4.19 The covenant between David & Jonathan
Today, we will wrap up on this covenant series with a beautiful story of the covenant between David and Jonathan. This natural story is a type of the real covenant that Jesus entered with God on behalf of mankind. The story begins in 1 Sam 18:1-9. Let us first review the characters of the story.
David is a giant-killer and a man after God’s heart (1 Sam 13:14). David loves Saul, but Saul is suspicious of David, and wants to harm him. David could have killed Saul on several occasions but keeps forgiving him.
Saul is the opposite of David. He is rebellious and always outside the will of God. Because Saul is afraid of David, he tries to kill David. He paints a bad picture of David to his family.
Jonathan is the opposite of Saul. Although a member of Saul’s family, he is really more like David. Jonathan loves David as his own self and they both enter into a blood covenant. They pledge their love, life, loyalty, protection, and inheritance to each other and to their descendants in a covenant. Jonathan tries to make peace between Saul and David, but the harder he tries, the angrier Saul gets.
Mephibosheth is Jonathan’s son. When he is 5, Saul and Jonathan are killed in a battle at Jezreel. This is bad news because Saul’s servants think that when David ascends the throne, he will surely take revenge on Saul and his family. When news of Jonathan’s and Saul’s death reaches Jerusalem, Mephibosheth’s nurse carries him and flees. In her haste, she falls and drops Mephibisheth, whose feet are crushed. They go to a hideout in the wilderness to take refuge from David. He suffers in the wilderness and his lame feet are a reminder that David is out to get him. He lives in fear of David. He does not know that he is in covenant with the king through his father, Jonathan.
David remembers his covenant
In 2 Sam 9, David, who reigns as king, wonders if any of Saul’s family is alive, as he wants to show them kindness because of his covenant with Jonathan. None of the servants dare to tell David about Mephibosheth because they are afraid that David will kill him. Finally, a servant tells David that Mephibosheth is at Lo Debar. David sends a chariot to get him. On hearing the sound of chariots approaching, Mephibosheth thinks that he will surely be killed.
When Mephibosheth sees David, he falls down on his face before David, expecting the worst. To his surprise, David says that he has come to show kindness because of his covenant with Jonathan. He has forgiven Saul of his wrongdoings. David wants to restore his land and have him live in the palace as his own son, the king’s child.
Mephibosheth cannot believe his ears. Why should the king show kindness to him? Has he been wrong about the king’s intention all this while? He does not feel worthy of the king’s love and mercy. He does not deserve it. But this has nothing to do with him; he is a beneficiary of David’s covenant with Jonathan.
Mephibosheth chooses to believe (faith) the king’s offer of undeserved favor (grace) and returns with the king. His inheritance is restored, he is safe under the protection of the king’s power, and he has a new purpose in life as a child of the king.
The New Covenant in Christ
David represents God. He is full of love for all mankind. But mankind is in the family of Saul and is rebellious in sin. People do not know that God loves them and wants to bless them; they think of God as a judge and they fear Him. So they run from Him and suffer in the spiritual wilderness. Our problems remind us that God is punishing us.
What about Jonathan? He represents Jesus. He is in the family of Saul for He came as a man to this earth. But He is not like humanity, for He is without sin. In fact, He is more like God. He could represent the whole world to enter into blood covenant with God because He is our Creator (John 1:3). He could enter into covenant with God because He is perfect and without sin (1 John 3:5). He entered into a covenant with God by His very own blood, shed for the forgiveness of the sins of the world (Matt 26:28). Jesus came to make peace (reconcile) between God and mankind (Rom 5:1).
Mephibosheth represents us, the beneficiaries of Jesus’ covenant with God. We have to make a choice whether to believe by faith that God wants to bless us as a king’s child or to suffer in the spiritual wilderness. We feel that we do not deserve God’s goodness but He tells us it is shown to us because of Jesus’ blood covenant; it has nothing to do with our good performance.
Jesus has died for the whole world and entered into covenant with God on our behalf. We have to respond by receiving the forgiveness of sins by the blood of Jesus, and to enter into this New Covenant. Once we are in this New Covenant, we become children of the King (John 1:12). We are beneficiaries of an inheritance, protected by His power and we have a new purpose in life as the King’s child (Eph 1:17-21). We can receive an abundance of grace by faith through what Jesus has done for us on the cross (Rom 5:2).
(Source - Walking on Water by Joshua Lye, Armour Publishing - Practical Tip 10)
David is a giant-killer and a man after God’s heart (1 Sam 13:14). David loves Saul, but Saul is suspicious of David, and wants to harm him. David could have killed Saul on several occasions but keeps forgiving him.
Saul is the opposite of David. He is rebellious and always outside the will of God. Because Saul is afraid of David, he tries to kill David. He paints a bad picture of David to his family.
Jonathan is the opposite of Saul. Although a member of Saul’s family, he is really more like David. Jonathan loves David as his own self and they both enter into a blood covenant. They pledge their love, life, loyalty, protection, and inheritance to each other and to their descendants in a covenant. Jonathan tries to make peace between Saul and David, but the harder he tries, the angrier Saul gets.
Mephibosheth is Jonathan’s son. When he is 5, Saul and Jonathan are killed in a battle at Jezreel. This is bad news because Saul’s servants think that when David ascends the throne, he will surely take revenge on Saul and his family. When news of Jonathan’s and Saul’s death reaches Jerusalem, Mephibosheth’s nurse carries him and flees. In her haste, she falls and drops Mephibisheth, whose feet are crushed. They go to a hideout in the wilderness to take refuge from David. He suffers in the wilderness and his lame feet are a reminder that David is out to get him. He lives in fear of David. He does not know that he is in covenant with the king through his father, Jonathan.
David remembers his covenant
In 2 Sam 9, David, who reigns as king, wonders if any of Saul’s family is alive, as he wants to show them kindness because of his covenant with Jonathan. None of the servants dare to tell David about Mephibosheth because they are afraid that David will kill him. Finally, a servant tells David that Mephibosheth is at Lo Debar. David sends a chariot to get him. On hearing the sound of chariots approaching, Mephibosheth thinks that he will surely be killed.
When Mephibosheth sees David, he falls down on his face before David, expecting the worst. To his surprise, David says that he has come to show kindness because of his covenant with Jonathan. He has forgiven Saul of his wrongdoings. David wants to restore his land and have him live in the palace as his own son, the king’s child.
Mephibosheth cannot believe his ears. Why should the king show kindness to him? Has he been wrong about the king’s intention all this while? He does not feel worthy of the king’s love and mercy. He does not deserve it. But this has nothing to do with him; he is a beneficiary of David’s covenant with Jonathan.
Mephibosheth chooses to believe (faith) the king’s offer of undeserved favor (grace) and returns with the king. His inheritance is restored, he is safe under the protection of the king’s power, and he has a new purpose in life as a child of the king.
The New Covenant in Christ
David represents God. He is full of love for all mankind. But mankind is in the family of Saul and is rebellious in sin. People do not know that God loves them and wants to bless them; they think of God as a judge and they fear Him. So they run from Him and suffer in the spiritual wilderness. Our problems remind us that God is punishing us.
What about Jonathan? He represents Jesus. He is in the family of Saul for He came as a man to this earth. But He is not like humanity, for He is without sin. In fact, He is more like God. He could represent the whole world to enter into blood covenant with God because He is our Creator (John 1:3). He could enter into covenant with God because He is perfect and without sin (1 John 3:5). He entered into a covenant with God by His very own blood, shed for the forgiveness of the sins of the world (Matt 26:28). Jesus came to make peace (reconcile) between God and mankind (Rom 5:1).
Mephibosheth represents us, the beneficiaries of Jesus’ covenant with God. We have to make a choice whether to believe by faith that God wants to bless us as a king’s child or to suffer in the spiritual wilderness. We feel that we do not deserve God’s goodness but He tells us it is shown to us because of Jesus’ blood covenant; it has nothing to do with our good performance.
Jesus has died for the whole world and entered into covenant with God on our behalf. We have to respond by receiving the forgiveness of sins by the blood of Jesus, and to enter into this New Covenant. Once we are in this New Covenant, we become children of the King (John 1:12). We are beneficiaries of an inheritance, protected by His power and we have a new purpose in life as the King’s child (Eph 1:17-21). We can receive an abundance of grace by faith through what Jesus has done for us on the cross (Rom 5:2).
(Source - Walking on Water by Joshua Lye, Armour Publishing - Practical Tip 10)
posted by Joshua Lye @ 12:44 AM
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