Always Second – #17 David mourns Jonathan. Read 2 Samuel 1:17-27. Then David chanted with this lament over Saul and Jonathan his son, and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the song of the bow; behold, it is written in the book of Jashar. “Your beauty, O Israel, is slain on your high places! How have the mighty fallen! “Tell it not in Gath, Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, Or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, The daughters of the uncircumcised will exult. “O mountains of Gilboa, Let not dew or rain be on you, nor fields of offerings; For there the shield…

Always Second – #16 David learns of Jonathan and Saul’s deaths. First we see his response to learning of Saul’s death. Read 2 Samuel 1:2-16. On the third day, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn and dust on his head. And it came about when he came to David that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself. Then David said to him, “From where do you come?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” David said to him, “How did things go? Please tell me.” And he said, “The people have fled from the battle,…

Always Second – #15 Jonathan dies. Saul had disobeyed the Lord again and as a result was told that he and his 3 sons would all die in the same day. Sure enough, God fulfills his word. Read 1 Samuel 31:1-2. Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua the sons of Saul.1 Samuel 31:1‭-‬2 NASBhttps://bible.com/bible/100/1sa.31.1-2.NASB Even though Jonathon was committed to David, he was committed to God first. By being committed to God, he continued to fight with…

Always Second – #14 David’s on the run and Jonathan continues to encourage him. Read 1 Samuel 23:15-18. Now David became aware that Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. And Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David at Horesh, and encouraged him in God. Thus he said to him, “Do not be afraid, because the hand of Saul my father will not find you, and you will be king over Israel and I will be next to you; and Saul my father knows that also.” So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord ;…

Always Second – #13 Jonathan remained loyal. He had made a commitment to David based on his relationship with the Lord and even after Jonathan’s worst fears were realized, he still remained loyal. Read 1 Samuel 20:35-42. Now it came about in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field for the appointment with David, and a little lad was with him. He said to his lad, “Run, find now the arrows which I am about to shoot.” As the lad was running, he shot an arrow past him. When the lad reached the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the lad and said,…

Always Second – #12 Saul is angry and Jonathan is devastated. Jonathan goes back and implements the plan that he and David had agreed upon. Read 1 Samuel 20:24-34. So David hid in the field; and when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. The king sat on his seat as usual, the seat by the wall; then Jonathan rose up and Abner sat down by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty. Nevertheless Saul did not speak anything that day, for he thought, “It is an accident, he is not clean, surely he is not clean.” It came about the next day, the second day…

Always Second – #10 The plan. David believes that Saul plans to kill him. Jonathan doesn’t believe it. But Jonathan trusts David, so they put together a plan. Read 1 Samuel 20:5-11. So David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I ought to sit down to eat with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening. If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city, because it is the yearly sacrifice there for the whole family.’ If he says, ‘It is good,’ your servant…

Always Second – #9 Trouble again. Unfortunately, Jonathan’s peacemaking between his father and David from the last chapter didn’t stick. Saul is angry again and again is seeking to kill David. David has run and hid but Jonathan seeks him out. Read 1 Samuel 20:1-4. Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? And what is my sin before your father, that he is seeking my life?” He said to him, “Far from it, you shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me. So why should my father…

Always Second – #8 A peacemaker. Jonathan used his position with both Saul and David in order to do his best to maintain the peace between them. Read 1 Samuel 19:1-7. Now Saul told Jonathan his son and all his servants to put David to death. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David. So Jonathan told David saying, “Saul my father is seeking to put you to death. Now therefore, please be on guard in the morning, and stay in a secret place and hide yourself. I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about…