16^th January

“Then David took an oath before Jonathan and said, “Your father knows perfectly well about our friendship, so he has said to himself, ‘I won’t tell Jonathan – why should I hurt him?’ But I swear to you that I am only a step away from death! I swear it by the Lord and by your own soul!” “Tell me what I can do to help you.” Jonathan exclaimed.”

1 Samuel 20:3-4

True friendship is essential in our lives. Without it we are lost; A fact emphasized in the life of David and Jonathan. Let’s take a look why?

David was anointed King by the prophet Samuel, just before he went into battle with Goliath, the Philistine giant. David’s victory caused a great jealousy to rise in King Saul’s heart. His jealousy was so strong that he wanted to kill David. A fact made very obvious by Saul’s actions and attitudes. Jonathan, Saul’s son and probable heir to the throne (if it were not for Samuel’s prophecy), was David’s best friend. By all accounts they should not have even met, let alone be best friends. David at that time was a mere shepherd boy (although later upgraded to playing harp for Saul in his courts). Jonathan however, was the son of a King. The two should not have mixed, yet the scriptures tell us that there were best friends.

The day before the New Moon Festival, David fled to Naioth to find Jonathan in fear of his life. David knew that Saul was trying to kill him and he didn’t know what to do. After pouring his heart out to Jonathan, Jonathan says the following words of comfort to his friend, “tell me what I can do to help you.” These words are so deep on so many levels. Jonathan a King’s son, offering to help a servant boy. Not only that, but Jonathan’s offer of help, probably meant sacrifice for him too. Yet Jonathan, spurred on by his friendship with David, seemed happy to sacrifice his own life, his own inheritance, and perhaps maybe his relationship with his own father.

The friendship David and Jonathan had, highlights what true friendship means and what it looks like. It builds the other person up, even at their own expense and is there in times of need and in joy. Friendship listens, is stable and stands with the other when they can’t stand on their own.