Samuel 20:1-4 David now fled from Naioth in Ramah and found Jonathan.
“What have I done?” he exclaimed. “Why is your father so determined to kill me?”
“That’s not true!” Jonathan protested. “I’m sure he’s not planning any such thing, for he always tells me everything he’s going to do, even little things, and I know he wouldn’t hide something like this from me. It just isn’t so.”
“Of course you don’t know about it!” David fumed. “Your father knows perfectly well about our friendship, so he has said to himself, ‘I’ll not tell Jonathan—why should I hurt him?’ But the truth is that I am only a step away from death! I swear it by the Lord and by your own soul!”
“Tell me what I can do,” Jonathan begged.
Nobody wants to believe that their father has gone mad, and Jonathan is no exception. Being so close to Saul and seeing him every day, Jonathan doesn’t realize the extent of Saul’s descent into paranoia. But David has undeniable proof that Saul wants to eliminate him permanently. Now David must find a way to convince Jonathan.
5-9 And David replied, “Tomorrow is the beginning of the celebration of the new moon. Always before, I’ve been with your father for this occasion, but tomorrow I’ll hide in the field and stay there until the evening of the third day. If your father asks where I am, tell him that I asked permission to go home to Bethlehem for an annual family reunion. If he says, ‘Fine!’ then I’ll know that all is well. But if he is angry, then I’ll know that he is planning to kill me. Do this for me as my sworn brother. Or else kill me yourself if I have sinned against your father, but don’t betray me to him!”
“Of course not!” Jonathan exclaimed. “Look, wouldn’t I say so if I knew that my father was planning to kill you?”
Jonathan still doesn’t want to believe David is telling the truth. David, on the other hand, knows that he can never be safe around Saul again.
10-15 Then David asked, “How will I know whether or not your father is angry?”
“Come out to the field with me,” Jonathan replied. And they went out there together.
Then Jonathan told David, “I promise by the Lord God of Israel that about this time tomorrow, or the next day at the latest, I will talk to my father about you and let you know at once how he feels about you. If he is angry and wants you killed, then may the Lord kill me if I don’t tell you, so you can escape and live. May the Lord be with you as he used to be with my father. And remember, you must demonstrate the love and kindness of the Lord not only to me during my own lifetime, but also to my children after the Lord has destroyed all of your enemies.”
16-17 So Jonathan made a covenant with the family of David, and David swore to it with a terrible curse against himself and his descendants, should he be unfaithful to his promise. But Jonathan made David swear to it again, this time by his love for him, for he loved him as much as he loved himself.
For centuries, the friendship between David and Jonathan has been used as a model for the highest form of friendship. Both men pledge their honor and that of their families. Each man also vows to protect the other’s family members. Eventually David will fulfill that vow after he becomes king. Sadly, Jonathan will die in battle along with his father.
18-23 Then Jonathan said, “Yes, they will miss you tomorrow when your place at the table is empty. By the day after tomorrow, everyone will be asking about you, so be at the hideout where you were before, over by the stone pile. I will come out and shoot three arrows in front of the pile as though I were shooting at a target. Then I’ll send a lad to bring the arrows back. If you hear me tell him, ‘They’re on this side,’ then you will know that all is well and that there is no trouble. But if I tell him, ‘Go farther—the arrows are still ahead of you,’ then it will mean that you must leave immediately. And may the Lord make us keep our promises to each other, for he has witnessed them.”
24-27 So David hid himself in the field.
When the new moon celebration began, the king sat down to eat at his usual place against the wall. Jonathan sat opposite him and Abner was sitting beside Saul, but David’s place was empty. Saul didn’t say anything about it that day, for he supposed that something had happened so that David was ceremonially impure. Yes, surely that must be it! But when his place was still empty the next day, Saul asked Jonathan, “Why hasn’t David been here for dinner either yesterday or today?”
28-34“He asked me if he could go to Bethlehem to take part in a family celebration,” Jonathan replied. “His brother demanded that he be there, so I told him to go ahead.”
Saul boiled with rage. “You fool!” he yelled at him. “Do you think I don’t know that you want this son of a nobody to be king in your place, shaming yourself and your mother? As long as that fellow is alive, you’ll never be king. Now go and get him so I can kill him!”
“But what has he done?” Jonathan demanded. “Why should he be put to death?”
Then Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan, intending to kill him; so at last Jonathan realized that his father really meant it when he said David must die. Jonathan left the table in fierce anger and refused to eat all that day, for he was crushed by his father’s shameful behavior toward David.
All this time, Jonathan has steadfastly refused to believe that his father really hates David and has been struggling to find any tiny indications that Saul isn’t really as bad as David has been saying. But it’s tough to argue when Saul suddenly curses him (the footnote in one translation says verse 30 translates to “You son of a bitch!”) and throws his spear at him, trying to kill him. In shock, Jonathan refuses to eat and leaves the room, horrified and confused by the reality of his father’s wrath.
35-42 The next morning, as agreed, Jonathan went out into the field and took a young boy with him to gather his arrows.
“Start running,” he told the boy, “so that you can find the arrows as I shoot them.” So the boy ran and Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him. When the boy had almost reached the arrow, Jonathan shouted, “The arrow is still ahead of you. Hurry, hurry, don’t wait.” So the boy quickly gathered up the arrows and ran back to his master. He, of course, didn’t understand what Jonathan meant; only Jonathan and David knew. Then Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy and told him to take them back to the city.
As soon as he was gone, David came out from where he had been hiding near the south edge of the field. Both of them were crying as they said good-bye, especially David. At last Jonathan said to David, “Cheer up, for we have entrusted each other and each other’s children into God’s hands forever.” So they parted, David going away and Jonathan returning to the city.
Throughout David’s short life, he has endured great emotional stress, including being neglected by his family, who have treated him as expendable, and rejection by the very ruler who originally demanded his services as a musician and a warrior. But now David is entering into a new form of suffering: he has become a danger to those closest to him, particularly Jonathan. David is entering on a life of isolation, pursued by Saul and spied upon by those hoping for favors from Saul.
When David and Jonathan part company in that field, they both know that this farewell is final. Jonathan must return to his father, crazy though he might be, and David must flee before Saul sends troops out after him. Saul has troops while David is alone. Jonathan has reluctantly returned to his father, even though his sentiments are with David. At this point, David’s only friend, his only hope and consolation, is God.
One day as Jesus was teaching, a series of men came to him, each one making extravagant promises of all the service they would render to him….some day! Luke 9:57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”
58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”
But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” (It was likely the father was still alive and this man wanted to hang around so he would gain an inheritance!)
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”
61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” (And how long would that take?)
62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Come now or don’t delude yourself that you eventually will come.)
Much of the work of the kingdom of God goes on in isolation. Here Jesus is warning these would-be disciples that they must give up security, the chance for a rich inheritance, and even family relationships. Being a missionary-or a pastor in a small village-can be a lonely business. While friends pursue advanced degrees and higher salaries, these people continue to be faithful, even as they struggle to cope. Forging friendships can be difficult, for sometimes trusted confidants can change into informers if sufficiently tempted.
In 1901 Lettie B. Cowman and her husband Charles, plus Juji Nakada, and Ernest Kilbourne, founded the Oriental Mission Society, now One Mission Society, originally evangelizing extensively in Japan, China, Korea, and Taiwan. From its inception, OMS was a faith mission, depending solely on donations, rather than denominational affiliations. Lettie’s biography of her husband details the overwhelming challenges of faith this couple endured. (Missionary Warrior: Charles Cowman-available in Kindle format on Amazon) Charles developed a crippling heart condition from which he eventually died. This was an age when inspirational poems and observations appeared frequently in newspapers, and their friends passed these items on to encourage them. Although the Cowmans achieved amazing things, perhaps Lettie’s biggest legacy lives on in her two books Streams in the Desert and Springs in the Valley, plus her husband’s biography. Both books are compilations of the inspirational items from friends, plus Lettie’s incisive comments.
The phrase “plowing my lonely furrow” appears frequently in missionary stories. If anyone knew about plowing a lonely furrow, Lettie B. Cowman would know. An internet search yields the following:
- Lettie B. Cowman wrote about God’s “plowing” of the soul, stating: “Let us never forget that the Husbandman is never so near the land as when he is plowing it, the very time when we are tempted to think He hath forsaken us”.
- The metaphor of plowing a “lonely furrow” is often used to describe the isolating experience of pioneering missionary work, which fits the tone of Streams in the Desert.
- The phrase “In a furrow cut by pain” is directly attributed to her in a devotional context.
The concept refers to the painful, yet productive, process of doing God’s work in a difficult place, often with little immediate reward, which she describes as preparing the soil for a future harvest.
Perhaps you can identify with David. Political circumstances have forced long-time friends to distance themselves from you, and you have agreed and even encouraged them to do so. Now you are forced to rely on God and confide in Him because there is nobody else. Take heart! God will never abandon you.
God tells us in Isaiah 43:1-3 “But now the Lord who created you, O Israel, says: Don’t be afraid, for I have ransomed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up—the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, your Savior, the Holy One of Israel.”
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, we praise You that no matter what happens, You are always there and You will always remain with us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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