Love for David, ‘the man after God’s own heart’, is mentioned on three occasions in 1 Samuel 18.
(i) ‘Jonathan loved him as his own soul’, v. 1.
(ii) ‘But all Israel and Judah loved David’, v. 16. Two divided territories were united by their love for David. It is love for the Lord Jesus which will unite us and prevent divisions.
(iii) ‘And Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David’, v. 20. Sadly, her love was not genuine and later on she despised him.
David described Jonathan’s love for him as ‘wonderful, passing the love of women’, 2 Sam. 1. 26. Today’s readings show how this love grew deeper as time went by and challenge us as to the depth of our love for the Lord Jesus.
It was David’s victory which first attracted Jonathan. He watched him go down into the valley and defeat Goliath. He knew that this triumph had delivered Israel and it drew out his love for David. Our love for the Lord Jesus began in the far deeper valley of Calvary. We knew very little about Him, but we believed that His victory on the cross would deliver us from the bonds of Satan, sin and death, and we loved Him, ‘because he first loved us’, 1 John 4. 19.
By the time we reach 1 Samuel chapter 19, Jonathan’s love had developed; ‘But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David’, v. 2. He had got to know more about David and he loved him now as a person, not only for what he had done. It gave him courage to go out into the field and to speak well of David in the face of extreme hostility from Saul, his rebellious father. Do we love the Lord Jesus enough to speak well of Him in the context of a hostile world?
Jonathan’s love for David ultimately reached the point where he said to him, ‘Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee’, 20. 4. The Lord said to His disciples, ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments’, John 14. 15. Are we prepared to do whatever the Lord Jesus asks us to do?
