David: The Shepherd / King of Israel

Part 5: Jonathan and David

This week, as we continued our series on David, we looked at the friendship between David and Jonathan. Jonathan was Saul’s son and next in line for the throne. He was a fearless warrior and hero to the people of Israel. After witnessing David’s victorious defeat of Goliath, Jonathan realized God had selected David as the next king. Despite being the crown prince, Jonathan affirmed David as the future king and committed to brotherly friendships with David. As we study the life of Jonathan, we see that he repeatedly defended David against his father, Saul. What’s remarkable, though, is that Jonathan never turned against Saul. To love David did not mean having to reject or cancel his dad; he was loyal to Saul while also being loyal to David. Jonathan’s love for Saul and David demonstrates a biblical love rooted in a surrendered life to God and seeing others as God sees them. In a world filled with cancel culture, Jonathan’s life shows us a different way to love which looks beyond personal preferences to align with God’s perspective. Jonathan’s life is a portrait of biblical love, which points us to Jesus – the ultimate embodiment of love!