Now our lesson begins here in
chapter 20 at 1 Samuel with David still trying to figure out why
Saul is trying to kill him. It says in verse 1, ìAnd David
fled from Naoth and Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan,
ìWhat have I done? What is my iniquity, and what
is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life?î David
doesnít know why this trial has befallen him. In verse 2, ìJonathan
said unto him, ìGod forbid, thou shalt not die. Behold, my father
will do nothing, either great or small, but that he will show
it me. And why should my father hide
this thing from me? It's not so. Jonathan tells David,
my father's not going to kill you. For some reason, Jonathan
just could not believe Saul was trying to kill David. He says, if my father was planning
to kill you, I'd know about it. And he's not trying to kill you.
Now, if you look back at chapter 19, this is a very odd thing
for Jonathan to say, because look at verse 1 of chapter 19.
And Saul states to Jonathan, his son, and all his servants,
that they should kill David. Now, I can't explain why Jonathan
says this, you know, tells David, my father's not trying to kill
you. But Jonathan does tell David, I'll protect you. If this is
my father's purpose to harm you, I will protect you. And in this,
Jonathan is a type of God the Son. The Father showed His Son
all of His will, all of His purpose, everything that He would do.
And the Son came incarnate to fulfill His Father's will and
to keep His people safe, to protect His people from the wrath of
God against their sin. And Christ our Savior does, absolutely
does, assure that His people will never suffer the wrath of
His Father. But now Jonathan really can't do that concerning
Saul and David. In verse 3, David tells Jonathan
he swore moreover and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that
I have found grace in thine eyes. And he saith, Let not Jonathan
know this, lest he be grieved. But truly, as the Lord liveth,
and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and
death. Now, David seems surprised to hear that Jonathan doesn't
think Saul wants to kill him. Maybe your father's hidden this
from you. But we know that Saul's tried to kill David a number
of times. We've seen that here in our study.
Three or four times, Saul's phone is jabbling at David, and David
was able to escape it. But, you know, if he'd just have
stepped slower, David would be dead. There's just a step between
him and death. So we go on, verse 4, and Jonathan
said unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will do it.
I will even do it for thee. Now, Jonathan's willing to show
his love to David, and he's willing to show his intention to help
David. And he's going to show that by
doing anything David asks. Now, if you look over Matthew
chapter 7, this is exactly what our Lord does for His people.
He tells His people the same thing. And He does it of His
love for them and His intention to show them He will do everything
that's required for them. In Matthew 7, verse 7, Ask, and
it shall be given you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock,
and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh, receiveth. And he that seeketh, findeth.
And to him that knocketh, it shall be opened." Now look over
in John 14, and we'll kind of get the key to what our Lord
is saying here. In John 14, verse 13, this sounds a whole lot like
what Jonathan told David. whatsoever ye shall ask in my
name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the
Son. If ye shall ask anything in my
name, I will do it." If we ask anything in the name of Christ,
for the glory of Christ, according to the will of God, he said,
I'll do it. Now let me ask you a question. Is there anyone here,
anyone, that wants mercy from God? Do you? Have you asked for
it? Have you asked for it? Do you
want salvation? Do you need forgiveness of sins?
Have you asked God for it? Ask him and keep asking. Look over Matthew chapter 20.
Here's a good illustration of what this is teaching. Keep asking
him. In Matthew 20, verse 29. And as they departed from Jericho,
a great multitude followed him. And behold, two blind men sat
by the wayside. And when they heard that Jesus
passed by, they cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou
Son of David. And the multitude rebuked them.
Don't mess up our schedule here, you know, because they should
hold their peace. But they cried the more. They
wouldn't quit. They cried the more, saying,
Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. And Jesus stood
still, the master stood still at the voice of a beggar. And
he called them and said, what will ye that I shall do unto
you? And they say unto him, Lord,
that our eyes may be opened. So Jesus had compassion on them
and touched their eyes and immediately their eyes received sight and
they followed him. If you want mercy, if you need
mercy, if you need forgiveness of sins, ask him. Keep asking. The Master will stand still at
the voice of a beggar and call you to himself. That's so. Well,
back in our text here in verse 5, And David said unto Jonathan,
Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit
with the king at me. But let me go, that I may hide
myself in the field until the third day at even. If thy father
at all miss me, Then say, David earnestly asked leave of me,
that he might run to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly
sacrifice there for all the family. If he say thus, it is well. If
your father said, that's good, that he should be there with
his family worshiping, thy servant shall have peace. But if he be
very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him." Now,
you know, it's interesting to me, I saw two things here. has been rejected by God. He's
been given another evil spirit to trouble him. But he's still
religious, isn't he? Boy, he's religious. And following
the ceremonies and the customs and the habits of religion is
not salvation. Christ is all of our salvation. That's what we were talking about
before the service, to be taken up with the Lord Jesus Christ.
He's the issue. All these other things are not
the issue. is the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation. He is all
of our salvation. And second, I thought this. We
can't judge another person's relationship with God based on
the conditions of their flesh. Here in our text, the man after
God's own heart, the man who God has anointed to be King of
Israel is out there hiding in a cave and in a field. And the
man that God's rejected is sitting on the throne. He's got all the
power and he's sitting at the royal table. I don't know what
David's eating out there in that cave, but I know Saul, he's got
a pretty good meal. This is the royal table. You
can't judge a person's relationship with God based on these fleshly
conditions. Salvation's a heart work. It's
a spiritual work. And these are things that God's
people endure for reasons known only to God. And we leave those
things with him. So David goes on in verse 8,
he says, Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant,
for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with
thee. Notwithstanding, if there be
in me iniquity, slay me thyself, for why shouldst thou bring me
to thy father? Now, David asks Jonathan to deal kindly with
him, to tell him where he stands with Saul, and the reason that
he asks is the covenant that they have entered into. Jonathan
or David tells Jonathan, you entered into a covenant with
me. This covenant was your idea. You join me to you in a covenant. And this is the very way a believer
goes to God in prayer. Lord, we are your people and
we're begging you for covenant mercies. We're asking for mercy. We're asking for help based on
your promises found in your covenant. Not because we deserve it. But
because you've entered into a covenant with us, you've made us your
covenant people. And it's the title of the lesson.
I couldn't think of a better title than this. There probably
is one. I couldn't think of it. It's all because of the covenant. The covenant is the key. Now,
I do not understand everything that God does. Matter of fact,
I understand very little of what God does. But I know this. that
the key to understanding what it is that God is doing is found
in his covenant of grace. Everything that God is doing
in human history is tied to his purpose of giving glory for himself
and the salvation of his elect. It's because of this covenant.
That covenant, David said, is ordered in all things and it's
sure that God's bringing it to pass. So the key here is the
covenant. We'll see this in the rest of
this chapter. And David tells Jonathan, he said, now we've
got this covenant, but if I've done anything wrong that deserves
death, then you judge me and you kill me. Do it right now.
That's a picture of Christ. The father has given all judgment
to the son. And one day he's going to judge this earth in
righteousness. And those who are found guilty are going to
be sent to eternal condemnation. But those who are found in Christ,
those who are found innocent, They're righteous because they've
been washed in the blood of Christ. Christ himself is going to lead
them to eternal life with him. But whichever way it's judged,
Christ is going to be the judge. And David tells Jonathan, now
you be the judge here. If I'm found guilty, despite
this covenant that we have, you put me to death. And the covenant
of God's grace ensures that all those who are in Christ are going
to be found righteous. They're going to be found innocent
because Christ has bore our sins away. Now, verse 9, Jonathan
said, far be it from thee, for I know certainly that, for if
I knew certainly that evil were determined by my Father to come
upon thee, then would not I tell it thee? And Jonathan says, I'll
do exactly what you ask. I'll show you if you're in danger
and I'll do it because of the covenant that we've entered into.
And because of our love for each other, Jonathan and David loved
one another. They loved each other as their
own souls. So in verse 10, then said David to Jonathan, who shall
tell me? Or what if I, father, answer
thee roughly? Now David wants to know, who's going to tell
me what Saul's purpose is? Who's going to tell me how he
reacts? You know, it could be David had a little bit of doubt
in the back of his mind as to what Jonathan would really do.
when the rubber met the road. Jonathan is next in line for
the throne. Now David, I know we've entered
into this covenant, but you're next in line to the throne. If
you get rid of me, there's no rival to the throne. That could
have been in the back of David's mind. And Jonathan tells David,
I personally will tell you everything you need to know. I will do it. Now God, in eternity past, has
purposed good for His elect. He's purposed good, eternal good,
for everyone who believes Him. He's purposed the forgiveness
of their sins. He's purposed to make them righteous. He's
purposed to give them eternal life. He's purposed to give them
His presence while they're on this earth and to have them in
His presence eternally. Well, who's going to tell us?
Who's going to tell us if God purposed judgment or mercy for
us? Look at Malachi chapter 3, the last book of the Old Testament. I'll tell you who's going to
tell us. It's God's Son himself. He personally is going to tell
his people God's purpose. In Malachi chapter 3, verse 1, Behold, I will send my messenger,
and he shall prepare the way before me. And the Lord, whom
ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple. Even the messenger
of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, he shall come, saith
the Lord of hosts." Christ not only is the mediator of this
covenant, he's the messenger of the covenant. And he came
to reveal this covenant to his people. He came to reveal God's
purpose of salvation to his people. And if any of us are going to
hear from God, we're going to hear from God through the Lord
Jesus Christ, his Son. through his written word, if
we're going to hear from God. You're not going to hear from
the preacher. You're going to hear from Christ himself. Now
the preacher is going to speak to your ears. Christ is the one
that's going to speak to your heart. He's the one that's going
to give you a new heart. He's the one that's going to
give you repentance and faith. He's the one that will give you
an understanding of his written word to see Christ the living
word in his written word. If you're going to hear from
God, you're going to hear from Christ himself. He's the messenger
of the covenant. And Jonathan tells David here
in verse 11, he said, I'm going to tell you everything you need
to know. And Jonathan said unto David,
come, let's go out into the field. And they went out, both of them
into the field. They're going to go out here in the field where
they can be alone and talk. Now, have you ever been in a
crowd in the worship service and you feel like it's just you
and the Lord? The Lord is talking directly
to you and it's like there's nobody else in the room. That's
the way the Lord speaks to his people, to their hearts, and
this is the way Jonathan and David are going to talk. So verse
12, Jonathan said unto David, O Lord God of Israel, when I
have sounded my Father about tomorrow, any time of the third
day, and behold, if there be good toward David, and I then
sin not unto thee, and show it thee, the Lord do so, and much
more to Jonathan. But if it please my Father to
do the evil, then I will show it thee. and send thee away,
that thou mayest go in peace. And the Lord be with thee, as
he hath been with my father." Jonathan tells David, I will
tell you everything you need to know. And if not, the blame
is mine. The punishment will fall upon
me. And he swore it with an oath.
And this is exactly what Christ has done for his people. He's
promised to tell his people everything we need to know. And he confirms
it with an oath. Look at Hebrews chapter 6. Hebrews 6 verse 16. For men barely swear by the greater,
and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the
immutability, the unchangeableness of his counsel, confirmed it
by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible
for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who had
fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us." David
could have strong consolation. He could be comforted in knowing
Jonathan told him, I'll show you everything you need to know,
and he confirmed it with an oath. How much more a believer? How
much more a child of God? One who's believed in the Lord
Jesus Christ. You can have comfort. You can
have confidence. Despite the situation. Despite
the fact that if you're out there hiding in a field and in a cave,
you can have strong consolation because it's impossible for God
to lie. He's going to save His people
from their sins. Well, back in our text here in
verse 14, Jonathan goes on and he says, And thou shalt not only
While yet I live, show me the kindness of the Lord, that I
die not. But also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from
my house for ever. No, not when the Lord hath cut
off the enemies of David, every one of them, from the face of
the earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying,
Let the Lord even require it at the hand of David's enemies."
Now eventually, you know how this story ends. Eventually,
Jonathan and David are going to switch places. Right here
in our text, Jonathan is the type of Christ. David is the
type of the believer. But eventually, David's going
to become the type of Christ and Jonathan and his descendants
are going to become types of God's elect. And Jonathan asked
David, don't cut off your kindness to me or to my children because
of my father's transgression against you. And Jonathan's sons
are going to receive mercy from David. When David takes the throne,
he's not going to follow the custom of the day and kill all
those sons and grandsons of the former king. He's going to give
them life. He's going to take that old beggar,
lame beggar Mephibosheth and put him at the king's table.
All because of the covenant that existed between Jonathan and
David. Now, you know the picture here. Adam, he made all of his
sons, all of his descendants, sinners. put us under the wrath
of Almighty God, but because of the covenant that exists between
the Father and the Son, all of those sons of Adam are not going
to be destroyed. Some of them are going to be
spared. Some of them are going to be shown mercy, and the reason
they're going to be shown mercy is the same reason Mephibosheth
found mercy in David's sight. It's because of the covenant.
Because of the covenant that existed between the Father and
the Son. Covenant mercies. It's all because
of the covenant. In verse 17, Jonathan calls David
to swear again because he loved him. For he loved him as he loved
his own soul. Now this word because is really
not properly translated. What it actually means is he
made him swear by his love for him. Jonathan told David, you
swear to keep this covenant with me because you love me. The basis of the covenant is
love. And if you love someone, you will do the best that you
can for them. You can't help but do that if
you really love them. And this covenant was too important
to Jonathan. He made David repeat it. He made
him swear it again because he loved him. It was so important
to Jonathan, he needed to be assured by hearing it again. His children are too important
to him. He wanted to hear it again. He wanted to hear David's
love for him again so he'd be confident that this covenant
would be ratified. Now, do you weary of hearing
the gospel? Do you weary of having to trudge
all the way here every Sunday and every week? Do you get tired
of it? If you do, stay at home. Honestly, do you get tired of
hearing about the love of God that's found in the Lord Jesus
Christ? Do you need to hear it again?
Well, I do. Is hearing the gospel a comfort
to your souls? It was a comfort to Jonathan
to hear again of David's love for him, so that this covenant
would be ratified, that his children would be saved. And Jonathan
tells David, I'm going to communicate with you, and here's how I'm
going to do it, in verse 18. Then Jonathan said to David,
tomorrow is the new moon, and thou shalt be missed, because
thy seat will be empty. But when thou hast stayed three
days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place
where thou didst hide thyself, when the business was in hand,
and shalt remain by the stone easel. And I will shoot three
arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark. And
behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go find out the arrows. If I
expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of
thee, take them. Then cometh thou, for there is
peace to thee, and no hurt, as the Lord liveth." But if I say
thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee, go
thy way, for the Lord hath sent thee away. And as touching the
matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the Lord is
between thee and me forever." So that's how he's going to communicate
with David. So David hid himself in the field,
and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat
meat. And the king sat upon his seat,
as at other even upon a seat by the wall. And Jonathan arose,
and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty.
Nevertheless, Saul spake not anything that day, for he thought
something had befallen him. He is not clean." Surely he's
not clean. Surely the only reason he would
miss this feast at the king's table was he's not clean. Now,
many things can make an Israelite unclean. You could touch an unclean
animal, whether it was alive or dead. If you touch an unclean
animal, you're unclean for a period of time. You could touch the
wrong bed or drink out of the wrong cup or eat with the wrong
utensil and you'd be unclean. And if you're unclean, you can't
partake of the feast. You can't worship or do anything
like that for at least a day. And many times it might be a
longer time than that until all the Ceremonies for purification
are complete in the number of days according to the law is
complete that you can be pronounced clean. But David wasn't unclean. But every one of us here in this
room are unclean by nature. That's the way we're born, unclean. Now, sin is not just a black
mark on your permanent record. You know, when you're in elementary
school, the thing that scares you more than anything in this
world is teachers can put something on your permanent record. And
it would be horrible, you know, you go out there and find a job.
Oh my goodness, there's this black mark on my permanent record
from when I was in third grade. Sin is not a black mark. It's
not a bad grade, you know, on our report card that we can make
up for, you know, with better grades down the road. Sin is
an uncleanness. It's made us unclean so that
we are unfit to be in the presence of God. Well, thank God. There is never a moment that
any believer is prevented from worshiping God. There's never
a moment any believer is forbidden to come feast on our Lord Jesus
Christ because you're clean. If you've been washed in the
blood of God's Son, brethren, you're clean. You're clean every
way through and through. We're clean because we've been
washed in that fountain that's open for sin and uncleanness
that Zachariah prophesied of. So for the believer, uncleanness
doesn't keep you from coming and feasting on Christ, and that's
not what kept David from coming to this feast either. Verse 27,
And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the
month, that David's place was empty. And Saul said unto Jonathan
his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to me, neither
yesterday nor today? And Jonathan answered Saul, David
earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. And he said,
Let me go, I pray thee, for our family hath the sacrifice in
the city, and my brother hath commanded me to be there. And
now, if I have found favor in thine eyes, let me get away,
I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not to the
king's table. Then Saul's anger was kindled
against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse,
rebellious woman, did not I know that thou hast chosen the son
of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy
mother's nakedness For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon
the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom.
Wherefore now send infection unto me, for he shall surely
die." Now Saul's hatred of David is so blinding that this religious
beast, he starts calling his son names. He calls him a bastard. He says, you're no son of mine.
Your mother must have played the whore because you're no son
of mine. Right here in front of everybody,
he called him that. He called him a traitor. You're the son
of a perverse, rebellious woman. And he called him a fool. You're
throwing away your right to sit on the throne by protecting David,
who's your rival to the throne. And what Saul doesn't know is
how truly wise Jonathan really is. Jonathan has already gained
the favor of David for himself and for his children through
the covenant. It's all because of the covenant. Verse 32, And Jonathan answered
Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore? Why? Why shall
he be slain? What hath he done? And Saul cast
a javelin at him, to smite him, whereby Jonathan knew that it
was the term of his father to slay David. So Jonathan arose
from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second
day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his
father had done him shame. Now in order for Jonathan to
ratify his covenant with David, he's got to be separated from
his father. And you and I simply cannot imagine the torture that
our Savior endured when he was separated from his father because
of the sin that was laid on him. God's son had been the delight
of his father from all of eternity. And now, instead of being the
delight of his father, the father is not delighting his son, he's
killing his son. He's punishing his son and putting
him to death because his son has been made sin for his people.
Christ is the son of the father's love, the only begotten of the
father. But now, instead of feeling the
father's love, he's suffering the wrath of his father because
he's been made sin for his people. The holy son of God. has assumed the guilt of his
people, and he stands before his father as guilty. Now you and I cannot imagine
how horrible that that is. He stood before his father as
guilty, and the father turned his back on his son, removed
his presence from his son, wouldn't even look on him, and killed
him in his holy justice. Now we cannot imagine how horrible
that that was for our All we've ever known is sin, but he endured
that suffering to ratify the covenant of grace in his own
blood. So he gives salvation to his
people. He endured that for you and me. And Saul, he just tried
to pierce his son through with the javelin. The father did pierce
his son through in justice as our substitute. Well, verse 35,
it came to pass in the morning that Jonathan went out into the
field at the time appointed with David and had a little lad with
him. And he said unto his lad, run and find now the arrows which
I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an
arrow beyond him. This was hilarious. Here this
boy runs out there, you know, before Jonathan shoots the arrow.
He must have had a lot of confidence, you know, Jonathan not hitting
him. Nobody told this boy, you're going to shoot dry out. He had
a lot of confidence, you know, Jonathan wasn't going to hit
him. So the boys out there are running before Jonathan ever
shoots an arrow. And he shoots it way on past him so he can
tell Jonathan, or tell David, this situation. So when the ladders
come to the place of the arrow, which Jonathan had shot, where
he expected it to be, Jonathan cried under the lad and said,
is not the arrow beyond thee? And Jonathan cried after the
lad, make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gathered
up the arrows and came to his master. But the lad knew not
anything, only Jonathan and David knew the matter. And Jonathan
gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, and carry
them to the city. Now, when Jonathan gave the instructions
to this boy, the only person that had any idea what he was
saying was David. That boy didn't know, only David
did. And you know, most of this world
does not understand the gospel that we preach. They don't understand
why we're here. They don't understand what we're
doing. But I'm telling you the truth. If you understand God's
word, if you see the Lord Jesus Christ in these pages, give thanks. Everybody don't see what you
see. Everybody doesn't hear what you hear. If you can come and
feast on the Lord Jesus Christ, While the gospel is being preached,
if this is the children's bread to you, give thanks. That's God's
mercy to you, that he gave you an understanding to see the Lord
Jesus Christ. Well, verse 41, as soon as the
lad was gone, David arose out of the place toward the south,
and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times,
and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until
David acceded. He was exceedingly sorrowful.
And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace. For as much as we have
sworn, both of us, in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord
be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed forever. And he rose and departed, and
Jonathan went into the city." Now, David bowed to show his
gratitude to Jonathan for telling him his situation. Well, we bow
before the Lord Jesus Christ, mostly because he's God. I mean,
he's king. I mean, our place is to bow at
his feet. But we bow in gratitude too, don't we? Oh, thankful.
So thankful for his unspeakable mercy and love to the undeserving
like we are. Now, Jonathan and David are going
to depart. Boy, it's a sad parting. I mean, it's a sad parting. And
as far as I can tell, they only see each other alive one more
time. Other than that, they're never going to see each other
again. That's all that's sad. David just exceeding, just couldn't
control himself. Well, how did they comfort one
another? How did Jonathan comfort David at this party? The covenant. His comfort was the covenant.
We've got this covenant established between me and thee, between
thy seed and my seed forever. It's all because of the covenant.
This is our comfort. It's all because of the covenant. It's not up to you and me to
maintain hold upon our salvation. Our salvation is not dependent
upon us doing good things and following the Lord the way we're
supposed to, and that's the condition of our salvation. Every condition
of our salvation has been met by the Lord Jesus Christ. Now
we'll follow him out of love and gratitude, but every condition
has been met. All of our comfort can be found
in the Lord Jesus Christ, his blood, his person that ratified
the covenant of grace on our behalf. We give thanks. All right, the Lord bless you.