BEING LOYAL - A Study of David

A Study of David, Jonathon, & King Saul

Read I Samuel 20:35-42

(35-40) Jonathan reports to David through the signal of the arrows.

And so it was, in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad was with him. Then he said to his lad, "Now run, find the arrows which I shoot." As the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. When the lad had come to the place where the arrow was which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried out after the lad and said, "Is not the arrow beyond you?" And Jonathan cried out after the lad, "Make haste, hurry, do not delay!" So Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows and came back to his master. But the lad did not know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew of the matter. Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad, and said to him, "Go, carry them to the city."

a. Is not the arrow beyond you? It took courage for Jonathan to communicate with David, even secretly - because he knew that if his father became aware of it, he would focus his murderous rage against Jonathan again. Jonathan had a noble commitment to David as a friend.

i. "But there is something still nobler - when one dares in any company to avow his loyalty to the Lord Jesus. Like David, he is now in obscurity and disrepute; his name is not popular; his gospel is misrepresented; his followers are subjected to rebuke and scorn. These are days when to stand up for anything more than mere conventional religion must cost something; and for this reason let us never flinch." (Meyer)

b. Jonathan and David knew of the matter: A small thing - the signal of a single arrow - told David his whole life was changed. He would no longer be welcome at the palace. He would no longer be welcome among the army of Israel. He could no longer go home. David was now a fugitive on the run from an angry, jealous king determined to destroy him.

i. Sometimes our life turns on a small thing. One night of carelessness may change a girl's life forever. One night with the wrong crowd may give a boy an arrest record. It often does not seem fair that so much in life should turn on small moments, but a lifetime is made of nothing but many small moments.

3. (41-42) The tearful farewell of David and Jonathan.

As soon as the lad had gone, David arose from a place toward the south, fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times. And they kissed one another; and they wept together, but David more so. Then Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, 'May the Lord be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever.'" So he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

a. They wept together: David and Jonathan loved each other and had a strong bond of friendship. Jonathan and David probably envisioned working together, as partners, as friends, both before and after the time David became king. But now all that was gone because David couldn't stay and Jonathan couldn't go, so they wept together.

b. But David more so: If Jonathan had reason to weep, David had more so. The pain of being apart was bad enough, but it was worse for David because he was cut off from everything and destined to live the life of a fugitive for many years.

i. "Behind you is the sunny morning, before you a lowering sky; behind you the blessed enjoyment of friendship, wife, home, royal favor, and popular adulation, before you an outcast's life." (Meyer)

c. Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the Lord: Jonathan knew he might never see David again. In fact, David and Jonathan will only meet once more, shortly before Jonathan's death. Yet as David now left for a life of hiding and danger, Jonathan could send David away in peace because they both agreed to honor each other not only in life, but also to honor each other's families beyond their own lifetimes.

d. So he arose and departed: David will not return to "normal life" until Saul is dead and David is king. This was a pretty bleak road for David to walk, but it was God's road for him.

i. Was David in God's will? How can anyone set out on such a bleak road and be in the will of God? Because God often has His people spend at least some time on a bleak road, and He appoints some of His favorites to spend a lot of time on that road - think of Job, Joseph, Paul, and even Jesus.

ii. This bleak road was important in David's life because if God would put David in a place where people must depend on him, God would teach David to depend upon God alone. Not himself, not Saul, not Jonathan, not anyone except God

iii. This bleak road was important in David's life because if David would be safe now and promoted to king later, David must learn to let God be his defense and his promoter.

iv. This bleak road was important in David's life because if David was to be set in such a great position of authority, David must learn to submit to God's authority, even if it were through a man like Saul.

v. "Let God empty you out that He may save you from becoming spiritually stale, and lead you ever onward. He is always calling us to pass beyond the thing we know into the unknown. A throne is God's purpose for you; a cross is God's path for you; faith is God's plan for you." (Redpath)

Read II Samuel 9:1-7

2 Samuel 9 - David's Kindness to Mephibosheth

A. David's kind heart towards the house of Saul.

1. (1) David's kind question.

Now David said, "Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?"

a. Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul: In 1 Samuel 7 David asked, "What can I do for God?" and he proposed to build a temple for the Lord. Now David asked another question we should each ask: "What can I do for others?"

i. David's question showed a great love because Saul made himself an enemy of David. It was customary in those days for the king of a new dynasty to completely massacre anyone connected with the prior dynasty. David went against the principle of revenge and against the principle of self-preservation and asked what he could do for the family of his enemy.

b. That I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake: David did this because he remembered his relationship and covenant with Jonathan (1 Samuel 20:14-15). His actions were not only based on feelings, but also on the promise of a covenant.

2. (2-4) Ziba, a former servant of Saul, tells David about Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan.

And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" And he said, "At your service!" Then the king said, "Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?" And Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet." So the king said to him, "Where is he?" And Ziba said to the king, "Indeed he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar."

a. Ziba: David could only learn that there was a descendant of Saul still living and could only learn where he was through this servant named Ziba. This meant that Mephibosheth was in hiding.

b. The kindness of God: This phrase is key to understanding David's motivation in this chapter. David wanted to show someone else the same kindness God showed to him.

c. There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet: We first learned of Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel 4:4. It tells us that this son of Jonathan was made lame in his feet from an accident when they heard that his father Jonathan and his grandfather Saul died in battle.

i. We should remember why Mephibosheth's nurse gathered the boy and fled in haste at the news of Saul and Jonathan's death. She rightly feared that the leader of a new royal dynasty would execute every potential heir of the former dynasty (2 Samuel 4:4).

d. A son of Jonathan: This means that according to the prior dynasty of Saul, Mephibosheth had the right to the throne. He was a son of the first-born son of the king, and other potential heirs were dead. In a political sense David could see Mephibosheth as a rival or a threat.

i. Later in 2 Samuel 16:5-8 we see a man named Shimei who was a partisan for the house of Saul against David. There were at least a few in Israel who felt that the house of Saul should still reign over the nation and that David shouldn't be king. Mephibosheth might draw upon these partisans and develop a rival following.

ii. Ishbosheth was Mephibosheth's uncle, and he waged a bloody war against David for the throne of Israel. There was at least an outside chance that Mephibosheth might do the same.

e. He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel: This speaks of Mephibosheth's low station in life. He didn't even have his own house. Instead, he lived in the house of another man.

i. Machir the son of Ammiel later showed he was intensely loyal to David. When David's son Absalom led a rebellion against David, Machir supported and helped David at great danger to himself (2 Samuel 17:27-29).

B. David's kindness to Mephibosheth.

1. (5-6) Mephibosheth makes a humble appearance before David.

Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar. Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, "Mephibosheth?" And he answered, "Here is your servant!"

a. Then King David sent and brought him out of the house: Mephibosheth must have been terrified when messengers from David knocked at his door and demanded that he come with them to see the king. In the back of his mind he anticipated the day when David would do as other kings did and massacre every potential rival to his throne.

i. The knock on the door also meant that Mephibosheth was no longer hidden from David. He felt secure as long as he believed the new king didn't know about him.

b. He fell on his face and prostrated himself: According to the custom of the times, Mephibosheth had a lot to fear from David. Yet his fear of David was not founded in fact, only on assumption.

i. Up to this point Mephibosheth and David never had a relationship, and it was because Mephibosheth wanted it that way. He avoided David out of unfounded fears.

2. (7-8) David removes the fears of Mephibosheth.

So David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually." Then he bowed himself, and said, "What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?"

a. Do not fear: These words would be cruel or meaningless unless David gave Mephibosheth a reason to not fear.

b. I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake: David made a covenant with Jonathan in 1 Samuel 20, promising to show kindness to the descendents of Jonathan. David gladly made good on his promise, though Jonathan was long dead.

c. Will restore to you all the land of Saul: David simply promised Mephibosheth would receive what was his. Mephibosheth knew about these lands all along but he was afraid to take possession of them because it would expose him before the king. David went against all custom in showing such kindness to an heir of the former dynasty.

d. And you shall eat bread at my table continually: This went far beyond giving Mephibosheth what was rightly his. He gave Mephibosheth the honor of a close relationship with the king.

i. A similar promise is given to the followers of Jesus. Jesus told the disciples that they would eat and drink at His table in heaven (Luke 22:30).

e. What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I? Mephibosheth didn't feel worthy of such generosity. He considered himself a dead dog, meaning a worthless and insignificant person.

i. All the years of hiding from the king and living in fear and poverty made Mephibosheth think of himself as worthless.