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Lesson 1

10/04/20

Love Seeks Justice

Today’s Scripture

1 Samuel 19:1–7

Background Scripture: 1 Samuel 19:1–7; 23:1–18; 2 Samuel 9

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NRSV

SAUL spoke with his son Jonathan and with all his servants about killing David. But Saul’s son Jonathan took great delight in David.

2 Jonathan told David, “My father Saul is trying to kill you; therefore be on guard tomorrow morning; stay in a secret place and hide yourself.

3 I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you; if I learn anything I will tell you.”

4 Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have been of good service to you;

5 for he took his life in his hand when he attacked the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced; why then will you sin against an innocent person by killing David without cause?”

6 Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan; Saul swore, “As the LORD lives, he shall not be put to death.”

7 So Jonathan called David and related all these things to him. Jonathan then brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.

Key Verse:

So Jonathan called David and related all these things to him. Jonathan then brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before. (1 Samuel 19:7, NRSV)

Today’s Word

We all know that families are very important and special to God. He gave us these chosen people in our lives for a reason. Whether your family looks like parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, godparents, siblings, cousins—or some other combination—God knew ahead of time that this would be your family. He gave each person a special role. We see over and over how revered families are in the Bible—just look at all the genealogies and family histories you can trace! Family was a huge part of our biblical ancestors’ identity.

All that being said, friendships are important to God as well. We see evidence of that in the Scriptures and know that we should choose our friends wisely and carefully. Our friends have an influence on us—sometimes more than our families do.

But are our friendships ever more important than our families? Is there ever a scenario where we should choose them or obey them ahead of our parents/guardians? That’s the choice Jonathan had to make in today’s story.

Jonathan learned that friendship and justice were more important than being the son of a king.

Jonathan was best friends with David. Jonathan was also the son of King Saul, and technically the next in line for the throne. But Jonathan knew that Samuel had anointed David to be the next king of Israel. While this could have made Jonathan enemies with David, or at least jealous, it never caused a problem in their friendship.

One day, Saul came to Jonathan and the servants and said they should hatch a plot to kill David. Saul was jealous of David’s anointing and didn’t want to give up his throne. Jonathan was shocked! How could his father do something like this to God’s chosen heir? If you were Jonathan, what would you have done in this situation?

Jonathan decided to warn David about Saul’s intentions. He was not going to sit idly by and let this happen to his best friend. He encouraged David to hide for the day so Saul couldn’t get him. As if that wasn’t enough help, Jonathan also told David he would speak to Saul on David’s behalf. Just the warning would’ve been plenty, but Jonathan went above and beyond. He didn’t simply say, “Good luck,” and he didn’t stop being David’s friend; he went to his father to plead David’s case. Jonathan was an excellent example of a good and godly friend. He didn’t abandon David in his time of need.

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Now, it must have been pretty scary for Jonathan to confront Saul (who we can see in other stories had a temper and was prone to violence). But Jonathan knew and understood that what Saul was asking him to do was a sin—remember the eighth commandment? Because Jonathan was firm in his faith, and he knew that David was the chosen one, he had confidence in the Lord to face Saul. He reminded Saul of David’s good deeds—such as rescuing the Israelites from Goliath and the Philistines—and reiterated that Saul’s command was a sin. It’s interesting that Jonathan brought up the memory of Goliath because that is the exact event that triggered Saul’s jealousy of David. David was able to defeat an enemy that Saul himself couldn’t. The hatred for David began to take root then, but Jonathan was using the story to try to do away with the hate. We all know that God is in the business of restoration; this is just one such example.

You may be familiar with another important commandment, “Honor thy father and mother,” and it’s critical that we note what’s going on here. Jonathan could not obey his father because his father’s command was sinful. If your parents/guardians want you to obey them, but they’re requiring you to sin, then you have no obligation to obey. Your first obligation belongs to the Lord. Ask yourself, What does His Word say? If your parents/guardians’ wishes don’t line up with Scripture, then you have a reason for not obeying their demands. Remember Acts 5:29: “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”

Not only was it important for Jonathan to save his best friend’s life, but he also wanted to bring about reconciliation between Saul and David. He knew they had “bad blood” in the past, and he was aware of Saul’s jealousies. He didn’t want that to be the case anymore. So his plea for David to be spared wasn’t only for his own benefit; it was also the godly thing to do. Hebrews 10:24 says that we should “provoke one another to love and good deeds.” This is what Jonathan was doing by bridging the gap between his father and David. When was the last time you provoked a friend to love and/ or good deeds? What did the friend do? Did you do it together?

Jonathan laid it all out on the table even though he had no idea how Saul would react. Thankfully, Saul heard the Lord speaking to him through Jonathan, and he heeded Jonathan’s words. He promised that he would never endanger David’s life again. This must have taken great humility on Saul’s part because being king but also revoking a command was a big deal. It meant admitting fault and accepting God’s ways as better than his own. He could have ignored Jonathan’s counsel and said, “I’m the king; I do what I want!” Because of God working in Jonathan’s life, this was not the case.

Joyfully, Jonathan brought David out of hiding and told him everything that happened. There was no longer a need to hide! They could still be best friends, and Saul was no longer angry with David. This story shows how we can be a good friend and that God can use us to deliver His messages.

Leo and Manuel were best friends. They played on the same basketball team, so they were together most nights for practice. Afterward, they’d usually get milkshakes or burgers. Almost every weekend was spent playing the game and then going to each other’s houses for video games, shooting hoops in the driveway, and eating junk food. But Manuel’s mother didn’t approve of the relationship because she thought Leo was a bad influence because he wasn’t a Christian. She wanted Manuel to focus on his athletics and improving his game. Her hope was for Manuel to make the high school basketball team next year.

Despite his mom’s objections, Manuel invited Leo to church with them almost every Sunday. Sometimes Leo came, and sometimes he didn’t. After a few months of this, Leo came over one Saturday as usual. “Listen, man, I’ve been thinking,” he said. “I’m tired of being half in and half out. I’ve been learning a lot at your church, and I think this Jesus guy is legit. I want to be a Christian.”

Manuel was overjoyed!

The next day, Manuel took Leo to meet with his pastor, and they all prayed together. They also signed Leo up for the next baptism Sunday. Manuel would never forget the wonderful day that his friend became a follower of Jesus.

Most of us don’t enjoy becoming involved in conflict; in fact, we try to avoid it. Jonathan had that option but instead he chose to become involved. His friendship with David meant more to him than the possible consequences of standing up to Saul. Sometimes standing up for our beliefs means that we’ll be in conflict with others—sometimes even with our loved ones. How can we know when to involve ourselves and when to stay out of it? This is where prayer comes in. The answer won’t be the same in every scenario, so you must pray and ask God for wisdom and guidance. He’ll tell you what you’re supposed to do in any given situation as long as you’re willing to listen and obey. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to stand up for either yourself or someone else, causing you to go against family members or friends? Always go to God first and seek His answers. If your parents are simply being good parents, honor them through obedience.

This week, bolster your friendships with the Lord’s help as Jonathan did.