1 Samuel 20:9 - Meaning and Application

Here, Jonathan shows his loyalty to David in his distress. Even though David trusted Jonathan deeply, Jonathan knew David might still fear that his father’s influence and his own interests could cool his friendship. So Jonathan thought it wise to renew his promises to David in a serious way (1 Samuel 20:9): “Do not think that I suspect you of any wrongdoing that would make me want to kill you myself or hand you over to my father.” If David still had any doubt, Jonathan said, “Come, let us go out into the field” (1 Samuel 20:11), and talk more fully there.

He did not call David out into the field for a fight, but to strengthen their friendship. He promised to tell David honestly what he found out about Saul’s attitude, and to report it exactly as it was. “If there is good news for you, I will tell you so, so you can be at peace” (1 Samuel 20:12). “If there is danger, I will send you away, so you will be safe” (1 Samuel 20:13). In this way, he would help free David from real danger, or from fear if the danger was only imagined.

To confirm his promise, Jonathan appealed to God. First, he called on God as a witness: “Lord God of Israel, you know I mean this sincerely, and I am saying what I truly think” (1 Samuel 20:12). His strong feelings made his words brief and direct. Second, he called on God as judge: “May the Lord do so to Jonathan and more also if I speak falsely or break my word with my friend” (1 Samuel 20:13).

Jonathan spoke so seriously that David could be fully sure of his sincerity. In the same way, God has confirmed his promises to us so that we may have strong encouragement (Hebrews 6:17-18). Jonathan also added a warm prayer: “May the Lord be with you, to protect you and make you prosper, as he was once with my father, though now he has left him.” He believed David would one day take Saul’s place, and he sincerely wished David better success than Saul had known.

Jonathan also looked ahead to the future and wanted the friendship to continue through their children (1 Samuel 20:14-16). He asked David to promise that he would not cut off his kindness from Jonathan’s house forever (1 Samuel 20:15). This came from a father’s love for his children, and from his desire to use his present influence for their good after he was gone. It also showed that he believed David would rise to power, and that David would be in a position to do either good or harm to Jonathan’s family.

Jonathan wanted David’s house to remain bound to his own family from generation to generation. He made a covenant, or solemn agreement, with the house of David (1 Samuel 20:16). True friends naturally want their kindness to last beyond their own lives. “Do not give up your own friend, or your father’s friend.” Jonathan called this “the Lord’s kindness,” because it was the kind of faithful love God shows to those he brings into covenant with himself. God is their God and the God of their children, and they are loved because of their fathers.

Jonathan also protected this covenant with a solemn warning (1 Samuel 20:16). He said the Lord should require it from David’s descendants if they ever became so hostile to Jonathan’s family as to treat them unfairly. He feared that David, or later his descendants, might be tempted to secure the throne by destroying Jonathan’s family, as Abimelech had done to Gideon’s sons (Judges 9:5). Jonathan wanted to prevent that kind of wrong.

But the main reason for his request was generous and selfless (1 Samuel 20:17). He loved David as deeply as he loved his own soul, so he wanted David to love him and his family in return. David was still disgraced at court and in trouble, yet Jonathan still found him as lovely as ever. He loved him no less because Saul hated him, and that shows how pure his friendship was.

Jonathan had already sworn to David, and he now asked David to swear to him as well, even to swear again if needed, and David agreed. A person with an honest heart does not resist such assurances. Jonathan valued his love for David so highly that he treated it as a sacred thing. When they parted, he ended with a solemn appeal to God: “May the Lord stand between me and you forever” (1 Samuel 20:23). In other words, God himself should judge between their families if either side ever broke this covenant of friendship.

David later showed kindness to Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, in remembrance of this covenant (2 Samuel 9:7; 2 Samuel 21:7). It is a kindness to ourselves and our children to bind ourselves to those whom God favors, and to make his friends our friends.

Jonathan then arranged a signal system so David would know how Saul felt toward him. David would be missed on the first day, or at least by the second day, of the new moon feast, and people would ask where he was (1 Samuel 20:18). By the third day, when he would have returned from Bethlehem, David was to be in a certain place (1 Samuel 20:19). Jonathan would come there with his bow and arrows, as if for sport (1 Samuel 20:20), and would send his servant to find the arrows.

If Jonathan shot the arrows short of the servant, David was to understand that he was safe and need not be afraid to appear (1 Samuel 20:21). If Jonathan shot beyond the servant, that would mean danger, and David would need to flee for his safety (1 Samuel 20:22). Jonathan fixed this plan in case he did not get another chance to speak with David, though later it turned out that he did have the opportunity to report to him in person.