THE IMPORTANCE OF PROMISES

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, "What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to take my life?"

"Never!" Jonathan replied. "You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn't do anything, great or small, without confiding in me. Why would he hide this from me? It's not so!"

But David took an oath and said, "Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, 'Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.' Yet as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death."

Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you want me to do, I'll do for you."

So David said, "Look, tomorrow is the New Moon festival, and I am supposed to dine with the king; but let me go and hide in the field until the evening of the day after tomorrow. If your father misses me at all, tell him, 'David earnestly asked my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because an annual sacrifice is being made there for his whole clan.' If he says, 'Very well,' then your servant is safe. But if he loses his temper, you can be sure that he is determined to harm me. As for you, show kindness to your servant, for you have brought him into a covenant with you before the Lord. If I am guilty, then kill me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?"

"Never!" Jonathan said. "If I had the least inkling that my father was determined to harm you, wouldn't I tell you?"

David asked, "Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?"

"Come," Jonathan said, "let's go out into the field." So they went there together.

Then Jonathan said to David: "By the Lord, the God of Israel, I will surely sound out my father by this time the day after tomorrow! If he is favorably disposed toward you, will I not send you word and let you know? But if my father is inclined to harm you, may the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I do not let you know and send you away safely. May the Lord be with you as He has been with my father. But show me unfailing kindness like that of the Lord as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family — not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth."

So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "May the Lord call David's enemies to account." And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.

Then Jonathan said to David: "Tomorrow is the New Moon festival. You will be missed, because your seat will be empty. The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid when this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel. I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a target. Then I will send a boy and say, 'Go, find the arrows.' If I say to him, 'Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them here,' then come, because, as surely as the Lord lives, you are safe; there is no danger. But if I say to the boy, 'Look, the arrows are beyond you,' then you must go, because the Lord has sent you away. And about the matter you and I discussed — remember, the Lord is witness between you and me forever."

So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon festival came, the king sat down to eat. He sat in his customary place by the wall, opposite Jonathan, and Abner sat next to Saul, but David's place was empty. Saul said nothing that day, for he thought, "Something must have happened to David to make him ceremonially unclean — surely he is unclean." But the next day, the second day of the month, David's place was empty again. Then Saul said to his son Jonathan, "Why hasn't the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?"

Jonathan answered, "David earnestly asked me for permission to go to Bethlehem. He said, 'Let me go, because our family is observing a sacrifice in the town and my brother has ordered me to be there. If I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away to see my brothers.' That is why he has not come to the king's table."

Saul's anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, "You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don't I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you? As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send and bring him to me, for he must die!"

"Why should he be put to death? What has he done?" Jonathan asked his father. But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David.

Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger; on that second day of the month he did not eat, because he was grieved at his father's shameful treatment of David.

In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his meeting with David. He had a small boy with him, and he said to the boy, "Run and find the arrows I shoot." As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. When the boy came to the place where Jonathan's arrow had fallen, Jonathan called out after him, "Isn't the arrow beyond you?" Then he shouted, "Hurry! Go quickly! Don't stop!" The boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master. (The boy knew nothing of all this; only Jonathan and David knew.) Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said, "Go, carry them back to town."

After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together — but David wept the most.

Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, 'The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.' " Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.

1 Samuel 20

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As Chapter 19 ended, we saw Saul and his men changed from murderers to prophets at Naioth through the miraculous, mighty power of God’s Spirit. Unfortunately, this Spirit wouldn’t endure in Saul for in Chapter 20 we see where he’s back to wanting David dead…and he even allows his rage to spill over to his son.

But before we get to that point, we see where David leaves Naioth and goes to his beloved friend Jonathan, Saul’s son. Looking for answers, David asks Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to take my life?" We can tell that David is tiring from having to flee at every turn as Saul or his men pursues him.

Jonathan rebuts David’s fear that he is going to die because he feels that he will always know what his father is going to do saying, “…my father doesn't do anything, great or small, without confiding in me. Why would he hide this from me? It's not so!" Jonathan was naïve to the fact that his father really wanted to kill David so David tells him that it was possible that Jonathan wasn’t aware of his father’s intentions.

We read where David tells Jonathan, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, 'Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.' Yet as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death." And with this, Jonathan believes that David is telling the truth and submits himself saying, “Whatever you want me to do, I'll do for you."

And so David comes up with a plan to test whether Saul was still wanting to kill him. He proposes that he stay away from dining with Saul during the New Moon festival, hiding in the field instead. Anticipating that Saul would inquire about his whereabouts, David tells Jonathan to tell his father that he had returned to his hometown of Bethlehem to attend an annual sacrifice with his clan. Saul’s reaction to this would signal whether David would be safe to return or still be in danger. If he stayed calm, then David would be fine. But if Saul got angry, then David would be sure Saul still wanted him dead.

And so the plan was set. All that remained would be the matter of who would come to the field to inform David of the plan’s outcome. Jonathan asks David to go to the field where he will be hiding and there, he makes a promise to David…the friend that he was one in Spirit with and loved as much as himself. (1 Samuel 18:1) At the field, Jonathan tells David:

"By the Lord, the God of Israel, I will surely sound out my father by this time the day after tomorrow! If he is favorably disposed toward you, will I not send you word and let you know? But if my father is inclined to harm you, may the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I do not let you know and send you away safely. May the Lord be with you as He has been with my father. But show me unfailing kindness like that of the Lord as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family — not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth."

With this, “Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David” and “had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself”. Then, Jonathan informed David of how he would signal the outcome of Saul’s testing at the New Moon festival.

While David would be hiding in the field “by the stone Ezel”, Jonathan would bring a boy with him to the field and “shoot three arrows to the side of (the stone), as though…shooting at a target”. Jonathan would next send the boy to find the arrows and the guidance he provided the boy would be the indicator of how things went with Saul at the festival. If Jonathan told the boy, “Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them here”, then David would be safe and in no danger. But of Jonathan told the boy, “Look, the arrows are beyond you”, then David would have to leave “because the Lord has sent you away”.

To seal the agreement, Jonathan makes the Lord a witness to what had been said. A solemn promise had been made and the plan was ready to be put in place.

And so “David hid in the field” and Jonathan went to the New Moon festival where he would dine with his father and others. Saul did notice David missing the first night of the festival but said nothing assuming that David had done something that made him ceremonially unclean and thus kept him from the table. But after David failed to show up for the feast on the second night of the festival, Saul asked Jonathan, “Why hasn't the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?" The plan was working just as David and Jonathan had laid it out.

So Jonathan told his father, “David earnestly asked me for permission to go to Bethlehem. He said, 'Let me go, because our family is observing a sacrifice in the town and my brother has ordered me to be there. If I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away to see my brothers.' That is why he has not come to the king's table."

Saul’s reaction to this showed one thing clearly. David was still in danger and now so was Jonathan. For we read where “Saul's anger flared up at Jonathan” as he insulted him saying, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don't I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you? As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send and bring him to me, for he must die!"

Note where Saul tries to tempt Jonathan to turn against David and bring him in by using the throne. Saul lets Jonathan know that he will never have a chance to be king as long as David is alive.

Isn’t Satan just like that? Always trying to slyly tempt us to do wrong. And in the case of Jonathan, to break his covenant promise with David to gain power for himself. But remember this about Jonathan. He was nothing like his father for he attributed his successes to the Lord. This is what made his friendship with David so unique and special. They were one in the Spirit of the Lord.

And so it was little surprise when Jonathan rebelled against his father’s angry rant saying, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?"

Saul’s answer didn’t come in the way of words but a hurled spear. He was now ready to murder his own son as well as David. And his actions clearly indicated to Jonathan that “his father intended to kill David”.

And so “Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger” and refused to eat “on that second day of the month…because he was grieved at his father's shameful treatment of David”. He no doubt was also grieving because he was about to see his dear friend leave. For it was no longer safe for David to remain. Yet, Jonathan had made a promise…a promise he would keep.

For scripture tells us in the morning, Jonathan went out into the field where David was hiding along with the boy and shot the three arrows near the rock where David was. And as the boy went to retrieve the arrows, Jonathan told the boy, "Isn't the arrow beyond you?" and the boy went and retrieved them before returning to Jonathan who sent the boy away telling him to, “Go, carry (the weapons) back to town."

The signal had indicated the outcome. David was in danger and had to go away. Still, David was grateful to Jonathan for looking out for him and “bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground”. They then “kissed each other and wept” with David weeping the most. Such was the depth of the friendship and love they shared with one another…a friendship and love that would never end, despite the pending separation.

After they shared their love for one another, Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, 'The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.' " And with that, “David left, and Jonathan went back to the town”. A solemn promise had been made…and a solemn promise had been kept.

Through Jonathan’s actions, we are taught a meaningful lesson on the importance of promises. For through our lives, we have all experienced the matter of promise…and have likewise experienced one of two outcomes. Either the promise made was kept or the promise made was broken. There really is no middle ground.

And as we consider the matter of promises, we shouldn’t just be considering the way others may have either kept or not kept their promises to us. No, we need to turn it around and also consider how well we either kept or didn’t keep the promises we made to others.

Let’s look to Jonathan and see three key qualities we gain when we keep the promises we make:

1. It shows we can be trusted.

David placed an awful lot of trust in Jonathan. He was in a field hiding by a rock and ripe for the picking if Saul knew his whereabouts. All Jonathan would have had to do is tell his father to send his men to the field and abduct David and it would have all been over for David. And yet, David had no qualms about whether his friend could be trusted or not. And Jonathan didn’t let him down. And so at the end of Chapter 20, when David bowed before Jonathan three times, it was a symbol of respect and thanks for the trustworthiness that Jonathan displayed…a trustworthiness we all should model when we make our promises.

2. It shows we can be counted on.

When we make a promise to another, that person is counting on us to come through and sometimes we need to come through for them to help them through a challenging time.

In David’s case, the times were certainly challenging. Saul wanted him dead! And so he was relying heavily on Jonathan to make good on his part of the promise so he could survive.

After studying the scriptures, we know that Jonathan didn’t let David down and came through for him in a challenging time. And for that, David was eternally thankful and knew he could count on Jonathan at anytime in the future.

As we make our promises, we need to remember that people are counting on us to come through for them as well. How well can we be counted on? The answer will be born out of our ability to keep our word and make good on our promises…just like Jonathan did.

3. It shows our love for another.

Scripture told us that Jonathan loved David as he loved himself and Jonathan showed it in the way he remained loyal to David, even in the midst of his father’s rage and his own peril. Nothing was going to keep Jonathan from staying true to his covenant promise with David because he loved him deeply.

We should make our promises out of the same sense and caring for others. And just in case you don’t think we have to love others as ourselves, I would refer you to what Jesus said was the second greatest commandment…to love our neighbors as ourselves. (Matthew 22:36-39) He expects it and so we are to do it…and we one way we can is to keep the promises we make.

Before I close, one more thing needs to be said about promises…one that I pray will seal the deal on teaching about keeping them. For we serve a Lord who is always true to His promises. He never fails to keep any of them. And if we are truly trying to be more and more as He created us…in His image (Genesis 1:27)…then we should seek to keep our promises just as He did. Better yet, we should seek His guidance before we even make a promise to ensure that promise is even in His will for us. If it isn’t don’t make it. If it is, then rest assured that He will give you everything you need to keep that promise.

And He does it because that’s what He’s best at…giving us everything we need in order to ensure His will is done.

That’s a promise you can always bank on. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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