David and Jonathan were very close friends; one could say closer than brothers. Saul was Jonathan’s father and he feared that David would take the kingdom from Jonathan. Thus he conspired to kill David. David trusted Jonathan absolutely and asked him to find out if his life was truly in danger. Jonathan said, “What do you want me to do? Name it and I’ll do it.”
David was expected to attend a three day banquet that King Saul was giving. Instead he asked Jonathan to deceive Saul by telling Saul that David had gone to Bethlehem for a annual sacrifice involving his whole clan. He knew that Saul’s response would reveal how he truly felt about David. As David suspected Saul was furious and threatened to kill David. Saul knew that Jonathan was covering for David and directed him to bring David to him to be killed. Instead with the shooting of three arrows Jonathan gave David these instructions, “You need to hurry. Go as fast as you can.” Saul in the end was right to attempt to protect his son. David did take the kingdom from Jonathan. And from David’s line came the the Son of Man.
This story from the Old Testament reveals the very essence of friendship. It pitted a son against his father. We talked in group about whether each of us had ever known a friend as dedicated and trustworthy as Jonathan. This discussion revealed that among us as men we are often reluctant to become to close to another man. It is a fear of vulnerability primarily that keeps us from opening our hearts to trust in such a way. There was also a good discussion of how parents try to keep their children from making mistakes and how often children fail to heed the fair warnings and make their own mistakes.