Chapter 21 Samuel, chapter 20.
Now, it's important as you go through these chapters of the Old
Testament, to put yourself in the place of the characters that
we read about.
It is quite interesting, the details that we get to know about
the lives of those who lived in the Old Testament.
You know, we get that special window into other saints, their.
Their.
Their lives, their connection to God, their.
We get that window into their mistakes.
We get that window into their success that they have at times,
their fears, their failings, their.
Their faltering emotions at times.
And that's really, you know, what we see in the life of David
here.
But we also see this in the life of Saul and in Jonathan as they
go through this narrative.
And as you go through this narrative, studying this, it's important
that you put yourself in this person's shoes.
So that's what I want you to do tonight is put yourself in David's
shoes tonight, so to speak.
That's who we're mainly going to focus on, obviously, but it's
really the relationship of David and Jonathan as they have went
out.
Now, a lot of us are probably familiar with this story.
We've probably read through First Samuel, Second Samuel, We've
probably read the end of the book.
Obviously, you know, it comes at the end.
But try to come at this as you are in his position, not knowing
the end of the story, because that's the position that you are
in tonight.
You are in your own place, not necessarily David's place.
It's great to get perspective, but you are in your own position,
not knowing the end of your own story.
We don't know who holds tomorrow.
We do know that God does, that he holds tomorrow.
But we know we don't hold tomorrow.
All right, so we'll start here.
In chapter 20, it says verse number one.
And David fled from Naoth.
And Ramah came and said before Jonathan, what have I done?
What is my iniquity?
What is my sin before thy Father?
That he said, seeketh my life.
And he said unto him, God forbid, thou shalt not die.
Behold, my father will do nothing, either great or small, but
that he will show it me.
And why should my Father hide this thing from me?
It is not so.
And David swear, moreover.
And said, thy Father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in
thine eyes.
And he saith, let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.
But truly, as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, there is
but a step between death and me.
Then said Jonathan unto David, whatsoever thy soul desireth I will
even do it for thee.
Let's pray and we'll start this evening.
Our Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you that you are a good God
and a God who is gracious to us, Lord, a God who leads us, guides
us.
And Lord, your hand is never off of our lives, Lord, not even
for one second.
But Lord, you are in control, Lord, and you have a plan.
And Lord, I just pray that you would help us to see that tonight,
that even in our own lives, just as in the lives of the saints
that have come before us, you were in control then, you are in
control now, Lord, and we can trust in in you, no matter what our
circumstances may be bringing.
Lord, I pray that we would find comfort in that and that we
would step out in faith and trust you more in the smallest of
things, Lord, not just the big things.
But I pray that we would follow you gladly.
Lord.
I pray that you'd help us to see that in David and Jonathan's
life tonight.
Pray and ask these things in Jesus name.
Amen.
So we have Here in chapter 20, the story beginning to really intensify.
You know, as David and Jonathan and Saul, as we're introduced
to these characters and we see some of the deeds that they are accomplishing
and some of the failures of Saul, you know, we get the outside
look of it.
But these are three people that are currently dealing with,
with basically what God is trying to do.
There's three people that are dealing with what God is trying to
do and what God is doing in Israel at this time.
And they're dealing with it in three different ways.
And as the characters are developing and we start to learn
more about Saul and as we start to learn more about Jonathan
and David, we get to see their situation in some ways climax up
to a point.
Because this story, as we read it, we're trying to figure out what
is happening with these characters, what is going to happen
with David, what's happening with the prophecy that God has?
We're told that David will be king.
What is happening with, with Saul?
Is Saul going to literally just fight against God, his entire
kingship?
It's not a long rule for Saul in terms of he was living pleasing
in the eyes of the Lord.
It really isn't.
There's Saul becoming king and then there is Saul beginning to try
to do things and then all of a sudden deciding to do things his
own way.
And it just goes completely downhill from there.
And so we're asking some of these questions as we approach chapter
20 of I don't Understand?
That's how I feel as I read some of this.
What is Saul doing?
You know, in chapter 19, we plainly see that, okay, Saul is completely
wishy washy.
He's off his rock for just a little bit.
Jonathan tries to convince him that, father, you know, why would
you sin against your servant David?
He hasn't done anything wrong.
Then there's appeasing.
And all of a sudden now Saul is okay, I swear by the Lord, I'm
not going to hurt David.
And then just he falters.
And, and what is at the heart of all of this, you'll notice there
in chapter 19, whenever he falters, it's right after David has
success again.
The jealousy of Saul, the understanding that God is no longer
on my life, God is on someone else's life.
The rejection of that idea, flat out complete rejection.
That's what's going through in Saul's mind.
And then we come here to chapter 20 right off the heels of
God protecting David through physical means, through his wife's
help, through Jonathan's help, through the spear, not pinning him,
him to the wall, through divine help, whenever Saul and sends
his servants to the Samuel, to Ramah, and they are compelled to
basically by the Spirit, to prophesy and to not capture David.
And then Saul himself saying, I'm going to take the lead here.
I'm going to get this done, I'll do this myself.
And then God once again humbling Saul.
We see through all of that.
We come here to this passage in chapter 20 and David asks the
question, this is, if you will, a crossroad crossroads of what
is going to happen.
You ever been that place in your life where you've tried a bunch
of different things?
You have put effort into trying to maintain something or perhaps
to fix something.
And I mean, you've given it your all.
I think every single one of us have been in that kind of situation.
I've been in that situation more times than I would like to admit,
where I really, really did my best and my best was not enough.
That's kind of the understanding that we come to here
in chapter 20, the Crossroads.
It's kind of like, where do we go from here?
What do we do from here?
Because everything that we know is about to change.
And that is what is happening here.
In chapter 20, David comes to Jonathan asking basically, what have
I done?
Why does Saul want me dead?
Is this really where things stand now?
And as we look at this, this is bigger than just being scared.
And it's the same thing with our Lives.
Yeah.
Sometimes we wonder how in the world we're going to get through
this and how we're going to wake up tomorrow or how we're going
to wake up in a week from now and where are we going to be?
You know, we had that, that, that scared feeling, but this is
a little bit further past that.
This is past David just simply being scared.
It's his entire future that he, for all purposes sake, thought,
okay, this is planned out.
God has his hands on this, and this is going to come to pass.
I'm going to be king.
By all understanding here, his entire future appears to contradict
what God has already promised.
Because as far as he can see in his future, Saul's going to kill
me.
And that's what he declares here.
There is but a step between me and death.
It's interesting he continues to make that statement throughout
his life.
Shortly down the road here in the few chapters following this,
he says the statement again, this is a statement of pure depression,
of pure depressed soul.
And David is trusting God as the Lord liveth.
God knows I could die at any moment, John, and that's where we
find ourselves today.
How can God's plan be true when David's circumstances seem to
be moving in the opposite direction?
Now put yourself in that shoe.
How can God's plan for you be true when your circumstances are
completely opposite?
A lot of us in our life will face different things where it really
does seem like what we are living is completely opposite of
perhaps what we would believe God would have for our lives.
You know, we will often pray in our prayer time.
Lord, give us.
Give us a good day.
It's a simple prayer request.
Give us a good day.
What does that mean?
Are you looking for blessings?
Are you looking for the lottery to be, to come on your, you
know, your lap?
Are you looking for, you know, what are you looking for?
But we pray for that.
We get on the road.
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with praying for this,
praying for safety.
We pray for safety for our kids.
We pray in every single way for us to be blessed.
And I'm not saying that that is wrong whatsoever.
We should play pray and ask God for his blessings.
There's nothing wrong with that.
But sometimes we get wrapped up with the expectation that this
is how this is going to go.
Maybe because I prayed that way or maybe because I just.
I think this is how life's going to go.
We get wrapped up in that expectation.
So as you put yourself in David's shoe, ask that question,
how Can God's plan be true when my circumstances seem to be
moving in the opposite direction?
And then are we trusting in what God is doing?
So as that tension begins to build in this chapter, we see David
questioning his future.
We see him asking his friend about this future.
How can God's promises fit what is happening to me?
The dilemma that David is facing and Jonathan is also facing
is all the more painful because there's false hope constantly
being given.
There is the hope that, okay, well, maybe Saul is just having fits
and he's going to get over this.
A peaceful resolution had appeared well within reach.
The last chapter in chapter 19.
During the events of chapter 19, Jonathan interceded on David's
behalf, prompting Saul to vow, as the Lord liveth, he shall not
be slain.
That was a confident vow that Saul did.
Yet shortly thereafter, Saul launches another attempt on his life.
And then, as chapter 20 opens, David begins to confront the harsh
reality of what exactly is taking place, the harsh reality that
any hope of lasting reconciliation has evaporated.
He.
He now realizes this is not going to be a peaceful transition.
This is not going to be perhaps, you know, just.
Just put yourself for a second.
I would have thought if I was David.
God has anointed me as king.
That's the special, okay, I'm still a shepherd boy right now, so
I'm probably not going to be king after all.
King Saul is, and he's a good king from all outside perspective.
Oh, King Saul wants me.
He's already had me play for him in the heart.
But in the door now I've killed Goliath now.
Now Saul has me fighting his enemies, foot in the door.
I mean, we're getting promoted here.
Now I'm commander over armies.
I'm winning these battles for Israel.
Israel is seeing me, and I can see how God is moving and how God
is setting that up.
I think we could all say in our lives that we've seen how God
has set things in motion.
And I, at this point in my life, if I was David, now Saul's
trying to kill me constantly.
He's chasing me.
He's literally doing everything he can for me to fail.
I'd seriously be questioning what God is doing.
God, is this your plan?
It's interesting how we can do that.
We can have great experiences.
We can have spiritual highs, and we can be so confident in what
God is doing because look at all the evidence.
And then all of a sudden, we.
We say to ourselves, God, where you at?
This is this.
This.
I must have misinterpreted all of this completely wrong.
And that's kind of what David is thinking here.
At least that's what I would be thinking if I was David.
So he flees.
He's in rhema with Samuel.
Saul is incapacitated by the spirit of God and he flees.
So that brings us the question, why did he flee?
You know, God is.
The spirit of God is protecting David there in a powerful
way.
And you know, you have to ask that question.
This is a safe place.
He's with Samuel, Samuel is helping.
This is probably a good place.
Why does he flee?
That's a great question we can ask.
While Saul was under the constraining influence of the spirit
of prophecy, David escapes and returns to Saul's court to commune
with Jonathan.
And this is where he asks that question, what have I done?
And you really, you have to ask also, you know, why.
What prompted David to flee back into Saul's court?
Was that really a good idea?
Because surely Saul's going to go back there eventually.
But he asked Jonathan, what have I done?
He's seeking the advice of his friend.
He's going to the highest official, if you will, that he has
on his side, and he's asking him for that godly wisdom.
You know, you and I live our life in going through moments of
up and down in those times, whenever we don't understand what
is happening.
Godly wisdom is very appreciated and it's very important
for us to seek that out.
And sometimes in our pride, we believe that, well, I've done this
before, and so maybe I don't need wisdom.
That's immediately the first thing you have to cast aside.
Just because you've done something before doesn't mean it's
going to help you now.
It's good to have experience.
But godly wisdom from other sources is always a welcome, welcomed
bit of relief, if you will.
And so seek that out as.
As David sought this out.
So he goes to Jonathan, what have I done?
What is my iniquity?
Why does your father seek my life?
We should see in this that David is testing Jonathan's loyalty.
In.
In all of this, David is questioning why didn't.
Why was I warned possibly about that attack in my house?
Why.
Why didn't I get news from somebody telling me that he was on
his way to Rama whenever I was fleeing there with Samuel?
In all of this, David is going to Jonathan because he trusts him.
He's going to Jonathan because they made a covenant with one another.
He's going to Jonathan because he loves him, because this is his
friend.
This is his companion.
This is the person who, in a way, he has just devoted himself
to and received the same kind of devotion, this discipleship, companionship,
relationship that these two have.
He goes through this question of not understanding.
So we have David, who doesn't understand what Saul has against
him.
And Jonathan probably doesn't understand either.
Jonathan doesn't yet understand how far Saul has deteriorated.
Look there in that verse number two.
He says, God forbid, thou shalt not die.
Behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but
he will show it me.
Why should my father hide this thing from me?
What do you mean?
He doesn't do anything great or small, Jonathan.
He's already tried to kill me twice, and you didn't tell me anything
about it.
Obviously, he's hiding things from you, Jonathan.
They need Saul's true intentions exposed.
And that's the climax here of what exactly is going to happen?
What is the future actually holding here?
David swears, thy father knows, I found grace in your size.
I'm about to die, Jonathan, and you're not going to know about
it because he doesn't want to tell you.
They need Saul's true intentions.
Jonathan needs to understand Saul's true intentions.
And so Jonathan reconsiders.
And look here what he says.
The fear is pouring out of David.
He is asking Jonathan for help.
Jonathan is trying to reassure him.
But then Jonathan takes this place of practicality.
And this is a lesson for us.
When your friends are fearing, when people come to ask you for help,
Scripture is always welcome.
But there also needs to be a practical point of application.
And this is what Jonathan does.
He doesn't say, david, have faith, David, why are you fearing?
Haven't you seen all the things that God's done for you?
Haven't you?
No.
He just says, whatever you want, man, I'm going to do it for
you.
Whatever thy soul desire, I will even do it for thee.
Take note from Jonathan.
Practical help is always needed.
Yes.
Give the word of God.
Yes.
Try to encourage that person's faith.
But ask them, what do I need to do?
What do I need to do to help you right now?
Because that's really what they need, you know.
What good does it do, brother, if you have someone who's poor and
needy and hungry and cold, and you say, be well, you know, go and
prosper.
May the Lord be with you, notwithstanding you didn't feed them?
James says, what good is empty words of exhortation if you didn't
do the things that were practical?
And so Jonathan does the practical and this sets up the plan,
the test to determine the heart that David has in mind.
David wants to test two people's heart with this plan.
That's plural.
David says to Jonathan, behold, tomorrow is the new moon,
and I should not fail to sit with the king of meat.
But let me go that I may have myself in the field unto the third
day at evening.
If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave
of me that he might run to Bethlehem, his city, for there is
a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.
If he say thus, it is well, thy servant shall have peace.
But if he be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by
him.
Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant, for thou
hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thee.
Notwithstanding, if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself,
for why shouldst thou bring me to thy father?
You see the inquiry, if you will, in David's voice in that last
statement.
I'm doing this, and let's test him.
If you do this for me, Jonathan, you will show me a kindness
of the Lord.
Jonathan, do you remember the covenant that we have between you
and I, Jonathan?
Do you remember, Jonathan, if.
If there's something wrong, if you're in agreement with your father.
Why would you even bring me to your father?
Just slay me now.
Kill me now.
To silent test, in a way, to see if Jonathan is honoring the covenant
that he has agreed to since the beginning.
And David has no way of knowing whether or not he's going
to defect from his father's rule.
He doesn't know this.
He has confidence, perhaps as you would have confidence in trusting
your own friend.
He has reason to say that I don't think Jonathan would betray
me.
But this is Jonathan's flesh and blood.
This is his father.
I don't know what kind of relationship you have with your own
parents, but to deny flesh and blood and choose a stranger, would
you do that yourself?
Would you choose someone who is not of your blood over your family?
A stranger?
How deep does this man's real friendship for me really go?
That's the question that David ultimately poses to Jonathan.
This is a test to reveal two people's hearts so that David may
understand completely.
The first is to completely understand Jonathan's heart.
And if that is well, then he will get an accurate view of his
position before Saul.
Now, we have a couple of things here that need explaining
as we go through this little description here.
Some we can, others we can't.
What?
We can't.
The question that many of us probably should have as you study
this passage is, okay, the new moon festival is coming up.
David is supposed to be there at the table beside Saul.
Why would he ever do that?
What.
What kind of sense does that make?
Why, after his life being so severely threatened, would David
go sit inside Saul at this festival?
First, we can't necessarily answer this completely because we
just don't have the information here readily available.
First, he might suppose that David maybe would ascribe this to
frantic fits.
He's had frantic fits in the past where the evil spirits come
upon him, and then things seem to smooth out after that.
Secondly, maybe we would think that David might not even think that
Saul would.
Would expect him to be at the feast at all, considering his late
and great danger from Saul.
Maybe this is one of those things of, okay, maybe he doesn't
even expect me there at the festival.
And this is gonna be basically not be a good test at all because
Saul doesn't even care if I'm there.
Or possibly another explanation is that when Saul came
to Rhema, perhaps Saul was.
Or that David rather was interceded by Samuel on behalf of
David's life.
Maybe Saul came and David said, he's coming for my life.
And Samuel told Saul, hey, this isn't good idea.
We've already seen that Saul is quick to have conviction in what
he's doing.
We actually see this on numerous occasions.
This is a pattern in Saul's life.
It'll be a pattern whenever David cuts off the hem of his garment
in the cave.
It'll be a pattern when David says, I was able to kill you.
He says, okay, David, I'm not going to kill you anymore.
Then he goes after him again.
It was a pattern whenever Jonathan convinced his father.
There's this conviction that comes over Saul that he says, I know
that this is wrong and I'm not going to do it anymore.
Does that sound familiar?
Familiar?
With our own lives, there is a difference between conviction and
actual repentance.
Saul expresses the conviction of wrongdoing.
But that actual heart change of repentance is not found in the
life of Saul.
You'll see that in the very beginning of Saul's rule, whenever
he gets confronted by Samuel for doing what's wrong.
Pray to your God.
That always strikes out to me.
Ask your God.
So saying that this wouldn't happen to me, what about our God,
Saul?
What about your God, Saul?
There is the I am sorry I got caught.
This is a.
A constant theme with Saul.
And then we come to this new moon feast.
What is the new moon feast?
This new moon fe.
This new moon feast.
Say that five times, real fast.
It was happening at the beginning of each month.
It was celebrated with special sacrifice, blowing of the trumpets.
And this feast was kept as a day of gladness.
According to Numbers 28.
One of the feasts actually is mentioned there in the book of Acts,
the new moon.
Maybe it's actually Galatians when Paul's talking about the feast
that we don't have to keep.
It was a significant religious celebration involving sacrifices
and feasting.
All of Israel would have been celebrating this feast, participating
in this feast.
This was a religious festival that God had commanded that they
do in remembrance and praise and offerings to him.
That's what this was.
And so David was a significant person, being an officer of Saul.
And he was supposed to attend if from the outside perspective,
if nothing bad would have been attending the happening between Saul
and David, David should be there by all accounts.
And so he asks Jonathan, this is the test.
David's empty chair is going to be noticed.
But he asked Jonathan, I want you to basically tell your father
this if he asks.
Now, this brings us to great conundrum of Scripture of trying
to understand, does David ask Jonathan to lie?
And the answer is absolutely.
This is full deception that he is asking him to do.
And as we read through Scripture, we have to understand
the difference between reading about what happened and what God
is endorsing.
Okay, but one of the things that we can take encouragement of
is that was this directly according to God's plan, that Jonathan
goes in there and just tells a big fib and Elias to his father saw,
I'm asking.
No, probably not.
I don't think so.
We know that lying is not what God wants us to do.
That's thou shalt not lie.
There is no workaround for that.
But what we do see all throughout the Old Testament, because
these things are written to us as an example, as Paul says, these
things are written for our learning, for us to look at.
What we do see is we see in perfect, imperfect, constantly doing
things that we look at, and we're thinking, horrible decision.
Why would you do that?
And yet God uses.
God uses imperfect people because that's all he's got.
And you and I, we are imperfect.
I saw.
I can't remember what church that was.
I feel like I was down in Tampa.
No perfect people allowed.
I can't remember where that is.
It's in Tampa.
That's where I've seen it.
That was the, that's the, that's the slogan of the Church.
No perfect people allowed.
I get what they're trying to do.
Because none of us are perfect.
None of us meet that place of pure, holy, 100% good, no faults,
blameless, being able to just make it to heaven on our own righteousness.
None of us meet that criteria.
None of us have saved ourselves.
None of us will be able to save ourselves.
It is by God and by God alone that we are able to even say we are
children of God because of the blood of Jesus Christ.
And whenever it comes to us in our life, God uses us and desires
to use us as imperfect children to fulfill his will.
And that's what he's doing here.
That even in the.
The failures of man, God still is able to control and still to have
sovereignty in this.
Jonathan at this point understands what David is asking.
And so Jonathan begins to trust not necessarily David here,
but God rather.
Verse number nine, it says, and Jonathan said, far be it from
thee, for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my Father
to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee Then, said David
to Jonathan, who shall tell me?
Or what if thy father answered thee roughly?
And Jonathan said unto David, come, let us go out into the field.
And they went out, both of them, into the field.
David, come.
You know, as we look at this again, you have to understand the
age difference here.
There's at least, I think there's at least 10 years worth of
difference of age.
This is an older man who's been tutoring David, who has been
making this influence on David's life.
He has connected his heart to David.
He has poured his life possibly into David.
He's loved this David.
He has done everything that he possibly can to save this man's life
and this man's future, all the expense of his own future.
And this relationship that they have is so sweet.
This is the reason why they, that they.
People talk about this relationship with Jonathan and David,
the type of friendship and bond that these two people have.
This is what people are jealous of, to have a friend this
close, a friend that sticks closer than a brother.
That's what these two men have here, a friendship.
And this, that's where Jonathan comes at.
David, come with me.
Let's go take a walk, buddy, because I'm going to show and I'm
going to prove to you my love for you, my friendship towards you.
Let us renew our confidence once again, though there is no need,
there's no need for that in Jonathan's mind.
And David.
David was questioning Jonathan.
You do remember the covenant that we have, right, buddy?
And Jonathan said, come on, David, let's.
Let's walk.
I'm desiring that you and I have certain confidence, one to another.
And this is the crossroad.
Jonathan is at a crossroad.
For what he could do and what he will do.
Jonathan could take the route that leads to his success.
There's evil found in me, Jonathan.
Just slay me.
Now you know what Jonathan's success looked like as far as man
was considered rising to the throne, becoming the next king.
That's the plan that we would look at and aspire to.
Success, however, is not measured by what we think we know.
Who are we to say that we know what is good for us, though we say
it daily.
We often pursue something that we believe this is right.
This is going to lead to my future.
Woe to us if we believe we can take our future into our own hands
and gain success, though by our own hand.
Book of James talks about this.
Woe unto them that say that we will go into this city and buy and
sell and get gain.
Bible calls that person a fool.
You should say, if the Lord wills, then you will get this or
that.
You don't know what tomorrow is going to bring.
You don't know what God's plan really is for you.
God knows God has a plan.
And God can turn your ideas on their head whenever you least expect
it.
What a foolish move it would have been for Jonathan to defect
from his covenant with David and go in rather with his father
and go after his, maybe his own desires for glory.
We look at it here not even as a question because we know the story
so well.
But this is exactly what David wondered about in this time of his
life.
These are the thoughts that plagued David.
He wondered whether Jonathan really would be loyal to him.
A nobody says in verse number 12, and Jonathan said unto David,
o Lord, God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about tomorrow
at any time, notice who he's talking to here.
He takes David into the field.
They're walking together.
And Jonathan doesn't start speaking to David.
He starts talking to God about the tomorrow at any time or the third
day.
And behold, if there be good towards David and I, then sin not
unto thee and showeth thee the Lord do so, and much more to Jonathan.
But if it please my father to do thee evil, then I will show it
thee and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace and the Lord
be with thee, as he hath been with My father and thou shalt not
only while yet I live, show me the kindness of the Lord that I die
not, but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house
forever.
No, not when the Lord hath cut off the enemies of David, every one,
from the face of the earth.
So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying what
the Lord even required at the hand of David's enemies.
And Jonathan calls David to swear again because he loved him,
for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
Jonathan said, God has chosen this boy instead of me.
He was perfectly fine with it.
What an honorable thing to emulate, to allow God to do with
us whatever he wants.
Jonathan clearly saw the hand of God on David, the great victories
in his life.
And no doubt by some means Jonathan knew exactly what David
was set for.
Even though we're not ever explicitly told that David revealed
he would be king.
This was plainly note between Jonathan and David.
By the way Jonathan acts a few chapters later, Jonathan says, you
will be king and I will be there right beside you.
That was what Jonathan was looking forward to.
He wasn't looking forward to being the natural next heir of the
throne, the next king.
He said, david, God has his hand on you.
You're the next king.
And I'm going to get to be there to watch and I'm going to get
to be there to be beside you.
Still, that is what Jonathan desired.
Yet that never happened.
That never came to pass.
Jonathan was excited to see his friend do something that he every
bit should have been the one to do.
There was no question of why didn't God choose me.
There was no question of God's displeasing my father, sure he would
be pleased with me.
Instead.
Their hearts were knit because they loved the Lord.
Their hearts were knit in a heart of friendship because these
were two people who had their heart after God's own heart.
I truly believe Jonathan could be that other person who has.
He was a man after God's own heart.
I really believe Jonathan could be.
Then I believe that all of us should desire to be a person whose
own heart was so inclined to God, so taking so much delight in
God, that God would say, there is a son, there is a daughter whose
heart is after my heart.
That's who I believe Jonathan was.
And yet that question wasn't why didn't God choose me?
No, there was only acceptance and surrender to God's will.
So you'll be familiar with First Timothy, Chapter 6, Godliness
with Contentment is great gain.
Jonathan was Godly but he was also very content in what God was
doing.
You see, a Christian can easily say God's will be done until
someone else gets the position, until someone else's ministry
grows, God's will be done until another family gets the opportunity,
another person is recognized, their own plan closes.
God seems to use somebody else more visibly.
And this is where Jonathan becomes painfully practical.
Because Jonathan was living a life that by all means was supposed
to be his, and yet he stepped aside.
So he's for him could have, because not necessarily his friend
had chosen it, but because he trusted God and he was relying on
what God had planned.
Be familiar with way John the Baptist talked about Jesus.
He must increase, but I must decrease.
That was the humility of Jonathan there.
So the covenant is renewed.
Jonathan promises to protect David's support, God's purpose for
him.
David promises lasting covenant kindness towards Jonathan
and his descendants, and both bind themselves and their descendants
before the Lord.
And then Jonathan acts on what he believes.
His loyalty to David is that expression of submission to what
God is doing.
And he says, this is what we will do.
Tomorrow is the new moon.
Thou shalt be missed because thy seat shall be empty.
Verse 19.
And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shall go down
quickly and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when
the business was in hand.
And thou shalt remain by the stone is hill.
And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I
shot at a mark.
And behold, I will send a lad saying, go find the arrows.
If I expressly say unto the lad, behold, the arrows are on the
side of the take them.
Then come thou, there's peace to thee, and no hurt as the Lord
live.
But if I say thus unto the young man, behold, the arrows are
beyond thee.
Go thy way, for the Lord hath sent thee away.
And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of,
behold the Lord be between thee and me.
Jonathan fully accepts the plan.
He fully is on board with what it would take to reveal the true
intentions of Saul.
And this was that moment that would have to take place in order
to fully convince Jonathan and David that there is no hope.
And the chapter ends so sadly once we get to the end of that it
ends so sadly because there is that great realization of what we
have feared has come to pass.
What we have hoped for cannot be.
And there is this recognition that, as Jonathan says, here, go
thy way, for the Lord hath sent thee away, that this is the
path that God has us on.
So I ask you tonight.
What is the path that God has you on?
What happens when God's will doesn't look like the future we wanted?
Do we respond like Saul?
Because Saul's response is all through this and all through this,
this narrative through first Samuel, his response of I have to
protect what I think belongs to me.
Then we have the other response.
When God's will doesn't look like the future we want to, we see
Jonathan, if this is where God is leading, I can trust him with
what happens to me.
Can we trust God with our place when his plan gives someone
else the position, recognition, opportunity, or future
that we think should be ours?
You contrast between Saul's need to control the outcome and then
Jonathan, on the other hand, his willingness to trust the outcome
to God.
Saul essentially spends these chapters, I don't like where this
is going and I'm going to force a different result.
And then Jonathan does the opposite.
This gives us a question that ultimately says, when God closes
a door or changes the direction in our life, do I surrender
or do I start manipulating circumstances to get the outcome
I always want?
How comfortable are you in your trust for what God is doing?
We trust him in things throughout our life.
We trust him with maybe his plans.
At time we say, okay, looks like I know what God's doing, so
I'm going to trust him.
But how real does that come to us?
How does that really affect you and I as Christians?
I remember I was struggling with something probably a year ago.
And the question that was ultimately plaguing my mind is, is
God going to take care of me?
Is God going to take care of me?
And what I finally, as I was thinking about this, what came to
my mind was this one question.
Ethan, you trust God with your eternity.
I have zero doubt where I will spend a turn.
I don't think about that one second.
I haven't thought about that actually, since I've gotten saved.
Praise the Lord, that I haven't thought about that.
I've never doubted that.
And I don't know if everyone can say that.
I don't know necessarily if that's good or bad.
It's not me bragging about that, but I don't doubt where I'm
going to spend eternity.
Not one shred.
And that one thing is more important than anything else on this
earth.
Nothing else matters if you die and go to hell.
What will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Nothing else matters.
That one thing is so great, and I trust God 100% with that completely.
No doubt of understanding what God is going to do one day?
What about the smaller things?
If God can do greater things than these, why would we not trust
God in the smaller thing?
Why would we not trust him with our future?
Even our future is maybe as big of a thing that that may be your
ultimate future in heaven is already decided and you're trusting
him for that.
Why wouldn't you trust him for everything else?
It's a question that we have to ask ourselves.
Why am I not trusting God in this if I trust him in that one?
This is ultimately a test of our Christianity to force that answer
to say God gets to decide my place.
Will I trust in what he's doing?
Will you trust in what God's doing?
Let's pray.
Father, thank you so much for the grace that you give us that we
get to learn from you.
We want get to learn from the examples that you've given us in
Scripture.
I pray that we would trust you more every day.
Pray that we lean in on that trust and the grace that you give
us to do.
Jesus name, we pray.