1 Samuel Chapter 20

Daily Devotional on 1 Samuel 20
Faithful Love in a Hostile Palace

“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 (New International Version)

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  1. Setting the Scene
    David is a fugitive inside the royal court. Saul’s jealousy has shifted from simmering irritation to murderous rage. Into that danger steps Jonathan—prince of Israel, heir to the throne, and David’s covenant friend. Chapter 20 opens during the two-day New-Moon festival, a monthly sacrificial banquet required by Torah (Numbers 10 : 10; 28 : 11). At such gatherings nobles sat by rank; the empty seat of a warrior would be noticed immediately. Jonathan uses the occasion to test his father’s heart toward David, then signals the verdict with arrows shot beyond a boundary stone called “Ezel” (Hebrew root ’āzal, “to depart”, perhaps “Stone of Departure”). Archaeologists have recovered flint and bronze arrowheads from Iron-Age I sites near Gibeah, a reminder that Jonathan’s signal was more than poetic—it was military and deadly.

  2. Covenant: More than Friendship
    Twice in this chapter (vv. 8, 16) the narrator uses the Hebrew term חסד (ḥesed), a word richer than “kindness.” It speaks of loyal love rooted in covenant. In Scripture ḥesed describes God’s bond with Israel (Exodus 34 : 6). Jonathan mirrors that divine steadfastness: he ties his own future to a man the royal court now brands an outlaw. Early church writers saw here a hint of Christ’s self-emptying (Philippians 2 : 6-8): the rightful heir lays aside privilege for God’s chosen king.

    Cross-References
    • Ruth 1 : 16-17 – covenant loyalty across family lines
    • John 15 : 13-15 – “Greater love has no one than this…”
    • Proverbs 18 : 24 – “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother”

  3. Truth in the Open Air
    Jonathan’s plan is almost liturgy: three arrows, a coded sentence, a boy retrieving them. Secrecy protects David, yet their final meeting is painfully honest—“Both of them wept, but David wept the most” (v. 41). Mature faith does not hide lament. Augustine noted that tears here are “a sacrament of love”—the outward sign of inward grace. When jealous powers close in on us, God often provides a Jonathan: one who speaks truth, risks safety, and weeps openly.

  4. The Hidden King and the Surrendered Prince
    Jonathan’s actions foreshadow a kingdom reversal. He chooses alignment with God’s anointed over his own claim to the throne. Centuries later John the Baptist echoes the same spirit: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3 : 30). In broad biblical theology, Jonathan becomes a witness that true royalty is measured by surrender to God’s purpose, not by grasping power.

  5. Cultural Notes Western Readers Might Miss
    • New-Moon feasts were not optional; absence implied ritual impurity or rebellion (cf. Isaiah 1 : 13). David’s empty seat raised a theological question as well as a political one.
    • Oaths were made “cutting a covenant” (Hebrew kārat berit). Animals were often sacrificed, though the text is silent here. The covenant formula “The LORD be between you and me” calls God as invisible witness and enforcer.
    • In the honor-shame world of the Ancient Near East, Jonathan publicly confronting his father (vv. 30-34) was shocking. The spear hurled at him was not merely anger—Saul’s gesture declared Jonathan’s loyalty treasonous.

  6. Literary Design
    The narrative uses repetition of “the third day” (vv. 5, 12, 19) forming a triad that builds suspense. Spears are also a motif: the weapon Saul hurls at David (18 : 11; 19 : 10) now flies at Jonathan, showing that hatred, once unleashed, strikes indiscriminately.

  7. Voices from History
    • John Calvin read Jonathan as a model of lawful obedience: he honors his father until obedience would mean sin.
    • Charles Spurgeon celebrated this friendship as “a diamond of steadfast love shining in a dark mine of court intrigue.”
    • Dietrich Bonhoeffer, reflecting on David and Jonathan while hiding from a tyrant, wrote that Christian community is sustained by covenant faithfulness, not shared comfort.

  8. Worship Response
    Consider singing “Blest Be the Tie That Binds” (John Fawcett, 1782). Its gentle melody and words—“Our hearts in Christian love”—echo the ḥesed that bound David and Jonathan.

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Prayer
Faithful God,
You bind Yourself to us with steadfast love that never fails.
Teach us to practice the courage of Jonathan—
to value Your will over our advancement,
to speak truth even when spears fly,
to weep with those who must go into hiding,
and to keep covenant beyond our lifetime.
May the Lord be between us and those You give us to love,
now and for ever.
Through Jesus our King we pray. Amen.

Narrated version of this devotional on 1 Samuel Chapter 20