Written by: Andrew Walker (Church Army)

1 Samuel 20 v 30-33
Then Saul became very angry with Jonathan. He said, “You son of a wicked, worthless woman! I know you are on the side of David son of Jesse! You bring shame on yourself and on your mother who gave birth to you. As long as Jesse’s son lives, you will never be king or have a kingdom. Now send for David and bring him to me. He must die!”
Jonathan asked his father, “Why should David be killed? What wrong has he done?” Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan, trying to kill him. So Jonathan knew that his father really wanted to kill David.

Notes
Ever had the feeling that your parents have blown something up out of all proportion? 

It certainly seems like this is what is happening here! Because David was not at the festival, where he was supposed to be, Saul flew off the handle and took all this anger out on Jonathan. 

Saul told Jonathan that as long as David was alive he would never be king and so David must die. When Jonathan questioned this, which seems a fair enough thing to do as David hadn’t really done anything wrong, Saul’s anger worked itself out in a physical way by him throwing a spear at Jonathan, his son! What did Jonathan do to deserve that?

There are times when people seem to fly off the handle for no reason. There are also times when we can overreact to a situation.

Sometimes is it easy to see the anger in others and not see the problems which lie behind the anger. It’s sometimes good to stop and take a minute or two to look into why the person is flying off the handle before you react with an equally bad attack which just fuels the situation.

When we overreact, we need to realise what we have done and then eat some humble pie and talk it over with the people we have hurt and offended. It is not easy, as I have found out, but it is worth it in the end. Relationships somehow end up being stronger because you have taken the time to talk things over.

Next time you’re in a situation like this, ask God for his wisdom, guidance and strength so that your relationships with others, especially those you love, are strengthened and not torn apart.

Prayer
Lord, when we are in situations where we are angry or where someone is angry at us, give us your wisdom to see what is really going on, guide us in what we say, and give us your strength to say sorry when we have upset others. In the name of Christ our Saviour, Amen

1 Samuel 20 v 34-40
Jonathan was very angry and left the table. That second day of the month he refused to eat. He was ashamed of his father and upset over David.
The next morning Jonathan went out to the field to meet David as they had agreed. He had a young boy with him. Jonathan said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.” When he ran, Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him. The boy ran to the place where Jonathan’s arrow fell, but Jonathan called, “The arrow is beyond you!” Then he shouted, “Hurry! Go quickly! Don’t stop!” The boy picked up the arrow and brought it back to his master. (The boy knew nothing about what this meant; only Jonathan and David knew.) Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and told him, “Go back to town.”

Notes
Today’s reading seems a little bizarre and even cryptic at first glance. So here goes with trying to make some sense of it.

Jonathan was angry and left the table because his dad, Saul, had just thrown a spear at him! Not surprisingly, this put him off his food. He was annoyed with his dad and scared for his friend David who his dad wanted to kill.

The next part of the passage seems to be some ancient form of entertainment, where Jonathan would stand in the middle of a field and fire an arrow, then some young boy would run after the arrows and retrieve them and bring them back. 

This did have some meaning attached to it though. David was in hiding because he knew he wasn’t flavour of the month. The young boy had no idea that David was hiding, but Jonathan knew he was there and when Jonathan fired the arrows beyond the boy, that was a sign of danger to David - this is mentioned in verses 21-23.

Signs and symbols are important to us, both in everyday life and in our Christian beliefs. They point us the right way on the roads, and they tell us which toilet is the right one to use!

In the Christian faith we have signs and symbols such as the cross, the fish, the dove and the Celtic knot. The sacraments are also symbols and signs - during a communion we have all sorts of symbols. Different traditions will have varying amounts of symbolism - some use lots; some very little. 

Very often we don’t realise the symbolism behind what we do. Maybe as you attend a church service this week, you can look for the signs and symbols and work out what they mean for you.

Prayer
Lord, thank you that we can use all sorts of signs and symbols which we can engage with and which can be used to draw us closer to you. Lord, help us to see more clearly as we walk with you day by day. Amen

1 Samuel 20 v 41-42
When the boy left, David came out from the south side of the rock. He bowed face down on the ground before Jonathan three times. Then David and Jonathan kissed each other and cried together, but David cried the most.
Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace. We have promised by the LORD that we will be friends. We said, ‘The LORD will be a witness between you and me, and between our descendants always.’” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to town.

Notes
OK, it might just be me, but on first reading this seems like a bit of a strange relationship between David and Jonathan: bowing, kissing and crying on each other. I don’t know about you but it’s not what I do when I meet my mates down the pub!

However, this was some time ago and customs were a little different back then!

David bowed before Jonathan as a sign of submission and respect and when it says they kissed I very much doubt it if it was a full on snog with tongues! People back then used to greet each other with a kiss and still do in some countries today. This usually consists of a kiss on each cheek - you’ve probably seen it on some film at some point.

So, that aside, these two men were the best of friends. Because they knew they weren’t going to see each other for ages, they were as upset as we might be if we were saying goodbye to a close friend or relative knowing that we weren’t going to see them for ages.

In this passage we also see Jonathan protecting David from those who wanted to harm him. Because Jonathan was such a good friend he was prepared to keep David’s whereabouts from his dad. 

I wonder what your friends would do for you, and maybe more importantly what you’d be prepared to do for your friends if they were in need? 

Thinking a little deeper than that, I wonder what you’d be prepared to do for your faith? Would you stand up for your faith no matter what?

For those of us who are Christians, Jesus is very much a friend. He gave his all for us. What are we prepared to give in return?

Prayer
Lord, we thank you for friends. Help us to be true friends to them and help us to consider the cost of true friendship both with our friends and with you. Amen

1 Samuel 21 v 1-7
David went to Nob to see Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech shook with fear when he saw David, and he asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”
David answered him, “The king gave me a special order. He told me, ‘No one must know what I am sending you to do or what I told you to do.’ I told my men where to meet me. Now, what food do you have with you? Give me five loaves of bread or anything you find.”
The priest said to David, “I don’t have any plain bread here, but I do have some holy bread. You may eat it if your men have kept themselves from women.”
David answered, “No women have been near us for days. My men always keep themselves holy, even when we do ordinary work. And this is especially true when the work is holy.”
So the priest gave David the holy bread from the presence of God because there was no other. Each day the holy bread was replaced with hot bread.
One of Saul’s servants happened to be there that day. He had been held there before the LORD. He was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.

Notes
Today’s reading is based around David telling Ahimelech a lie so he could get some food. It always helps me when I read passages like this, as I realise that even someone as “holy” as David, who God used so much, was able to mess up and get things wrong. 

Somehow it gives me hope that even in my fallenness, even though I mess up lots, God can still use me in powerful ways. Just because I mess up, God never gives up hope in me.

Also in today’s passage we see that the only bread available was the holy bread. This was bread that had been set aside and consecrated as an offering before God. 

Had all David’s men been real, they would only have been able to eat this bread if they too had been “set aside” and saved themselves from women. It was believed that if a man had sex with a woman he would be ceremonially unclean and therefore unable to partake of bread that had been in the presence of God.

David talked about the fact that the men always kept themselves holy, especially when doing “holy work”.

This should still apply today. We should be keeping ourselves holy, especially when we are engaged in “holy work”. This doesn’t just mean those who are in leadership of some sort - it applies to all who are Christians. Jesus called us to be in the world and not of it.

Romans 12 verse 2 says: “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking” (from the Message Bible).

We can be a witness to those around us just by the way we live our lives. How does your life look to those around you?

Prayer
Lord, help us to live our lives in a way which is pleasing to you, and so that others might see something different in us, something of you. May our lives be a witness to the faith we hold to. In Jesus’ name, Amen

1 Samuel 21 v 8-11
David asked Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or sword here? The king’s business was very important, so I left without my sword or any other weapon.”
The priest answered, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, the one you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here. It is wrapped in a cloth behind the holy robe. If you want it, you may take it. There’s no other sword here but that one.”
David said, “There is no other sword like it. Give it to me.”
That day David ran away from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, “This is David, the king of the Israelites. He’s the man they dance and sing about, saying: ‘Saul has killed thousands of his enemies, but David has killed tens of thousands.’”

Notes
Today we see David sticking to this lie about being on the king’s business, and now he had food, he wanted a sword to protect himself. The only one which was available was the one which David himself had used before, when he killed Goliath.

Once David had all he needed, he ran away but was greeted with caution by those he was running to. His reputation had gone before him and the people were worried that he was there to wage war on them.

Very often other people’s perceptions of who we are go before us, and so people who don’t know us and have never met us have a biased opinion before they meet us. Also, when people first meet us, they instantly have a perception of what we are like, maybe by the way we dress, our hairstyle or just the way we look.

This works the other way too. We can be very judgemental of others just because of what we have heard about them, or how they look when we meet them.

This first impression is sometimes right, but there is a fair chance it is also going to be wrong and that we are going to misjudge others.

Someone once said to me: “You never get a second chance to make a first impression”, and that is so true. But we have to ensure we are giving the right impression! We also need to be aware that, when meeting others, we need to be prepared to look beneath the façade and see the real person underneath.

God values us all. He made us all individual, and we are all made in his image, so somewhere, in everyone, there is the image of God.

Prayer
Lord, when we meet new people and even when we around those we know well, help us to see your image in them and help us not to judge people on what our eyes have seen and our ears have heard. In Jesus’ name, Amen

1 Samuel 21 v 12-15
David paid attention to these words and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. So he pretended to be crazy in front of Achish and his servants. While he was with them, he acted like a madman and clawed on the doors of the gate and let spit run down his beard.
Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He’s insane! Why do you bring him to me? I have enough madmen. I don’t need you to bring him here to act like this in front of me! Don’t let him in my house!”

Notes
What a bizarre passage!

David – the mighty King David of the Old Testament – was behaving like a madman! There’s hope for me yet!

But seriously, David feared for his safety after moving to another kingdom. This was because the people there had heard of his reputation of being someone who wiped out nations!

So in order to escape persecution and possibly death, David decided to act like a madman so that people would not think he was a threat at all.

It’s amazing how many people still wear masks today. We think we have to talk like this or dress like that in order to be accepted by others. We mask the reality of who we are in order to fit in.

“We were born originals – let us not die copies.”

If friends are true friends then they should love us and accept us for who they are. We should be the people that God created us to be and be happy with that. To deny who we really are is like telling God he got something wrong when he made us.

I remember what it is like not to fit in and not to be part of the “in crowd” and it is hurtful. It is also not easy when you are constantly under pressure to be someone you aren’t.

It is better to have people who love you and respect you for who you are rather than people who only like you for who you pretend to be.

You are who you are, not who others perceive you to be.

Prayer
Lord, thank you that you made us all unique and individual. Help us to be the individuals you created us to be and not just be dragged down by what others expect us to be. In Jesus’ name, Amen

1 Samuel 22 v 1-2
David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and other relatives heard that he was there, they went to see him. Everyone who was in trouble, or who owed money, or who was unsatisfied gathered around David, and he became their leader. About 400 men were with him.

Notes
Today’s reading shows a basic human reaction which still occurs today. 

David left the place he was in and went off to a cave somewhere. When people heard he was there and found out he was in hiding and was a wanted man, they somehow identified with him and so they grouped together.

Many times when a disaster happens, such as 9/11, people come together and unite and become much closer. In many ways it is a shame it takes such circumstances for this to happen.

When I look around at people at my training college, I see people with all sorts of problems, and there are times when I really wonder if God has made a mistake calling us all into ministry. After all, we are supposed to be the ones helping others!

It is amazing, though, how God uses us to help others who are going through the same things we have been through. As the people gathered around David, so people gather round each one of us. 

I have had my fair share of problems and hassles in life, but having been through them I am now more prepared and able to help those going through similar things.

If you’re going through a bad patch, stay close to God. Seek him even when it’s really hard and he appears to have left you alone. Trust in him that all will turn out well. 

One day all will become clear. You will look back and see God’s hand on you in a way that you couldn’t see at the time. I wouldn’t be surprised if God then uses you in a way you never thought possible, to help others in the same situation.

Prayer
Most Holy Trinity, comfort us in times of trial, give us peace when we are in turmoil and guide us in the paths you would have us take. Help us to be there for others as they are there for us. Bless us all, in Jesus’ name, Amen


word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes