Jonathan: Your Will Be Done
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven
Matthew 6:10
On paper, Jonathan ticked off all the qualities required for a king. And not just any ordinary king, a great king.
1. Royal Heir
He was the son of King Saul and the expected heir to the throne. In his father’s words:
As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established […]
1 Samuel 20:31
2. Great Warrior
He was skilled in battle. Without the Israelite army, he was able to cause great panic in the camp of the Philistines.
Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, with his armour-bearer right behind him. The Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armour-bearer followed and killed behind him. In that first attack Jonathan and his armour-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre.
1 Samuel 14:13-14
3. God Fearing
Jonathan relied on God and fully trusted in Him.
Jonathan said to his young armour-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”
1 Samuel 14:6
4. Beloved Leader
Not only was he skilled militarily, but he managed to win the hearts of those he led in battle. So much so, that they rescued him from death at his father’s hand.
But the men said to Saul, “Should Jonathan die — he who brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he did this today with God’s help.” So the men rescued Jonathan, and he was not put to death.
1 Samuel 14:45
5. Diplomatic
He managed to maintain good relationships with both David and his father, in spite of the fact that the latter was trying to kill David.
Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. But Jonathan was very fond of David and warned him, “My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding and stay there[…] Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly[…] Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath: “As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be put to death.”
1 Samuel 19:1-6
Saul did not keep his oath. Jonathan helped David escape (1 Samuel 20). When David was in exile, Jonathan accompanied his father in his pursuit of David. He managed to meet David and encouraged him. He did not reveal David’s location to his father (see 1 Samuel 23:16).
God’s Will
Jonathan was qualified to be king. But he was not God’s choice for king.
The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king […] So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.
1 Samuel 16:1,13
Jonathan must have grown up knowing he would be Israel’s next king. So, how did he respond to God’s choice of another king?
1. He loved David
After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.
1 Samuel 18:1
Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants for ever.’ […]
1 Samuel 20:42
2. He accepted God’s will
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.
1 Samuel 18:4
“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You shall be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.” The two of them made a covenant before the LORD. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.
1 Samuel 23:17-18
3) He paid the price
“What happened?” David asked. “Tell me.” He said, “The men fled from the battle. Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”
2 Samuel 1:4
Your Turn
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9
When the vision God has for you goes against the vision you have been groomed for, will you, like Jonathan accept it? Or will you, like Saul, fight it to the end?