“Go In Peace, For We Have

Sworn Friendship”

In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his meeting with David. He had a small boy with him, and he said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. When the boy came to the place where Jonathan’s arrow had fallen, Jonathan called out after him, “Isn’t the arrow beyond you?” Then he shouted, “Hurry! Go quickly! Don’t stop!” The boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master. (The boy knew nothing about all this; only Jonathan and David knew.) Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said, “Go, carry them back to town.”

After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together—but David wept the most.

Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.’” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.

1 Samuel 20:35-42

David and Jonathan had a solid friendship, beginning with the good days of David’s victory over Goliath. They shared their fears during the bad days of Jonathan’s father’s jealousy. Finally, they suffered together during the ugly days of Saul’s plans to kill David.

Good friends don’t abandon us when external circumstances change. They stay with us through the good and the bad days. Good friends also may point us to Godin the ugly days, when we may feel tempted to walk away from our Lord.

A friend is the first person who comes in when the whole world has gone out.

Our Daily Bread – February 8, 2017