"Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies dead on the hills. How I weep for you, my brother Jonathan! Oh, how much I loved you! And your love for me was deep, deeper than the love of women!"
The love between David and Jonathan is a covenant love between
believers that is rarely displayed in todays world. It was that
covenant of love that allowed Jonathan to see that David was the
rightful successor to the throne and to willingly resist his own
father to help David. Jonathan knew that if Saul were to kill David he would then have to kill his own father or if he were present when the attempt on David's life took place he would have to do everything he could to stop the attack, even take the death blow himself or kill his own father.
These two men were closer than brothers, they were covenant partners. Their commitment to honor and integrity is surpassed only by that of God in sacrificing His own Son for the lives of those He created. The covenant of love between the two that extended even to their descendants is seen in David's treatment of Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son.
Mephibosheth had been taken to "Lo-debar" by the family of Saul
because they either were unaware of the covenant between the two men or they didn't trust David to honor his oath. The place Mephibosheth was take to hide was called Lo-debar, a dry empty wasteland, he was taken there because of a lie and lived in a state of poverty and despair not knowing if he would live another day.
When David sent men to get him and bring him back he thought that David was going to kill him so that there would no longer be a threat to his throne. When he was brought before David he fell to the floor thinking it was over, but instead of killing him David told him all the things that belonged to his father Jonathan had been saved for him. He was welcomed into the palace and treated as a brother to the king just as his father Jonathan had been. The last thing we read about Mephibosheth is that he sat at the kings table the rest of his life.
Many people are living in Lo-debar today because they do not know who the "King" is and that He is not wanting them dead but rather has all the blessings of life in His palace waiting for them to receive. Like Mephibosheth, the gift of living free cannot be experienced if we remain in the dry empty desert of Lo-debar. Too many lies have been told about what the King (Jesus) is like and how religious you have to be to receive all the freedom He has to offer. The only thing it takes is to accept what He has to offer according to the Bible is to confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that Jesus is the King and that He died for our sins and rose again so that we could be saved/brought into the palace to receive what has been saved for us.
Mephibosheth was a crippled young man who had nothing to offer in return for the things the King had given him. He was dropped on a staircase as a child and his legs were broken in the fall. We like him were broken in a "fall" and through no fault our own have nothing to offer the King in return for His generosity and He desires nothing from us but that we accept Him. We do not have to live in the dryness of a wasteland or in fear of being caught and killed, God does not want to destroy anyone, He wants all men to be free and to receive all He has for them.
We, believers, are the modern equivalent of the men David sent to
Lo-debar to find the heir to Jonathans household. We are to bring the good news to the dry, empty wasteland where lies have men trapped in their crippled state fearing the wrath of the King and feeling worthless as cripples. We carry the key to freedom for those held captive by the lies of the enemy......
The love between David and Jonathan is a covenant love between
believers that is rarely displayed in todays world. It was that
covenant of love that allowed Jonathan to see that David was the
rightful successor to the throne and to willingly resist his own
father to help David. Jonathan knew that if Saul were to kill David he would then have to kill his own father or if he were present when the attempt on David's life took place he would have to do everything he could to stop the attack, even take the death blow himself or kill his own father.
These two men were closer than brothers, they were covenant partners. Their commitment to honor and integrity is surpassed only by that of God in sacrificing His own Son for the lives of those He created. The covenant of love between the two that extended even to their descendants is seen in David's treatment of Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son.
Mephibosheth had been taken to "Lo-debar" by the family of Saul
because they either were unaware of the covenant between the two men or they didn't trust David to honor his oath. The place Mephibosheth was take to hide was called Lo-debar, a dry empty wasteland, he was taken there because of a lie and lived in a state of poverty and despair not knowing if he would live another day.
When David sent men to get him and bring him back he thought that David was going to kill him so that there would no longer be a threat to his throne. When he was brought before David he fell to the floor thinking it was over, but instead of killing him David told him all the things that belonged to his father Jonathan had been saved for him. He was welcomed into the palace and treated as a brother to the king just as his father Jonathan had been. The last thing we read about Mephibosheth is that he sat at the kings table the rest of his life.
Many people are living in Lo-debar today because they do not know who the "King" is and that He is not wanting them dead but rather has all the blessings of life in His palace waiting for them to receive. Like Mephibosheth, the gift of living free cannot be experienced if we remain in the dry empty desert of Lo-debar. Too many lies have been told about what the King (Jesus) is like and how religious you have to be to receive all the freedom He has to offer. The only thing it takes is to accept what He has to offer according to the Bible is to confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that Jesus is the King and that He died for our sins and rose again so that we could be saved/brought into the palace to receive what has been saved for us.
Mephibosheth was a crippled young man who had nothing to offer in return for the things the King had given him. He was dropped on a staircase as a child and his legs were broken in the fall. We like him were broken in a "fall" and through no fault our own have nothing to offer the King in return for His generosity and He desires nothing from us but that we accept Him. We do not have to live in the dryness of a wasteland or in fear of being caught and killed, God does not want to destroy anyone, He wants all men to be free and to receive all He has for them.
We, believers, are the modern equivalent of the men David sent to
Lo-debar to find the heir to Jonathans household. We are to bring the good news to the dry, empty wasteland where lies have men trapped in their crippled state fearing the wrath of the King and feeling worthless as cripples. We carry the key to freedom for those held captive by the lies of the enemy......
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