David And Jonathan Series

Here’s one of those parallels that we’ll see from time to time between David and Jesus. David is the one chosen by God as king, filled with his Holy Spirit. And as such he commands the love and loyalty of those godly men and women who recognise God’s spirit within him. So too, Jesus commands our love and respect, our obedience, because of who he is, the only begotten Son of God. And when faced with a choice between our personal ambition and following Jesus Christ, what’s our response going to be? hopefully it’ll be the same as Jonathan’s: to choose to follow Christ, the anointed on of God, rather than to seek to follow our own desires and purposes.

In one sense there’s a sense of equality and mutuality in this relationship. David and Jonathan are both young men fighting side by side for Israel against their enemies. But in another sense it’s a relationship of inequality. David is the anointed king, the one chosen by God to lead his people in place of Saul. He’s the one filled with the Holy Spirit for leadership, who stands head and shoulders, spiritually, above his peers. And Jonathan sees that and embraces it. In fact he seals the covenant between them with a blessing on David, that God would seek out his enemies, which, ironically, now included Saul.

Finally I just want to put to death a modern popular myth about David and Jonathan. They’re often paraded by the gay movement as a prime example of homosexual lovers in the Bible. It’s suggested that when it says that Jonathan loved David it’s meant in a sexual way. The trouble is there’s nothing in the text to suggest such a portrayal. The word that’s used for Jonathan loving David is the same word that’s used earlier for Saul’s response to David (16:21). I guess our local equivalent for the relationship between them is the idea of mateship. They’re kindred spirits, equally impulsive, equally brave, equally convinced that God was behind Israel; both leaders of men. And they’re close friends brought together by a mutual commitment to loyalty and friendship. I think we’ve come to a sorry state if we think that the only way two men, or two women for that matter, can have a close relationship is if it’s sexual.

In fact the way the story ends shows how far from the truth such suggestions are. Their friendship is sealed by the covenant they make in ch 20, yet this is the last time they spend any time together. But that doesn’t mean their friendship is over. David holds it in so much esteem that after Jonathan’s death he seeks out his son and agrees to care for him.

So here we have the story of a friendship that transcends personal ambition, family differences and even the circumstances of war. It’s a friendship based on a recognition of God’s will for his people Israel, expressed through one man, David. It’s a friendship that lasts because the parties to the friendship are committed to it despite their own needs and desires. And it’s a friendship that can be a model, not just for our friendships, but for our commitment to Jesus Christ, the one who is the true and eternal King, not just of Israel, but of the whole world.

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