“Y’honatan had David swear it again, because of the love he had for him — he loved him as he loved himself.“-1 Samuel 20:17
In verse 17, we’re reminded why Jonathan was so faithful to David.
We’re told it was because “he loved him as he loved himself”.
Again, this was NOT a homosexual thing.
There’s a dual meaning to this statement…and as I said it has nothing to do with erotic love.
First, the idea was to express the soul connection through faith in a common God.
This is the kind of connection all believers in the God of Israel are to have with each other.
The second was to express political loyalty normative of a king/vassal relationship.
Remember, the word “love” had different uses and meanings in ancient times.
For example, long ago, in the time of the big Assyrian Empire, there were rules the leaders had to follow.
The generals who worked for King Ashurbanipal (the king of the Assyrian Empire) made sure that when they conquered other lands, those lands’ leaders had to promise to be loyal to King Ashurbanipal.
They had to love him as much as they loved themselves.
This kind of love was all about political loyalty.
It had nothing to do with friendship or loving a family member.
It’s the same kind of loyalty being referred to here in 1st Samuel Chapter 20.
Jonathan promised to always be loyal to David, even when David became king instead of his father, Saul.
He knew he couldn’t be loyal to both Saul and David at the same time.
This brings us to our takeaway for today.
Jonathan can’t serve two masters.
He cannot serve the rejected anti-king (his father) and the legitimate anointed king at the same time.
Yet how many of us try to do just that?
We claim loyalty to the Messiah while keeping one foot in the world.
That dog ain’t gonna hunt.
There’s no way we can submit to our fleshly desires while at the same time obeying our heavenly Father in heaven.
There’s no lukewarm option.
You’re either hot or cold.
So choose wisely in the matter.
Ya, feel me?
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“No servant can be slave to two masters,
for he will either hate the first and love the second,
or scorn the second and be loyal to the first.
You can’t be a slave to both God and money.”
-Luke 16:13
“So, because you are lukewarm
—neither hot nor cold—
I am about to spit you
out of my mouth.”
-Revelation 3:16
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