Loyal Son and Brave Soldier

To understand why Jonathan charged against that outpost, we need to look at his background. Jonathan was the eldest son of Saul, the first king of Israel. When Saul was anointed as king, Jonathan was already a man, perhaps 20 years of age or even older. It seems that Jonathan maintained a close bond with his father, who would often confide in his son. In those early days, Jonathan knew his father not only as a tall, handsome man and courageous warrior but also as something much more important​—a man of faith and humility. Jonathan could see why Jehovah chose Saul to be king. Even the prophet Samuel said that there was no one like Saul in the land!​—1 Samuel 9:​1, 2, 21; 10:20-​24; 20:2.

Jonathan must have felt honored to fight under his father’s command against the enemies of Jehovah’s people.

Jonathan knew nothing about his father’s ill-conceived oath. Exhausted from the heated battle, he dipped his staff into a honeycomb and tasted some honey; he immediately felt his strength revive. Then one of his men told him about his father’s prohibition against eating. Jonathan responded: “My father has brought great trouble on the land. Look at how my eyes brightened because I tasted this little bit of honey. How much better if the people had eaten freely today from the spoil of their enemies that they found! For then the slaughter of the Philistines would have been even greater.” (1 Samuel 14:25-30) He was right. Jonathan was a loyal son, but his loyalty was not blind. He did not mindlessly agree with everything his father did or said, and that balanced view earned the respect of others.

A Growing Darkness

Despite Saul’s faults, Jonathan kept fighting loyally at his father’s side through the years. We can only imagine his dismay as he saw his father develop a disobedient and proud spirit. A darkness was growing in his father, and Jonathan was powerless to stop it.

Nonetheless, Jonathan never swerved from his loyal service to Jehovah. He supported his father as best he could, even speaking to him quite frankly at times, but he kept his focus on his unchanging God and Father, Jehovah.​—1 Samuel 19:​4, 5.

The Challenge of Conflicting Loyalties

At first, Saul was very fond of David and placed him in charge of his army. Before long, though, Saul fell victim to the very enemy that failed to conquer Jonathan​—jealousy. David met with victory after victory against Israel’s enemies, the Philistines. David thus won praise and admiration. Some women of Israel even sang: “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” Saul did not like that song. “From that day on,” we read, “Saul was always looking at David suspiciously.” (1 Samuel 18:7, 9) He feared that David would try to take the kingship away from him. That was foolish on Saul’s part. True, David knew that he was to succeed Saul, but he never even considered supplanting Jehovah’s anointed king while the man still reigned!

Saul schemed to get David killed in battle, but nothing worked. David kept winning battles and growing in the esteem of the people. Saul’s next move was to try to unite his household​—all his servants and his eldest son​—in a plot to kill David! Imagine how sick at heart Jonathan must have been to see his father act that way! (1 Samuel 18:25-​30; 19:1) Jonathan was a loyal son, but he was also a loyal friend. Now that those two loyalties seemed to be in conflict, which one would win out?

Jonathan spoke up: “The king should not sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you and what he has done for you has benefited you. He risked his life to strike down the Philistine, so that Jehovah brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and you were overjoyed. So why should you sin against innocent blood in having David put to death for no reason?” In a rare moment of reasonableness, Saul listened to Jonathan and even swore not to harm David. But Saul was not a man of his word. After David had more successes, Saul was so full of jealous rage that he hurled a spear at him! (1 Samuel 19:​4-6, 9, 10) But David escaped and fled Saul’s court.

Have you ever faced conflicting loyalties? It can be very painful. In such situations, some would advise you that family should always come first. But Jonathan knew better. How could he side with his father when David was a loyal, obedient servant of Jehovah? So Jonathan let his loyalty to Jehovah rule his decision. That was why he stood up for David. Still, although Jonathan’s loyalty to God came first, he proved loyal to his father by counseling him honestly instead of telling him what he wanted to hear. Each one of us would benefit by imitating the way Jonathan showed loyalty.

The Price of Loyalty

Jonathan tried again to reconcile Saul with David but he had even less success. David came to Jonathan in secret, revealing that he feared for his own life. “There is only a step between me and death!” he told his older friend. Jonathan agreed to test out his father’s feelings on the matter and to let David know where things stood. While David hid, Jonathan would signal him the news by using a bow and arrows. Jonathan asked only that David swear to this promise: “Never withdraw your loyal love from my household, even when Jehovah wipes out all the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” David agreed that he would always look out for those of Jonathan’s household.​—1 Samuel 20:​3, 13-​27.

Jonathan tried to speak well of David to Saul, but the king became enraged! He called Jonathan a “son of a rebellious woman” and derided his loyalty to David as shameful to the family. He tried to appeal to Jonathan’s self-interest: “As long as the son of Jesse is alive on the earth, you and your kingship will not be firmly established.” Unmoved, Jonathan again pleaded with his father: “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” Saul exploded in violence! Though aged, Saul was still a mighty warrior. He hurled a spear at his son! Practiced though he may have been, he missed. Deeply hurt and humiliated, Jonathan left in anger.​—1 Samuel 20:24-​34.

The next morning, Jonathan went out into the field near David’s hiding place. He fired off an arrow as agreed, letting David know that Saul was still intent on killing him. Then Jonathan sent his attendant back into the city. He and David were alone, so they had a fleeting chance to talk. Both men wept, and Jonathan sadly saw his young friend off as David started his new life as a refugee.​—1 Samuel 20:35-​42.

Jonathan’s loyalty passed the test of self-interest. Satan, the enemy of all faithful people, would surely have loved to see Jonathan follow in Saul’s steps and put his own ambitions for power or glory first. Remember, Satan loves to appeal to the selfish inclinations of humans. He succeeded with Adam and Eve, our first parents. (Genesis 3:​1-6) Yet, he failed with Jonathan. How frustrated Satan must have been! Will you resist similar attempts? We live in times when selfishness is epidemic. (2 Timothy 3:​1-5) Will we learn from Jonathan’s selfless, loyal spirit?

“You Were Very Dear to Me”

Saul’s hatred for David grew into an obsession. Jonathan was helpless as he watched his father descend into a kind of madness, amassing his army and leading it around the country, seeking to destroy one innocent man. (1 Samuel 24:​1, 2, 12-​15; 26:20) Did Jonathan take part? Interestingly, the Scriptures never mention him in connection with any of those misguided campaigns. Jonathan’s loyalty to Jehovah, to David, and to his own oath of friendship made such a thing impossible.

Clearly, David had learned much from Jonathan’s loyalty and honor and his willingness to stick loyally to a friend even when such loyalty came at a high price. Will we learn such lessons as well? Can we seek out friends like Jonathan? Can we show such friendship ourselves? If we help our friends to build and strengthen their faith in Jehovah, if we put our loyalty to God first, and if we remain loyal instead of seeking our own interests, we will be the kind of friend that Jonathan was. And we will imitate his faith.