Devoted: A Heart Like His
As we continue studying David and what it means to have a heart like God’s, this week we’ll discuss how Jonathan, Saul’s son, was a good example for David.
There are multiple verses in the Bible that tell us to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” These include Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, Romans 13:9, and Galatians 5:14. Those aren’t all of them, and with as many as there are, it’s pretty clear this is an important principle.
It can be hard to treat others the way we want to be treated.
As we’ll see, Jonathan wasn’t just familiar with this principle. He lived it through the way he treated David.
So much of what we hear from the world is about taking care of yourself because nobody else is going to. It’s a dog-eat-dog world, and you need to fight for yourself.
Over the past several weeks, we’ve talked about how Saul became jealous of David and was trying to get rid of him. Those feelings were intensified by two of Saul’s children loving David.
In the beginning of 1 Samuel 18, we see Jonathan becoming friends with David.
“Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. And Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.”
David was very successful, and this led to Saul becoming even more jealous of him.
“Saul’s daughter Michal loved David, and when this was reported to Saul, it pleased him. ’I will give her to David,’ Saul thought, ‘so that she may be a snare to him, and the hand of the Philistines may be against him.’” (1 Samuel 18:20-21)
David replied that he was a poor man and wasn’t worthy of becoming the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul told David that all he required was for David to bring back evidence that he had killed one hundred Philistines. This was Saul’s plan to get rid of David. Instead, David brought back evidence that he had killed two hundred.
“Saul gave his daughter Michal to David in marriage. When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, he grew even more afraid of David. So, from then on Saul was David’s enemy.” (1 Samuel 18:27-29)
Saul was focused on himself, not others.
He was willing to kill anyone who got in his way. This included David, Jonathan, and Michal.
Jonathan, on the other hand, was willing to give up everything for David. He saw David the way God saw him. Jonathan was devoted to both God and David. This is how friendship is supposed to be. Jonathan loved David the way God loves us.
Friendship is about being devoted. It’s about being all in. It’s about putting others ahead of ourselves.
Jonathan shows us how we’re supposed to love our friends and neighbors.
