Reading:
And
Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill
David. But Jonathan Saul's son
delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father
seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until
the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself: And I will go out and stand beside my father
in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee;
and what I see, that I will tell thee.
And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto
him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath
not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward
very good: For he did put his life in
his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for
all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou
sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause? And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan:
and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain.
Commentary:
We
have the commandment from God, "the powers that be are ordained of God." From God we also have the commandment,
"We ought to obey God rather than man." Faith alone can see and discern those times
where we must not obey our government because we are also told, "Love the
brethren." It was by faith Jonathan
did what was pleasing in God's sight.
The commandment of Saul the King was to murder David, but this
contradicts God's command "Thou shalt not kill (murder)". Not only did Jonathan work behind the king's
back to protect the innocent life of David, but he also had the courage to
rebuke the sin of the king. "Let
not the king sin against his servant, against David…" This example of true godly love points us to
a higher law, namely "Love is the fulfilling of the law." Since Jesus has delivered us from the law's
condemnation AND Jesus also fulfilled the law for us, "Christ is the end
of the law for righteousness, to everyone that believeth." It is our justification before God, which
helps us to see by faith, the proper way to exercise our Christian liberty,
which is always an exercise of love. The
God-created love in Jonathan was able to discern the innocent David should be
protected from this evil king. Faith
then knows when to lay aside God's commandment (to obey the king), yet keep
God's greater commandment, "Love is the fulfilling of the law."
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