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Over the past month, we’ve been going through the Life of David as recorded in the books of 1 and 2 Samuel. The brief synopsis of the last three sermons is that Saul was chosen as the first king of Israel, but he was eventually rejected because of his inability to heed the voice of God. David has been anointed as the next king, but has not yet taken the throne. In chapter 17, he showed his fitness for the throne by trusting in God and slaying the Philistine giant Goliath.

This morning we’re going to read selected portions of 1 Samuel 18-20, paying particular attention to David’s relationship with King Saul’s son, Jonathan.

1 Samuel 18:1-4 - After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king's son. There was an immediate bond of love between them, and they became the best of friends. ² From that day on Saul kept David with him at the palace and wouldn't let him return home. ³ And Jonathan made a special vow to be David's friend, ⁴ and he sealed the pact by giving him his robe, tunic, sword, bow, and belt.

We looked at chapter 18 in more detail two weeks ago. After David slays Goliath, Saul keeps him close so that he can keep an eye on him, and becomes very envious of the attention and respect David receives and wants David dead. And as we will find, David probably would have been killed if it weren’t for his friendship with Saul’s son, Jonathan. Let’s continue reading in 1 Samuel 19:

1 Samuel 19:1-5 Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his close friendship with David, ² told him what his father was planning. "Tomorrow morning," he warned him, "you must find a hiding place out in the fields. ³ I'll ask my father to go out there with me, and I'll talk to him about you. Then I'll tell you everything I can find out." ⁴ The next morning Jonathan spoke with his father about David, saying many good things about him. "Please don't sin against David," Jonathan pleaded. "He's never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could. ⁵ Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the LORD brought a great victory to Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you murder an innocent man like David? There is no reason for it at all!"

Saul promises not to kill David, but soon goes back on his promise, and later in this chapter David has to flee for his life. Jonathan devises a plan whereby he will find out if his father has forgiven David or still wants him dead, and unfortunately he finds that Saul still wants him dead. David and Jonathan’s goodbye is at the end of ch. 20:

1 Samuel 20:40-42 - Then Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy and told him to take them back to the city. ⁴¹ As soon as the boy was gone, David came out from where he had been hiding near the stone pile. Then David bowed to Jonathan with his face to the ground. Both of them were in tears as they embraced each other and said good-bye, especially David. ⁴² At last Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have made a pact in the LORD's name. We have entrusted each other and each other's children into the LORD's hands forever." Then David left, and Jonathan returned to the city.

As you can imagine, this is a terrible time in David’s life – the king is after his life, and makes six attempts to kill him. From a human perspective, the main reason David survived this difficult time is his friendship with Jonathan, a young man willing to risk his own life for the sake of his friend. This morning I want to talk about the power of friendship. Think about the relationships you have, and you know that friendship is a very unique thing, different than family, romantic relationships, and work relationships. Think about it - you don’t choose your family: they have to be there, or at least they should be there. And there is a great pull to romantic relationships, for you need a romantic relationship in order to have a family. Even getting along with work associates are necessary in order to provide for yourself. But a friend is different. Friendship is the one relationship you can do without, in theory. Friends seem expendable, and it takes such effort and time to build a solid friendship. But as David found out, it’s critical to have good friends.