Jonathan & David’s God- Ordained Connection

Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.  Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore.  Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.  And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt. 1 Samuel 18:1-4

King Saul and Jonathan both took interest in David after he defeated Goliath. However, their relationship with David was as opposite as it could come. Saul’s relationship to David was a love hate relationship which over time turned to complete hatred. On the other hand, Jonathan lovingly and consistently loved David over the years until his death in a battle against Philistines.

Jonathan would have been the one to reach out to David since he was the prince and David was just a shepherd boy. Interestingly, Jonathan prophetically confirmed God’s anointed man and next in line for power by giving David his robe and his full armor transferring his birthright!

Jonathan’s attitude towards David was impressively kind and gracious. There were no subtle hints of jealousy or competition in his heart towards David. God gave him a love for David, and he trusted his heart instead of listening to his paranoid father. He could have easily been instrumental in sharing the news of David’s whereabouts with his father to get him eliminated, but he didn’t. On the contrary, when he knew Saul was chasing David, he sounded the alarm for David to run away from his father’s claws!

Once David heard the news of the death of Jonathan and Saul in battle, he mourned for both of them. David in his song about Jonathan’s death lamented,

“I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been very pleasant to me;” 2 Samuel 1:26a

When the Lord orders God ordained connections with others, they are free from strife, rejection, & fear. Sometimes a relationship is God-ordained but due to one person or both people’s insecurities, it impedes God’s purpose from fully developing to its fruition.

Insecurity and fear can also be an indication that the relationship is a man-made connection, and one or both people are holding on to it in their own strength for their personal reasons. A man-made connection may produce fruit for a season, but it comes with a high price of slavery of our soul!

If you were to pick the next man of God, would you have picked David as a shepherd boy? Most of us would do what Samuel did. He looked to Jesse’s older and more skilled sons as the possible future king. It wasn’t until he considered all the other older boys and ran out of options that he wondered if there is someone else that God had in mind. We can’t rely on what we see with our natural eyes, or it will betray us over and over again.

Jonathan took interest in David when he had nothing.  Jonathan did everything he could to see David protected and successful. He remained loyal to him all the way to the end. They had mutual love and respect for each other throughout their lives.

On the other hand, Saul was intimidated by David, and he tried to thwart God’s plan that the Lord already had set in motion. He could have been David’s coach and mentor, but he refused to see him as God’s anointed!

Godly connections see the hand of God on someone’s life, and they cooperate by doing their part in helping the person to move forward in God’s purposes. On the other hand, man-made connections are just about one or both parties, and the benefit it provides for them,. They will not be long lasting because they are based on selfish reasons.

Do you have Godly connections with other people? Just because someone is Godly it doesn’t make our connection with them Godly. If the relationship is based on fear of rejection, competition, or intimidation, we should seriously inquire of Lord about the nature of the relationship and our part in it.