1 Samuel 20:3-343And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death. 4Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee. 5And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even. 6If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. 7If he say thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him. 8Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thee: notwithstanding, if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father? 9And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee: for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee? 10Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly? 11And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field. 12And Jonathan said unto David, O Lord God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about to morrow any time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and show it thee; 13The Lord do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it please my father to do thee evil, then I will show it thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and the Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my father. 14And thou shalt not only while yet I live show me the kindness of the Lord, that I die not: 15But also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the Lord hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth. 16So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the Lord even require it at the hand of David's enemies. 17And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul. 18Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty. 19And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone Ezel. 20And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark. 21And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as the Lord liveth. 22But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way: for the Lord hath sent thee away. 23And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the Lord be between thee and me for ever. 24So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat. 25And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty. 26Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean. 27And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, that David's place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to day? 28And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem: 29And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favor in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto the king's table. 30Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness? 31For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. 32And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done? 33And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David. 34So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame. (1 Samuel 20:3‑34).
David said, “There is but a step between me and death.” Dear reader, how would it be with you if there were but a step between you and death? Are you ready? Are you cleansed from your sins in Christ’s most precious blood? Remember you cannot tell when your turn will come—you may be but a step from death now.
David said that he would hide in a field, and then if Saul missed him, Jonathan was to say that David had asked permission to go to Bethlehem. If Saul became angry then he would know that evil was in his father’s heart toward David, but if he said, “It is well,” then Jonathan would know there was peace in his heart toward him. Jonathan then asked David to promise to show kindness to his household, even after his own death, and this David did. When he came to the throne one of the first things he did was to find Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, and show kindness to him. How the Lord delights in blessing, even to those who are unfaithful, a’s Jonathan was here.
Jonathan left David out in the field and returned to Saul’s court. On the first day, when David’s place was empty at the table, Saul did not say anything, but on the second day when he was still absent, Saul asked Jonathan why David was not there, and Jonathan began to explain how he had asked leave to go to Bethlehem. King Saul then became very angry and railed on Jonathan for the “foolish” choice he had made in becoming so attached to David. Jonathan then began to ask his father why he hated David so, but Saul did not answer; instead he threw a javelin at Jonathan. He could not bear to have anyone speak well of David; neither can the world bear to have anyone speak well of Christ.
If Jonathan never knew before the full enmity and hatred of his father to David—an enmity without cause—he surely knew it now. Jonathan felt so keenly that his father had spoken against David that he got up and left the table in the heat of anger. This was righteous anger (Ephesians 4:2626Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: (Ephesians 4:26)). It is not righteous anger when we get upset over personal insults, but we ought to feel angry inside over anything that is said against the Lord Jesus Christ. Jonathan did not eat all day. Now the test had come. He knew exactly how his father felt toward David, and he loved David greatly, but whose company was he going to choose? He could not have both.
Dear reader, has this crisis come in your life? Have you, like Jonathan, been walking with the world, thinking it is not really so bad after all? Then has the Lord allowed you to see its real enmity against Christ? Has that unsaved boy or girl friend come out in his or her true colors, so you really found out they hated Christ and did not want you to speak of Him? What are you going to do? Is your heart broken? Jonathan’s was. Have you gone to the Lord, telling Him all about it? Jonathan went to David and told him all about it too; but it was a time for action, not just talking. Sometimes God brings us to this point, when everything comes out in the light of His presence and we must act one way or the other. There is only one right way, and we know it! Is He worthy of our ALL? Indeed He is!
ML 11/07/1954