn friendship to each other in the name of
the Lord“.
Ecclesiastes chapter 4, compares living a life alone with living
life with a trusted companion at your side. Then verse 12 adds a
wonderful insight, “Though
one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three
strands is not quickly broken“.
With God at the center of a relationship, the bond is almost
unbreakable. I pray you will be encouraged, or encourage a friend in
need today!