The Life and Times of

Conclusion

We can see that this chapter is a significant turning point in terms of David’s relationship with Saul and with Jonathan. Previously, David has fled from Saul’s presence, but this has always been temporary. Now, it is permanent. David will never again sit at Saul’s table, never again play his harp to soothe the king’s troubled spirit, never again fight for Saul in the Israelite army. David will become a fugitive who is constantly on the run from Saul who seeks to kill him. Because of this, the fellowship David has been able to enjoy with Jonathan will never be the same either. And so David and Jonathan say their sad farewells in our text. They will meet again, but it will not be often, or for long.

One word sums up what this chapter is all about, and that word is covenant. David flees to Jonathan, at a very desperate moment in his life, because they have a covenant relationship which assures David of Jonathan’s love and support. This covenant of mutual love and good will is the reason Jonathan takes David so seriously that he is willing to carry out David’s test. It is also why Jonathan takes such elaborate security precautions (going out into the field, communicating to David through a kind of signal). This covenant is actually clarified and extended in our text. What was originally a covenant between two men has now become a covenant between two families. What was once a vague, general covenant made at a time when there was no animosity on Saul’s part toward David, now is clarified to deal with Saul’s hostility and his intent to do violence to David. The covenant between Jonathan and David is also a good part of Saul’s anger toward both David and Jonathan. The covenant that bound these two men and their families incited Saul’s wrath toward David and his son Jonathan. Saul could not oppose one without also opposing the other. .

This covenant between David and Jonathan is the basis and guiding principle of the relationship between these two men. It gives both a sense of security and expresses both men’s submission and servanthood to each other. This is such an important matter that we should to pause to reflect on it. We should first discuss this covenant as it bears upon our relationships with others. We will then conclude by exploring the way in which a “covenant” governs our relationship with God.

A Covenant Governs Our Relationship With Others

Even the land in which we live is governed on the basis of a covenant which men made with one another. The Declaration of Independence was penned, in part, because the people of this nation felt England had broken their covenant with those they governed. Our Constitution is a kind of covenant, which binds us together as a nation. Whether written or oral, implied or stated, government is based upon a covenant made by men.

I believe marriage is one of the most important covenants a man can make with a woman. It is still popular for some who live together without being married to say: “We love each other, so we don’t need a piece of paper to keep us together.” Our text makes it very clear that a covenant is the outgrowth of love, an expression of love. David and Jonathan made a covenant with each because they loved each other. In their minds, it would have been inconceivable for them not to enter into a covenant. Why would two men, who love each other as brothers, not be willing to make commitments that they vow to keep forever?

A covenant is proof of love. A covenant is a mutually agreed upon definition of how love will be reflected in a relationship. I think it is also safe to say that a covenant relationship grows. As Saul’s jealousy of David becomes apparent, both David and Jonathan modify (or clarify) their covenant to take these new circumstances into account. But their commitments to each other do not diminish because hard times come upon their relationship; hard times prompt these two men to further commit themselves to each other.¹⁹ The same thing applies to marriage vows. When a man and a woman come together to become husband and wife, they express vows which are really the definition of a covenant that is being made. This covenant is not to be broken. This covenant is the foundation and mainstay when troubles come, even when love seems to be lacking. A covenant gives stability to a marriage that romantic feelings cannot provide, because they are not constant.

For all believers in Jesus Christ, there is not only a covenant between the individual believer and Christ, there is also a covenant relationship between all believers. We become a covenant community, bound together by a covenant. Notice how the prophet Malachi rebukes the Israelites of old for failing to keep their covenants:

10 “Do we not all have one father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers? 11 “Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the LORD which He loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 “As for the man who does this, may the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who awakes and answers, or who presents an offering to the LORD of hosts. 13 “And this is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 “Yet you say, 'For what reason?' Because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 “But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And what did that one do while he was seeking a godly offspring? Take heed then, to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth. 16 “For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says the LORD of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously” (Malachi 2:10-16, emphasis mine).