Commentary - 1 Samuel 20:12-23

Bird's-eye view

This passage is far more than a touching scene between two loyal friends. It is a pivotal moment in the history of redemption, where a formal, covenantal transfer of loyalty and blessing occurs. Jonathan, the heir apparent to the throne of Israel, formally binds himself and his entire house under oath to David, the man God has chosen. This is not just personal affection; it is a legal and spiritual transaction of the highest order. Jonathan invokes Yahweh as the witness and enforcer of this covenant, effectively renouncing his own claim to the throne and recognizing David's divine right to it. He secures a promise from David, not for his own sake alone, but for his descendants, ensuring they will be recipients of God's covenant loyalty (hesed) through David's line. The intricate plan with the arrows is not just a clever spycraft maneuver; it is the practical outworking of this solemn covenant, a way to communicate life-or-death information when the formal structures of the kingdom have become corrupted and murderous. In essence, we are witnessing the true spiritual succession of Israel's leadership, not in the corrupted court of Saul, but in a field between two men bound by love, loyalty, and a shared fear of God.

The entire scene is freighted with gospel overtones. Jonathan acts as a type of John the Baptist, the friend of the bridegroom who must decrease so that the true king, David, can increase. His love for David, which is as his own soul, mirrors the love that believers are to have for the greater David, the Lord Jesus. The covenant they make is a picture of the greater covenant of grace, where we, who were enemies, are brought into a house of peace and lovingkindness through the oath and promise of our King.

Outline

Context In 1 Samuel

This passage is the heart of the conflict between Saul and David. God has rejected Saul as king (1 Sam 15) and has had Samuel anoint David as the next king (1 Sam 16). David has proven himself a true Israelite champion by defeating Goliath (1 Sam 17) and a loyal servant in Saul's court, but Saul's paranoid, demonic jealousy has turned murderous. He has tried to kill David multiple times (1 Sam 18:11, 19:10). This chapter, 1 Samuel 20, is the final turning point. David is trying to ascertain if there is any hope of reconciliation with Saul, or if he must become a fugitive. Jonathan, Saul's son and David's dearest friend, is caught in the middle. His loyalty to his father, the sitting king, is pitted against his loyalty to David, the anointed king-to-be, and more importantly, his loyalty to Yahweh. This covenant scene solidifies Jonathan's ultimate allegiance. He chooses God's anointed over his own father and his own inheritance. This act sets the stage for David's years in the wilderness, his flight from Saul, and the eventual, tragic downfall of Saul's house on Mount Gilboa.

Key Issues

Yahweh as Witness

We have to get our minds out of the modern sentimental goo that surrounds friendship. What is happening here between Jonathan and David is not just a "bromance." This is a solemn, binding, legal transaction before the living God. When Jonathan says, "Yahweh, the God of Israel, be witness!" he is not using a pious figure of speech. He is formally invoking the God of the covenant as the third party to their agreement. He is placing himself, his father, and David under the judicial oversight of God Himself. An oath is an act of worship; it is a recognition that God is the ultimate judge of all truth and falsehood. Jonathan is calling down covenant curses upon himself ("may Yahweh do so to Jonathan and more also") if he fails to be true to his word. This is what gives their agreement its teeth. It is not based on the shifting sands of human emotion, but on the bedrock of God's own character. They are binding themselves to a standard outside of themselves, and that standard is God. This is the foundation of all true Christian fellowship; it is not that we like each other, but that we have both sworn allegiance to the same Lord, and He is the witness between us.

Verse by Verse Commentary

12 Then Jonathan said to David, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, be witness! When I have examined my father about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if there is good feeling toward David, shall I not then send to you and reveal it in your ear?

Jonathan initiates the oath, taking the lead as the son of the king. He begins by placing the entire affair under the authority of God. "Yahweh, the God of Israel, be witness!" This is a formal invocation. He is not just making a promise; he is swearing a self-maledictory oath. He lays out the first condition: he will sound out his father. The verb is "examine," which implies a careful, shrewd investigation. He knows his father's volatile nature. If the disposition of Saul is good (tov), if there is peace, then Jonathan binds himself to communicate this to David. To "reveal it in your ear" is a Hebrew idiom for communicating something privately and directly.

13 If it please my father to do you harm, may Yahweh do so to Jonathan and more also, if I do not reveal it in your ear and send you away, that you may go in peace. And may Yahweh be with you as He has been with my father.

This is the other side of the oath, the curse portion. If Saul intends evil, and Jonathan fails to warn David, he calls upon God to strike him down. "May Yahweh do so to Jonathan and more also" is the standard formula for the most solemn oaths. He is putting his life on the line. But notice the content of the blessing that follows. He will send David away "in peace" (shalom). And then, in a stunning statement, he transfers the blessing of God's presence from his father's reign to David's. "May Yahweh be with you as He has been with my father." Jonathan recognizes that the divine favor that once rested on Saul, giving him victory and establishing his kingdom, has now departed from him and rests upon David. This is a prophetic declaration and a formal concession of the kingdom.

14-15 And if I am still alive, will you not show me the lovingkindness of Yahweh, that I may not die? You shall not cut off your lovingkindness from my house forever, not even when Yahweh cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”

Here Jonathan makes his request, and it is the central point of the covenant. He asks David to show him the "lovingkindness of Yahweh." The word is hesed. This is not simple kindness or affection. Hesed is covenant loyalty; it is steadfast love, mercy, and faithfulness all wrapped up in one. It is a word used overwhelmingly to describe God's faithful love for His covenant people. Jonathan is asking David to act toward him and his house with the same kind of covenant faithfulness that God shows to Israel. This is a long-term request. He extends it beyond his own life to his "house forever." He anticipates the day when David will be king and all his enemies will be defeated, and he secures a promise that his own family line will not be among those "cut off," which was the standard practice for a new dynasty taking power. He is securing a place for his posterity within the new Davidic order.

16 So Jonathan cut a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May Yahweh require it at the hands of David’s enemies.”

The transaction is now formally summarized. Jonathan "cut a covenant." This language harks back to the ancient practice of passing between the pieces of a sacrificed animal (Gen 15), signifying that the party who breaks the covenant should suffer the same fate. And notice with whom he makes it: "with the house of David." This is not just two individuals. This is the house of Saul, represented by the heir, making a covenant with the house of David, the king-to-be. It is a dynastic treaty. The final phrase is a solemn warning. Yahweh will be the enforcer of this covenant, and He will call to account anyone who becomes an enemy of David and, by extension, an enemy of this agreement.

17 And Jonathan made David swear again because of his love for him, because he loved him as he loved his own soul.

The covenant is so important that Jonathan has David reaffirm his side of the oath. The motivation given is profound. It is "because of his love for him." This is not a cold, calculated political treaty. It is born out of a deep, God-given, personal love. The text repeats the earlier statement that Jonathan loved David "as he loved his own soul" (1 Sam 18:1). This kind of love is the engine of true covenant faithfulness. It is a love that seeks the good of the other above oneself, a love that is willing to sacrifice one's own inheritance and position for the sake of God's chosen. This is the kind of love that God has for His people in Christ, and it is the kind of love that should characterize the fellowship of the saints.

18-19 Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed because your seat will be missing. When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain by the stone Ezel.

With the covenant established, they now turn to the practical logistics. The new moon festival was a required religious observance, and David, as a high-ranking courtier and Saul's son-in-law, was expected to be at the king's table. His absence would be immediately noticed. Jonathan lays out the plan. David is to hide for three days at a pre-arranged spot, near a landmark stone called Ezel, which means "departure." The name itself is prophetic of the outcome.

20-22 And I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I sent them towards a target. And behold, I will send the young man, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the young man, ‘Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come, for there is peace for you and no harm, as Yahweh lives. But if I say to the youth, ‘Behold, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, for Yahweh has sent you away.

The signal is simple but ingenious, designed to communicate in plain sight without revealing anything to an observer. The position of the arrows relative to the servant boy will carry the message. If the arrows are "on this side," it means safety and peace. David can return. But if the arrows are "beyond you," it means danger and exile. Notice the theological framing of the second option: "go, for Yahweh has sent you away." Jonathan recognizes that Saul's malice is not the ultimate reality. If David must flee, it is because Yahweh is directing his steps. This is a profound statement of faith in God's sovereignty over even the sinful actions of a mad king.

23 As for the agreement of which you and I have spoken, behold, Yahweh is between you and me forever.”

Jonathan concludes by restating the foundation of their entire plan and relationship. Their covenant, their "agreement," is not a flimsy human promise. It is a permanent reality because Yahweh Himself stands as the eternal witness and guarantor between them. "Yahweh is between you and me forever." This is the great comfort of all God's covenant promises. They do not depend on our ability to keep them, but on the God who stands in the midst, upholding His word forever.

Application

This passage is a master class in true loyalty. In a world that prizes personal advancement above all else, Jonathan provides a stunning counter-example. He had every worldly reason to see David as his rival and enemy. Instead, because he feared God, he saw David as God's anointed and loved him as his own soul. He willingly gave up his claim to a throne in order to be faithful to God's choice. This is the shape of Christian discipleship. We are called to decrease so that Christ, the greater David, may increase. Our loyalties must be ordered rightly: first to God and His anointed King, and only then to family, nation, or self.

Furthermore, this covenant of hesed is a beautiful picture of the gospel. We, like Mephibosheth, the crippled son of Jonathan, were of the house of God's enemies. We were spiritually lame, with nothing to offer the King. But because of a covenant made on our behalf, the King seeks us out. He doesn't seek us out to destroy us, but to show us the "lovingkindness of God" for the sake of another, for the sake of His Son, Jesus. He brings us to His table, not because we are worthy, but because He is faithful to His promise. Our security does not rest in our performance, but in the oath of the King. And just as Jonathan and David sealed their covenant with an oath, so God has sealed His covenant with us with an oath and the shed blood of His Son, so that we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.