Friends Like Family (Pt. 2)

Intro

Pray

Recap

Looking at the timeline of David and Jonathan’s friendship and what we can learn about healthy, godly friendships in our own lives.

Hopefully that will give us clarity into who should and shouldn’t be our closest friends in our lives, and how we can be a great friend to others

Quickly go over last weeks highlights

Let’s Look at the Rest of Their Story

English Standard Version Chapter 19

19 And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David. 2 And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself. 3 And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you.” 4 And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. 5 For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the LORD worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?” 6 And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, “As the LORD lives, he shall not be put to death.” 7 And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.

A best friend warns you of danger, and seeks to bring reconciliation as opposed to rebellion

At this point not only were they best friends, they were actually brothers-in-law because David had married Jonathan’s sister Michal. It was important to Jonathan for David and Saul to live peaceably with one another

English Standard Version Chapter 20

35 In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little boy. 36 And he said to his boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37 And when the boy came to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” 38 And Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay!” So Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master. 39 But the boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40 And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go and carry them to the city.” 41 And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. 42 Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’ ” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

A best friend looks out for your mental, physical and spiritual well being

Jonathan stood in the gap for David twice, once brought reconciliation and once ended in separation.

We should obviously be looking out for our friends when physical harm is coming their way, whether it is due to poor choices or to life circumstances

We also need to be diligently praying for and encouraging our closest friends, sharing how God sees them and what makes them special, even if they have heard it a million times

At some point if our closest friends are in a season where they’re stuck, we should be doing everything we can to pull them out

We can’t afford to forget who God says we are, and our closest friends should be the champions of that

A best friend is confident in the bond and the friendship, even if distance separates each other

Sometimes in life families move cities or states, people get called to a different place or job, and that can be really hard

One benefit to the day and age we live in is that we can stay connected to the people we care most about due to tech

Response