Jonathan Seeks to Protect David
20:1 David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my offense? How have I sinned before your father? For he is seeking my life!”
David met secretly with Jonathan. He wanted to know what he had done to cause Saul to attempt his assassination.
20:2 Jonathan said to him, “By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing large or small without making me aware of it. Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won’t happen!”
Saul trusted Jonathan completely, so Jonathan was acting as a secret agent for David.
20:3 Taking an oath, David again said, “Your father is very much aware of the fact that I have found favor with you, and he has thought, ‘Don’t let Jonathan know about this, or he will be upset.’ But as surely as the Lord lives and you live, there is about one step between me and death!”
David warned Jonathan that Saul was aware of their secret alliance.
20:4 Jonathan replied to David, “Tell me what I can do for you.”
Jonathan was willing to assist David, because he valued God's word over the word of his father.
20:5 David said to Jonathan, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and I am certainly expected to join the king for a meal. You must send me away so I can hide in the field until the third evening from now.
David ate at the king’s table during the third meal of a feast day, which would be late evening. Jonathan was to order David away so that he would not be at the meal. This would give David time to hide from King Saul.
20:6 If your father happens to miss me, you should say, ‘David urgently requested me to let him go to his city Bethlehem, for there is an annual sacrifice there for his entire family.’
Jonathan was to fabricate a lie in order to give David time to hide from Saul.
20:7 If he should then say, ‘That’s fine,’ then your servant is safe. But if he becomes very angry, be assured that he has decided to harm me.
Saul’s reaction would tip Jonathan to the attitude of his father.
20:8 You must be loyal to your servant, for you have made a covenant with your servant in the Lord’s name. If I am guilty, you yourself kill me! Why bother taking me to your father?”
Even though David would be Jonathan’s king one day, he considered himself presently as a servant to the Prince of Israel. Since David and Jonathan had made a covenant with each other, then they were to protect each other’s safety. As the current prince, Jonathan would protect David. As the future king, David would protect Jonathan. Most ancient princes and kings were machiavellians, meaning that they would not keep their word. Jonathan and David were different, because they possessed divine viewpoint from the written Word of God.
20:9 Jonathan said, “Far be it from you to suggest this! If I were at all aware that my father had decided to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you about it?”
Jonathan would never assassinate David, because this would be an attack on God’s future chosen king.
20:10 David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?”
David needed to know the current attitude of the king.
20:11 Jonathan said to David, “Come on. Let’s go out to the field.” When the two of them had gone out into the field,
Jonathan invited David out to the field to discuss espionage strategy.
20:12 Jonathan said to David, “The Lord God of Israel is my witness. I will feel out my father about this time the day after tomorrow. If he is favorably inclined toward David, will I not then send word to you and let you know?
Jonathan devised a plan to keep David safe and provide him with information about his father’s motives.
20:13 But if my father intends to do you harm, may the Lord do all this and more to Jonathan, if I don’t let you know and send word to you so you can go safely on your way. May the Lord be with you, as he was with my father.
Jonathan would disclose and warn David of any negative espionage information that may threaten David’s life.
20:14 While I am still alive, extend to me the loyalty of the Lord, or else I will die!
Jonathan asked David to extend loyalty to him as long as he was alive. When pagan kings came into power, they usually eliminated all rivals. Jonathan asked David not to eliminate him when David came into power.
20:15 Don’t ever cut off your loyalty to my family, not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth 20:16 and called David’s enemies to account.” So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David.
Jonathan also asked David that once he gained power, not to eliminate any of his children. David would later keep this promise, even though the family line of Jonathan would become a threat to David's monarch.
20:17 Jonathan once again took an oath with David, because he loved him. In fact Jonathan loved him as much as he did his own life.
Jonathan promised to protect David from his father. David promised that once he was coronated as king, then he would protect Jonathan’s children.
20:18 Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, for your seat will be empty.
David was required to be at the New Moon festival meal.
20:19 On the third day you should go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself the day this all started. Stay near the stone Ezel.
Three days after the festival, David was to return and hide at this same field in which they were currently speaking.
20:20 I will shoot three arrows near it, as though I were shooting at a target.
Jonathan established a secret code. David was to stay in hiding and watch Jonathan shoot three arrows.
20:21 When I send a boy after them, I will say, “Go and find the arrows.” If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them,’ then come back. For as surely as the Lord lives, you will be safe and there will no problem.
As part of the espionage plan, Jonathan would send his servant after the arrows. If Jonathan told the servant to retrieve the arrows on possibly the right side, then David would be considered safe.
20:22 But if I say to the boy, “Look, the arrows are on the other side of you,’ get away. For in that case the Lord has sent you away.
However, if Jonathan informed the servant that the arrows would be on the opposite side, then David was not safe. David would need to go into hiding.
20:23 With regard to the matter that you and I discussed, the Lord is the witness between us forever!”
Jehovah would become the witness of David and Jonathan’s covenant. This meant that if Jonathan died, then Jehovah would be a witness to make sure that David protected Jonathan's offspring.
Corrie Ten Boom was a student of the Bible. It was her love of Bible doctrine which caused her to hide Jews in her attic during Nazi searches. When the Nazi found out, then they place Corrie Ten Boom in a concentration camp. Corrie Ten Boom survived every day by realizing that God was watching her. When she was mistreated by the Nazi, she reminded her persecutors that God was watching them as well.
20:24 So David hid in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat his meal.
The new moon feast arrived, but David hid in the field.
20:25 The king sat down in his usual place by the wall, with Jonathan opposite him and Abner at his side. But David’s place was vacant.
David was absent from the feast. This would arouse Saul’s suspicion.
20:26 However, Saul said nothing about it that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to make him ceremonially unclean. Yes, he must be unclean.”
Saul assumed that David was ceremonially unclean.
20:27 But the next morning, the second day of the new moon, David’s place was still vacant. So Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why has Jesse’s son not come to the meal yesterday or today?”
Saul noticed that David was gone on the second day of the new moon festival as well.
20:28 Jonathan replied to Saul, “David urgently requested that he be allowed to go to Bethlehem.
Jonathan fabricated his lie to Saul in order to protect David.
20:29 He said, ‘Permit me to go, for we are having a family sacrifice in the city, and my brother urged me to be there. So now, if I have found favor with you, let me go to see my brothers.’ For that reason he has not come to the king’s table.”
Jonathan added details of the lie.
20:30 Saul became angry with Jonathan and said to him, “You stupid traitor! Don’t I realize that to your own disgrace and to the disgrace of your mother’s nakedness you have chosen this son of Jesse?
Saul knew that Jonathan was protecting David, so he insulted his own son.
20:31 For as long as this son of Jesse is alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established. Now, send some men and bring him to me. For he is as good as dead!”
Saul attempted to motivate Jonathan to get rid of his rival to the throne. At this time, Jonathan was around thirty years old. David was a teenager. Jonathan was willing to give up a kingdom for the love of God and the love of a friend.
20:32 Jonathan responded to his father Saul, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?”
Jonathan again pointed out to his father that David was innocent.
20:33 Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan in order to strike him down. So Jonathan was convinced that his father had decided to kill David.
Saul attempted to kill his own son. Again, Saul the mighty warrior, missed at close range. God was protecting David by protecting Jonathan. Jonathan had a last message for David.
20:34 Jonathan got up from the table enraged. He did not eat any food on that second day of the new moon, for he was upset that his father had humiliated David.
Jonathan left the table angry and refused to talk to his father.
20:35 The next morning Jonathan, along with a young servant, went out to the field to meet David.
The next morning, Jonathan executed his espionage strategy.
20:36 He said to his servant, “Run, find the arrows that I am about to shoot.” As the servant ran, Jonathan shot the arrow beyond him.
Jonathan shot the three arrows as a signal to David.
20:37 When the servant came to the place where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called out to the servant, “Isn’t the arrow further beyond you?”
This was a signal to David that he was not safe in Saul’s territory.
20:38 Jonathan called out to the servant, “Hurry! Go faster! Don’t delay!” Jonathan’s servant retrieved the arrow and came back to his master.
The command to increase speed meant that Saul was urgent in killing David.
20:39 (Now the servant did not understand any of this. Only Jonathan and David knew what was going on.)
The servant was not made aware of this espionage communication method between Jonathan and David.
20:40 Then Jonathan gave his equipment to the servant who was with him. He said to him, “Go, take these things back to the city.”
The servant was to take the archer equipment back to the city so that Jonathan and David could meet in private.
20:41 When the servant had left, David got up from beside the mound, knelt with his face to the ground, and bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and they both wept, especially David.
David showed respect to Jonathan as the current Prince of Israel. This was not a homosexual kiss of passion. It was a cultural kiss of friendship.
20:42 Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn together in the name of the Lord saying, ‘The Lord will be between me and you and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’”Then David got up and left, while Jonathan went back to the city.
David and Jonathan were about to head separate ways, but both would keep their covenant to each other.