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       Love Seeks Justice

       Today’s Scripture

       1 Samuel 19:1–7

       Background Scripture: 1 Samuel 19:1–7; 23:1–18; 2 Samuel 9

       CHECK OUT TODAY’S LESSON

       NRSV

      SAUL spoke with his son Jonathan and with all his servants about killing David. But Saul’s son Jonathan took great delight in David.

      2 Jonathan told David, “My father Saul is trying to kill you; therefore be on guard tomorrow morning; stay in a secret place and hide yourself.

      3 I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you; if I learn anything I will tell you.”

      4 Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have been of good service to you;

      5 for he took his life in his hand when he attacked the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced; why then will you sin against an innocent person by killing David without cause?”

      6 Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan; Saul swore, “As the LORD lives, he shall not be put to death.”

      7 So Jonathan called David and related all these things to him. Jonathan then brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.

       Today’s Word

      We all know that families are very important and special to God. He gave us these chosen people in our lives for a reason. Whether your family looks like parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, godparents, siblings, cousins—or some other combination—God knew ahead of time that this would be your family. He gave each person a special role. We see over and over how revered families are in the Bible—just look at all the genealogies and family histories you can trace! Family was a huge part of our biblical ancestors’ identity.

      All that being said, friendships are important to God as well. We see evidence of that in the Scriptures and know that we should choose our friends wisely and carefully. Our friends have an influence on us—sometimes more than our families do.

      But are our friendships ever more important than our families? Is there ever a scenario where we should choose them or obey them ahead of our parents/guardians? That’s the choice Jonathan had to make in today’s story.

       Jonathan learned that friendship and justice were more important than being the son of a king.

      Jonathan was best friends with David. Jonathan was also the son of King Saul, and technically the next in line for the throne. But Jonathan knew that Samuel had anointed David to be the next king of Israel. While this could have made Jonathan enemies with David, or at least jealous, it never caused a problem in their friendship.

      One day, Saul came to Jonathan and the servants and said they should hatch a plot to kill David. Saul was jealous of David’s anointing and didn’t want to give up his throne. Jonathan was shocked! How could his father do something like this to God’s chosen heir? If you were Jonathan, what would you have done in this situation?

      Jonathan decided to warn David about Saul’s intentions. He was not going to sit idly by and let this happen to his best friend. He encouraged David to hide for the day so Saul couldn’t get him. As if that wasn’t enough help, Jonathan also told David he would speak to Saul on David’s behalf. Just the warning would’ve been plenty, but Jonathan went above and beyond. He didn’t simply say, “Good luck,” and he didn’t stop being David’s friend; he went to his father to plead David’s case. Jonathan was an excellent example of a good and godly friend. He didn’t abandon David in his time of need.

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      Now, it must have been pretty scary for Jonathan to confront Saul (who we can see in other stories had a temper and was prone to violence). But Jonathan knew and understood that what Saul was asking him to do was a sin—remember the eighth commandment? Because Jonathan was firm in his faith, and he knew that David was the chosen one, he had confidence in the Lord to face Saul. He reminded Saul of David’s good deeds—such as rescuing the Israelites from Goliath and the Philistines—and reiterated that Saul’s command was a sin. It’s interesting that Jonathan brought up the memory of Goliath because that is the exact event that triggered Saul’s jealousy of David. David was able to defeat an enemy that Saul himself couldn’t. The hatred for David began to take root then, but Jonathan was using the story to try to do away with the hate. We all know that God is in the business of restoration; this is just one such example.

      You may be familiar with another important commandment, “Honor thy father and mother,” and it’s critical that we note what’s going on here. Jonathan could not obey his father because his father’s command was sinful. If your parents/guardians want you to obey them, but they’re requiring you to sin, then you have no obligation to obey. Your first obligation belongs to the Lord. Ask yourself, What does His Word say? If your parents/guardians’ wishes don’t line up with Scripture, then you have a reason for not obeying their demands. Remember Acts 5:29: “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”

      Not only was it important for Jonathan to save his best friend’s life, but he also wanted to bring about reconciliation between Saul and David. He knew they had “bad blood” in the past, and he was aware of Saul’s jealousies. He didn’t want that to be the case anymore. So his plea for David to be spared wasn’t only for his own benefit; it was also the godly thing to do. Hebrews 10:24 says that we should “provoke one another to love and good deeds.” This is what Jonathan was doing by bridging the gap between his father and David. When was the last time you provoked a friend to love and/ or good deeds? What did the friend do? Did you do it together?

      Jonathan laid it all out on the table even though he had no idea how Saul would react. Thankfully, Saul heard the Lord speaking to him through Jonathan, and he heeded Jonathan’s words. He promised that he would never endanger David’s life again. This must have taken

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