Commentary - 1 Samuel 20:1-11

Bird's-eye view

This passage plunges us into the heart of a fractured kingdom and a faithful friendship. David, the anointed but not-yet-crowned king, is on the run from Saul, the sitting but rejected king. The central tension of the chapter, and indeed this entire section of 1 Samuel, is the clash between Saul's paranoid, murderous tyranny and the covenantal loyalty between his son Jonathan and his rival David. Jonathan is caught in the middle, forced to choose between his father by blood and his friend by covenant. This is not a story about mere personal affection; it is about recognizing and submitting to God's anointed. David, in mortal danger, appeals to Jonathan on the basis of their God-sworn covenant, and together they devise a test to reveal the true state of Saul's heart. This is a high-stakes drama of political intrigue, personal loyalty, and theological gravity, demonstrating that true allegiance is owed to God's chosen king, no matter the cost.

The conversation between David and Jonathan establishes the central conflict: Jonathan's naive hope in his father's rationality versus David's grim, life-or-death certainty of Saul's murderous intent. The plan they hatch is a mechanism to bring Jonathan to the same realization David already possesses. The entire scene is undergirded by the covenant they have made before Yahweh, which elevates their friendship from a simple bond to a sacred allegiance. This is the foundation upon which David will build his kingdom, a kingdom characterized by covenant faithfulness, or hesed, the very thing he requests from Jonathan here.

Outline

Context In 1 Samuel

This chapter follows directly on the heels of Saul's escalating madness. In chapter 19, Saul's murderous intent toward David became public knowledge. He openly commanded Jonathan and his servants to kill David. After Jonathan's initial intercession bought a brief reprieve, Saul's rage returned, and he tried to pin David to the wall with a spear for a second time. David fled to Samuel at Naioth in Ramah, but Saul pursued him even there, only to be thwarted by the Spirit of God falling upon his messengers and then upon himself. David's flight from Naioth at the beginning of chapter 20 is therefore the flight of a man who has seen the king's spiritual and psychological collapse firsthand. There is no longer any doubt for David. The only person left to convince is Jonathan, who still clings to the hope that his father can be reasoned with. This chapter is the turning point where Jonathan is forced to see the unvarnished truth about his father, solidifying his allegiance to David as God's true anointed.

Key Issues

A Step Between Me and Death

We are thrown into the middle of the action. The anointed king of Israel is a fugitive, and the established king of Israel is a maniac. David is not a revolutionary, and he is not trying to lead a rebellion. He is simply trying to stay alive. The conversation that unfolds between him and Jonathan is a masterful depiction of two friends navigating an impossible situation. One of them, David, sees the situation with perfect, terrifying clarity. The other, Jonathan, is still clouded by a noble but misplaced filial loyalty. The purpose of this dialogue, and the test it produces, is to get both men onto the same page. Before David can truly go into exile, he needs his one key ally in the court to understand the full gravity of the situation. This is not a misunderstanding. This is not a political tiff. This is, as David so memorably puts it, a matter of a single step between himself and death.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? And what is my sin before your father, that he is seeking my life?”

David comes to Jonathan not as a conspirator, but as a wronged man. His questions are not the rhetorical flourish of a guilty conscience. They are the genuine, bewildered cries of a man who has done nothing but serve his king faithfully and is being rewarded with a death sentence. He has slain the giant, won the battles, and behaved himself wisely, yet Saul's hatred only grows. David is establishing his own righteousness before his covenant partner. He is not asking Jonathan to harbor a criminal; he is asking him to recognize an injustice. This is the necessary foundation for everything that follows. David is innocent, and Saul's pursuit is entirely malicious.

2 And he said to him, “Far from it, you shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without revealing it in my ear. So why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!”

Jonathan's response is one of heartfelt denial. He cannot yet bring himself to believe the worst about his father. His argument is based on past experience: "My father and I are close; he tells me everything." This is the reasoning of a good son who loves his father and cannot fathom the depth of the corruption that has taken root. He thinks this is a misunderstanding that can be cleared up. But Saul's madness has now progressed to the point where he is actively deceiving his own son. The very premise of Jonathan's argument, his father's transparency, is the thing that has now vanished. Jonathan is loyal, but he is naive.

3 Yet David swore again, saying, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your sight, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly as Yahweh lives and as your soul lives, there is hardly a step between me and death.”

David has to break through Jonathan's denial. He does so by taking a solemn oath, invoking the name of Yahweh. He is not just giving his opinion; he is stating a fact before God. He explains the new political reality to Jonathan: Saul knows that Jonathan is loyal to David, and therefore Saul is now cutting Jonathan out of the loop. Saul's supposed love for his son is now being used as a tool of manipulation. "Let's not grieve Jonathan" is the excuse for hiding a murder plot. David concludes with one of the most potent expressions of mortal danger in all of Scripture: there is but a step between me and death. This is not hyperbole. One word from the king, one thrust of a spear, and he is gone.

4 Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever your soul says, I will do for you.”

This is the turning point in the conversation. David's oath has shaken Jonathan. While he may not fully understand or accept the situation yet, he accepts David's sincerity. And so he makes a radical pledge. He essentially hands David a blank check. "Tell me what to do, and I will do it." This is an extraordinary statement for a crown prince to make to a fugitive. It is a declaration of allegiance that puts his covenant with David above his own safety and his own ambitions. He is subordinating himself to the true king.

5-7 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 will have peace; but if he is very angry, know that he has decided on evil.

David, having secured Jonathan's cooperation, now lays out a shrewd and simple plan. It is a test designed to expose Saul's true heart. The new moon festival was a required court occasion. David's absence would be immediately noticed. Jonathan is to provide a plausible, pious-sounding excuse: David has gone to a family sacrifice in Bethlehem. This excuse is perfect because it is both dutiful and unverifiable on the spot. Saul's reaction to this reasonable request will reveal everything. A calm acceptance means David is safe. A fit of rage means Saul's intentions are murderous. David is setting up a controlled experiment to demonstrate the truth to Jonathan in a way he cannot deny.

8 Therefore show lovingkindness to your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of Yahweh with you. But if there is iniquity in me, put me to death yourself; for why then should you bring me to your father?”

Here we come to the theological core of the chapter. David appeals to Jonathan to act according to the terms of their covenant. The phrase show lovingkindness is a translation of the Hebrew word hesed. This is not just about being nice. Hesed is the word for covenant loyalty, steadfast love, and unbreakable allegiance. David is saying, "Act like the covenant man you are." He then makes a startling offer: if he is actually guilty of anything, Jonathan should be his executioner. This does two things. First, it powerfully asserts his innocence. Second, it demonstrates his complete trust in Jonathan's judgment over Saul's. He would rather be judged by his righteous friend than by a paranoid king.

9 And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I should indeed come to know that evil has been decided by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you about it?”

Jonathan is horrified at the suggestion that he would ever harm David. He dismisses the idea immediately. His response is a pledge of protection. He fully accepts his role as David's informant and protector within the court. The question is rhetorical, but it functions as a solemn promise: "Of course I will tell you." He is now an active participant in the plan, bound by his covenant oath to defend God's anointed.

10-11 Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?” And Jonathan said to David, “Come, and let us go out into the field.” So both of them went out to the field.

David brings up the practical, logistical problem. If Saul explodes in anger, the court will be a dangerous place. How can Jonathan safely get a message to David in hiding? This is not a detail they can leave to chance. Jonathan's response is one of prudent leadership. He recognizes that the palace is no longer a safe place for this kind of conversation. "Let us go out into the field." They need a secure location to work out the details of their dangerous plan. This is not paranoia; it is sanctified common sense. True faith is not reckless; it takes wise precautions.

Application

The covenant between David and Jonathan is a model for Christian friendship. Our friendships in the church should not be casual affinities based on shared hobbies. They should be covenantal bonds, rooted in our shared allegiance to King Jesus. Like Jonathan, we are sometimes called to choose loyalty to Christ and His people over other natural loyalties, including family. This can be painful and costly, but it is the nature of discipleship. Jonathan was willing to sacrifice his own claim to the throne in order to honor the one God had truly chosen. This is a picture of what we do when we confess that Jesus is Lord. We lay down our own crowns and our own ambitions to serve the true King.

This passage also teaches us the importance of wisdom and prudence. David and Jonathan did not simply pray and hope for the best. They made a careful, intelligent plan to discern the truth and to act on it. They faced danger with clear eyes. We are called to be innocent as doves, but also wise as serpents. When dealing with opposition, whether from outside the church or from corruption within, we must be shrewd. Finally, we see the power of hesed, of covenant faithfulness. David's plea was not for a favor, but for faithfulness. This is the kind of love that holds fast when everything is falling apart. It is the kind of love God has shown to us in Christ, and it is the kind of love we are called to show to one another.