David and Jonathan
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It is rare indeed for two persons to recognize in each other a kindred spirit.
Intrigued by David’s character and drawn to his expressed devotion to God, Jonathan vowed to learn more about this shepherd from Bethlehem.
The hero of Michmash needed a friend who shared his own standards. Jonathan had already shown an aversion to his father’s actions (1 Samuel 14:29).
Gradually, a friendship developed as the two young men shared thoughts and adventures. In time, a covenant was made between them, binding each to the other in defense of their lives. This was no small pact between the two warriors.
“The pact of friendship must have been the result of conversations unnumbered, of expeditions carried out together, of mature affection.” As the eldest son, Jonathan was heir to the throne. “His love for David was so great that he was prepared to say, as John the Baptist did centuries later, ‘He must increase, but I must decrease’ (John 3:30). He beheld in David what he had once dreamed he might become. All the commendable traits of the two characters were cemented together by true affection, and Jonathan awoke to the fact that happiness consists in loving rather than in being loved. Christ so loved us that He voluntarily divested Himself of every divine prerogative (Phil. 2:6–8) that He might plant the leaven of truth in every man (John 1:9).” “In the lovely friendship of these two devoted, ardent spirits it is our privilege to behold something of the feelings of Christ as one day He beholds in the lives of His redeemed ones the same spiritual vision, the same humility of soul, the same calmness of spirit, the same obedience to eternal principles of truth, that possessed His own heart while here on earth. Seeing thus the intense travail of His soul, He will be satisfied (Isa. 53:11).” “What a joy heaven will be for kindred souls, with an eternity for companionship.”
