1 Samuel 19:4-6
“Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly. He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The Lord won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?” Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be put to death.””
1 Samuel 19:4-6 NIV
Time and time again, before his death, Jonathan’s friendship would prove to be a wonderful help to David. Their friendship stands out as an example of brotherly love and iron sharpening iron. Both men become better as a result of their care for the other.
In each phase of David’s life in which Jonathan appears, a different facet of their friendship is on display. Here, we discover Jonathan was a friend who told the truth at all costs, first to David, then to his father. He endangered himself and denied his father in order to speak the truth to David. He went further and spoke on David’s behalf, at great risk to himself, to Saul.
We need friends in Christ who will speak the truth to us in love. Paul said we should “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good” in Romans. None would say we want disingenuous or hypocritical love, but that is what love that approves of evil is. Instead, a good and Godly friend says, “I love you so much, and I hate to see you living less than God’s best. Let me help you climb out of that evil.”
In a godly friendship, there is a willingness to truthfully challenge the faith of the other, drawing out the best in their walk with Christ. As Paul said to the Galatians: “Brothers , if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness” is what Paul says in Galatians.
Not only did Jonathan speak the truth to David, but he brought David back to his rightful place. Saul had been at odds with David, but Jonathan had brokered peace, and David needed to return to the palace to experience that peace. He was married to Saul’s daughter and a servant in Saul’s courts, so with Saul is where David belonged.
We need friends in Christ who will bring us back to our rightful place. When out of fellowship, they will inquire of us. When running from our obligations, they will challenge us to return. When out of step with the gospel of grace, they will remind us of it. When forgetting the mission of God, replacing it with our personal mission and endeavors, they will remind us of it. Godly friends will bring us back to where we ought to be.
David was doing the right thing but getting nowhere with the king. He needed help. God stepped in through Jonathan, then Michal, then through His own Spirit. Likewise, God steps in for us in the form of family, friends, and others who care about us and, sometimes, through a supernatural miracle only explained by His direct action!!!
Father thank You for this day and Your amazing mercy and grace it holds. Lord let Your abundant blessings be my friend and family’s portion today. Lord we want to be like Jonathan and speak up for our friends when others are speaking poorly of them. Lord we want to learn to stick our necks out for them and help them gain a good reputation in the mind of others. Help us Lord. Help us plant good words in estranged people's minds so they soften their hearts toward one another and learn to get along. Give us the water to put out the flames of gossip that tear down and destroy. Oh Lord, build up your people through my friend and I today. Be a blessing.
Father, we love You. Amen !
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