FRIENDS FOR LIFE
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Opening Prayer
Father, I come to you today, acknowledging my unworthiness. There is nothing in or about me that deserves the gift of salvation in your Son. I praise you for your grace and mercy that led to my redemption.
Read 1 SAMUEL 20:18—42
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
1 Samuel
1 Samuel 20
18 Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon feast. You will be missed, because your seat will be empty.
19 The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid when this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel.
20 I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a target.
21 Then I will send a boy and say, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to him, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them here,’ then come, because, as surely as the Lord lives, you are safe; there is no danger.
22 But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then you must go, because the Lord has sent you away.
23 And about the matter you and I discussed—remember, the Lord is witness between you and me forever.”
24 So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon feast came, the king sat down to eat.
25 He sat in his customary place by the wall, opposite Jonathan, and Abner sat next to Saul, but David’s place was empty.
26 Saul said nothing that day, for he thought, “Something must have happened to David to make him ceremonially unclean—surely he is unclean.”
27 But the next day, the second day of the month, David’s place was empty again. Then Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?”
28 Jonathan answered, “David earnestly asked me for permission to go to Bethlehem.
29 He said, ‘Let me go, because our family is observing a sacrifice in the town and my brother has ordered me to be there. If I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away to see my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.”
30 Saul’s anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you?
31 As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send someone to bring him to me, for he must die!”
32 “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” Jonathan asked his father.
33 But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David.
34 Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger; on that second day of the feast he did not eat, because he was grieved at his father’s shameful treatment of David.
35 In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his meeting with David. He had a small boy with him,
36 and he said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.
37 When the boy came to the place where Jonathan’s arrow had fallen, Jonathan called out after him, “Isn’t the arrow beyond you?”
38 Then he shouted, “Hurry! Go quickly! Don’t stop!” The boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master.
39 (The boy knew nothing about all this; only Jonathan and David knew.)
40 Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said, “Go, carry them back to town.”
41 After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together—but David wept the most.
42 Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.'” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.
Reflect
Think about someone you are missing right now. Bring that person before God, asking for his presence to be with them and for his help during your separation.Jonathan handles the dilemma of how to warn David about Saul’s intentions with wisdom and courage. David’s absence from the king’s table has irked the unstable ruler, creating another flare-up of anger and murderous intentions. Jonathan weathers the storm of wrath directed at him but is grieved over his father’s unjust treatment of his friend.
The pre-arranged signal during target practice reveals to David that it is unsafe to return to the court, so he must hide; however, he first says goodbye to Jonathan. It is an emotional moment; neither knows what the future holds and, as David said earlier, ‘there is only a step between me and death’ (20:3).
That both men express deep affection and weep openly at their parting (v. 41) is in line with Middle Eastern culture, as some nationalities may be more reserved. Yet it is healthier to show love and affection and to express grief than to stifle emotions. Separation from those we love is a painful experience and a form of bereavement. We should not minimize the pain involved, nor be afraid to mourn the loss of treasured relationships.
Apply
Does the display of emotion, especially affection or sadness, unsettle you? Why might that be?
Closing prayer
Lord, when it is needed, help me to express love and loss in ways that truly reflect my heart’s emotions.
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