“Y’honatan removed the cloak he was wearing and gave it to David, his armor too, including his sword, bow and belt.-1 Samuel 18:4
There was a series of events that unnerved Saul and caused him to go into fits of jealousy over David.
The first was when Jonathan gave David his cloak, armor, and weapons.
This gesture had two meanings.
First, it served to seal the covenant of friendship between him and David.
Second, it put David on an equal political footing with Jonathan.
A lot of folks make a mistake and say this was an act of submission.
WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!
This was NOT an act of submission.
It was an act of prophetic admission.
Jonathan, by surrendering his cloak and armor, was declaring David’s special nature and relationship with the God of Israel.
Since Jonathan was Saul’s oldest son, by custom he was the natural heir to the throne.
But in humble faith, he decided to forfeit that right.
And it wasn’t just a private declaration.
In those days (well, actually, come to think of it, even in these days too), royalty wore special clothing that separated them from the common citizens.
When Jonathan took off his royal clothing and placed them on David, it was a clear announcement to the world that he considered David to be of equal if not superior status to him.
The King and his court well understood this gesture.
And it was this action out of many to come that began to unhinge King Saul to the point of murderous jealousy of David
So what’s the takeaway for today?
The lesson for today is this…
No matter what your station in life…
Whether you’re a Jew or Gentile…
Whether you’re rich or poor…
Whether you’re a king, president, peasant, or anything in between…
If you want to be saved, you will have to do what Jonathan did…
You will have to take off your cloak of worldly status and your armor of earthly achievements and hand them over to that son of David, otherwise known as Yeshua of Nazareth.
This is the challenge that faces every person on the planet today…
This is pretty much the same thing I said yesterday.
You won’t be able to simultaneously keep one foot in the world and one foot in the Kingdom.
You’re gonna have to choose where you’re going to firmly place BOTH of your feet…
And that will determine your eternal future.
Ya feel me?
The next time we meet, we’ll go into another thing that caused Saul to practically lose his mind over jealousy of David.
Things got so bad, that he began to plot how he could kill this God-anointed-king-in-waiting.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“You adulterous people,
don’t you know that friendship
with the world means
enmity against God?
Therefore, anyone who chooses
to be a friend of the world
becomes an enemy of God.”
-James 4:4
“And he said to them all,
If any man will come after me,
let him deny himself,
and take up his cross daily,
and follow me.”
-Luke 9:23
As Yeshua started on his way,
a man ran up to him and fell on
his knees before him.
‘Good teacher,’ he asked,
“what must I do to
inherit eternal life?”
‘Why do you call me good?’
Yeshua answered. “No one is good
—except God alone.
You know the commandments:
‘You shall not murder,
you shall not commit adultery,
you shall not steal,
you shall not give false testimony,
you shall not defraud,
honor your father and mother.’
‘Teacher,’ he declared, ‘all these I
have kept since I was a boy.’
Yeshua looked at him and loved him.
‘One thing you lack,’ he said. ‘Go, sell
everything you have and give to the
poor, and you will have treasure
in heaven. Then come, follow me.’
At this the man’s face fell.
He went away sad,
because he had great wealth.“
-Mark 10:17-22
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