Jonathan’s name in Hebrew means, “the gift of Jehovah” or, “Jehovah has given”. He was the oldest son of King Saul. The time of his life was around 1095-1056 B.C. Jonathan is most famous for his friendship with David.
David was appointed to be the next King by the Prophet Samuel. While Saul began to have a good relationship with David, things went sour. Jealousy took over. One day Saul heard the women singing about how great David was. In the streets they sang, “”Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” (1 Samuel 18:7). Saul became angry with him. I believe that Saul felt that he would not as good of a King as David. By killing David, his legacy would be saved. Sadly, Saul’s legacy is tarnished because of his own pride. What Saul feared came upon him. Do not let fear hold you back.
Jonathan met David after the death of Goliath. Him and David became friends. After this happened Jonathan gave David his Royal robe and his Sword. This was a sign of honor. He was honoring what the Prophet had spoken about David. Jonathan was submitting to calling that God had for David. He was a true friend who would give up his own popularity and power for another.
Jonathan’s Sister later married David. When Saul was upset with David, Jonathan would warn him. One day he even sent a hidden message by shooting an arrow into the field. Jonathan really shouldn’t have been so close because David was not technically the one that was supposed to take the throne. Jonathan should have been the next king. But Jonathan wanted to follow God’s plan and give David his thrown. What a true friend. While some on the Left claim that their relationship was homosexual, the Scriptures do not point this way. This was not a sinful relationship. The Devil will always try to twist anything pure and make it sinful to pull people away from the Gospel. This is really a story of true Biblical friendship.
One day they met together. I Samuel 23:16-17 tells us, “Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God. And he said to him, ‘Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that.’” (NKJV). Jonathan is a good friend. He ws someone who would encourage David. That is someone all need. In life we need good Godly friendships. When you are down, have a friend that you can go to. A good friendship takes place when there is time and trust involved. The more you spend time with them. The more you have with them, the better your relationship will be. When you cannot trust someone to do something or be somewhere, the relationship will hurt. The story of Jonathan teaches us that we need others to look out for us and encourage us.
God once said, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me…” (Isaiah 54:17) (NKJV). Notice the phrase, “And their righteousness is from Me” that is what the new covenant is all about. God takes our dirty Shepherds robe and gives us a royal robe of righteousness. The gift of righteousness is the true gift of Jehovah. Jesus died on the Cross to make us apart of the royal family. May we be like Jonathan in the Bible and declare that Jesus is our Lord and King! Let’s make Jesus the King of our life today.