1 Samuel 23:15-18 | Biblical Friendship Part 4

And yet, all the while, Saul and his men remain close behind. Here, right before our passage, David tries to take a moment of refuge in the city of Calah, a city that he just delivered from the hand of the Philistines. And here in Kelah, David hears that Saul is once again on his way. So Saul inquires of the Lord, who confirms that Saul is not only on his way, but that the men of Kelah were going to deliver David and his men over to him. So with no moment to catch their breath, David and his men depart from the city and take their refuge in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. Soon after, Saul and his army hear of David's escape from Calah, and they set up camp at Gibeah, a mountain within sight of David.

And if there was ever a time that David needed strength, it was here. Exhausted, hungry, battle-worn, tired, and alone, David sees Saul's army closing in. And this is where our passage picks up in chapter 23, verse 15. The word of the Lord says,

David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Zeth at Horesh.

And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh and strengthened his hand in God. And he said to him, do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel and I shall be next to you. Saul, my father, also knows this. And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord.

David remained at Horesh and Jonathan went home.

In probably the weakest moment of David's life, his friend, Jonathan, appears to strengthen his hand in God. Jonathan's friendship strengthens David to trust in the promises of God in the midst of Saul's pursuit. And Jonathan's actions here leave us with a weighty challenge that we must also pursue one another to endure in God's promises. As we continue to study this passage, I want to break it up by looking at two pursuits in the passage and a foundation. The first of which is the pursuit of the enemy.

The pursuit of the enemy

Saul, up to this point in the story, has stopped at nothing to find and kill David. Starting with outbursts of anger and sly plots to get David killed in battle, Saul was now raging, looking for David. He went and killed 85 priests in the city of Nob, arming himself against David and against the Lord. There was no fear, no reverence, no reason that would stop Saul from killing David. So as David continued to run, he could only help but notice that Saul was always only one step behind. So here, as he sees Saul's army once again, I have to imagine that all David felt at this point was disheartenment.

He's tried everything. He's fled. He's hidden behind enemy lines. Even as he hid out in Calah, the men from his own tribe whom he risked his life to save, they go and rat him out to Saul. David's trapped here in the wilderness, surrounded by the enemy, with no one to trust and no one to help. What hope could he possibly have?

I wonder if we here feel the same way. We may not have the armies of Israel breathing down our neck, but Ephesians 6 makes it clear that we do face a real threat.

Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

And the enemy we face is Satan. Like Saul, he will stop at nothing to see our destruction.

Every day we face an endless flurry of temptation, accusations, doubts, and fears, even our own guilt and sin pursue us with no end. leaving us trapped in a spiritual wilderness with death at hand and no help or salvation in sight. So I wonder, are you in the wilderness right now? Do you feel the pressures of the enemy, even your own sin closing in on you? If so, you need a way out. We need hope of escape in the midst of deep darkness and hopelessness that entraps us.

Here in this passage, David had no way out. He did have one thing, though, and that was the possibility of trusting in the verse that comes directly before our passage. It says in verse 14 that

Saul sought David every day, but God did not give him into his hand.

In the same way, our hope and trust cannot lie in our own ability to get out of the wilderness. We can only trust that though Satan seeks us every day, God will not give us over into his hand. But the question is, how do we get there? How can we trust in something that seems to contradict the circumstances and reality that we see in front of us? That's where we need the second pursuit, the pursuit of a friend.

The pursuit of a friend

Picking back up in verse 16,

Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh and strengthened his hand in God. And he said to him, do not fear, for the hand of Saul, my father, shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul, my father, even knows this.

In the darkness of the wilderness, Jonathan comes to David as a shining light. And in almost ironic contrast with his father, Jonathan was seeking out David's life so that he could strengthen him. And in reality, he didn't have to do it. In their last interaction, David and Jonathan said their final goodbye. They left with peace between one another. But here, in this passage, Jonathan could not stand by as he knew his friend was suffering.

He knew that as Saul grew closer and closer, David would only suffer and suffer more. So he rose. He rose up out of the comfort of Saul's camp and sought after his friend. And in finding him, he strengthened him. Where David's hand was once weak and frightened, it was now firm, steady, and strengthened in the Lord. It's amazing to see here what God can do with the presence and faithfulness of a friend. But being this kind of friend takes great effort and intentionality.

We often like to say that misery loves company. But in reality, misery thrives in isolation. When we face the darkness of the wilderness, whether because of our own sin or external circumstance, we tend to drive ourselves away from others. In our suffering, it's so easy to hide and so hard to come out of the wilderness to reach out for someone else's help. So we, as church members and friends, we need to seek out the sufferer in the midst of the wilderness. Unlike Jonathan here in this passage, we don't have to search through the dense forests of Horesh to find our friends.

We are blessed to live in an age where we can reach out to anyone in any place at any time. We have the ability to call and help a brother or sister guard against temptation, or to send a text to encourage someone who's dealing with pain or loss. Technology has made it easier than ever to find and reach each other, but still it does not solve the issue of isolation. Isolation can creep into the closest of relationships where intentional pursuit is lacking. For example, husbands and wives can share the same bed and yet be oblivious to the wilderness that the other hides in. It's not enough to just be near someone in their suffering. It takes an intentional rising up and seeking out. It takes asking the hard questions, giving up the evening alone, sacrificing rest or sleep to help pull someone out of their darkness and strengthen them in God. This pursuit is costly.

We see here in the passage that Jonathan assures David boldly that David will be king and Jonathan will faithfully stand by his side. Yet Jonathan knows that this doesn't work. David's kingship means Jonathan's death. And in coming to David, Jonathan is committing treason against his father.

He's giving up his family, his comfort, his future rule and kingdom, all to strengthen his friend. Just as Saul would stop at nothing to kill David, Jonathan would stop at nothing to strengthen him. So where do you draw the line in helping a friend in need? What is too much for you to give up? Jonathan could have remained silent in Saul's camp or even back home in Gilgal. But in doing so, he would have remained on Saul's side, making himself an enemy of David.

And really, I think the same applies for us. If we notice a brother or sister in need and refuse to pursue them, we side with the enemy. We stand by as his oppressive schemes blot out the hope of God in suffering. So the choice remains for us. Side with the enemy, or join in battle with a friend, knowing that it may very well cost us our lives. But even as we stand with each other, our sinful flesh cannot withstand the pursuit of the enemy alone.

An even greater friend

We need something greater. We need a greater hope and an even greater friend, greater than ourselves, one another, greater even than Jonathan here. We need a friend who can save us from the grasp of the enemy, and that friend is only found in Jesus. He has pursued us from eternity past. He left the glory of heaven to enter into our suffering as a man, to live every day under the oppression of temptation, yet without sin. As we look at it, Jesus didn't merely pursue us as Jonathan did.

He also suffered as David did. He walked the entire course of his life knowing that he would face certain death. Constantly pursued and attacked by the enemy, yet in his bleakest moment, in the wilderness of Gethsemane, Jesus had no friend to strengthen his hand in God. He was despised, rejected, abandoned by his closest friends to suffer alone.

And unlike David, it was not the will of God to preserve Jesus from the hand of the enemy. It was God's will that he would be delivered into the enemy's hands and crushed for the forgiveness of sins. Yet three days later, he would rise, rendering the enemy powerless and offering new life and salvation to all who recognize their hopeless state and believe in him. Jesus suffered alone so that we would not have to.

In him, the enemy's pursuit was put to an end, and we gained a perfect high priest and friend, who also stands as the perfect fulfillment of all of God's promises. So no, we can't merely just stand together as Christians. In standing together, we must do it in the certainty of God's promises. It's where we reach our final point and the foundation in the passage, the promises of God.

God will keep his promises

The content of Jonathan's words to David are astounding. Saul's hand will not reach you, and you will be king. Jonathan speaks with confidence towards David, knowing that if it was God's word, it must be true. Like David though, we know God's promises are true, Yet we could see the fulfillment of God's promises and see his assurance again and again, yet in the midst of being surrounded by the enemy, in the depths of the wilderness, we forget. So as we pursue one another, we are also reminding one another, equipping one another with a full quiver of God's promises so that we can endure the assault of the enemy. Satan, like Saul, knows his destruction is sure. He knows his reign will end, so don't let him convince you otherwise. God will keep his promises.

Though David remained in the wilderness after Jonathan's visit, and though he was strengthened in God, he was still on the run. Saul found him once again, forcing him out of Horesh and into another wilderness of Maon. But as David finally entered the sights of Saul and his men were coming ever closer, closing in on them to finally capture and seize them, God remained faithful. Out of seemingly nowhere, a messenger comes to Saul saying,

hurry and come for the Philistines have made raid against the land.

Then and there, Saul stopped his pursuit to defend the land.

God kept his promise. Once again, he delivered him out of the hand of Saul. And God would continue to deliver him just as much as he will continue to deliver us. God's salvation is finished in Christ. He will not let the enemy take any of his children out of his sure hand. He will protect you, pursue you, and bring every one of us, every one of his promises to its full completion. And it's in that surety that we endure with confidence, pursuing and strengthening one another, trusting together in him.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the great friend that you have given us in Christ. Thank you for the way that he pursued us and suffered for us so that we would have forgiveness and life in him. Help us to remind one another of your salvation as we endure and give us confidence in your faithfulness. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.