Jonathan

Jonathan (Hebrew Yehonatan, "the LORD has given") was the eldest son of King Saul and heir to Israel's throne, yet he is remembered above all for his faith, his valour, and his selfless covenant love for David. A man who trusted God more than circumstance, and a friend who loved his rival as his own soul, Jonathan stands among the most admired figures of the Old Testament.

His faith shines first in battle. While Saul's army cowered, Jonathan with only his armour-bearer climbed the rocky pass to attack a Philistine garrison, reasoning, "Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few" (1 Samuel 14:6). Their daring assault threw the enemy into a God-sent panic and won a great deliverance for Israel — though Jonathan was almost executed under his father's rash oath until the people ransomed him (1 Samuel 14:23–24, 45).

After David killed Goliath, "the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul." He made a covenant with David and gave him his own robe, armour, and weapons — a prince's pledge to the shepherd God had chosen (1 Samuel 18:1–4). When Saul's jealousy turned murderous, Jonathan repeatedly shielded David, pleading for him before the king and warning him to flee by the sign of the arrows, sealing their bond with the words, "The LORD shall be between me and you... forever" (1 Samuel 19:1–7; 1 Samuel 20:42). Most remarkably, Jonathan willingly surrendered his own claim to the crown, telling David, "You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you" (1 Samuel 23:17–18) — a humility almost unheard of in a royal heir.

Jonathan fell with his father and brothers fighting the Philistines on Mount Gilboa (1 Samuel 31:2). David's lament over them is among the Bible's most moving elegies: "Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! ... How the mighty have fallen... your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women" (2 Samuel 1:23, 26). True to his covenant, David later sought out Jonathan's crippled son Mephibosheth and showed him kindness for Jonathan's sake (2 Samuel 9:1, 7). Several other men bear the name in Scripture — among them a wandering Levite who became priest to the idol of Dan (Judges 18:30) and various Levites and officials of the post-exilic age — but it is Saul's son who has made the name a byword for loyal friendship. In his self-giving love, his faith that God saves, and his glad submission to the LORD's anointed even at the cost of his own throne, Jonathan offers one of Scripture's clearest pictures of covenant faithfulness.