PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN ( 1 Samuel 20:2 ): In this verse, I feel convicted because I to have treated truth from others as untruth. There have been times when someone close to me has said that someone has been, done, or said evil towards them and I did not believe them for some reason. This is not how You have asked me to treat others, Father. You want me to be a David with truth and not a Jonathan with disbelief. Please forgive me for this, Father, and help me to be better.
PROMISE ( 1 Samuel 20:22, 37 ): A promise to David about his safety is being fulfilled here through Jonathan. Jonathan was tasked by David to determine his father’s true intentions towards David. If he finds Saul to still be hostile towards David, wanting his death, then Jonathan will give David a sign (one that nobody else will know but David). He was faithful in delivering this message from You to David utilizing the arrows and a specific statement. You are keeping David safe for now as You have a big future in store for me, but things must happen between now and then for the purposes of solidifying David’s leadership and holiness in the hearts of others.
ATTITUDE ( 1 Samuel 20:41-42 ): Jonathan and David have an extremely close relationship with each other. One that has an immense amount of trust and care towards each other. I don’t really have this relationship with anyone except for my wife and maybe even my kids to an extent, but mostly just my wife. You created me for relationship, yet I suck so much at embracing true and meaningful relationships in my life. Help me to be more open to true relationships with my brothers in Christ, Father. Help me to build a deeper relationship with my spiritual brothers so that I may have a relationship with other men like that of Jonathan and David.
COMMAND ( 1 Samuel 20:3 ): I feel that David spoke out of fear and the flesh in the latter part of this verse instead of speaking through You. He said that there was but a step between him and death, but that cannot be right. You commanded Samuel to choose, based on Your conviction, the next anointed man to become the next king of Israel since Saul screwed up so much. This man that You had Samuel choose is David. David knows this, so why would he think it’s just a step between him and death when You already commanded it so for him to become king of Israel? You are between David and death, not just a step; You are an impenetrable barrier and if You do not want David to die until later, well after he becomes king, then he will not die no matter who is after him.
EXAMPLE ( 1 Samuel 20:2, 9, 32-33 ): I find the example You provide about Jonathan’s attitude shift here is pretty amazing and one that I’ve even experienced many times throughout my life. He was initially in disbelief and refused to partake in any type of non-sense that Saul was out to kill David. Then he agreed to at least go forth with a test, even though he still had his doubts. Finally, when the test was complete, he was fully onboard with David and had absolutely no doubts anymore. He required actual direct evidence before he believed. Sadly, I am often like this for many situations throughout my life. If I didn’t see it with my own eyes or hear it with my own ears, then I oftentimes have doubts. I should rely and lean on You more throughout my life so that Your truth is always revealed to me in anything that happens.
*DAILY NOTE: This story with David is definitely getting more and more interesting as each day passes. Saul is overflowing with jealousy to the point that he even tried to kill his own son with a spear. Thankfully he missed and the message was able to be relayed to David, but I still find it odd how jealous Saul is in this moment. He’s literally king of all of Israel, yet he’s jealous over one of his military leaders getting a little more recognition in some circumstances than he is. His kingdom is still doing great and is immensely successful with David’s leadership, but that’s not good enough for him. Thank You for this great lesson, Father. I look forward to learning more in the rest of the chapters.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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