1 Samuel 18:1-5
Scripture Introduction: After spending a month and a half working our way through chapter 17, I would now invite each of you to turn with me in your own Bibles, to chapter 18 of 1 Samuel, as this morning, we will consider verses 1-5, and the people’s reaction to the events of chapter 17.
David had killed Goliath. Through his efforts the Philistine threat was overcome, at least for a while. Because of his victory, the soldiers of Israel were enriched with the plunder of the Philistine camp. And as we concluded last week, we overheard as David was interviewed by Saul – Saul needed to gather some information so that he could make good on his promised rewards to the man who fought and killed Goliath. But apparently, we were not the only ones paying close attention to that meeting. Apparently, Jonathan, who has been absent from the story since his own dramatic victory over the Philistines in chapter 14, apparently Jonathan has been paying close attention to David’s heroics as well – and more importantly, to David’s unwavering faith in the Lord God. And that attention leads us to our text this morning – it leads us to the beginning of what would be an unlikely friendship (Jonathan and David are quite different in age, and they have had vastly different upbringings) – we see this morning the beginning of a lifelong friendship – a friendship based on their mutual faith in the Lord God Almighty.
And it is to this friendship that we must turn this morning – but before we do so, let us turn first to the Lord God Almighty himself – to the One in whom we share the same mutual faith as both Jonathan and David. Let us turn to the Lord now in prayer.
Prayer
We turn now to the inspired word of God as it is given to us in
Read Text: 1 Samuel 18:1-5.
Hear now, the Word of the Lord.
1 As soon as he (David) had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house. 3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. 5 And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.
Thus ends the reading of God’s most holy Word.
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.
Introduction: For any musician or band, including Christian musicians, there is both a pro and a con to releasing a song that becomes one of the great classic songs of any particular genre. On the one hand, you have a hit – one that will last maybe even past your own lifetime – and with that comes success, recognition, and often, wealth. But on the flip side, you have to perform that same song every night, at every concert, for the rest of your life. I can only imagine that that can get quite monotonous (I hope that some of you picked up on what I just did there).
Well, for Christian artist, Michael W. Smith, that song is called Friends:
Friends are friends forever
If the Lord is Lord of them
And a friend will not say Never
‘Cause the welcome will not end
Though it’s hard to let you go
In the Father’s hand we know
That a lifetime’s not to long
To live as friends.
Friendship – deep, intimate friendship is one of the most precious things in this world. Such intimacy – such love – such a bond between two people is truly priceless. Maybe that is why on his last night with his disciples Jesus said: “No longer do I call you servants, … but I have called you friends.” (John 15:15) His friends are those for whom Jesus says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
Well, our text presents to us the beginning of a deep, life-saving, God-honoring friendship; as Jonathan, the king’s son, and the expected heir to the throne of Israel, bonds himself in friendship with David, the Lord’s Anointed, the one who will become king instead of himself. And what we see, then, in this text is the truth that, like Jonathan,
Proposition: We must lovingly unite ourselves to the Lord’s Anointed.
And this we see – especially in the new relationship begun between
Main Point 1: David and Jonathan.
But to fully appreciate the amazing nature of this new relationship, we must first remind ourselves of
Point 1: Jonathan’s previous standing.
Jonathan, as Saul’s oldest son, Jonathan was the heir to the throne of Israel. If Saul considers David to be a rival, which he will do almost immediately, then how much more should Jonathan? But you remember chapter 13 of this book, don’t you? Saul impatiently offered a sacrifice that he was told Samuel was to offer. When Samuel arrived he told Saul that as a result of his presumptuous sin, his line was rejected – his son, Jonathan, would not sit on the throne after him. We don’t know if Jonathan was aware of that judgment, but even if he wasn’t, he still could have viewed David as a rival – especially in light of David’s nationwide fame following his triumph over Goliath.
But unlike his father, Jonathan was faithful to the Lord. It was Jonathan who laid siege to the Philistine garrison in his hometown of Gibeah in chapter 13 when his father had failed to do so. It was Jonathan who, alone with his armor-bearer, as he trusted in the Lord for deliverance, successfully attacked the Philistines at Michmash and led Israel’s army in chasing the Philistines back to their own territory in chapter 14. Jonathan has repeatedly shown himself to be faithful to the Lord, willing to step out in faith, and willing to fight the enemy (though he was strangely silent when it came to Goliath), and Jonathan was certainly a good military leader.
Jonathan’s previous standing would have led a worldly individual to jealousy – just like his father; to plotting against a rival – just like his father. But instead, what we see in our text this morning, indeed, throughout this book until the time of his death is
Point 2: Jonathan’s present submission.
Interspersed with information about his father’s reaction to David, we are presented in verses 1,3, and 4 with the special relationship formed between Jonathan and David: “1 As soon as he (David) had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. … 3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.”
In these verses, there are 4 things that I want us to briefly take notice of.
- First, we are told in verse 1 that “the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David.” Why did Jonathan not suffer from jealousy, or seek to undermine David as a rival? Because their souls were knit together – they were bound together. But notice the passive voice of the verb” was knit”. Jonathan doesn’t knit their souls together. David doesn’t knit their souls together. It is the work of the sovereign Lord who knits them together. God’s sanctifying grace overcomes what humanly speaking would have naturally produced enmity, jealousy, and threat.
- This is the case because their knitting/bonding together was a bond of love – mentioned both in verse 1 and in verse 3. Love not enmity. Support not jealousy. Jonathan loved David and David loved Jonathan. There was a mutual love – the Hebrew word used her is ‘aheb. And I hate that I even to have to mention this, but as Richard Phillips writes, “Recent attempts by liberal scholars to paint sexual overtones onto this passage[/love] are both perverse and preposterous.” (Phillips, pg. 319) Additionally, linguistically, “The verb ‘aheb (‘love’) is [never] used … to express homosexual desire or activity, for which the OT [always] employs yada’ (‘to know’), in the sense of ‘have sex with’ (Gen. 19:5; Judg. 19:22). [And yada’] is never used of David’s relationship with Jonathan.” (Youngblood, pg. 706) In New Testament language, their love was an agape love, not an eros love.
- Thirdly, their bond of love, knitted together was then sealed by a covenant in verse 3. Here, it is Jonathan who initiates the covenant. And as Ralph Davis reminds us, “If we press the verb [made a covenant] (which literally means ‘cut a covenant’), the bond was inaugurated by severing an animal and by both parties passing between the pieces as if to say, ‘If I am unfaithful to my word in this covenant, may I end up in pieces as this animal.’” (Davis, pg. 155)
- And then verse 4 tells us that Jonathan took off his royal robe and placed it on David. And he gave to him his armor, his belt, and his sword. In essence, Jonathan was abdicating his standing as the crown prince and was announcing to all that David was the one who was Yahweh’s choice to sit on the throne. Instead of trying to eliminate a potential rival, Jonathan elevated him and he would submit himself to him.
This goes against every worldly expectation we may have – this was the Lord’s work – it could only be the Lord’s work. That is how relationships are to be – friends are friends forever when the Lord is Lord of them. But what about when the relationship is not between two believers? – when it is a relationship between a believer and unbeliever? Can such a sacrificial, submissive, loving, knitted-together, covenantally-bonded relationship ever truly exist? Sadly, the answer is: no; as we see in the next stage of the relationship between
Main Point 2: David and Saul.
That relationship remains rather one-sided.
First, we see in verse 2 that David is
Point 1: Kept
By Saul. “And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house.” That is exactly what Samuel had warned the people that a king would do – 1 Samuel 8:11 – “he will take your sons.” And it was also Saul’s typical practice – 1 Samuel 14:52 – “when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he attached him to himself.” David is useful to me – he is of benefit to me. He is my soothing musician – he is my giant-killer.
So, Saul kept David because of David’s value to him; unlike Jonathan who kept a bond with David because of David’s relationship with the Lord, and because of what Jonathan could provide for David as the Lord’s anointed. As Saul kept David, so David – the Lord’s Anointed – David brought success wherever Saul sent him according to verse 5a. Saul experienced the Lord’s blessing through David, the Lord’s anointed mediator. He was so successful that Saul
Point 2: Promoted
David. “Saul set him over the men of war.” “Saul had a useful soldier on his hands, and he did with him what any king would do with a good solider. He promoted him and made him as useful as possible.” (Woodhouse, pg. 351) Let me cash in on the fact that the Lord is with him – that victories (and the army) follow him wherever he goes – that much can be gained for me through him. Again, all that Saul is concerned about in this relationship is what he, Saul, gets out of it. David is useful to me and to my goals – and as long as he is, I can make good use of him.
How often does that describe the relationships that we have in this world? And even in the church? Relationships are born, and continued as long as someone is useful to me – as long as they meet my needs. But when we build relationships on such selfish, such self-centered criteria, we show ourselves to be Sauls in this world. That is, love of self – not love of others – not building relationships for the other’s good. Indeed, how many relationships, how many marriages fall apart because they reflect Saul-David selfish, self-centered relationships and not Jonathan-David other-serving, other-centered relationships? How truly sad that is – especially in the church – we should know better – we should be better.
While this text shows us the blessing of a committed David-Jonathan relationship, and the self-centeredness of a me-first David-Saul relationship; the end of verse 5 places before us a third relationship: that of
Main Point 3: David and the People.
“And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.” David’s success – his promotion, leading to continued success was “good in the eyes” of the people. It was good in the eyes of the troops – and good in the eyes of Saul’s ministers/officials – and as we shall see later, it was good in the eyes of all of the people of Israel as well. Unfortunately, though, as David continues to be successful, we will be told that the people’s response to David will become “bad in the eyes of Saul.” But for now, everyone saw David as a national hero. Everyone seemed to be in full agreement with Saul’s servant from chapter 16: “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.” (1 Samuel 16:18) Saul’s court and Saul’s people all saw fit to recognize the Lord’s hand upon David – perhaps they even saw that he was the one who was better than Saul – but that is another story for another day. For now, we must simply see that all of Israel saw in David their champion and they celebrated in his success – it was good in their eyes.
Conclusion: The people of Israel, including her soldiers, they were all impressed with David. At this point, Saul was pleased with David because of the personal benefit Saul received from David. And Jonathan, he embraced David, he was knitted to David, he loved David, he submitted himself and all that he had, even his future, to David, and he rejoiced in his friend. But as I have mentioned several times previously, though not in any way perfect – David, the Lord’s Anointed, points us to THE Lord’s Anointed One – to the Lord Jesus Christ. Many were, and will be, impressed with the things Jesus did, but they ultimately reject him personally. Like Saul, many will only follow Jesus as long as they are personally receiving what they want from Jesus. Does that describe us? Or, are we those who have been knitted to Jesus, those who openly embrace and love him – even before an often hostile world? Are we those who submit all that we have and all that we are to him? – especially when we naturally want to follow our own paths; and do we rejoice in Him?
Jesus has said to us: “No longer do I call you servants, … but (for those that have been knit to me) I have called you friends.” (John 15:15) And for his friends, Jesus also said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) Jesus has laid down his life for those the Father has given to him – even knit to him, bonded to him, covenantally tied to him. He has done this for those that he willingly/joyfully calls friends. And with Jesus, truly, “Friends are friends forever – Why? – because the LORD is always Lord of them.”
Let’s pray.
Prayer