If you are like me, you probably saw a lot of symbolism in our last story from 1 Samuel Chapter 20. I didn’t want to disrupt the story to go into it all. We needed the whole picture from the whole story first. However, today we will review some of the stories from the last few weeks and explore some of the deeper meanings hiding behind the symbolism of 1 Samuel Chapter 20.
LOVING THE SYMBOLISM OF THESE STORIES
Why do I love this? Because it is like God planned out the world in an adventurous code for us to try to follow.
There seems to be a vast number of hidden messages around every bend of every scripture just waiting to be explored.
It is exciting to explore their meanings. We can know that God did everything He could with the telling of His great stories to draw us in to meanings which make our lives full and never boring!
CONTRASTS OF CHARACTERS
For instance, we can start by pondering the fact that there is such a huge contrast between Saul, the father, and Jonathan, his son. Jonathan is all about loyalty. Saul is not loyal to anyone but himself.
If Jonathan said he was your friend, you had a friend till the end. If Jonathan made you a promise, it would never be broken.
Contrast that Saul tried to kill almost everyone who tried to befriend him. That ugly monster named jealousy was always at work in Saul’s spirit. Jealousy of Saul caused the rest of his world great and continuous trouble.
Saul promised the sun, moon and stars whenever he was in a good mood, but he never lived up to his promises.
I think these contrasts symbolize the contrasts of The Kingdom of God and the camp of Satan at work at the same time. They both have one goal in common, to rule and to reign over the earth. It is interesting to note how they work in different ways in different people.
THE UNBELIEVABLE LOYALTY OF JONATHAN
Why do you think Jonathan was so loyal and helpful to David? I truly believe it was because Jonathan listened closely to God. He knew and understood that it was God’s will for David to be the next anointed King after Saul.
Thus, Jonathan had every personal reason to be hateful, like Saul, because David’s kingship would mean Jonathan was losing the royal line of his family heritage. As the son of Saul, Jonathan was next in line for the throne. However, Jonathan was wise enough to know that unless God was behind the King, the position of kingship was useless.
He accepted God’s will. Jonathan was obedient to follow God’s ways, even if it meant that another would be raised higher and have more power over him. We quickly see that Jonathan wasn’t power hungry. He simply wanted to live the life which God had destined for him to live. God’s plan was always Jonathan’s destiny. Nothing else mattered to Jonathan.
THE CONSTANT COMPETITION WHICH DROVE SAUL
Saul was just the opposite in character from Jonathan. He wanted to kill anyone who looked remotely like competition. So, David became Saul’s worst enemy. The fact that Jonathan befriended David made Saul very angry. He considered this to be a weakness in Jonathan and shamed him for it.
How could two men have come from the same lineage and be so different? This shows what a difference the presence of God can make in the characteristics of men. Saul had that presence once, but because of his self-worship, he lost it. The same happened to Lucifer as he fell from Heaven and became Satan. No one will ever reign higher than God. Many foolish men have tried, and many foolish men have failed miserably.
Think of the relationship Saul could have shared with Jonathan if he could have let go of his human tendencies to control and manipulate. Both men would have been blessed, but it didn’t happen. The same could be said for Saul’s capacity to care for David. What a good son-in-law David would have been. What a good army commander he would have become for Saul’s army. But Saul chose to let those gifts go to waste. It was because he was foolishly anxious and paranoid about losing his power to other people who did not even imagine taking it.
Jealousy is a very ugly way to live. It only brings misery and regret to all parties.
THE POWER OF COVENANT
By studying David and Jonathan, did you grasp how powerful a covenant can be to a relationship? If you are in a covenant relationship with someone, you vow to keep your promises to them. David and Jonathan’s covenant covered even their descendants for generations to come.
One should be very careful when stepping into this type of covenant because covenants usually effect the legacy a person leaves behind when they die. The good things are passed on, and the bad things are also passed on. When you decide to enter a covenant, make sure it is with someone worthy of your next generations of descendants. What you do in this life will pass on to them through the things you place in legacy by covenant relationships.
Many covenants effect the future and even have a lasting impact on the world. We should be happy about this. The covenant that Jesus fulfilled on the cross (in which our sins were forgiven and removed from God’s books forever) is the greatest covenant of love that ever existed. It was done out of pure, unselfish love.
The pure, unselfish love and loyalty Jonathan showed to David was a shadow and type of the love that Yeshua showed to all of mankind. It is a love that lasts forever. This is a love that effects all generations for good.
THAT A MAN WOULD LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR ANOTHER
Jonathan risked his life for his loyalty to David. Jesus did the same for us. The way that David constantly forgave Saul, despite his hateful anger and jealousy demonstrates the same unconditional love that Jesus showed for us. He died for us even though He knew we were terrible, hopeless sinners. He loved us that much.
David showed the traits of a real king when he loved Saul as God’s anointed, in spite of his short-comings. He loved with a heart that refused to let revenge become his motive for living. David, like Yeshua, only wished for the best for everyone at all times. David knew “the best” was whatever God had decided to make happen. He lived into those moments without fear, anger, or hatred. Love was his only motive. He loved God. His loyalty was to Israel. He was a true and faithful servant of the king that God had chosen.
Both David and Jonathan showed respect to God’s divine order. They trusted God to bring it about at the proper time.
THE ARMOUR OF GOD
Perhaps this bond between these two men began on their first meeting. Do you remember when our story started and we spoke of Saul waiting to do battle with the Philistines, but Jonathan and his armor bearer went on to scope them out. They had faith that God would direct their steps. Jonathan, and his brave and courageous armor bearer, killed an amazing number of Philistines on that day.
Most people believe that first battle with the Philistines was the day that David became Jonathan’s armor bearer. David was a young man at the time. Jonathan was an older son of the King.
This shepherd boy named David who had come to visit his brothers in the army, went out and killed a Philistine Giant. I think that might have been the day that Jonathan saw that David had great potential, was led by God and chose him to become his armor bearer. The two bonded immediately and became a great team. https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/a-good-armor-bearer/.
If David was the one with Jonathan on this great day of the battle against the Philistines that Saul was afraid to face, they would forever trust one another after the event. That is because of the way they had defended each other on that victorious day. Each put their lives in the trust of the other, and each came out victorious.
Maybe it was when he was serving with Jonathan that Saul first heard David playing his lyre in the camp. Then, we know the rest of the story.
THE BOW AND ARROW
Since David was probably Jonathan’s armor bearer, the significance of the bow and the arrow had always been established between them. As an armor bearer, the bow and arrow probably meant much to David. Maybe they sat around the campfires together and shared stories of great archers. Jonathan would have understood this significance when he chose to use arrows to communicate in a way which no one but David would have understood.
More than the arrows they had in common, David and Jonathan shared their faith in God. This was their first strong unification. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ih6GMVoxF4, It was their faith that first drew them to one another. A common faith bonded their friendship for life. God’s Holy Spirit often works like arrows toward a target. The people in the quiver of God’s arrows stay together, ever ready to do God’s will and follow His plan.
David and Jonathan shared an unwavering desire to obey Torah. It is interesting to note that the word “Torah” in Hebrew means “to throw” or “to point.” It is the idea that someone shooting an arrow is pointing forth a path. The word “moreh” in Hebrew means “teacher” or “archer.” An archer points an arrow towards a target, a teacher directs the student ever toward the truth. Jonathan was a type of mentor or teacher to David in many ways. He helped the shepherd boy become a mighty warrior by teaching him some well-acquired skills. In this story the arrows would point David toward the truth of his situation. Often the Torah does the same for all of us.
The two men were kindred spirits who depended upon their weapons for a livelihood. This was one thing that had been common to both of them. However, they were different in so many other ways. Jonathan was middle aged. David was a very young man. Jonathan was the son of a king. He was royal. David was the son of sheep farmer, a common man with no wealth to speak of.
LOYALTY FROM GOD
Jonathan showed that he would lay down his rights as the next king. Gladly he would give that over to David as God’s anointed one. That was the significance of Jonathan giving David his royal armor when they pledged their friendship to one another. Jonathan showed David the same love that Jesus showed us. He gave up his right to royalty and humbly handed it over to his friend instead. He did this because he realized it was God’s will.
God’s will directed all of Jonathan’s desires. He lived to please God The Father. David was blessed to have found such a friend. The way David loved Jonathan back should be how we respond to the call of Jesus on our lives. We should be loyal and obedient to all that he asks of us, because of love and friendship, not duty or obligation.
There is more than one way to lay down your life for another. Some die for another, and some give up their royal life and possessions and wait to see what God will do with their lives afterward. This is just the opposite of the story of The Rich Young Ruler. Men like Jonathan are sincerely grateful for others to fulfil the destiny of whatever God leads them to do. They will give all they possess to achieve this. Jonathan’s only desire was to serve God’s plans. This is an amazing type of relationship. It is rare, and very hard to find. In this relationship of Jonathan, we see a type of closeness that is loyal to the very end.
NOTICE THE THREES IN THE STORY
We could all take lessons from these hidden examples which Jonathan and David lived out before us. In thinking of them, let’s not fail to notice the threes found in the symbolism of 1 Samuel Chapter 20.
First we see that Jonathan shoots 3 arrows in which to communicate to David. This happens after David hides out by the stone for 3 days. Then we see, after David and Jonathan say their goodbyes and confirm their covenant forever, that David bows three times to Jonathan.
Are these threes significant?
I think they are. Let’s consider the pictures they paint out for us in symbolic meanings.
MESSAGE OF 3 ARROWS
From other scripture passages, we know that the bow and arrow can represent both the power of God and the dangers of human conflict. So, we see that the bow and arrow can present two different stories each time they are used. The end of the story depends on the humans involved. It is always determined by how they chose to respond to God. The response from both David and Jonathan to the communication from the arrows was to keep moving into God’s will. They did not sway.
GRIEF IN LEAVING
When the answers of the arrows are given and David realizes he must leave his friend for an undetermined amount of time, he grieves. He bows three times toward Jonathan at their departure to show his respect.
I think of Jesus mourning over Jerusalem as he looks out over the city. His grief, like David’s was great. He too was about to leave all that he had known and venture into a wilderness place where no one had ever been before. This would be a hard time of loneliness where he would even question that God would momentarily forsake him and turn His face away. The grief must have torn at his soul.
The time in the garden of Gethsemane was a time of great grief for Jesus. Another instance when Jesus mourned over leaving his friends, similar to David mourning over leaving Jonathan. Our Messiah displayed the same loyalty for God’s plan in those agonizing moments as Jonathan did when he laid his armor down and gave it to David.
These instances of threes are also associated with the story of Jesus on the cross. On the hill of Golgotha, we see three crosses and three men, the two criminals on each side with Jesus in the center.
Then Jesus spent 3 days and 3 nights in the grave before rising back to life in the resurrection.
PARALLEL EXAMPLES FOR SYMBOLISM OF 1 SAMUEL CHAPTER 20
Similar lines can be drawn to many occasions when it comes down to the threes in this story and the parallels of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The number 3 in Hebrew represents divine fullness, protection, completeness, and harmony. It represents a new life, wholeness, and the merging of two opposites into a single, unified entity. Three witnesses are required to document something as fact. Often we see three samples of something that are the outcome of God’s will. It was the outcome of God’s will that brought our story to a final climax when David and Jonathan parted ways.
With all of this in mind we can see the fullness, protectiveness, completeness and harmony that the friendship between Jonathan and David represented. The spirt of that friendship, sealed by the covenant that they shared, would comfort the two later when they were apart from one another.
This is how God’s Holy Spirit comforts us as we come to God in covenant love through Jesus. He laid down his life for us, and this created a new level of closeness to God the Father.
All of these threes completed new parts of the plan of God. They served to continue God’s plan for mankind. This happened in the lives of the nation of Israel, with David and Jonathan, and in our lives as God’s servants in this modern world. Because of all of the actions involving all of these instances of threes, we find new life with a new wholeness.
So, from these significant days and events, David and Jonathan were forced to part ways without knowing when they would ever see one another again. Whatever happened next, they had the covenant sealed between them. It was alive and living inside their hearts forever.
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