Jonathan and David
As Jonathan looked at the man standing before his father, everything seemed to fit. David was a man after God’s own heart. He had been a captain and a deliverer over God’s people. He was from the tribe of Judah. When he heard David’s lineage, all of the pieces fell into place — and Jonathan knew that he was in the presence of Israel’s future king.
“And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul” (1 Sam 18:1).
Immediately after the short conversation between Saul and David, Jonathan loved David as his own soul. He saw that all of the prophecies — both Samuel’s and Jacob’s, fit together and pointed towards the young Bethlehemite who was in front of him. Thus, in a selfless acknowledgement of what he knew to be true, Jonathan made a covenant with David and gave him his kingly possessions.
“Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle” (1 Sam 18:3-4).
How astonished David would have been as the prince of the nation called him over, took him to a quiet place, and handed him his prince’s robe! David had hardly even known Jonathan! He was the king’s son, and here he was, holding out his royal apparel to him. Can you picture it? At first David would not have wanted to take it — it was Jonathan’s, and David was no prince. But Jonathan would have urged him, saying that it truly belonged to David. David was the rightful heir to the throne, not him.
Yet as David abashedly took the robe from Jonathan, Jonathan gave him his garments, (or as the word is rendered in other translations (NKJV, ESV, NASB), his “armor”), David would have simply been stunned. First the robe, then his armor — then even his sword. What a gesture this would have been! As has been noted before, only Jonathan and his father had iron swords out of everyone in the nation (1Sam 13:22). But Jonathan, in selfless humility, held his sword out to the shepherd boy.
As David took the sword, Jonathan continued to give him his most treasured possessions. The next thing that he handed to the future king was his bow; and again, this would have had a special significance. For Jonathan’s family, the bow was the special weapon of choice and one at which they were particularly skilled in using (1Chron 12:1-2). He gave even this to David.
Mentorship
There David stood, holding the possessions of the king’s son. What a moment it would have been! Jonathan, the one who for years had believed that he was going to be the next king, the one who had the same types of talents and abilities as David — here he was, giving these treasures to the young shepherd boy! It was another demonstration of Jonathan’s beautiful character. Just as he had poured out his desires and his dreams in trying to serve his father and help him turn his mind back to Yahweh, Jonathan did the same type of thing with David. He didn’t resist David’s kingship, but gladly submitted to it and encouraged it. He gave his entire life in support for his friend. His story and his example is a powerful reminder to the way in which true disciples of Christ should be living. Their focus should never be on their own glory, like Jonathan’s vain father, but on humbly submitting to God’s plan and on giving all of their time and energy to helping others grow nearer to God and His son. In doing this, Jonathan forged a lasting friendship with the new king and played an essential role in shaping David’s character for his new role.
And really, that’s exactly what Jonathan did. Often when we think about “David and Jonathan,” we think about two men who were best friends and who did everything together. Nevertheless, it would seem as though their friendship was a bit different from what is typically portrayed.
While Jonathan and David were good friends, their relationship would seem to have been more of a mentorship. All throughout their activities with one another, Jonathan guides David.
Just think about the covenants which the two men made. Jonathan made the first covenant with David, not the other way around (1 Sam 18:3). With their second covenant, it was the same situation:
“So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David’s enemies” (1 Sam 20:16).
The first covenant was initiated by Jonathan, and so was the second. It shouldn’t be surprising, then, to see that the third and final covenant made between the two men came about through Jonathan’s encouragement:
“And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God…And they two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house” (1 Sam 23:16, 18).
Jonathan came to David when David was struggling and strengthened his faith. He lifted up David’s mind to heavenly things and reminded David of God’s plan — ending their time together with another covenant between the two of them. Over and over, Jonathan initiated these covenants. He was the one who took their friendship and set its focus upon heavenly things. Such was Jonathan’s role in the relationship. Jonathan wasn’t just a best friend, he was a spiritual leader to David. He was a mentor. Jonathan was the one who led this relationship and who set its focus upon the principles of Yahweh.
Jonathan’s love
Again, this is emphasized in the way that Scripture describes the love that the two men had for one another. Almost always, Scripture states that Jonathan had love for David — not the other way around:
“And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul” (1 Sam 18:1).
Jonathan loved David in the beautiful type of love that God had sought to teach His people (Lev 19:18). He loved him as his own soul. If David succeeded, then to Jonathan, that was as though he succeeded. If David became king over Israel and led the people in Godly ways, then Jonathan would be overjoyed. Nevertheless, notice that the passage didn’t say anything about David’s love. Again, when Jonathan’s love for David is expressed just two verses later, the record doesn’t mention David’s love for Jonathan:
“Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul” (1 Sam 18:3).
Jonathan loved David. Again, this is how it is recorded just a few chapters later:
“And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul” (1Sam 20:17).
After Jonathan realized that David was to be the next king of Israel, Jonathan had a deep love and affection for him — loving him as his own soul. Three times this is said of Jonathan’s love for the young king. Yet it isn’t said about David towards Jonathan — only once, after Jonathan died, did David speak, in a rather elliptical way, of his love for the man who had helped him so greatly:
“I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women” (2 Sam 1:26).
In the Song of the Bow, David was distressed over Jonathan’s death. It’s almost as though it’s here that David finally realized the depth of Jonathan’s love for him — “thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.” Even as David sought to show his affection for his brother, he couldn’t help but speak about the immensity of Jonathan’s love.
This isn’t to say that David didn’t love Jonathan — but more to emphasize that the relationship wasn’t necessarily reciprocal. Just like the relationship between a mentor and their apprentice, Jonathan gave himself for David, while David graciously received from his friend.
Such was the situation. Jonathan was the initiator and Jonathan was the leader. Jonathan was the one who gave of himself for David. It typically wasn’t the other way around. And really, this would make sense, because when a bit of time is taken to work out the numbers, it would appear as though Jonathan was quite a bit older than David. Thus, the elder was teaching the younger how to effectively be a captain over God’s inheritance.
Jonathan’s age
Working out Jonathan’s exact age is difficult, and perhaps even impossible. But, by putting together a bit of the chronology, a rough age can be approximated. In fact, at one end of the Jonathan’s approximate age can be deduced.
After Saul had reigned for two years, he made Jonathan one of the commanders of his army (1Sam 13:1-2, KJV). According to the Law of Moses, men could not go to war until they were 20 years old (Numb 1:2-3; Numb 26:2). Thus, when Jonathan took his troops and led them against the first Philistine garrison, he would have been at least twenty.
Saul continued to reign over Israel for another 38 years (Acts 13:21). So, by the time Saul died on Gilboa, Jonathan would have been at least 58. This is quite a contrast to David’s age at Saul’s death. At that point, David was only 30 (2 Sam 5:4-5).
However, this chronology can be difficult to say dogmatically, particularly because most modern versions read differently in 1 Sam 13:1-2, and conclude that the verse is the conventional account of the age of Saul at kingship and the length of the reign. For example, the NIV has “Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty- two years”.
On the other hand, another possibility (and one that would seem to be more probable) is that Jonathan was older than David, but not quite 28 years older. This idea is substantiated by Ishbosheth’s age. Ishbosheth was Jonathan’s youngest brother (2 Sam 2:8). When Saul died, Ishbosheth was 40:
“Ishbosheth Saul’s son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David” (2 Sam 2:10).
Ishbosheth, the youngest of Saul’s four sons (and two daughters?), was 40 when Saul died. Jonathan was the oldest out of the four sons, so he could have been quite a bit older than forty. Regardless of the exact age, based off of Ishbosheth’s age, Jonathan had to be at least in his mid-40s when Saul died.
Thus, when Jonathan and David made their first covenant together, Jonathan was a good deal older than David. If David was 17, Jonathan was at least 30. As the elder member of this friendship, Jonathan acted as a mentor and leader. Throughout their time together, Jonathan used his wisdom and experience and helped the youngest of Jesse’s sons to keep his faith throughout extremely trying times. Yet even more, Jonathan showed David what it truly meant for someone to give their life for someone else.
A final contrast
Thus, the son of Jesse and the son of Saul created an eternal friendship. It was a friendship that had largely been initiated and begun by the prince — and David likely even resisted when Jonathan tried to give him his robe and his sword and his bow — but it was a friendship which was focused on preparing David to be a wise king over Yahweh’s people. Jonathan had been the one whose soul had first been knit to David’s. Jonathan had been the one who suggested that the two make a covenant together. Jonathan had been the one who gave his kingly apparel to David.
Such was the love that Jonathan had for the shepherd who was so much younger than he. He would give up all of his dreams and all of his ambitions in order to see God’s plan fulfilled and David exalted to kingship. He loved him as he loved his own soul.
When Jonathan first began to recognize David after the battle with the Philistine, the prince could have created so many different reasons as to why he wouldn’t submit to him. He could have said that he himself was the rightful heir. He could have said that he was a man of faith. He could have said that he was older and thus he could rule first and then David could rule after. The justifications that Jonathan could have created — as his father did — were plenteous. But he didn’t do that. That was the beauty of Jonathan’s character. As can be seen in his attack on the Philistine garrison, in his interactions with his father, and in his mentorship with David, Jonathan’s actions were characterized by a Godly humility. Jonathan esteemed others better than himself (consider the parallels to an even greater king; Phil 2:5-9). He gave what he had all of the time so that he might make an effort to bring others nearer to salvation.
Unfortunately, as has been shown so often throughout Jonathan’s story, his reaction was a stark contrast to the reaction of his father. While Jonathan gladly recognized David as the next king, Saul too realized that his suspicion of Jonathan had been misplaced — but his realization was characterized by a very different emotion than that which had characterized Jonathan’s. For Saul, this young man who had suddenly begun to steal the hearts of the people wasn’t a joyful thing at all. It was terrifying. The paranoia which had once been focused upon Jonathan, soon found another target:
“And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David from that day and forward” (1 Sam 18:8-9).
While his son had come to love the king as his own soul, Saul’s reaction was tragically different. Thus Saul’s vain and prideful spirit — as a contrast to the humble and selfless spirit of Jonathan — would cause him to eye David from that day and forward, until the envy and fear which had once prompted the attempted murder of his own son would soon do the same to the son of Jesse.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One