Today, in David, Saul, and Jonathan's life so long ago, was the day before the day of the New Moon Festsival and David asked Jonathan, "Look, tomorrow I am supposed to dine with the king; but let me go and hide in the field until the evening of the day after tomorrow. If your father misses me at all tell him, 'David earnestly asked my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because an annual sacrifice is being made there for his whole clan. If your father says, 'Very well' then your servant is safe. But if he loses his temper, you can be sure that he is determined to harm me. As for you, show kindness to your servant for you have brought him into a covenant with you before the Lord. If I am guilty, then kill me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?" But Jonathan said, "Never!"
Jonathan continued as they went out into the field together, "By the Lord, I will surely sound out my father by this time the day after tomorrow. If he is favorably disposed toward you, I will send you word and let you know. But if my father is inclined to harm you, may the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I do not let you know and send you away safely. May the Lord be with you as he has been with my father. But show me unfailing kindness like that of the Lord as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family--not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth." So the covenant was made.
And then the plan. Jonathan said to David; " At the festival tomorrow, you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid when this trouble began, and wait by the stone we called Ezel. I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a target. Then I will send a boy and say, 'Go, find the arrows.' If I say to him, 'Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them here,' then come, because as surely as the Lord lives , you are safe; there is no danger, but if I say to the boy. "Look, the arrows are beyond you,' then you must go, because the Lord has sent you away. And about the matter you and I discussed--remember, the Lord is witness between you and me forever."
So, David hid in the field. When the New Moon festival came, the king sat down to eat he saw that David's place was empty, and Saul thought David could not come to eat as he must be unclean, having touched something that kept him from eating. But the next day, when David's seat was once again empty, Saul asked his son about David not attending, and Jonathan said, "David asked permission from me to go home as his brothers had ordered him to come." Saul's anger flared up at Jonathan for letting David go and he said, "Now send for him and bring him to me!" Then Jonathan knew his father intended to kill David.
In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his meeting with David, and he had a small boy with him. As the boy ran forward, Jonathan shot beyond him and he yelled, "Hurry! Go quickly! Don't stop!" When the boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master, Jonathan praised the boy, gave him his weapon, and said, "Go, carry them back to town."
After the boy had gone, David got up from the other side of the stone, and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground, and David went in peace. He went to a neighboring king, Achish king of Gath, where he pretended to be insane in the king's presence, for they recognized the hero from Israel and would have been afraid to keep him if he were not insane. But pretending to be insane was difficult and not helpful to Israel, and so David escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his fathers' household heard of David's escape they went down to him there. They and all those who were discontented followed him and he became their leader About four-hundred men were there. When the prophet Gad realized what had happened, he said, "Do not stay there. Go into the land of Judah." So David and all his men left and went to the forest of Hereth.
Study/ Those in distress, in debt, or discontented joined David, who himself was an outlaw. These people were outcasts themselves and could only improve their lot by helping David become king. David's control over this band of men again shows his resourcefulness and ability to lead and motivate others. It is difficult enough to build an army out of good men, but it takes even greater leadership to build one out of the kind of men that followed David. This group eventually formed the core of his military leadership and produced several "mighty men."
So, now there are the good guys and the bad guys! Right? Well, maybe, maybe not. Saul is becoming quite a bad guy, but David isn't perfect! Just now, he seems to be the more perfect of the two. Why can't our world create more perfect people! I guess only God can be perfect, and only He can help us to be more like Him than what is our natural tendency.
Oh! Well! We are what we are and we can only be better than we are through Him. I am reminded every day of my imperfections, and long for Him more and more.
Jo INMN
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