The truth is at the end of our lives we will be lucky to have had one or two friends that stuck with us through it all. Through all the ups and downs, the good times and the bad. The friend that sticks with us regardless of where life leads or the distance there is between us. I have a friend like that. That one person who will tell me like it is not what I want to hear and regardless of how many years ago by that we don’t speak to one another will pick up the phone immediately if I call.
In 1 Samuel 18-23 we see that David had that sort of friendship with Jonathan.The have the ultimate romance in the bible. Let’s face it they should not have been friends. Jonathan’s father was King Saul who kept David on the run for years because he was jealous of him and wanted to kill him.
In reality Jonathan was the heir to the throne once his father was no longer king but he accepted that God had chosen David to be king. In 1 Samuel 20 Jonathan makes a covenant with David promising to protect him from Saul and David promises to protect Jonathan’s descendants.
Jonathan saw in David the same love for God he had, and “he loved him as his own soul” (1 Samuel 18:3, ESV). Faith in God’s steadfast love is the basis of their friendship. In fact, when David learns of Jonathan’s death in battle (can I just say I cried) David cried, “Your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women” (2 Samuel 1:26, ESV).
David means that his love for Jonathan was deeper than romantic love because it surpassed the worst of times. Jonathan protected David when everything at the time says he should have killed him. David loves Jonathan enough to fulfill is part of the covenant they made as well.
Typically in that time period (and for many more to follow) a new king would kill everyone from the previous ruler’s line. This would help remove any threat of insurrection or rebellion. Yet David went out of his way to find Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth when he learns that he is alive and “show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake” (2 Samuel 9:1, ESV).
To Mephibosheth’s utter shock not only is he not killed but David restores Saul’s land to Mephibosheth and invites him to eat at the king’s table forever “like one of the king’s sons” (2 Samuel 9:11, ESV). Mephibosheth received the blessings of a friendship that ran deeper than familial bonds — one that stood the test of time. All because of who his father was.
God has that sort of friendship with us if we only reach out our hand and accept it. He made covenants with men like Noah, Abraham and David of a forever love that unfolded for generations. He sent is son earth. Jesus, said, “No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). He shows us that same love as Jonathan and David had surpassing any romance when He laid down His life for us.
Chances are in this life we will never have a Jonathan in our lives. We will do good to have one or two friends who are half the friend he was to David. But we can rest assured that Jesus is that friend for us. He has proven his friendship time and time again.
