[One-Verse Meditation]

1 Samuel 20:23 (NIV) As for the matter you and I have spoken of, remember, the LORD is witness between you and me forever.

[Meditation]

“If I am guilty, then kill me yourself!” To David, who was asserting his innocence, Jonathan suggests they go out to the field. It was so they could make a covenant, just the two of them, where no one else was present. He prays for God to be with David and declares, “May the LORD cut off all of David’s enemies.” This is a vow that Jonathan himself and his house will never be David’s enemy.

The Bible reveals that the reason for this vow was that Jonathan loved David as he loved his own soul. Let’s think about this for a moment. It was a situation where the kingship was threatened by the people’s praise for David. If Jonathan had focused on the next kingship, which was rightfully his, he could not have made such a vow—a vow that mortgaged even his own life into David’s hands. Therefore, this love of Jonathan is a manifestation of God’s own life.

This amazing love that transcends worldly logic could not be completed with a mere human promise. Jonathan continues the promise. After detailing a concrete plan to ascertain King Saul’s heart and inform David of a way to escape, he concludes the covenant like this:

“As for the matter you and I have spoken of, remember, the LORD is witness between you and me forever.”

Jonathan invites the LORD as the witness to their covenant. He makes it a confession of faith before Him. He believes that the good and righteous God will be the executor of their covenant. Come to think of it, every single day of a believer is this covenantal confession.

[Prayer]

Lord, I know that my today is a moment of eternity where You are present. Because today is a day where Your will, already accomplished in that eternity, unfolds, I start this new day looking to You with a heart full of awe. Amen.
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[Daily Meditation]

1 Samuel 20:8-23