I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.

‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭1‬:‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Lamenting the death of Jonathan, his close friend and son of King Saul, David’s verse highlights the profound bond they shared.

Jonathan’s love and loyalty were exceptional, even surpassing typical romantic love, reflecting the depth of their friendship with loyalty, grief, and the pain of loss.

Platonic love can be just as meaningful and impactful as romantic relationships.

Losing someone so close and devoted is a heartache familiar to many of us.

While a part of us dies amid such loss, a new part of us is born of the memories and experiences that forge us into greater maturity.

Loss is only loss if we refuse to let it transform us from the same death to the new life as they now enjoy.

“He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on harming you’? This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lay my hand on my Lord, because he is the Lord’s anointed.’ See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. See that there is nothing in my hand to indicate that I am guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. As the old saying goes, ‘From evildoers come evil deeds,’ so my hand will not touch you.”

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭24‬:‭9‬-‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

While David had every reason to kill Saul, his pursuer, he chose mercy, against his basic impulse.

Seeking peace and reconciliation even in the face of danger and the advantage opportunity presents, is a much more noble act.

Vengeance and retribution have their place but that place belongs to God alone.

Daily choices against impulses must be our rule and not the exception if we are to show ourselves as followers of Christ.

From evildoers come evil deeds.

Like David, we need to think beyond our impulses and act according to our calling to the principle of cultivating peace with our enemies when opportunity presents.

It was young David who the Lord made king due to Saul’s disobedience. David killed Goliath the Philistine giant with a sling and a stone and was admired by many, most significantly Jonathan.

You’ve got a friend in me.

After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭18‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

You’ve got my back.

Each of us longs for such a friend.

When you come to know the character and potential of another, sometimes it’s such a rare find it compels a love and devotion that aligns and joins you together as one in spirit and purpose, not unlike a marriage.

Loyalty, fidelity, devotion, commitment, in the Bible there is no recorded model of friendship closer than that of Jonathan and David.

Jonathan risked his all and saved David from his jealous father’s sword many times and did so at deeply personal sacrifice. The dialogue between the two is immensely powerful throughout the book. I encourage you to read it yourself.

Each time I have encountered this story it has resonated with me across the spectrum of my own life.

I have always desperately wanted a Jonathan. I think I would have become a much different man than I am today.

Perhaps some day.

Saul rationalized why he didn’t heed the very specific instructions of the Lord:

But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭15‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

When the Lord gives orders it’s no time to cherrypick which parts to obey.

But…but…but…

Saul explains he thought he was doing the right thing by taking plunder from battle, sounding remarkably familiar to many of us who too often think we know what’s best.

We invite God’s direction in our lives but then resist walking the path he sets before us.

Life in Christ is all or nothing.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.—Jeremiah 29:11

No if’s, ands, or buts.

Samuel said to Saul:

The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭10‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day.

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭10‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

There’s been a resurgence of signs and prophecies reported pointing to end times that are upon us.

Signs and prophecies were once the guides to entire societies, directing its leaders and people to actions and victories.

Today, few follow or believe in them as little more than conspiracy theories or rants from religious extremists.

As history continues to unfold before us, there are clear signs that much of what was once predicted did indeed appear in scripture long ago.

Adherents will continue to warn us of what’s just around the corner and what’s soon to come, using arguments increasingly hard to ignore.

To be best prepared for the days ahead, we recognize the writing on the walls and acknowledge that while signs and prophecies may detail and confirm our present circumstances, it might be that they were given writ large to build our faith in God during these increasingly difficult times.

Or both.

End times are always upon us. They have been for centuries.

And they will continue to be until the day of the Lord arrives which none of us truly know.

Takeaway: Readiness and preparedness are not difficult to attain if you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. “For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; on them he has set the world.

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭2‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

To attribute both fortune and misfortune as the dominion of God is a mature perspective.

His actions and purposes, though oftentimes difficult to comprehend within the bounds of human understanding, are nonetheless his and his alone.

There is found a freedom, however, when discharging ourselves from burdens of the equation with full knowledge, trust, and confidence that the infinite mind of God is full of answers that will explain and comfort us at the time of his choosing.

Human hindsight often reveals some of these answers and explanations over time and how we manage such ambiguities in the interim always serves divine purpose in our growth and Christ-like maturation.

On the very foundations of this, his Earth, he has set the world to accomplish his purposes.

Nothing that happens escapes his plan and end game.

Soon enough our impatient hearts will be fully settled by his divine revelation.

This verse appears several times in the book of Judges:

In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.

‭‭Judges‬ ‭21‬:‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Without a standard or authority, individuals acted based on their own desires and interpretations of right and wrong, resulting in widespread chaos, corruption and violence.

The foreshadowing of the need for a king was obvious if society was to survive.

People have a need to be governed to thrive, flourish, and remain safe. Reasonable guidance with reasonable consequences are primary functions of social governance.

Problems accrue when government forces, controls, constrains, and constricts in excess.

As a takeaway, we need enough freedom to make our own individual good or bad choices but not so much freedom that political, philosophical, or social anarchy prevails.

God never forces his hand.

His standards lie in that realm of human choices: to love God and his standards that bring life, or to be lovers of self where everyone does as they see fit to their own eventual demise.

And then there’s Samson and Delilah…

The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.”

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

After sharing three very wrong answers with her…

“Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.””

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In spite of his love for her, she had evil motives in discovering his secret and he’d provided himself with three opportunities to realize this.

Is love blind?

Her shaming and manipulation eventually brought down Samson, stealing the true secret of his strength and eventually his own life.

Love is blind. Or at the very least, it can too easily weaken our resolve.

I realize this may be the simplest takeaway of many we can derive from their story, but because of his arrogance and ignorance, it consequently turned deadly.

Samson was captured and had his eyes gouged out by the Philistines, which both ironically and symbolically illustrates my point so poignantly.

Love is blind.