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Jonathan Loved
David as Himself
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After
David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with
David, and he loved him as himself. (I Samuel 18:1)
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Do you have any
friends who can help you when you are in trouble?
I would like to talk to you today about close friends in the Bible.
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The first king, Saul
had a very nice prince named Jonathan.
This prince had great
faith and was a brave man.
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The prince had a nice
man as a friend. This friend was David who had defeated Goliath. Jonathan loved this
brave young man from Bethlehem.
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So he went to David
first and asked to be his friend. Jonathan made a
covenant with David because he loved him as himself for all of their lives.
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Jonathan took off the
robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his
sword, his bow, and his belt. There was a big age gap between the two but
that was not a problem.
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Then along came
conflict. When David went to battle, he would win more than Saul so the
people preferred David. Jonathan's father, King Saul, became very
dissatisfied with this so he tried to kill David.
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Saul ordered Jonathan
and all the attendants, "Kill David. If he lives, he will take my place
someday." Jonathan was so surprised.
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Jonathan tried not to
obey his father's order. He told David everything Saul ordered. "My father Saul
is looking for a chance to kill you. Go into hiding and stay there."
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Jonathan told his
father Saul that he should not kill David. Saul listened to Jonathan and took
this oath. "As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be killed."
So David could come back to the palace.
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However, as time
passed by, Saul tried again to pin David to the wall with his spear. David darted the spear twice and ran away. He was almost killed by Saul.
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Saul thought that if
David lived, his son Jonathan could not be the next king. So from that point
on Saul continued to try to kill David until he died. However, Jonathan did
not hate David because of that reason.
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Jonathan knew that
his father tried to kill David so he helped him run away.
Jonathan did not betray his friend, David to keep his place.
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In the future,
Jonathan went to battle with his father Saul and died on Mount Gilboa. And David became the next king of Israel.
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When David became
King of Israel he brought Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son, into the palace to
take care of him. David considered Mephibosheth like one of his own princes.
He always let Mephibosheth eat at the king's table. He kept their promise to
each other until the end.
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Do you have any nice
friends like them?
It is difficult to meet loving friends that will stick by you to the end.
I hope that you have great friends like David and Jonathan for all of your
lives.
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But we believing in
Jesus have the greatest friend of the world. Jesus died on the cross for our
sins. Therefore, we should never forget our best friend, Jesus, who is with
us in every situation. You should depend on Him always and become closer
friends.
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