1 Samuel 20:18-23 – Let’s discharge our obligations to the Lord

David was alive despite the attempts Saul had made to kill him. In the last attempt, the king himself pursued David all the way to Naioth. But his plan was foiled by the Spirit of God. At Naioth, he met a group of prophets and was overwhelmed by the Spirit of God and prophesied with them. That incident resulted in the question that everyone asked, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” After that incident, David was uncertain whether the anger of the king had abated. When he returned from Naioth he met up with Jonathan. He wanted to know the real situation for sure. So he met up with Jonathan to solicit his assistance to ascertain it.

As Saul’s son-in-law, David knew he was expected to be present in the upcoming new moon celebration with his father-in-law and family. But he didn’t want to risk his life attending the feast and be harmed by his father-in-law if his anger toward him had not subsided. So he planned to be absent conspicuously from that feast. He solicited Jonathan’s assistance to help him give an excuse for his absence, then to observe the response of Saul. David wanted to know more aptly how Saul would react before he could decide on his next move. In his conversation with Jonathan, David asked a very poignant question in verse 10. The question was, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?” Jonathan then led David out into the field to give his response. He didn’t want to risk his plan being overheard by someone and then report it to his father, the king.

Verses 18-22 describe the response Jonathan gave to that question. He planned to tell David of Saul’s reaction in an encrypted way involving a young messenger. Describing how the surreptitious plan would be carried out, Jonathan said, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed because your seat will be empty. When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain by the stone Ezel.  I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target. And behold, I will send the lad, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the lad, ‘Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come; for there is safety for you and no harm, as the Lord lives. But if I say to the youth, ‘Behold, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, for the Lord has sent you away.”

In verse 23, Jonathan then reminded David of the pledge they had made. It concerned the preservation of his family. He was very sure that in God’s plan and time, David would be the next king. So he was making preparation for that eventuality. In the meantime, the pledge for them was to be faithful to the commitment they had made to each other. For us, what happened between David and Jonathan can be likened to the promise of the return of Jesus, our Lord and King. Being enlisted by our Lord, like Jonathan, we have obligations to Him that we must discharge in the meantime. We must remain faithful to Him and discharge those obligations responsibly as we wait for His return. Let’s be faithful till He comes!