A Trusted Friend

A TRUSTED FRIEND

a prayer to open

My Lord, my God, show me your heart. Ground me in your presence.

Draw me near and hold me close.

David now fled . . . and found Jonathan. “What have I done?” he exclaimed. “What is my crime? How have I offended your father that he is so determined to kill me?”

“That’s not true!” Jonathan protested. “You’re not going to die. He always tells me everything he’s going to do, even the little things. I know my father wouldn’t hide something like this from me. It just isn’t so!”

Then David took an oath before Jonathan and said, “Your father knows perfectly well about our friendship, so he has said to himself, ‘I won’t tell Jonathan—why should I hurt him?’ But I swear to you that I am only a step away from death!” . . .

“Tell me what I can do to help you,” Jonathan exclaimed.

David replied, “Tomorrow we celebrate the new moon festival. I’ve always eaten with the king on this occasion, but tomorrow I’ll hide in the field and stay there until the evening of the third day. If your father asks where I am, tell him I asked permission to go home to Bethlehem. . . . If he says, ‘Fine!’ you will know all is well. But if he is angry and loses his temper, you will know he is determined to kill me. Show me this loyalty as my sworn friend—for we made a solemn pact before the LORD—or kill me yourself if I have sinned against your father. But please don’t betray me to him!”

“Never!” Jonathan exclaimed. “You know that if I had the slightest notion my father was planning to kill you, I would tell you at once.”

Then David asked, “How will I know whether or not your father is angry?”

“Come out to the field with me,” Jonathan replied. And they went out there together. Then Jonathan told David, “I promise by the LORD, the God of Israel, that by this time tomorrow, or the next day at the latest, I will talk to my father and let you know at once how he feels about you. If he speaks favorably about you, I will let you know. But if he is angry and wants you killed, may the LORD strike me and even kill me if I don’t warn you so you can escape and live. May the LORD be with you as he used to be with my father. And may you treat me with the faithful love of the LORD as long as I live. But if I die, treat my family with this faithful love.” . . .

So Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, saying, “May the LORD destroy all your enemies!” . . .

Then Jonathan said, . . . “The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid before, and wait there by the stone pile. I will come out and shoot three arrows to the side of the stone pile as though I were shooting at a target. Then I will send a boy to bring the arrows back. If you hear me tell him, ‘They’re on this side,’ then you will know, as surely as the LORD lives, that all is well, and there is no trouble. But if I tell him, ‘Go farther—the arrows are still ahead of you,’ then it will mean that you must leave immediately, for the LORD is sending you away. And may the LORD make us keep our promises to each other, for he has witnessed them.”

After climbing out a window and running for his life, David must have begun to wonder whether he’d somehow gotten his wires crossed and was never intended to be Israel’s next king after all. In fact, Jonathan was likely the only person he could trust. But what a gift Jonathan was. Through him, God reminded David that he was loved, that he wasn’t alone, and that he indeed would be king. Sometimes we forget to open our eyes and see those around us as God’s gifts.

• Imagine being in David’s position. What might have been going on in his mind and heart? What might his prayers have been like?
• Who is your most trusted friend? What is the biggest sacrifice that friend has made for you? What is the biggest sacrifice you have made for that friend?
• Identify three or four seasons in your life that were painful or difficult. Who were the people God blessed you with during those seasons?

Father, thank you for the way you remind me of your presence and love through other people. Thank you especially for the friends and acquaintances you have placed in my life during seasons of loneliness and pain. Use me to console others and extend your love during their times of difficulty. Give me eyes to see the lonely and the hurting, and courage to bring them comfort. Amen.