2013-03-15
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, I wrote about David, Jonathan, and Saul [Jonathan’s father]. The relationships between these men and God were complicated by Saul’s mental illness, which began when God withdrew His kingship and his sanity [1 SAM 16: 14]. Saul’s jealousy of David increased, putting Jonathan in the position of having choose between him and David when Saul devised a plot to take David’s life.
In 1 SAM 19: 1, Saul ordered his servants and Jonathan to kill David, but the Lord was with David. 1 SAM 20 opens with David fleeing from Naioth at Ramah, where the Lord had stopped Saul and his men from taking his life by causing them to prophesy with the prophets there, to Jonathan. Jonathan valued his covenant with David enough to come to a moment of great decision. Should he place his loyalty to his father first, or his loyalty to his covenant partner, David, first? This is really seen in 1 SAM 20: 1-2, in the exchange between Jonathan and David where Jonathan is astonished that his father would keep it secret that he was trying to take David’s life. It’s seen again in Jonathan’s shock when David says, in (8 b), “If I am guilty [of lying about this secret], then kill me yourself.” Jonathan reminds him that the New Moon Festival is the next day, and David has been invited to Saul’s table. David tells Jonathan to watch his father’s reaction to David’s absence at the sacrifice, to let him know if Saul loses his temper. If Saul does, then Jonathan should let David know. That would mean Saul is determined to harm him (4-15). Once again, Jonathan makes a covenant with the house of David saying, “May the Lord call David’s enemies to account,” and reaffirms his previous friendship covenant, made in 1 SAM 18: 1-4, because Jonathan loves David as he loves himself. In 1 SAM 20: 23, Jonathan reminds David that the Lord is a Witness to what they have covenanted.
Later on the second day of the Festival, the truth dawns on Jonathan in a real and painful way. Can we imagine ourselves in Jonathan’s position? How would we feel if someone we grew up respecting and valuing became mentally ill and showed violent tendencies toward another person we valued in our lives? Saul questions Jonathan about David’s absence, and then loses his temper. He suddenly tried to pin Jonathan against a wall with his arrows (33), and Jonathan knew for sure that Saul intended to kill David. Jonathan then signaled to David what he knew, and told David to “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship…The Lord is Witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever” (42). Then David left, and Jonathan went back to town. When one reads this, he understands that Jonathan completely trusted God’s administration of this covenant. Jonathan’s deep and obedient faith in God is seen here. Jonathan must have sensed his own destiny when he made this promise.
What we have seen here is that one’s covenant relationships trump his family relationships. That truth is something understood when we see Jesus saying, in MT 10: 34-37, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household. Anyone who love his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of me…” This is truly where the emotional and spiritual rubber meets the road! This author has personal experience with this issue, and there really is a gulf which can’t be crossed between serial rejecters of the Lord and those who embrace Him. Our lives can become enormously complicated when there is this conflict between our families and our covenant partners. We must ask ourselves, where would our loyalties lie? These complications can arise often at holiday times, particularly Thanksgiving and Christmas when so much is expected of us. The principle is just as true today as it was in David and Jonathan’s time.
PRAYER: O Lord, Your presence in our lives is that of our Strong Tower, our Protector, and our Safety. Just as You are a Watchman over those who covenant with You, You are also a Source of loving kindness. It’s tough talk to accept that serial rejecters of faith in the true Messiah are on the other side of a gulf that can’t be crossed. We are told by You to always show loving kindness, but at the same time, the Lord tells us, in 2 COR 6: 14, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” How can we forget the poignant story, in LK 16: 19-31, of the Rich Man and Lazarus? This gulf or chasm is described in Abraham’s words, in (26), “And besides all this between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.” After the rich man in agony begs Abraham to send someone to warn his brothers about this, Abraham replies, in (31), “If the you do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” This, Dear Father, is real hopelessness, of the kind no believer in Your Son ever wants to have. We profess our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we rely upon Your presence and direction for our lives. We must sometimes make difficult choices, coming to You in prayer and thinking first about what to do in the presence of Your enemies-- who might even be family members. We ask for Your wisdom and discernment. PS 51: 6 and PS 119: 125, “Sincerity and truth are what You require; fill my mind with wisdom…I am Your servant; give me understanding, so that I may know Your teachings.” We also ask You for Your direction through sometimes muddy waters. PS 86: 11-13, “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth. Unite my heart to fear Your name. I will praise You, O Lord, my God, with all my heart; and I will glorify Your name forever more. For great is Your mercy toward me; and You have delivered my soul from the lowest hell.” Bless us in this time, and hear our prayers. We accept Your teaching, even the parts that are difficult to hear, because we know of Your unmatched love for Your human creation. For that and so much more, we offer You thanks and praise, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: We will learn more about what loving kindness is and can be in our lives. There is more that the Holy Spirit directs me to write about David and Jonathan’s covenant of friendship, which includes mutual protection of each other and each other’s families. In the meanwhile, it’s always good for us to examine our own lives, including our covenant relationship with our Strong Tower, and our human interactions with believers, potential believers, and non-believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our seeking and yearning for God is an essential part of them. We ask the Lord for mercy, as in PS 86: 3, 7, “Have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to You all day long…when I am in distress, I call to You, because You answer me.” We must ask God for His advice before deciding to put ourselves headlong into a controversial situation. IS 26: 8-9, “Yes, Lord, walking in the way of Your laws, we wait for You; Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for You in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for You. When Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.” We must accept God’s judgments, just as we accept His love. And I would be remiss if I didn’t include something about that remarkable love that extends to healing our ills, being our Strong Tower [Protector], and never abandoning us. MAL 4; 2a, “But for you who obey Me, My saving strength will rise on you like the sun and will bring healing, like the sun’s rays.” PS 139: 5, “You are all around me on every side. You protect me with Your power.” PS 9: 9-10, “The Lord is a Refuge for the oppressed, a Stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, Lord have never forsaken those who seek You.” What a great Lord we have! We are so very blessed never to have to face our trials alone. Even trials of the relational kind matter to Him. Our Lord deserves our forever praise and thanks!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2012. All Rights Reserved.
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