Why Like-mindedness Matters

I want you to think about two people. These are hypothetical people who hold completely opposite worldviews. They look at things in opposite ways, right? They don’t agree on who God is. They see things differently when it comes to who man is, what sin is, what’s right and wrong.

When it comes to sin and how to deal with sin, they’re obviously going to be in completely different spaces, right? What they think about God’s word—Is it wisdom or is it not? Is it just a man-made book that’s not helpful and really old?

Now, imagine the challenge that those two people will have to relate on anything that’s significant—talking about the most important issues in life. How can they have fellowship over those kinds of things? How can they counsel each other, help each other, if one says, “I need God’s word and that’s the only counsel I want—counsel that comes from God’s word,” and the other rejects God’s word as wise?

How do they comfort one another when a loved one dies? They disagree on what death is, why it happens, what comes after. They’re coming from completely different vantage points on all the most important issues. And so their friendship can only be shallow—at most surface level.

Amos 3:3 says, “Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment?”

And the idea of the appointment is that they’ve planned to go to the same place—they’re headed in the same direction, right? If one person is going this way and the other one is going this way, how can they walk together and end up at the same place? They can’t.

And often what happens in this situation is the one who initially starts as, “I want God’s word. I want God’s word to be the counsel that I take,”—well, you start to become influenced. You start to receive worldly counsel. And as these two people dig roots together, they intertwine their lives. Sometimes the one who’s committed to God’s word becomes less so.

They start to think, “Maybe I can get the answers I need from other places in life besides God’s word.” They start to believe bad counsel. Things like, “Maybe this sin isn’t so bad. Everyone does it. It’s pretty normal.”

Or maybe you start to believe, “Oh, I’m just in high school,” or, “I’m just in junior high. You can’t expect me to be mature. You can’t expect me to be wise.” I was just recently talking to an 18-year-old man who said—to justify some foolish decision he made—he said, “Oh, well, I’m just a child.” No, you’re not. You’re a man.

Now we might act like children sometimes, but sixth grade to high school—all of you are becoming young men and young women. That means you shouldn’t be coasting in these things. You don’t have that excuse.

But the choices you make now are, again—as we said last night—beginning the trajectory of your life, especially how you choose your friendships, who you choose to root your life with.

Okay, you need to remember—we already heard it this morning. Good job, high school boys. Root determines fruit, right? So, we need to be striving to be rooted in the Lord and rooted together.

Session Overview: Jonathan & David as an Example

This leads us perfectly into our study today. Last night we had wisdom for godly friendships, and this morning we’re going to be talking about an example of godly friendships. So, we’re going to look at the life of Jonathan and David and the ways that they interacted with each other.

We’re going to start by seeing: why did they love each other? Why did they have such an immediate connection? We’re going to see it’s because they were like-minded in faith. They were like-minded in their hearts and attitudes towards Yahweh.

So, we’ll have the exact same outline as our teaching last night, and we’re going to see these same things in practice in the lives of these two godly men. So, let me pray, and we’ll look at 1 Samuel 14.

Prayer

God, we thank you so much. We thank you for your word that is instructive for us. We thank you for your word that gives us examples of what your wisdom looks like. It’s profitable for us, God.

When we give you and your word our attention this morning, we drill down and focus on what is it that you want to teach us. None of us, as we already said, should be coasting. God, please help us to consider these things with a sobriety, a soberness, a seriousness, so that you can change us. You can make us more pleasing to you and more useful to your people.

God, please help us. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Like-minded in Faith: Jonathan Trusts Yahweh (1 Samuel 14)

All right. So Jonathan and David were like-minded, and they were like-minded particularly in faith. Okay, look at 1 Samuel chapter 14. Now I’m going to read verses 1–6.

Now the day came that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who was carrying his armor, “Come and let us cross over to the Philistines’ garrison. It is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.

And Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree which is in Migron. And the people who were with him were about 600 men. And Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phineas, the son of Eli, the priest of Yahweh at Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.

Now between the passes by which Jonathan sought to cross over to the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp crag on the one side and a sharp crag on the other side. And the name of the one was Bozez and the name of the other Seneh. The one crag rose on the north opposite Michmash and the other on the south opposite Geba.

Then Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying his armor, “Come, let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. Perhaps Yahweh will work for us, for Yahweh is not restrained to save by many or by few.”

So you see the scene. Saul’s with his army. It’s got about 600 men, and Jonathan takes his armor-bearer and says, “Hey, let you and me cross over.” We want to get a little bit of backstory.

If you just look in chapter 13 at verse 5: the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel—30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and people like the sand which is on the seashore in abundance. Right? So, a big, big army—lots of people. Israel had 600.

Okay. Not only that, but look at verse 19:

Now, no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel. For the Philistines said, lest the Hebrews make swords or spears. So all Israel went down to the Philistines, each to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, and his goad. And the charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks and the axes, and to fix the goad.

So it happened on the day of the battle that neither sword nor spear was found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan, but they were found with Saul and his son Jonathan.

Okay, you see what that’s saying? Not only are they outmanned, but they’re completely outgunned. The Philistines—who were more powerful at this time—did not allow Israel to have blacksmiths to make weapons. So the only two people with actual weapons in the whole army were Saul and Jonathan.

Completely outmanned, completely outgunned—and Jonathan gets his crazy idea. He decides to cross over and attack the Philistines with only his armor-bearer. So he keeps his plan a secret, moves out in faith.

It’s interesting. And while Jonathan is moving out in faith, Saul is over sitting under the pomegranate tree, twiddling his thumbs—he’s not doing anything—because he doesn’t have the same kind of courage that Jonathan has. But especially, we’re going to see he doesn’t have the same faith that Jonathan has.

Okay. So look at verses four and five. Jonathan sets out:

Now between the passes by which Jonathan sought to cross over to the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp crag on the one side and a sharp crag on the other side. The name of the one was Bozez and the name of the other Seneh. One crag rose on the north opposite Michmash, the other on the south opposite Geba.

Okay, so they come into this area that has two steep embankments—two steep hills on both sides—that are not easy to climb up. Bozez means slippery, and Seneh means thorny. So these are slippery, thorny hills. Not the ideal place to mount an attack.

If you’re thinking about attacking an opposing army—trying to run uphill towards your enemy, tired by the time you get to the top—there is no human reason, no human reason for Jonathan to have confidence.

But look at verse six:

“Come, let us cross over to the garrison… Perhaps Yahweh will work for us, for Yahweh is not restrained to save by many or by few.”

Situation is bleak. And Jonathan’s only source of optimism is God. He knows that God is the only one who can turn this into a victory for his people. He notes God’s ability, God’s power. Look, God can save by many or by few. He’s not restrained by the size of the army that Israel has. The battle belongs to him.

So, he’s looking to God in faith—not looking to his circumstances. And of course, they go up there and God does give the victory miraculously through Jonathan and his armor-bearer.

So, that sets the scene for Jonathan—the kind of man that Jonathan is.

Like-minded in Faith: David Trusts Yahweh (1 Samuel 17)

Now, let’s turn our focus to David and turn to chapter 17.

So, we’re turning to the story—the well-known story of David and Goliath. Right? There’s a big problem here. Remember, Israel still had the smaller army. They still did not have the same kind of weaponry.

Not only this, but in the book of Joshua we read that the giants settled in Gath. They were a people of giants. Goliath wasn’t the only one. We know he had a brother. Later in 2 Samuel, we read that David had to slay four other giants. So, it was not just Goliath. This was a fierce giant who had trained since his youth—and a fierce army all behind him.

Right? So Goliath—their champion—he’s huge, he’s strong, he’s skilled, trained from when he was young, and he is openly defying Israel’s army.

We need to understand: back at this time, the prevailing thought was that when armies go to battle, it was actually a battle of gods. Okay—“We’re going to fight, you and me, and whoever’s god is more powerful, they will help their side to win.” So to openly defy Israel’s army was to defy Israel’s God.

So David comes and he hears the giant doing this and he’s upset. Saul is too scared to do anything about it. And remember, Saul’s the biggest man in Israel’s army. He was head and shoulders above everyone else. He won’t go out to do battle with the giant.

But look at what David says to Saul. Look at verse 32:

David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

Then Saul said to David, “You’re not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, while he has been a warrior from his youth.”

But David said to Saul, “Your servant was shepherding his father’s sheep, and a lion and a bear would come and take a lamb from the flock, and I would go out after it, and strike it, and rescue the lamb from its mouth.”

“Then it rose up against me. I would seize it by its beard, and strike it down, and put it to death.”

“Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has reproached the battle lines of the living God.”

David said, “Yahweh, who has delivered me from the hand of the lion, from the hand of the bear—he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Saul said to David, “Go, and may Yahweh be with you.”

So David—again, like Jonathan—is not looking at the circumstances—also bleak: a giant, skilled as he was, against a youth. But that’s not what David sets his hope in. That’s not where David places his faith. It’s not in his ability. No, it’s in God.

Right? Just like he gave God the credit for rescuing him from the lion and the bear. He says, “I grabbed it by the beard and I struck it down and I killed it. That’s awesome.” And then he says, “Yahweh delivered me from them and he’ll deliver me again from this Philistine.”

All right, look at verse 43. I love this exchange. If I ever need to get my blood pumping and remember that I’m alive, I want to read this. This is so awesome:

And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.”

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of Hosts, the God of the battle lines of Israel, whom you have reproached.”

“This day Yahweh will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you.”

“And I will give the dead bodies of the camp of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.”

“And that all this assembly may know that Yahweh does not save by sword or by spear. For the battle is Yahweh’s, and he will give you into our hands.”

I just love that. I love that exchange. But you see David’s faith. You see his faith. Here’s the issue at hand. It’s not “David small, giant big.” It’s, “You’ve reproached God’s name,” and he’s not going to stand for that.

But we can see in this story—these two stories—we can see Jonathan and David are cut from the same cloth. You see the faith in each of them. You see the like-minded desire to be bold in their service to the Lord, to be faithful to him. They love him. They are zealous for him and for his people, for his reputation.

They both fear God, not men. They are completely like-minded in these things. We can immediately see why they would want to be friends with each other. They both have faith and will find encouragement in the faith of the other, when apparently most of the men in the nation lacked a hearty trust in God—especially when the circumstances looked bleak.

But these two men—because of their fear of God and lack of fear of man—these are two of the wisest men in their nation, and they’re going to root themselves together. And we’re going to see the benefit that that is, especially in David’s life—especially as David goes through trials.

These two men are like-minded. They’re going after the same principles. They’re going after the same aims. And we’re going to see the fruitfulness that it has in their lives. They were both rooted in the Lord and rooted together.

Okay? And we’re going to see that this knitting together of these two men resulted in a sacrificial love that specifically here Jonathan will show to David. Okay—so look at chapter 18.

Sacrificial Love: Jonathan’s Covenant with David (1 Samuel 18)

I’m going to read verse one:

Now it happened when he had finished speaking to Saul that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David. And Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

So now everyone’s taking notice of David. Everyone saw what David just did with Goliath. He went on to slay the giant—remove his head from him. Jonathan sees David’s faith, right? He’s more than just some military hero. He’s more than just a guy who won an impressive battle. He sees David’s faith in the Lord.

So, his soul was knit to David. They became attached on the soul level. What does it mean to be knit together here in the soul—or attached in soul? The idea is that they were bound together by commitment. They were committing to each other.

Committed in what way? Well, in the most basic level there was a commitment to love—to do good for the other. “I’m committed to being your friend, and a good one.” It’s the idea.

Jonathan loved David as his own soul. Just think about what that means. Think about what that requires. Okay—there’s a selflessness here. Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” because it’s to be assumed that we’re pretty good at loving ourselves. We’re quite in tune with our desires, and oftentimes we try to get them no matter what’s in our way.

But Jonathan wasn’t looking out for his own interests—saying, “I’m committed to looking out for the interests of David.” Lowly in mind—putting David ahead of himself—cared for David, committed to doing good. Find that throughout their whole relationship.

Love always ought to be that central bond in our friendships. Love is like oil in the gears that keeps things running smooth and well. It’s love.

And if that’s the case, we ought not view our relationships in light of what we can get out of them. We shouldn’t be basing our friendships on what we can get out of them, or if I enjoy myself when I’m with them. Rather, I want to be looking at those around me and saying, “What can I do for the people around me? What can I do for my friends? How can I serve them? How can I help them?”

We have to be intentional in our friendships in that way. And this was the foundation of Jonathan and David’s relationship.

Okay, look at verse two. Saul took him that day and did not let him return to his father’s house. And then Jonathan cut a covenant with David because he loved him as his own soul.

All right. So they cut a covenant here because Jonathan loved David. Okay—a covenant is like an agreement, a promise. They made a promise to each other. They had love. They were knitted together. They were friends—becoming friends, at least at this moment—but they actually made a covenant.

They gave voice to this love. They put it forward in an agreement. This is a covenant of love—a covenant of friendship. We’re going to help each other. We’re going to have each other’s backs. Right? So Jonathan not only loved David, but he expressed it. He put his money where his mouth is.

And then look at verse four:

And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even his sword and his bow and his belt.

This is the capstone of the covenant. Jonathan gave David his armor—his sword, his belt. Why? What does this signify?

Do you remember in the story of Esther when the king asks Haman—the bad guy—he asks him, “How should I honor someone who is worthy of great honor?” Now, the king wants to honor Mordecai, right? But Haman doesn’t know that. He thinks the king wants to honor him. And so he says, “Give the man you want to honor the king’s robe, his crown, and let him ride around on the king’s horse.”

This would have been a great honor—the highest honor. Giving the symbols of the king indicates that the man has a similar glory and reputation as the king.

And here Jonathan—the prince of Israel, the next in line for the throne—does the same thing of his own accord. He humbles himself by shedding the signs of royalty, and he gives them to David to say, “David is worthy of them. Give David the same kind of honor.”

So humble—self-defacing. He’s willing to decrease as he lifts up his friend.

Now, Jonathan doesn’t know this yet, but of course David actually is the one who will have the honor of being king, not Jonathan. We’re going to see even later—after Jonathan has learned of this fact—he still humbly gets out of the way so that David can take his rightful place as king, as God’s anointed king.

So, let’s think about this. What does your love for your friends look like? Again, we talked about it last night. We’re talking about it again. Do you demonstrate intentional love for your friends—even at cost to yourself—so that they might be benefited?

Do you put their good ahead of your own desires? Do you seek the interests of others rather than your own interests? Jonathan did this. Jonathan’s a good example for us, and we ought to follow him in that.

Okay. Next, go to 1 Samuel 19.

Steadfastness: Jonathan Stands by David (1 Samuel 19–20)

We’re going to talk about the next point on our outline: steadfastness. This is again one of our defining marks. So we’ve got like-mindedness, sacrificial love, and steadfastness.

Jonathan was steadfast in his love. In his desire to do good to David, he made a covenant—and he kept it.

Saul had begun to grow jealous of David. After David killed Goliath, everyone was paying attention to him. David had even more military success, and so they started singing songs of praise about David. Saul didn’t appreciate that. So he resented David. He resented the attention that David was getting.

Do you notice he’s the opposite of what Jonathan did? Jonathan is humble. Saul’s thinking, “Why aren’t they singing songs about me? I’m the king after all. Shouldn’t they be praising me?” He’s jealous—overprotective of his own honor.

So he comes up with a plan. Okay, look at 19:

Then Saul spoke with Jonathan his son and all his servants to put David to death.

But Jonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David.

So Jonathan told David, “Saul, my father is seeking to put you to death.”

“So now, please be careful in the morning and stay in a secret place and hide yourself, and I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you. And what I perceive, I will tell you.”

So Saul gets all his officials together. You can imagine the dark smoke-filled room coming up with conspiracies to take out his best general. He lays down the plan to kill David. It seems as though everyone else is willing to go along with the plan—but not Jonathan.

Jonathan loves David. He delights in David. He honors David. And he cut a covenant with David, right? And so he runs to David—he doesn’t waste a day. It seems he goes to talk to him that very same night because he says, “Hey, be careful in the morning.” He didn’t go home and sleep on it. He went straight to David.

So Jonathan came out of that meeting where David’s demise was planned and gets to David to let him know he’s going to advocate for David. He’s going to go talk to Saul on behalf of David and then let David know what the outcome is.

So let’s read about that conversation. Look at verse four:

Then Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Do not let the king sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his works have been very good for you.”

“For he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and Yahweh brought about a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and were glad.”

“Why then will you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death without a cause?”

Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, “As Yahweh lives, he will not be put to death.”

Okay. So following the story: Jonathan goes to his father—who’s the king, who wants to see David killed—and he speaks well of him. He stands by David and is his friend.

While David’s life is full of question marks and fear—he doesn’t know what’s going on—he counted on Jonathan, and Jonathan proved to be faithful.

So Jonathan recounts all that David has done for Saul and for the nation. And now he’s shown not only his loyalty to the nation, but also his proven character. So Saul relents. David returns to be in Saul’s presence. In verse eight, David went out to war again for Saul and he was successful.

But by the time we get to verse 10, Saul’s changed his mind again. He’s trying to kill David. Look at verse 10:

And Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear. But he slipped away out of Saul’s presence so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

Saul swore. He gave his word that David wouldn’t be put to death—and he is unfaithful to that word. He is not steadfast.

So now David is on the run. He’s tried to serve faithfully. He’s tried to serve faithfully for someone that he has loved and honored. And yet that person—Saul—still wants him dead without a cause. David’s done nothing wrong.

But this time when Saul tries to kill David, he didn’t tell Jonathan about it because he knows that Jonathan is steadfast. He’s loyal to David.

So throughout chapter 20, David and Jonathan come up with a plan. David will go missing for a few days, and Jonathan is going to give the excuse that he went to visit his family in Bethlehem.

And their thought is this: if Saul gets angry, he must have a plan to kill David as soon as possible—so he’s not happy that David left. But if he doesn’t seem to care, then David must be relatively safe.

So they make another covenant where Jonathan promises to certainly be a faithful witness and tell David what happens with their little experiment.

But look at what Jonathan says to David on his end of the covenant. Look at verse 13 of chapter 20:

“If it pleases my father to do you harm, may Yahweh do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not reveal it in your ear and send you away that you may go in peace.”

“And may Yahweh be with you as he has been with my father.”

So that’s Jonathan’s promise. “Hey—I will tell you, and if not, let Yahweh punish me.”

But then he says, “May Yahweh be with you as he’s been with my father.” This is one of the first explicit indications that Jonathan knows that David will be king. Just as God has been with Saul to help him—they’ve won some battles, some things have gone well—may Yahweh be with you, David, when you become king. That’s the implication here.

He knows that David will be king after Saul and not he himself. He will not be king. Even though from human perspective, he is the next in line—he ought to have been the king—but he knows Yahweh’s hand is in it. He seems to know that David was anointed by Yahweh.

So, he’s humble. Look at verse 14:

“And if I am still alive, will you not show me the loving kindness of Yahweh that I may not die?”

“You shall not cut off your loving kindness from my house forever, not even when Yahweh cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”

In those days, when a king would take the throne, it was normal that the first thing he would do would be to kill anyone who could be a rival to his throne. And from David’s perspective, Jonathan would have been the biggest rival, right? He was the previous king’s son.

Human wisdom—normal convention—would be, “David, as soon as you take the throne, go kill Saul and Jonathan and every single one of their descendants. Wipe them clean.”

Jonathan says, “Look, I know you’re going to be a king. May Yahweh be with you. Just be kind to me when you are. Show me loving kindness. Show loving kindness to my house.” So humble.

So they cut a covenant again, put the plan in action. When Saul heard that Jonathan gave David permission to go visit his family, his response was definitely anger. Definitely anger. Look at verse 30:

Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman. 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?”

“For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. So now send and bring him to me, for he must surely die.”

But Jonathan answered Saul his father and said to him, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?”

And Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him down. So Jonathan knew that his father had decided to put David to death.

Then Jonathan arose from the table in burning anger and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon, for he was grieved over David because his father had dishonored him.

You notice Saul’s so angry he can’t even refer to David by his name: “that son of Jesse.”

He’s not only mad at David—he’s furious at Jonathan. He curses him. He curses his mother: “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman.” It’s no different than a string of curse words that someone might put together today—his rage, lack of self-control, just erupting out of his mouth.

Says, “Jonathan, you’re choosing David to your own shame.” Why? Seems that Saul knows David will be the next king as well. Whether he knows that David was anointed or he just sees how David has God’s blessing and he has the hearts of the people—whichever way—he knows and says that as long as the son of Jesse lives, neither you nor your kingdom will be established.

Everyone involved can tell the way this is going. Jonathan is going to be, at worst, killed by David when David takes the throne, and at best he’s getting a backseat.

If Jonathan has any self-interest—any self-protection—what should he do here? He should deliver David. Here’s his chance. Secure the throne for him and for his descendants. He had every reason to be an enemy of David—and yet he remained steadfast.

His love for David—his faithfulness to Yahweh—were both more important to him than the kingdom. It’s remarkable.

Then we see Saul. Saul tries to kill his own son—the one whose kingdom and life he claims he is trying to establish—tries to pin him to the wall as well.

Jonathan leaves righteously angered on David’s behalf and at the wickedness of his father. Jonathan stuck by his friend even when he had a lot to gain by betraying him, a lot to lose by being faithful—stuck by his friend because he loved his friend, because he’s faithful to Yahweh.

Encouragement: “Strengthened His Hand in God” (1 Samuel 23)

Turn to 1 Samuel chapter 23. We’re going to look at our last point on our outline: encouragement.

This word encouragement in English is to give courage. You’re putting courage into someone—courage they don’t have. They need it.

In our text, we’re going to read that Jonathan strengthened David’s hand. The chapter begins with David on the run from Saul. But while on the run, he goes and he saves a village called Keilah—saves them from enemies. Still has a heart for God’s people even as he’s on the run from the king.

And Saul hears that David is down there at Keilah saving them. And so David asks Yahweh, “Will the men of Keilah—the men that I just saved—will they turn me over to Saul?” And Yahweh tells him, “Yes, they will.” David has no friends there. So he leaves.

Imagine that discouragement. David is still trying to be faithful. He’s still trying to serve God’s people. What more could you want from a king, right? But even the people that he just rescued will turn him over. That’s the story of verses 1–4.

Starting in verse 19, you see David is in Ziph with the Ziphites. And these are people of Judah—these are from David’s own tribe. And in verse 19, they betray David to Saul as well. They say, “David’s over here. Come get him.”

David has enemies on every side—whether it be Philistines, Saul, his fellow tribesmen. David and his men are essentially alone.

But God always knows how to sustain. God knows that David needs Jonathan. So God gives Jonathan to David in order to strengthen him.

So in between those two accounts of betrayal, we’re going to look at verses 15 through 18. Okay—let’s read that:

Then David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. Now David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh.

So Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David at Horesh and strengthened his hand in God.

And he said to him, “Do not be afraid, because the hand of Saul my father will not find you, and you will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. And Saul my father knows that also.”

So the two of them cut a covenant before Yahweh, and David stayed at Horesh while Jonathan went up to his house.

So David goes to hide in the wilderness of Ziph, and Jonathan went to meet him there. We don’t know exactly how Jonathan found out where David was, but he did—and he came.

Again, Jonathan is risking something here. What would Saul do to Jonathan if he found out that Jonathan was here, or that Jonathan knew where David was and didn’t tell him? He’s keeping it a secret. The last time we saw Saul mad at Jonathan over David, he tried to kill him.

It was so important for Jonathan to encourage David. It was so important to strengthen his friend’s hand in Yahweh that he risked it anyways.

Look at verse 17—look at how he encouraged David. He said, “Do not be afraid. The hand of Saul, my father, will not find you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you—I will be under your authority.”

These aren’t just empty words from Jonathan. It’s not just “Keep on keeping on, and this will probably all work out.” No—he knows that God has chosen David for the throne. And because of God’s promise, Saul cannot get David. Because of God’s promise, David will not die. Because of God’s promise, David will take the throne—and not Jonathan.

Jonathan is bringing to David implications from God’s own word. “If God promised this, David, then you can be sure you will not die. You will sit on the throne—not me.” David will not die because God has given his word.

So Jonathan has no interest in just being warm and cuddly. But he’s reminding David of God’s promises. He’s reminding David of the truth that God will keep him.

“David, you will be king because God is faithful. You will not die because God is faithful. He’s given his word.”

Then he describes his own submission to God’s plan. Again, he’s not trying to claim the kingdom for himself. He says, “David, you’ll be king and I’ll be under you. I won’t be in charge. I’m after you. You will have the authority—not me.”

Jonathan knows that God will keep his promise, and he’s just reminding David of that fact. That’s what David needs. He needs to believe God’s promise by faith.

Sometimes when we’re weak, we need a friend to strengthen our hand in those things. “Friend, I’m lacking in faith right now. Can I borrow some of yours? Can you help me? Can you strengthen me?”

What a friend. What a good friend Jonathan is.

We need to think about this. Is encouraging our friends in the Lord this important to us? Remember, Jonathan was risking his life to go visit David.

Do we realize that this is a life and death matter? It’s a heaven and hell matter—for us and for our friends. Do you think about that?

The people that you talk to, the people that you play with—you yourself will find yourself to be either in heaven or hell at the end of your life. Could there be anything more important than helping one another, speaking God’s truth to one another so that we might believe him and trust his word—trust his message of salvation to us?

So important.

From Enemy to Friend of God

You also need to know that every single one of us is born into a condition of enemy—enemy against God—seeking our own will, our own desire, not submitting.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. It’s a fearful thing to be God’s enemy.

And yet, he is the best friend. He’s a friend who will actually look at enemies and show kindness to them—give up his own life for them—so that they can become friends.

There’s some of you here who really need to think about this. You really need to consider the implications of these realities on your life.

You can be a friend of God. You can be a friend of Christ. You submit to him. You believe him. You turn away from your sin.

And as I said, he is the best friend. He is the good shepherd who so faithfully leads and cares for and loves his people.

Closing Prayer

So, I’m going to pray as the band comes up, and I want you to consider these things as we pray.

God, we recognize that we fall short—we fall so short of what your word describes as a like-minded friend, a loving friend, a steadfast friend, a friend who encourages.

God, we’re not all that we ought to be. But we know that you—through your word—you work. That is the means that you use to change hearts. And so I pray for all of us that we would consider what it means to be a good friend, and we would take it to heart.

That we wouldn’t forget these things like water off a duck’s back, but that we would allow them to penetrate.

And then in addition to that, God, help us to think about our own standing before you—friend or enemy—welcomed into your household, adopted and sitting at your table with you, or on the outside—to be on the outside for all eternity.

God, I pray for these students. Please—would you turn their hearts to you? Would you save them?

And then would you sanctify them and build them up into maturity. God, this is a work only you can do, and so that’s why we’re crying out to you for it. Help us. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.