2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The Lord leads me to once again return to the covenant between David and Jonathan to reveal what He wants us to understand about the loyalty that was involved. We can see this as a contrast to the disloyalty with negative consequences that was shown by the refusal of the Jews of Jeremiah’s time to live up to their promise to eventually set free their Hebrew slaves. The issue of loyalty in keeping a covenant is crucial.
Jonathan and David went out to the fields to speak in privacy. 1 SAM 20: 13-16, [Jonathan speaking] “If he [Jonathan’s father, Saul] intends to harm you, may the Lord strike me dead if I do not let you know about it and get you safely away. May the Lord be with you as He was with my father! And if I remain alive, please keep your sacred promise and be loyal to me; but if I die, show the same kind of loyalty to my family forever. And when the Lord has completely destroyed all your enemies, may our promise to each other still be unbroken. If it is broken, the Lord will punish you.” From this, we can see that Jonathan really understood the gravity of the agreement into which he and David were entering. David did too, and both kept this agreement. The long-range consequences were not fully understood by either man at that time. Because we have the hindsight that history gives us, we know that David’s royal line was kept intact and that out of that would come “a shoot from the stump of Jesse” [IS 11: 1], a new King Who would rule forever.
Another issue arises out of this agreement that demands examination. 1 SAM 20: 17, “Once again Jonathan made David promise to love him, for Jonathan loved David as much as he loved himself.” Inherent in that love is a kind of movement away from the total self-centeredness of immaturity. I find that to be a very important principle in relationships whether they be with another human being or with God Himself. I might even go so far as to say that unselfishness is a mark of maturity. Paul speaks about this when he is giving advice about marriage in EPH 5: 22, 25, & 28-30, “Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands as to the Lord…Husbands, love your wives just as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife loves himself. (No one ever hates his own body. Instead, he feeds it and takes care of it, just as Christ does the church; for we are members of His body).”
Returning to the covenant between Jonathan and David, we can see that they were not only making a covenant between themselves as individuals, but the house of Jonathan was making a covenant with the house of David, involving their descendants as well. We must not forget the other Party in this agreement, God Himself. The agreements we make impact not only ourselves but others as well. God is involved, because the format for this solemn, binding agreement is God’s own invention, and that both men were very faithful and obedient servants of God. If we examine any covenants we are in, we need to compare them to this one to understand their ramifications. That these men understood this agreement between them, is revealed as they are getting ready to part in 1 SAM 20: 42, “Then Jonathan said to David, ‘God be with you. The Lord will make sure that you and I, and your descendants and mine, will forever keep the sacred promise we have made to each other.’ Then David and Jonathan went back to the town.” Thus the houses of Jonathan and David were united in covenant with God.
I mentioned above the enormous consequences of this binding agreement, namely keeping the royal line of David intact allowing Christ to come out of it for all of us. Let’s turn our attention to a covenant where there wasn’t loyalty from the parties involved. This example is that revealed in the story of how the Jews of King Zedekiah’s time treated their Hebrew slaves with deceit found in JER 34: 8-22. In accordance with the laws set forth in the Torah, the Jews were supposed to set their Hebrew slaves free after at seven year intervals, called the year of restoration. This had been ignored for quite awhile, angering God. The net result of this promise broken would enter into God’s decision to allow Judah’s enemies, the Babylonians, to take her into a seventy year captivity. Tomorrow, I will go into more of the details of this story, because they help to reveal what could lead the Lord to such a dire decision. In going over the information that God is leading me to from the Scriptures, one clear and important message comes out to all of us: Take God at His word. When He commands us to enter into a covenant with Him, live up to its agreements. Examine any covenants we are in to see if we are doing this. We can take comfort in knowing that when we do, we will be blessed. It is important to remember that any valuable covenants we have with other people will also involve God.
PRAYER: O Lord, You have commanded us to enter into covenants with You, because You know that is what is best for us. We are to take these agreements seriously and are to live up to their promises. You have set an example for us as a Promise-keeper Who never lets us down. That is why You commanded Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for us and then to send us the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. You have called us to repentance and faith, and we stand up to answer that call. Through Your graciousness, You have revealed stories in the Scriptures to teach us the necessity to live up to the promises we make or suffer negative consequences. You also want us to know that we may not understand the full importance of keeping those promises at the time we make them, but if You are a part of covenants, we make we will not block Your greater agenda if we live up to them. Such was the case in the covenant between Jonathan and David. On the other hand, if we do not show loyalty and take our promises with You lightly, as the Judean’s of King Zedekiah’s time did regarding the release of Hebrew slaves, then we must expect to suffer negative consequences while Your work through us is delayed or blocked. We offer You our humble and reverent thanks and praise for allowing us to mature in our faith as we keep the promises we make in covenants with You. You deserve nothing less than our worship, adoration, loyalty, trust, obedience, glory, and honor. Thus, we offer those things at Your altar today and always. In Christ’s name, amen.
As promised above, we will spend some time looking more closely tomorrow at the situation of the deceit of the Jews of King Zedekiah’s time in observing the years of restoration. When we look at this story in the context of covenants, there are some important lessons God wants us to learn. All of the Lord’s efforts on our behalf are based in His profound wisdom and love for each of us. I never tire of reminding us that we never go a day in our lives unloved or ignored by God. He is with us wherever we go, no matter with whom we find ourselves. There is great comfort in knowing that our Lord is eager for us to obey Him and for Him to have the chance to bless us. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn