Jonathan #55

Jonathan was the eldest son of King Saul and the heir apparent to Israel’s throne. He is best known for his deep friendship with David, the man who would take his place as king. His story runs through 1 Samuel and into 2 Samuel, and it shows courage in battle, loyalty under pressure, and a willingness to give up his own claim in favor of God’s chosen king.

Biblical Significance

Jonathan first appears as a military leader. With only his armor-bearer, he climbed up to a Philistine outpost at Michmash, saying, “It may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.” The two men struck down about twenty Philistines, and a panic spread through the enemy camp (1 Samuel 14:1-15). Later in the same campaign, Jonathan unknowingly broke an oath Saul had placed on the army by eating honey. When the lot fell on him, Saul was ready to carry out the penalty of death, but the people intervened and rescued him (1 Samuel 14:24-45).

After David defeated Goliath, the narrator says that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. He made a covenant with David and gave him his robe, armor, sword, bow, and belt (1 Samuel 18:1-4). This was a striking gesture, since the robe and weapons were signs of a prince’s status. When Saul grew hostile, Jonathan spoke up for David and briefly won a reconciliation (1 Samuel 19:1-7). Later Jonathan warned David with a coded signal of arrows and helped him escape, and the two wept as they parted (1 Samuel 20). He asked David to show the Lord’s kindness to his family forever, and they renewed their oath (1 Samuel 20:12-17, 42).

Their last meeting came at Horesh in the wilderness, where Jonathan encouraged David and said, “Thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth” (1 Samuel 23:16-18). Jonathan fell in battle at Mount Gilboa with his father and brothers (1 Samuel 31:1-2). David’s lament for them calls Saul and Jonathan “lovely and pleasant,” undivided in life and in death, and says that Jonathan’s love for him was extraordinary (2 Samuel 1:17-27).

Legacy

David kept his promise. After he became king, he asked whether anyone was left from Saul’s house to whom he could show kindness for Jonathan’s sake, and he found Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, who was lame in both feet, restored his family lands, and gave him a place at the royal table (2 Samuel 9:1-13). Jonathan’s example is often cited as a picture of friendship that puts loyalty above self-interest, since he supported the man who would replace him. The text presents his faith in God as the reason he could do this. His story is a common example when readers consider what faithful friendship looks like.