1 Samuel 20 – Study

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: 1 Sam 20:1-17

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 kill me?’

2 ‘Never!’ Jonathan replied. ‘You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn’t do anything, great or small, without letting me know. Why should he hide this from me? It isn’t so!’

3 But David took an oath and said, ‘Your father knows very well that I have found favour 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.’

4 Jonathan said to David, ‘Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do for you.’

5 So David said, ‘Look, tomorrow is the New Moon feast, 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. 6 If your father misses me at all, tell him, “David earnestly asked my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his home town, because an annual sacrifice is being made there for his whole clan.” 7 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. 8 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?’

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

10 David asked, ‘Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?’

11 ‘Come,’ Jonathan said, ‘let’s go out into the field.’ So they went there together.

12 Then Jonathan said to David, ‘I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel, that I will surely sound out my father by this time the day after tomorrow! If he is favourably disposed towards you, will I not send you word and let you know? 13 But if my father intends 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 in peace. May the Lord be with you as he has been with my father. 14 But show me unfailing kindness like the Lord’s kindness as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, 15 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.’

16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, ‘May the Lord call David’s enemies to account.’ 17 And Jonathan made David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.

A. Find Out:

1. Of what was David sure? v.1-3
2. When did he say this would become obvious? v.5-7
3. What did Jonathan say he would DO for David?     a) v.4   b) v.9   c) v.12   d) v.13
4. What did Jonathan ask in return?    a) v.14   b) v.15
5. So what did they both do? v.16,17

B. Think:

1. How did Jonathan appear somewhat naive?
2. Yet how does he show himself committed to David?
3. What was David’s worry all along?

C. Comment:

     Jonathan’s heart had become one with David (see 18:1) but that is now about to be tried and tested. David is sure that Saul is out to kill him (having had a spear thrown at him twice and having sent men to capture David (see 19:20 ). Jonathan, perhaps for expediency denies this, yet he had been instructed by his father to kill David (see 19:1) and he had in fact already warned David (19:2). Perhaps now he is simply not wanting to believe the truth about his father, for love sometimes blinds to the truth!

     As they discuss this together, David points out that this will become obvious if Saul becomes angry when David doesn’t turn up at the next planned feast. David challenges Jonathan as to their relationship and Jonathan strongly declares his allegiance to David and promises to tell him if his father is antagonistic towards him. Eventually the two recommit themselves to each other by means of a solemn oath, i.e. they make a covenant.

     Here in this story we have an example of true friendship, that expresses concern for the other, that seeks the well being and security and protection of the other, even when it offends another relationship.

D. Application:

1. Do we know friendship on this level?
2. Deep friendship protects and looks for the well-being of the other.

Passage: 1 Sam 20:18-34

18 Then Jonathan said to David, ‘Tomorrow is the New Moon feast. You will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19 The day after tomorrow, towards evening, go to the place where you hid when this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel. 20 I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a target. 21 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. 22 But if I say to the boy, “Look, the arrows are beyond you,” then you must go, because the Lord has sent you away. 23 And about the matter you and I discussed – remember, the Lord is witness between you and me for ever.’

24 So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon feast came, the king sat down to eat. 25 He sat in his customary place by the wall, opposite Jonathan, and Abner sat next to Saul, but David’s place was empty. 26 Saul said nothing that day, for he thought, ‘Something must have happened to David to make him ceremonially unclean – surely he is unclean.’ 27 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?’

28 Jonathan answered, ‘David earnestly asked me for permission to go to Bethlehem. 29 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 favour in your eyes, let me go to see my brothers.” That is why he has not come to the king’s table.’

30 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? 31 As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send someone to bring him to me, for he must die!’

32 ‘Why should he be put to death? What has he done?’ Jonathan asked his father. 33 But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David.

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

A. Find Out:

1. On who did Jonathan call to be witness to their plan? v.23
2. So where did David go? v.24
3. What was Saul’s eventual response to David’s absence? v.30,31
4. How did Jonathan respond? v.32
5. What was Saul’s response to that? v.33
6. What did Jonathan feel and why? v.34

B. Think:

1. What’s the aim of the plan David & Jonathan agreed on?
2. How is Jonathan’s heart contrasted with Saul’s?
3. What was it that was driving Saul to these lengths?

C. Comment:

     As they plan on how to find out Saul’s intentions in respect of David, they devise a means whereby Jonathan can find out and then communicate it to David without anyone else realising what he is doing. The festival comes and David is not there and soon Saul’s sense of frustration blows up in anger.

     It is here that we should note two sorts of anger expressed in this passage. First there is the unrighteous anger of Saul. It is built on frustration because he wants to kill David, but David is not there. Wrong anger comes in us mostly out of self defence or out of frustration. We become angry when we feel we are under attack, and there may be something of that in Saul as he feels his credibility, and even the future of his kingdom (v.31) is under attack from this up-and-coming star, David.  We also become angry when we are frustrated, when we feel unable to do things we feel we ought to be able to do, but can’t, just like Saul here.

     The second sort of anger is the righteous anger shown by Jonathan, that rises up in the face of unrighteousness and injustice. The correct way of dealing with any sort of anger is to pour out before the Lord the feelings we have and look to Him for resolution.

D. Application:

1. Confess to the Lord any anger you have and acknowledge why.
2. Leave the causes in His hands and receive His grace to cope.

Passage: 1 Sam 20:35-42

35 In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his meeting with David. He had a small boy with him, 36 and he said to the boy, ‘Run and find the arrows I shoot.’ As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37 When the boy came to the place where Jonathan’s arrow had fallen, Jonathan called out after him, ‘Isn’t the arrow beyond you?’ 38 Then he shouted, ‘Hurry! Go quickly! Don’t stop!’ The boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master. 39 (The boy knew nothing about all this; only Jonathan and David knew.) 40 Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said, ‘Go, carry them back to town.’

41 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.

42 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 for ever.”’ Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.

A. Find Out:

1. Where did Jonathan shoot the arrows? v.36
2. Of what was this a sign? Look back to v.22
3. Of what was the servant boy aware? v.39
4. What did David and Jonathan feel at parting? v.42
5. How did they part? v.42

B. Think:

1. How must Jonathan have had divided loyalties?
2. How must David have felt leaving on this occasion?

C. Comment:

     First, let’s note this simple performance. This acting out of archery practice is really for Jonathan to communicate bad news without himself being suspected. He fires, possibly over a valley, or at least over some distance and calls to his servant using a message that David, hidden nearby will understand. As there is now no one else around Jonathan sends the servant home and says his farewells to David.

     This friendship of David and Jonathan has all the hallmarks of a noble relationship. There is nothing in this strong manly friendship that smacks of modern-day homosexuality which has so debased the concept of deep friendship and even love between members of the same sex.  These are two warriors, nothing effeminate about them, yet there is a strong bond of loyalty. Now it is at this point that we see the difference from modern day homosexuality. The friendship here looked to the best for the other, not the best for themselves. Jonathan looked for the safety of David (protection from Saul’s intentions) and David looked for the protection of Jonathan (in the way the message was conveyed without exposing him).

     From this point on David is no longer part of the king’s court. He will be on his own from now on. He will only ever meet Jonathan once more. The tragedy is that Jonathan goes home, yet this is loyalty to his father.  There, all that awaits him is eventual death!   

D. Application:

1. Friendship and loyalty can be pure and holy and noble.
2. Friendship may sometimes cause divided loyalties.