David and Jonathan

David and Jonathan
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King Saul had a son named Jonathan, and David and Jonathan were wonderful friends. But Saul grew angry with David and wanted to kill him, so Jonathan told David to go and hide himself, while he spoke to Saul about David. And so Jonathan spoke good things about David to Saul, and King Saul agreed not to hurt David, so David returned, and things were good for a time.

But after a while, an evil spirit came upon Saul again, and he wanted to kill David, but David was able to escape out of the house. And so again Jonathan and David made a plan to find out whether or not it was safe for David to go back to the palace of King Saul. David and Jonathan went out into a field, and Jonathan prayed for David, and they made an agreement that no matter what happened, David would never harm the family of Jonathan.

And so the plan was this. That David would hide in the bushes, and Jonathan would come down to the field with a little boy. And Jonathan would shoot three arrows as though he was shooting at a target. Then he would send out the little boy to look for the arrows. If Jonathan told the boy the arrows were beside him and he should pick them up, then David would know it was safe to return to the palace, but if Jonathan told the boy that the arrows were further away, then David would know that there was no peace, and that David should go away. And then Jonathan said to David "the Lord is between you and me forever."

And so David hid in the field, and Jonathan spoke to King Saul about David, but King Saul grew so angry that he threw a spear at his own son, and so Jonathan knew that his father wanted to kill David.

So the next morning, Jonathan went out into the field with a little boy and he said to him "Run and find the arrows which I shoot" and he shot an arrow further than the boy. And when the boy came to the place where the arrow was, Jonathan said "Isn't the arrow further away than that? Hurry now" and so the boy gathered up the arrows and came back to Jonathan. But he did not now that David was in the field.

And so Jonathan gave the boy his bow and arrows and told him to take them back to the city. And as soon as the boy was gone, David came out of his hiding place and fell on his face and bowed to Jonathan three times, and they kissed one another and wept together. And so Jonathan told David "Go in peace, because we have made a vow in the name of the LORD saying 'The LORD be between me and you and between my family and your family forever.'" And then David went away, and Jonathan went back to the city, and he never saw David again.

Memory Verse. 1 Samuel 20:23 "...behold, the LORD is between you and me for ever."

Questions:
1. How did Jonathan protect David the first time?
2. Where was David going to hide?
3. How would David know whether or not he could come back?
4. What was the vow that David and Jonathan made?
5. What happened when David knew he had to leave Jonathan?

Answers:
1. He told his father good things about David, and King Saul agreed not to hurt him.
2. In a field
3. If the arrow was close to the boy, it would be safe, but if it was further away, it was not safe.
4. That David would never harm the family of Jonathan
5. They cried together, and kissed each other and then David went away and he never saw Jonathan again.

Vicki C. Gross/Dec.'02