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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.