June 1927
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K i n g ’ s
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rT' HE section of Scripture I Samuel 18- 24 could well be called a cross-section of the biography of David and Jonathan. The friendship which was formed between
and ever faithful Intercessor, the Lord Jesus Christ. The relation of Christ to those in whose hearts He lives, and His relation, on the other hand, to His divine Father in heaven, constitute His peculiar qualification to be the one Mediator be tween God and man. Having been man Himself, He is able to understand human needs. As the Only Begotten of the Fa ther, He has access to Him which no other creation can have. Do you have an “Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous”? (1 Jno. 2:1, 2). It is only those who are assured that they have such a Friend in God’s presence who are able to experience “the peace of God which passeth all un derstanding,” and to go forward, as did David, without fear. —o— P ith and P oint . Love strips itself to clothe others. Envy strips others to clothe self (18:4). The only way to keep down the weeds of envy is to think less of reputation and more of duty—less of self and more of Christ. It is a sure sign a man is not ruled by the Spirit when he cannot; endure to hear others praised. God never blesses carnal conduct (18: 14). - - Some men grow, others merely swell (18:5). Envy lies at the heart like a worm, al ways gnawing and piercing it with an invisible sting and poison. The nearer we are to Christ, the nearer we will be to each other. “A true friend,” said Aristotle, “is one soul in two bodies.” S uggestive Q uestions Who is the one Friend who will be found never to change? (Heb. 13:8, 20). Who, like David, was hunted by men because of envy? (Matt. 27:18). What does the New Testament call the man whose heart is filled with envy? (1 Jno. 3:12, 15). Is there any Saul who can harm the one who is under God’s protection? (Psa. 37:32, 33). What is the heritage of the servants of the Lord? (Isa. 54:17). What foolish mistake is often made by Christians? (Psa. 53:5). How may we win the consciousness that the Lord is with us? (1 Sam. 18:14; cf. Psa. 101:2). If we would have true friends, what must we do? (Prov. 18:24). —o— G olden T ext I llustration “There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother”—Prov. 18:24. “What do you do without a mother to tell all your troubles to?” asked a little girl who had a mother, of one whose mother had gone to be with the Lord. “Mother told me who to go to before she died,” answered the little orphan. “I go to the Lord Jesus. He was mother’s friend, and He is mine.” “But,” objected the first child, “He is way up in heaven and He, has so much to attend to !” “All I know is”—replied the little girl, “He said He would help me, I go to Him, and He always does.”
into stepping stones for the man who will be true to Him. Saul’s fear only increased with the peo ple’s praise of David. We would natur ally infer that the fears would have been on David’s side, as his life was the en dangered one. Strange to say, all the fear was in Saul’s heart, and the ground of it was that David was endowed with the divine Spirit and therefore encom passed with the divine protection. Have you ever noticed how calmly men of God go about their business, while enemies rage all about them? Those who are led of the Spirit have "»oí received the spirit of bondage again to fear” (Rom. 8 :14, IS). David and Michal, Saul’s daughter, fell in love. “I will give her to him,” said Saul, " that she may be a snare to him” (v. 21). He forthwith asked as a dowry that David should present to him proof that he had slain a hundred Philistines (v. 25). As this would have to be ac complished, not in regular warfare but a private raid, the chances were good that David would lose his life in the attempt. Another design failed, for David carried out an exploit which led to even greater honor for himself (vs. 27-30). Craft had failed. Let the purpose now be openly avowed. Saul tells Jonathan that David is to be killed (19:1). Al though David had been selected by Jon athan’s father for great honors over his own head, Jonathan “delighted much in David," and he at once warned David of the King’s purpose. Thus God gives us true friends in the time of need. Jonathan also did what any loyal friend must do—opened his mouth in defense of his friend who was being falsely perse cuted. He remonstrated with his father. He laid bare to Saul his ingratitude and the baseness of his project. The king must have gotten a real glimpse of him self, for he reversed his decision. Although fathers are supposed to train up their sons in the way in which they should go, there- are some fathers who might well be instructed in right ways by their sons. Jonathan showed himself an admirable son. He was solicitous to pre serve his father’s honor. At the same time he was an ideal friend, for he plead for one who was innocent, even when he had to face a tyrant to do it. This was no mere worldly friendship, in which one, in devoting himself to an other, in reality loves himself most, and is looking out for his own interests. There is a friendship impossible to the worldly—the bond of those who love each other in God, to whose service they have devoted themselves. “Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love. The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.” Such friendships, which have taken root in hours of holy consecration, are certain to grow and blossom into the most prized of all earthly possessions. It is generally in the Church of Christ that such endur ing and holy friendships are made. Where God unites hearts, personal fail ings are too weak to dissolve them. Those who are united in the bonds of the Holy Spirit are ever seeking occasions of prov ing their love, and the faults of a friend only furnish opportunity to reveal the genuineness of friendship. Let us not fail to see in Jonathan, David’s faithful intercessor in the king’s palace, a type of the believer’s true friend
them immediately after David’s s 1a y i n g of Goliath, is one of the most beautiful that is recorded in the annals of history. At the d e a t h o f Jonathan, David spoke of. his f r i e n d , a n d their friendship, in the fol lowing words: “I am
distressed for thee, my brother, Jonathan; very pleasant hast thou been unto me; thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.” In Chapters 16:14-23 is found a record of David’s introduction to the court of Saul, when he played for him at the time of Saul’s being tormented by an evil spirit. After the fight with Goliath, the record seems to imply that David was unknown to Saul, as is seen in 17:55 to 18:5. Some commentators are troubled with this seem ing discrepancy. Without attempting to settle the question, Tt seems to the writer most probable that Saul, during his tempo rary insanity when David played for him, was not in mental condition to grasp and retain ideas very clearly. Hence» those whom he met during that time did not register upon his mind. Therefore, when Saul met David, after his slaying Goliath, it was as if he had never met him. At this meeting David conducted himself in such a humble and sincere way that Jona than immediately saw his real worth. In the words of the writer of I Samuel 18:1, “The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” The expression, “knit with,” implies a very close and intimate relationship into which they were drawn. The affection and esteem in which Jona than held David was such that he would not permit David to return to his father’s house, Thereupon these two men entered into covenant relationship, which stood the trying test when Saul was bitterly op posed to David. Jonathan entered this covenant because he loved him as his own soul. The expression, “made a covenant,” is “cut a covenant" in the original Hebrew. An illustration of entering into a covenant may be seen in the case of Abraham, Gen. 15:12-21. The love which prompted Jona than to enter into such a sacred and holy covenant with David expressed itself in self-sacrifice, as is seen in the following words: “And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his apparel, even to his sword and to his bow and his girdle.” Someone has expressed the flowing out of love in the following words: “Love is that which will give the most and neither ask nor demand anything in return." It may not have been such a great sacrifice for Jonathan to give David his robe, and apparel, but there was a greater expression of love in his giving up his sword, his bow and his girdle, since weapons of war were not plentiful in those days in Israel, since they had been under Philistine bondage. Jonathan’s self-sacrifice and love is but a miniature and imperfect picture of the great love of God and Christ, who loved us with a love which is far greater and more intense than all the love of the peo ple in the world combined. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only
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