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LESSON 4

*October 16 - 22

Jonathan: Born for Greatness

Read for This Week's Study:

Memory Text:

*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 23.

The High Office of Friendship

Friendship is unlike most other relationships, which often are legally regulated and controlled. In many cultures, parents choose marriage partners for their children. Of course, none of us gets to choose our parents, siblings, and wider family relations.

However, we can choose our friends. Friendship crosses all frontiers. Friendship can influence other relationships, as well. Song of Solomon 5:16 shows us the role of friendship in a marriage relationship. True friendship is a completely voluntary relationship, which perhaps is why it is so binding. It does not involve meeting the letter of the law but focuses, rather, on giving ourselves.

1 Samuel 18:1describes the friendship between Jonathan and David. It says that “the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself” (NASB). What characteristics of friendship are highlighted in Exodus 33:11; Job 16:20, 21; Proverbs 17:17; 27:9; Ecclesiastes 4:10; and John 15:13–15?

Most of us would expect a mother to be prepared to die in order to save her child’s life or a man to protect his family at whatever cost to himself. These strong relationships are admirable, normal, and a reflection of God’s love for us. But this is an instinct that we share with many animal species.

Friendship is much more than instinct. True friendship must be nurtured by communication. Friends are there to help in all the challenges of life, not just to share the “fun” times. We can shape our friends’ present and future through wise counsel, encouragement, and through prayer for them. Jonathan shows these characteristics in his friendship with David. In 1 Samuel 20, Jonathan shows that friendship involves more than just talk; a friend is ready to give practical help, even at great personal risk. Jonathan often interceded for David with his father, King Saul (1 Sam. 19:4). Jonathan took the time and the trouble to find David when he was a fugitive and to encourage him in the Lord (1 Sam. 23:16).

Have you ever betrayed a friend? Have you ever been betrayed by a friend? What lessons have you learned? What character traits do you need to change in you in order to be a better friend?

A Great Victory

Israel lives in a moment of extreme crisis. The Philistines have assembled to fight Israel with chariots and soldiers that seem to be as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore. The Israelite army is numerically inferior and very poorly equipped. Only Saul and Jonathan are said to have had iron swords or spears, for the Philistines tightly controlled the blacksmith industry. Indeed, all Israelites had to have their tools fixed or sharpened by Philistine blacksmiths (1 Sam. 13:19–22). Can you imagine the motley Israelite militia, equipped with sticks, axes, and slings, facing a vast Philistine army with state-of-the-art weaponry? No wonder that Saul’s army had a record desertion rate.

Think about the true balance of power in our battles if we are surrendered to the Lord. See 2 Kings 6:8–17. What hope can we take from that account for ourselves?  

Jonathan is not intimidated by what others think. He does not lament the lack of faith and trust in Israel. Instead, he determines to do something about it. Jonathan is not out to save the day, but rather, he knows that God is so much bigger than the problem Israel faces. Jonathan does not see himself as a type of savior or hero. He knows that God can save by any means He chooses, and so Jonathan makes himself available to God. God chooses to use Jonathan and his armor bearer; an incredible victory follows.

What are the steps that Jonathan undertakes before climbing up to the enemy outpost? 1 Sam. 14:6–13. 

Sometimes the line between faith and presumption can seem very fine. Jonathan does not depend on his own impressions exclusively. He consults with another God-fearing person and shares with him his plans and ideas. Jonathan understands that God is not limited, and so he does not try to manipulate Him. Jonathan is willing to stay or go as God will reveal through the sign that he proposes. Finally, when Jonathan gets the go-ahead, he does not hesitate but immediately engages himself in the challenge.

What are your own personal battles? How can you learn to trust God in these situations? How can you learn to trust God even when things don’t work out as you had hoped or prayed?

Parent-Child Relationship

Read 1 Samuel 19:1–7. How would you describe the relationship between Jonathan and Saul? What kind of conflict does Jonathan face between loyalty to his own father and loyalty to a friend?  

Exactly what type of father Saul was when Jonathan was a child we do not know, but we do know that in later life Saul was not someone to look up to. Saul was very selfish, moody, jealous, irrational, and at times neurotic. Jonathan, however, gives evidence in his life and relationship to his father of a practical application of the command given in Exodus 20:12, which tells us to honor our parents.

Read 1 Samuel 14:24–46. How could Jonathan, had he wanted, used this incident as an excuse to stop honoring his father? Have not people turned on their own parents for less? What does this tell us about the kind of person Jonathan was? 

Honoring our parents means a lot more than an occasional card or gift. Jonathan stands by his father in his time of crisis; he stands by him, too, despite what his father wanted to do to him.

We, too, honor our parents when we stand by them in times of crisis, such as illness or the loss of a job. We have a biblical obligation to support our parents emotionally and also materially (see 1 Tim. 5:8). Honoring our parents is not a subjective, passive activity. Jonathan demonstrates that this often involves giving respectful yet sound advice. Honoring our parents does not mean suspending our own judgment or defending our parents’ errors, nor blindly following or condoning evil. It does mean, though, that we have special obligations to them, regardless of the kind of people they might be.

Following the example of Jonathan, what practical things can you do to improve your relationship with your parents, siblings, or other family members, especially if they are not believers?

Taking Second Place

One of the main trends in current society is to blame one’s parents for most (if not all) problems in life. To be sure, some folk do carry a lot of heavy emotional baggage from their parents. We can’t deny that fact.

However, it seems that the past decades have seen an incredible increase in this unfortunate tendency. We blame not only our parents but sometimes siblings, teachers, circumstances—anything or anyone else in order to avoid taking responsibility for our own circumstances.

Though we all are subjected to, and even victims of, circumstances beyond our control—Jonathan’s life shows us that we can work through them, at least to some degree. Jonathan would have had a right to blame his father for most of his troubles. If Saul had been faithful, then Jonathan would have had the throne. Jonathan chooses not to play the blame game, though. Jonathan has a good sense of self-worth. Instead of letting himself become bitter and resentful, he trusts that God knows best, and so Jonathan chooses to do what he can with what he has. It probably was not easy for Jonathan to maintain this faith and trust in God when he realized that God had chosen David, rather than himself, to become the next king.

Describe Jonathan’s reaction to the fact that David will be king in his stead. What does this tell us about Jonathan? 1 Sam. 23:17. Contrast his attitude to those displayed in Isaiah 14:13, 14; 1 Kings 1:5; and Mark 10:35–37. What is the difference?  

When we have our identity secure in God, we are able to face rejection or criticism without being devastated or losing our sense of self-worth. A big part of having our own identity secure in God involves our experience and relationship with Him. Jonathan had already had a dramatic personal experience with God in his victory over the Philistines in 1 Samuel 14.

The later story of David’s family is marked by rebellions and internal strife. Absalom and Adonijah both seek to usurp the throne from their father, David. They are unwilling to allow God to choose the new king. Jonathan’s attitude stands in total contrast to this “I” spirit. He is willing to take second place. He tries to inspire harmony and reconciliation between his father and his friend David (1 Sam. 19:4). He truly stands as an example of a servant leader prepared to take second or even third place.

Using Jonathan as an example, what can you do when you don’t get the job, position, or respect you feel that you are entitled to? How can you control feelings of rejection, envy, and hate?

When Life Isn’t Fair

Read 1 Samuel 31:1–7 and 2 Sam. 1:5–12. What kind of end did Jonathan have? How do we understand this?  

Most of us have been taught that good always wins in the end and that we reap what we sow. We often take this further and believe that a good person should have a good, long life, and that a bad person can expect a troubled, short life. And while we know that good will win over evil in the end, when Jesus comes again, the reality of the matter is that good people do not always get good in this life and that bad people do not always get bad. Sometimes we even are punished for doing the right thing. God does often step in and miraculously save and protect His children, but this is not always the case.

Who are some Bible characters who, though faithful, did not get what they deserved? Gen. 39:10–20, Job 1–2.  

Jonathan had been a true and faithful friend to David. He was a negotiator and tried his best to bring peace between David and Saul. Jonathan was not proud and was willing to give up his right to the throne. He was just as willing to accept David as king. He was also a good son. God had used Jonathan before to put a whole army on the run, and now the Israelite army once again faced the Philistines. Perhaps Jonathan wondered if God would once again perform a miracle to save Israel. Jonathan would fall that day on the battlefield (1 Sam. 31:2).

Like John the Baptist, Jonathan is an example of those who do not get what they seem to deserve now. They often suffer, lose positions of honor for the sake of Christ, and sometimes even fall at their post of duty. However insignificant or even useless their lives and sacrifices may appear, they are nonetheless key players in God’s plans. They are motivated and sustained by Jesus’ love and presence. They are born for greatness—not necessarily the kind of greatness that the world understands or portrays but a greatness that goes way beyond our human concepts and expectations.

So much happens that doesn’t, from our perspective, make sense or seem fair. The promise, however, is that one day all things will be made right, and we will have answers to what now seems so unfathomable.

Read 1 Corinthians 4:5, 13:12, Romans 8:28, and Revelation 21:4. What hope can you draw from these passages as we face difficult questions, not just for Bible characters but perhaps for ourselves, in the struggles, and trials that, at least for now, do not always have happy endings?

Further Study:

Discussion Questions:

How do we differentiate between faith and presumption? When and how do we go about asking for signs in order to know God’s will for us?      Some cultures promote passiveness as a virtue, while others see it as something negative. Jonathan was willing to take second place. Is this the same as being passive? Should a Christian be passive? If so, when; if not, why not?      How can you explain to a non-Christian friend the benefits of being a Christian, if he or she sees that you, too, get sick, lose your job, or suffer the loss of loved ones?     Discuss the life of Jonathan in the light of Hebrews 11:32–40. What can you take away from those texts that perhaps could help you in situations that, at least from your perspective now, have dismal outcomes?     How does, for instance, a woman who had been sexually molested by her father show honor to him?     What are things that the world deems “great” that God doesn’t? What are things that God deems great that the world doesn’t? How can we know the difference between these two ideas of “greatness”?

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