DAILY STRENGTH FOR MEN
February 26 (day 1)
SACRIFICIAL LOVE
David said to him, "Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always."
2 Samuel 9:7 NRSV
Jonathan was the rightful heir to the throne of his father, Saul. But from the moment he met David, who was much younger than he, Jonathan treated David like his brother.
David's success made Saul insanely jealous, and the king tried to kill David several times. Jonathan became David's protector, warning him of Saul's plots to kill David. Jonathan also defended David to Saul. Jonathan and David swore an oath to each other that God would be between them, and between their offspring, forever.
A few years later, Saul and Jonathan were killed in the same battle. When the nurse of Jonathan's five-year-old son heard the news, she picked up the child, Mephibosheth, and started to flee, but in her haste, she dropped him. He injured his feet so badly that he was permanently disable. No one told David of Mephibosheth.
David became king of Judah, unified Judah and Israel, and ruled the combined kingdom. He led the army to many victories and "administered justice and equity to all his people" (8:15). And he remembered his oath with Jonathan. "Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" he asked (9:1). After learning that Jonathan's son Mephibosheth was alive and cripped, David ensure that Mephibosheth would be treated as if he were David's own son.
David showed compassion on Mephibosheth not only because he was Jonathan's son, but also because he was Saul's grandson. David honored Saul, even though Saul had hated him and tried to kill him. Why? Because Saul's son, Jonathan, was willing to sacrifice everything, including his right to the throne and his relationship with his father, for David.
Jonathan was a terrific model of sacrificial love. A thousand years later, we'd have an even better one.
February 26 (day 1)
SACRIFICIAL LOVE
David said to him, "Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always."
2 Samuel 9:7 NRSV
Jonathan was the rightful heir to the throne of his father, Saul. But from the moment he met David, who was much younger than he, Jonathan treated David like his brother.
David's success made Saul insanely jealous, and the king tried to kill David several times. Jonathan became David's protector, warning him of Saul's plots to kill David. Jonathan also defended David to Saul. Jonathan and David swore an oath to each other that God would be between them, and between their offspring, forever.
A few years later, Saul and Jonathan were killed in the same battle. When the nurse of Jonathan's five-year-old son heard the news, she picked up the child, Mephibosheth, and started to flee, but in her haste, she dropped him. He injured his feet so badly that he was permanently disable. No one told David of Mephibosheth.
David became king of Judah, unified Judah and Israel, and ruled the combined kingdom. He led the army to many victories and "administered justice and equity to all his people" (8:15). And he remembered his oath with Jonathan. "Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" he asked (9:1). After learning that Jonathan's son Mephibosheth was alive and cripped, David ensure that Mephibosheth would be treated as if he were David's own son.
David showed compassion on Mephibosheth not only because he was Jonathan's son, but also because he was Saul's grandson. David honored Saul, even though Saul had hated him and tried to kill him. Why? Because Saul's son, Jonathan, was willing to sacrifice everything, including his right to the throne and his relationship with his father, for David.
Jonathan was a terrific model of sacrificial love. A thousand years later, we'd have an even better one.
DAILY STRENGTH FOR MEN
February 26 (day 1)
SACRIFICIAL LOVE
David said to him, "Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always."
2 Samuel 9:7 NRSV
Jonathan was the rightful heir to the throne of his father, Saul. But from the moment he met David, who was much younger than he, Jonathan treated David like his brother.
David's success made Saul insanely jealous, and the king tried to kill David several times. Jonathan became David's protector, warning him of Saul's plots to kill David. Jonathan also defended David to Saul. Jonathan and David swore an oath to each other that God would be between them, and between their offspring, forever.
A few years later, Saul and Jonathan were killed in the same battle. When the nurse of Jonathan's five-year-old son heard the news, she picked up the child, Mephibosheth, and started to flee, but in her haste, she dropped him. He injured his feet so badly that he was permanently disable. No one told David of Mephibosheth.
David became king of Judah, unified Judah and Israel, and ruled the combined kingdom. He led the army to many victories and "administered justice and equity to all his people" (8:15). And he remembered his oath with Jonathan. "Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" he asked (9:1). After learning that Jonathan's son Mephibosheth was alive and cripped, David ensure that Mephibosheth would be treated as if he were David's own son.
David showed compassion on Mephibosheth not only because he was Jonathan's son, but also because he was Saul's grandson. David honored Saul, even though Saul had hated him and tried to kill him. Why? Because Saul's son, Jonathan, was willing to sacrifice everything, including his right to the throne and his relationship with his father, for David.
Jonathan was a terrific model of sacrificial love. A thousand years later, we'd have an even better one.
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