2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
The Lord leads me to continue writing about the series of events that arose out of David and Jonathan’s [Saul’s son] covenant and transcended generations of both of these families united by it. While not today, we will eventually see how this impacts, Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth. They were not only united to each other, but they were also united to God. We will pick up at 1 SAM 19: 20 where David’s wife, Michal had warned him that Saul was coming to kill him, and David had escaped to Ramah to visit the prophet (and priest) Samuel and the priests that worked under him. Their style of worship included liturgical dance and song. When Michal’s deception was uncovered and Saul found out where David had gone, he sent a contingency of his men to Ramah to get David. Herein is where God intervened. “So he [Saul] sent men to arrest him [David]. They saw the group of prophets dancing and shouting, with Samuel as their leader. Then the Spirit of God took controls of Saul’s men, and they also began to dance and shout.” The same thing happened to another group of men sent by Saul. When Saul arrived at the large well in Secu, he asked where David and Samuel were and was told they were in Naioth (a section of Ramah). 1 SAM 19: 23-24, “As he was going there, the Spirit of God took control of Him also, and he danced and shouted all the way to Naioth. He took off his clothes and danced and shouted in Samuel’s presence, and lay naked all that day and all that night. (This is how the saying originated, ‘Has even Saul become a prophet?’”)
In looking at this passage, some interesting contrasts can be seen. We know that God was with David, Samuel, and the prophets. Their dancing and shouting was not out of insanity, but instead, was clearly their style of worship. This style was obviously acceptable to God too. But, when we look at Saul’s behavior, it has gone over the edge! This is not the only time in the Bible that men have stripped themselves of clothing under God’s power. One need only look at the example of Isaiah’s courageous obedience in doing so for three years at the Lord’s command in IS 20: 2. There is a huge contrast here between Isaiah’s nakedness and Saul’s. The difference was that God was not with Saul, and the latter’s behavior was clearly not worship or carrying out God’s commands obediently. It was insanity plain and simple. In looking at the bigger picture here, we see God interacting to bring this about to stop Saul and his men from thwarting His will. It is important for us to be reminded here that God through Christ is the only One authorized to be the Judge. I mention this because the question might come up in our own lives when we come across someone suffering from some form of insanity, be it mild or severe. We might be tempted to ask, “is God punishing this person?” Because we know from DN 7: 13-14 that Christ alone has authority to judge, we must repel this temptation to place judgments on people suffering this affliction.
There are times when our covenant commitments place us in direct opposition with members of our own families. Such was the predicament that Jonathan faced because of his father’s persecution of David at the beginning of 1 SAM 20. Remember that one of the agreements of Jonathan’s covenant with David is that they will protect each other and members of their families from harm. David came to Jonathan after fleeing from Naioth in Ramah and asked in 1 SAM 20: 1, “What crime have I committed” What wrong have I done to your father to make him want to kill me?” Jonathan’s response was utter shock, and it is clear that Saul (who normally told Jonathan all that he did) had not said anything at this point about wanting to kill David to him. David asserts in (3b), “I swear to you by the living Lord that I am only a step away from death!” to Jonathan. It is then that David comes up with his request for Jonathan’s help in 1 SAM 20: 6-7, “If you father notices that I am not at the table [for the New Moon Festival], tell him that I begged your permission to hurry home to Bethlehem, since it is the time for the annual sacrifice there for my whole family. If he says, ‘All right,’ I will be safe; but if he becomes angry you will know that he is determined to harm me.’” Jonathan’s response was to invite David with him to go out into a field. There in (12-16) we get a bird’s eye view of just how serious Jonathan took his covenant vows. “I will question my father. If his attitude toward you is good, I will send you word. If he 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 them; 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.”
There is a kind of beauty in this friendship that could certainly be a model for our own attitude toward friendships in our lives. Christ teaches us that “the gate to hell is wide and the road that leads to it is easy. Many travel that road. But the gate to life is narrow and the way that leads to it is hard, and there are few people who find it” in MT 7: 13-14. Jonathan and David are both taking the hard road here, and we are asked to do the same in our interactions with God and other believers. We should meditate on how that impacts our own lives and see if there are some adjustments we need to make to be better friends to each other and to God.
PRAYER: O Lord, in today’s citations You have let us see Your love manifested in the protection You give to those who love and obey You. Throughout many contingencies, You watched over David to protect him, so he could carry out Your will. In their courageous willingness to keep their covenant agreements with You and with each other, we are allowed to see this most remarkable friendship as a model for us to follow in our own lives. You are also teaching us a lesson about Your sovereignty and authority given only to Your Son to judge. In RO 8: 28 You have taught us through Paul that, “In all things God works for good with those who love Him, those whom He has called according to His purpose.” Often, You have reminded us to love one another [RO 13: 8] and that we belong to You [RO 14: 8]. Because You are a consistently loving God Who keeps His promises, we can take comfort in knowing that when we are faithful, You will be there for us. In LK 12: 49-53, the Son told us that He might be the cause of division, even within families. The predicament that Jonathan finds himself in with his father, Saul, is certainly an example of that. You want us to understand that we are fully equipped to cope with these problems if we will only keep our covenant agreements with You and with each other. For all these wonderful lessons and so much more, we humbly approach You today to offer our adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, honor, glory, trust, obedience, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
Our examination of the events leading from David’s covenant with Jonathan and how they will eventually impact Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth will continue in tomorrow’s message. I hope that you are finding the lessons here as valuable as I am. We are so privileged to have God as our Covenant Partner. He teaches us how to love each other and shows us a depth and consistency of love from Himself that is unavailable to us from any other source. What faithful people from the Scriptures have shown is how even in the face of enormous challenges to our faith and often horrific predicaments, God still delivers His blessings to them. These are the blessings that transcend not only generations but death itself. Take comfort in knowing that when we are faithful, those blessings come our way too. God loves each of you and so do Peter and I.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn