A Devoted Servant
Book of 1 Samuel Chapters 18-20
What does God require of His children? He requires each of us to be devoted servants!
The character of the true servant is the knowledge of the service we owe to our Creator.
Psa 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
Psa 119:90 Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.
Psa 119:91 They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants.
Those who do not acknowledge our Creator, will never serve the Lord even though deep within them they know the Lord is real!
Job 12:16 With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his.
God requires our devotion to Him!
In our lesson today we will see than Saul’s son Jonathan was a devoted friend to David and Jonathan was true to God.
They loved each other as if they were brothers.
Now this was not some immoral thing that we see today, but we know that some friends are closer than our brothers and sisters to us, and there is nothing immoral about this sort of friendship.
If we follow this passage in the Bible, we will see that they both had courageous spirits and they both possessed great faith in the Lord.
Jonathan was a little older than David, but they both were probably in their twenties.
I can tell you for certain that young men who fight in wars together, develop a closeness that is not understood by most people, and it is real, and it is not immoral!
David had a heart for the Lord, and he was truly bold in battle.
The Lord will never blame the soldier for their actions in war, as long as they protect the innocent and do not intentionally kill when it is not necessary.
The Lord will hold rulers and politicians and murderers accountable for the useless carnage of war!
David’s victory over Goliath had propelled him into the limelight in the nation of Israel.
David was a national hero!
King Saul at first brought David close to him as he had done with every valiant soldier.
Saul liked to surround himself with valiant men and bring them into the King’s court.
In Christianity, it is the love we show to each other that shows our love for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mar 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Mar 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Without this love and devotion we are devoid of what is essential to a Christian life!
In this lesson we will also see that jealousy and envy can cause all kinds of problems for us, as we go through this short life we live on earth.
*1Sa 18:1 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
1Sa 18:2 And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house.
We can see from the first, Jonathan admired David for his act of heroism against Goliath.
David was a true hero.
When Abner brought David to King Saul, David still had the head of Goliath in his hand.
In typology, we see that all of Israel was saved, and David was the Savior.
In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ is called the Son of David many times.
All true Christians are saved because we have a Savior and He is Christ, the Lord God of the Bible!
Jonathan also realized that if David had failed, they would all have been servants to the Philistines, and Israel would have become a nation of slaves again as they had been in Egypt.
So David was also a Deliverer!
Our Savior is also our Deliverer and He will soon return to be our Redeemer.
David could not be a Redeemer and no human can have this role!
What is the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ?
The Lord sees something in us in our worst state that He loves, and to Him we are so valuable that He died for us.
We certainly will not understand this while we yet live, but maybe we will understand this when we get to Heaven.
We see that Jonathan removed his clothes of royalty and gave them to David.
*1Sa 18:3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
1Sa 18:4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.
In this case, it is Jonathan who is a type of Christ.
Jesus Christ came to this earth after having removed His Heavenly attire and then, He has offered to clothe every believer in His own garments of purity and righteousness.
When we are clothed in the garments of the “Glory of the Lord” then, we will be like Christ.
Today we are to try our best to be like our Heavenly Savior who has delivered us, and Jesus will return to redeem His prized possession!
When we meet the Lord, we are to cast off our ragged clothing of sin and evil habits and be clothed in the garments of goodness, and meekness and of hope and love.
It is not that we are saved from sorrow and despair and punishment for our sins, but that our sin nature is removed, and we become a new creature, a member of the Army of God.
Notice Jonathan gave not only his clothing, but also his weapons of war.
It takes a lot for a soldier to give up his weapons of war!
In reality, our weapons of war do not match up to the weapons of Jesus Christ which He used when He was tempted.
Heb_4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
He gives us the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of preparation of the Gospel of peace, and the shield of faith.
So, wherever David went he behaved wisely just as we are all to do!
*1Sa 18:5 And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.
David was incredibly wise in the way he managed every task that was assigned to him.
We need to be wise in the things that God gives us to do!
Mat 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
We must understand the will of God for our lives!
Eph 5:17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
Along with this wisdom, we are to patiently wait upon the Lord!
Col 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
Col 4:6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
David was also highly successful in every assignment that was given to him.
We must not forget that David was still a young man, but in his defeat of Goliath came respect from the other soldiers in the army of Saul.
Because David was faithful in his duties, Saul made David the commander of a portion of his army.
Abner was the general of Saul’s army.
We can see that David was on God’s training ground to become the next King of Israel.
The people and the army were pleased that David commanded part of the army of Israel.
Gradually David’s fame became so great that it aroused the worst feelings in King Saul’s mind.
What we see is ,that God causes David’s true glory to outshine the importance of King Saul and Saul retaliates.
*1Sa 18:6 And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick.
1Sa 18:7 And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
The truth is most people love national heroes!
The people of Israel had not forgotten the years they suffered at the hand of the Philistines, and they needed a hero and God provided them a hero who was after God’s own heart.
Just as it is today, it was the women who swooned over David just as they swooned over Saul when he was first made king.
The important part of this story is the closeness of David and Jonathan.
When the army of Israel was successful, David was praised and not King Saul.
The women came out to escort the victors home with singing and dancing.
Dancing was the usual expression of rejoicing on occasions of national triumph.
Keep in mind, there is a great victory for a mother when her children come home safe from war.
The Israelite men seldom got caught up in dancing.
When David danced later it was an exception.
These dances were usually accompanied by the tabret, what we know of as the timbrel.
These dances developed into a national war dance.
Michal, the daughter of King Saul and wife of David, felt that this type of dance was beneath the dignity of a king, and she hated David for this reason as he danced at the return of the Ark to Jerusalem.
A timbrell could be said to be a hand-drum with pieces of brass fixed to it.
Some say it was these things that upset the king, but more than likely it was that David was successful in defeating the Philistines where Saul had not been successful.
We should remember an army needs a reason to go to war and having a hero guide them certainly helped the army of Israel.
David had no fear of the enemies of Israel!
The Philistines had been the enemy of Israel all the days of Saul and in reality, David had slaughtered maybe ten times more of the Philistines than Saul had.
David developed military skills and military qualities which later made him the founder of a wide empire possessing most all the land that God had given to Israel, and David handed over this empire to his son Solomon.
These songs became well known to the enemies of Israel.
1Sa 29:5 Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?
These things were displeasing to the King and Saul was ruled by his own jealousy from that day forward.
*1Sa 18:8 And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?
1Sa 18:9 And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.
King Saul became envious of David!
What do we know of the truth of envy? Envy is a sign of a reprobate mind!
Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Rom 1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Rom 1:30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Rom 1:31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Rom 1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
Saul was gripped with the spirit of jealous rage and had God not protected David, he would have certainly died at the hand of Saul.
Jealousy and envy can cause all sorts of problems for us.
These things will cause us to degrade ourselves.
These things will cause covetousness within us and cause us to attack that person not only verbally but also physically.
Envy will cause us to fill hatred, and cause a negative reaction in all kinds of ways.
Envy will absorb all our thoughts.
Envy can absorb all our time.
Envy will eat away at our hearts and our mind just like some uncurable cancer.
Envy will consume your life if you allow it to fester in your heart!
This envy was the downfall of King Saul!
Pro 14:30 A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.
Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Gal 5:26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Envy brings hatred and we see hatred rule in our nation today!
As Jonathan saw this change in his father, he knew David needed his help.
*1Sa 20:41 And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.
1Sa 20:42 And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.
We see that Jonathan conquered jealousy and envy, but his father did not.
The difference was easy to see because it was through the power of God.
God always provides a way if we would just use that way!
That power is through the power of the cross!
We know that we all stand on level ground at the foot of the cross!
It is through the cross that we receive forgiveness of our sin, and through the power of His Resurrection we receive the power of the Holy Ghost who raised the Lord Jesus Christ up from the dead and who gives us a New Life.
It is the Holy Spirit who gives us power over all our sins including jealousy and envy.
Jonathan had kept his word and he went to the prearranged field he had told David about and where David was hiding.
We will see that Jonathan may have been as good with a bow as David was with his sling.
What were Jonathan’s instructions to David?
1Sa 20:38 And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.
“Make Haste”, “Hurry”, “Go Quickly” “Do not wait or delay.”
Before David would leave, he came out of hiding to say goodbye to his dear friend.
David had it in his mind that they might never meet again.
They had a loyalty that only close friends could have.
This in typology teaches us, that we have a friend in Jesus who is closer than a brother.
Pro_18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
Notice that David bowed to Jonathan for he was a prince and royalty.
David became a fugitive of his own nation and was charged with a capital crime.
David was cut off from everyone he loved and from all his earthly possessions.
David’s life came crashing down on him and he had done nothing to deserve these things happening to him.
We see these things happen in our own nation today as a jealous and envious president is doing his best to eliminate all his foes of which many of them have done nothing to deserve his wrath.
America seems blind to this truth!
Israel became blind to the plight of David for a time, and he received truly little help because Israel became afraid of the wrath of King Saul.
Jonathan kept his oath and is a fitting example for us today, in these things.
Integrity says that our word is our bond!
We need to mean what we say and say what we mean just as our Heavenly Father does!
When we make an oath then we need to keep it.
The most important oath we can make is to ask for forgiveness while making an oath to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is it possible to be saved and not be a Christian?
Each of us needs to answer that question ourselves!
Deu 23:21 When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.
Deu 23:22 But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.
Deu 23:23 That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.
Next week we will continue with the true story of Saul and David.
Amen.
LESSONS IN GOD'S WORD 