JW subtitle extractor

Let’s consider the theme
“Be a True Friend Like Jonathan.”
First Samuel 18:1, our day’s text,
is the basis for our discussion.
So I invite you to open up there
again, please.
What’s the context?
Well, immediately after
the victory over Goliath,
we learned that Jonathan and David
became fast friends very fast.
Notice verse 1.
It says: “As soon as David
had finished speaking to Saul,
“Jonathan and David
became bound together in close friendship,
and Jonathan began to love him as himself.”
A question:
What was the foundation
for their friendship?
Well, simply put,
the two were spiritual men.
Before they became friends,
each had developed
a close friendship with their God, Jehovah.
Now, wouldn’t you agree,
brothers and sisters,
that a close, personal
relationship with Jehovah
is what gives our friendships
with fellow humans
strength and permanency?
For example, on the occasion
described in our text,
Jonathan witnessed how Jehovah
used David to defeat Goliath.
Now, imagine Jonathan, a mighty prince,
probably nearing 50 years of age,
listening to this younger man David,
who was probably not yet 20 years of age,
relate excitedly
how he went up against Goliath
in the name of Jehovah.
Well, it’s easy to see why Jonathan
and so many others
came to love this young man David.
David was no self-confident,
brash teenager seeking his own glory.
Though he was young,
he already had proven to be a real man,
a spiritual man,
who had developed strong trust
and faith in his God, Jehovah.
In fact, David’s conversation of that account
may have reminded Jonathan
of events in his own life years earlier.
Do you remember when Jonathan
went up against that Philistine outpost
just with his one armor-bearer?
What did Jonathan say on that occasion?
First Samuel 14:6 reports
that Jonathan said this:
“Nothing can hinder Jehovah
from saving by many or by few.”
And what happened on that occasion?
Well, just like David years later,
Jonathan expressed faith
that with Jehovah’s help
just two men could attack and defeat
an entire armed garrison.
Well, what’s the point?
Jonathan and David
were drawn together as friends
and remained such
because each of them
maintained strong love for Jehovah.
And that’s the best foundation
for friendships today.
You know, if we want to be guided
to the right kind of friends
and if we want to be a true friend ourselves,
we need to maintain strong love for Jehovah.
That’s the foundation.
Now look again at 1 Samuel 18:1,
and you might also
drop your eyes to verse 3.
There we are told that “Jonathan
began to love [David] as himself.”
You might have heard
that some have claimed
that this love between Jonathan and David
had sexual overtones.
But the Bible in no way supports
that warped view.
Consider two reasons:
First, expressions of affection,
such as embracing and kissing
even between men
who were close friends or family members,
were common in Bible times
and in the culture of the Middle East.
But there’s a second
and even more powerful reason
we would reject that insinuation
about Jonathan and David.
What is it?
It’s that both of these men loved Jehovah
and his standards of right and wrong.
Then and now, God’s law
prohibited any form of sexual immorality.
First Samuel 20:42 tells us
that their oath of friendship
was “sworn in the name of Jehovah.”
“So,” as the faithful slave has published,
(and I quote):
“to imply that David and Jonathan
had homosexual relations
is to deny the very foundation
of their friendship.”
Well, we wholeheartedly agree, don’t we?
But what is it that made
Jonathan’s example of love
and tender affection
toward David and toward others
worthy of imitation?
Well, simply put, Jonathan’s love
was a reflection of Jehovah’s unselfish love.
Please open your Bible with me now
to 1 Corinthians chapter 13,
where we’ll want to read verses 4 to 8.
Here we have the definition of godly love
as expressed in 16 different facets.
As we read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8,
let’s try to start comparing
what we know about Jonathan
with this definition:
“Love is patient and kind.
“Love is not jealous.
“It does not brag, does not get puffed up,
“does not behave indecently,
“does not look for its own interests,
“does not become provoked.
“It does not keep account of the injury.
“It does not rejoice over unrighteousness,
but rejoices with the truth.
“It bears all things, believes all things,
“hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.”
Well, how did Jonathan’s pattern of life
fit that description?
Well, look again at verse 4.
Let’s take the first part: “Love is patient.”
The sense of these words
in the original language
is “calm endurance and slowness to anger.”
What does that tell us a true friend will do?
Well, he’ll do more than simply
put up with a difficult situation.
No, he’ll patiently endure with a purpose,
hoping for the best.
That’s what Jonathan did.
Consider the challenge
when his father, Saul,
was rejected by Jehovah
but not immediately removed
from the kingship.
Though Saul’s relationship with God
was deteriorating,
Jonathan did not quickly abandon his father.
Rather, his love for his father was patient.
We know this
because we see in the Bible record
that Jonathan supported Saul
in their shared battles
against God’s enemies.
In fact, as David later wrote in his dirge:
“In death [Saul and Jonathan]
were not separated.”
But what happened
when Jonathan watched his father
descend into a kind of madness,
getting the whole army rounded up,
going around the country,
looking to destroy one man
—a good man—David?
Well, interestingly, the Scriptures
never mention Jonathan joining Saul
in these campaigns.
Why not?
Jonathan never violated God’s standards.
In harmony with 1 Corinthians 13:6,
Jonathan could not, would not,
“rejoice over unrighteousness.”
Jonathan’s loyalty to Jehovah, to David,
and to his own oath of friendship
made such a thing impossible.
First Corinthians 13:4 says
that “love is . . . kind.”
That describes Jonathan, doesn’t it?
In David’s darkest moments,
where was Jonathan?
Right by his side.
First Samuel 23:16 says
that Jonathan “went out to David”
and “helped him find strength in Jehovah.”
That was the foundation
for their relationship
and the foundation for strength.
And Jonathan took practical steps
to help David avoid capture.
The Bible’s definition of real love
is that “love is not jealous.”
Think of it from a human point of view:
Jonathan had every reason to be jealous,
or envious, of David.
But he chose not to be,
even though it meant that he, Jonathan,
would not succeed his father on the throne.
Why not?
Because godly love
“does not look for its own interests.”
Yes, Jonathan’s unselfish love
for Jehovah first, for David,
and even for his father, Saul, never failed.
Wouldn’t you agree that in Jonathan
we have an example of true friendship
worthy of imitation?
Well, I’m sure as we think about
this example today and in the days to come,
we’ll find many ways
we can more fully imitate Jonathan
as we cultivate and maintain
close friendships.
For example, like Jonathan,
we want to be patient
with all of our friends and family members,
not just a select few.
Like Jonathan, and with Jehovah’s help,
we want to work to see beyond ourselves
and consider
what’s in the best interests of others.
And like Jonathan,
we want to perceive
and to promote Jehovah’s will
and His choices,
not our will and our preferences.
Indeed, true friendship is very important
and something very special to all of us.
How encouraging to think
that as we keep drawing closer to Jehovah,
we will be strengthening
the best foundation for friendship
with our family members here on earth
—our brothers and sisters—
and even with our friends
in the heavenly realm!
And as we face greater tests
in the days to come,
may we become even better friends,
true friends, like Jonathan.

Joel Dellinger: Be a True Friend Like Jonathan (1 Sam. 18:1)