Sunday School on Jonathan, the Friend (1 Samuel 18:1-5, 20:35-42, 23:14-18)

Announcement and Prayer Request.

Introduction:

• Ever since the creation, the entire Bible records the antagonism and friendship between God and men.

1. There are times when we walk with God with a humble heart and submit ourselves to be used as a tool in His hand. God’s heart is pleased and finds satisfaction. Great things are accomplished. 2. There are other times when we pride ourselves on our abilities, follow our own paths, conspire veil plot, and rebel against Him. {Psalms 2:1-3} God’s heart hurts and grieves. Great loss and bitterness come as consequence.

• A major theme in the book of 1 Samuel is faithfulness. In the past few weeks, we have read quite a few stories. What are some of the events thus far which reflect this character?

1. Priesthood: From Eli’s ignorance to Samuel’s calling. “I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind” {1 Samuel 2:35} 2. Kinghood: From rejecting the heavenly king to asking for an earthly king. “It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their King.” {1 Samuel 8:7b} 3. Leadership: From Saul’s initial humility to his final disobedience. “You have done a foolish thing. You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you.” {1 Samuel 13:13a} 4. Stewardship: From the shepherd boy David to the faithful defender and deliver. “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” {1 Samuel 17:45} 5. Friendship: From the fellowship between David and Jonathan, we learn that God uses faithful friends to support and smooth His people through the hard journey of life.

About My Approach:

I began to teach Sunday School at twelve, maybe just as a pack leader of some small children then. But over the years my passion for teaching has never faded, only to be rekindled time and time again when I become an experienced learner. I envisage that my role as a teacher is to guide students to discover, construct, and extend themselves and their abilities to a greater understanding. So that is my approach I am going to adopt today. I sometimes call it the zoom in and zoom out approach.

Get It Wrong!

• A huge disclaimer:

1. We read that Jonathan loved David after seeing him in the battlefield. “Jonathan became on in spirit with David, and that he loved him as himself.” {1 Samuel 18:1} and that David lamented over Jonathan’s death. “I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.” {2 Samuel 1:26} 2. These passages describe a close, very dear, perhaps extraordinarily intimate, relationship between Jonathan and David. 3. Some jump at the word “love” delineated here to suggest a homosexual relationship between David and Jonathan. Such an interpretation, however, should be rejected immediately. Where does this perverted thought come from? How are we influenced in our daily watching, listening, and reading?

• Be aware of the Liar and its impact on us:

1. Satan is a nasty schemer. One of its schemes is to trick us to cast doubt on God’s Words, sometimes even without our notice. 2. Its first trick, riding on what I termed “the first humanism awaking”, used the equivocal remarks such as {Genesis 3:1b, 4, 5}

a. Did God really say … confusion, uncertainty b. You must not eat from ANY tree in the garden … half truth c. You will not certainly die … disbelief, misgivings d. You will be like God, … pride, lust

to promote us to develop our own thinking. In this way, Satan accomplishes the consequence it desires.

• What is the crisis facing America and, indeed, across the entire spectrum of human society in general?

1. Delusion -- An idiosyncratic belief or impression that is firmly maintained despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument. 2. “They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believe the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” {2 Thessalonians 2:9-11}

Get It Right!

• A heart to read what this passage is truly about:

“Truth, not eloquence, is to be sought for in Holy Scripture. Each part of the Scripture is to be read with the same Spirit wherewith it was written. We should rather search after profit in Scriptures, than subtilty of speech. We ought to read plain and devout books as willingly as high and profound. Let not the authority of the writer offend thee, whether he be of great or small learning; but let the love of pure truth draw thee to read. Search not who spoke this or that, but mark what is spoken. Men pass away, but the truth of the Lord remaineth forever.” ... Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471), Of the Imitation of Christ

• We see two drastically different relationships in display.

1. David and Saul – like/admire/love, pride, jealousy, resentment, fear, anger, insecurity, mistrust, distance, misery, violence. 2. David and Jonathan – love, support, respect, sacrifice, kindness, loyalty, understanding, openness, confidence, encouragement, long lasting commitment.

• We also see the dynamics as these emotions evolve from state to state. What causes a relationship to change or to form?

1. Saul liked David very much initially. {1 Samuel 16:21} David came to Saul and served him. {1 Samuel 18:5} David respected Saul and spared his life twice. {1 Samuel 24:12} 2. Yet there is a point when everything was changed. {1 Samuel 18:9} 3. Saul made many similar gestures as Jonathan to David. Both of them loved David, offered David their armors, initiated a friendship, and welcomed David to their palace. And yet at the end, Saul was threatened by David’s ability and popularity, while Jonathan supported David in every way. Why is there such a different ending? 4. In retrospect, can this breakage be reconciled? Can the crack be sealed again? How? 5. How was the relationship between David and Jonathan built, strengthened, and reaffirmed?

The three bows:

• We can imagine that David anxiously waited in the desert and behind the rock for three days, hoping that things would turn brighter. Finally, he heard of the verdict that he was not accepted. David came out from the stone in despair. Without saying a word, he “bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground.” {1 Samuel 20:41} What did this gesture of bowing meaning?

• Suppose that David wanted to thank Jonathan with one bow for each favor. What are the three things David was thinking about at this moment of forever goodbye?

1. Thank you for knowing me, having confidence in me, and defending me. {1 Samuel 19:4-7} 2. Thank you for staying faithful to me when I am about to fall. {1 Samuel 19:2-3, 20:12, 31} 3. Thank you for supporting me all the way even when I have nothing to return. {1 Samuel 18:1-4, 20:4,34}

What qualifies a friendship?

• Chinese scholar Confucius had an old wisdom on qualities of a friend who is beneficial to us.

1. A friend who is straightforward – because he points out your mistakes. 2. A friend who is forgiving – because he understands. 3. A friend who is knowledgeable – because he moves you forward.

• Similarly, he also said about a friend who would cause a loss to us.

1. A friend who feigns and play-acts – because he does not tell you the truth. 2. A friend who flatters – because he is not sincere. 3. A friend who is silver-tongued – because he speaks with eloquence and persuasion but no reality. 4. “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” {Proverb 13:20}

• What did Jonathan want from David?

1. “Show me unfailing kindness like the Lord’s kindness as long as I live.” {1 Samuel 20:14} “Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty. (NIV); To him that is ready to faint kindness should be showed from his friend; even to him that forsaketh the fear of the Almighty. (ASV)” {Job 8:14} 2. “Do not ever cut off your kindness from my family.” {1 Samuel 20:15} 3. He asked for a friendship that is sealed by God and their convents witnessed by God.

How is the friendship manifested between David and Jonathan?

• They sacrificed for one another.

1. “Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.” {1 Samuel 18:4} 2. The significance of this gift was that Jonathan recognized that David would one day be king of Israel. 3. Rather than being envious or jealous, Jonathan submitted to God’s will and sacrificed his own right to the throne.

• Jonathan showed loyalty toward and defense of David.

1. King Saul told Jonathan and all attendants to kill David. Jonathan warned David of the danger and spoke well of David. He reminded his father of David’s risk of taking his life in killing Goliath and David’s faithfulness to him. {1 Samuel 19:1-3}

2. Jonathan committed himself to David. “Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do for you.” {1 Samuel 20:4} 3. Jonathan even risked his own life in defending David “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?... Then Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David.” {1 Samuel 20:32-33}

• Jonathan and David were also free to share their emotions with one another.

1. Jonathan expressed his love for David without hesitation. 2. David expressed his fear without any holdback. 3. Jonathan asked David to show him unfailing kindness. 4. They cried together, knowing that it would a forever goodbye, but with assurance that they would be friends forever. {1 Samuel 20}

• David honored his friend even after Jonathan’s death.

1. “And David said to him [Mephibosheth], Don’t be afraid, for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.” {2 Samuel 9:7}

• Where do we stand nowadays?

A Modern Example:

• Perhaps the line most frequently attributed to Dwight L. Moody and spoken by his character in Moody’s life. • The famous quotation: “The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him. I will try my utmost to be that man.” • It was actually spoken by Moody’s friend Henry Varley.

Take Home Message:

• Only two people in the Old Testament are called “friends” of God.

1. "The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend." {Exodus 33:11} 2. “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God's friend.” {James 2:25}

• What does friendship with God entail?

1. “A friend loves at all times.” {Proverbs 17:17} 2. “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” {Proverbs 18:24} 3. "Greater love has no one than this, than he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My father I have made known to you." {John 15:13-15}