Loyalty and Support for a Chosen Leader

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Interactions between David and Jonathan illustrate a “Perfect Heart for Strategic Alliance.” As the son of 1st king of Israel and 2nd in command to his father, Jonathan had what would appear a legitimate shot at succeeding his father as king. However, a young man David that was recruited as harp player for Saul impressed Jonathan as a brave man with special leadership skills and faith of God. Jonathan did not see David as a hostile competitor for the throne of Israel as his father, Saul, advised him several times. Instead, he saw in David qualities of a chosen leader and believed that his role is to support David to be the best leader he could.

Mutual Admiration

David and Jonathan admired each other for bravery, leadership, and faith of God. They believed the Israeli army should be invincible because of having God on its side and were appalled at Saul’s inability to take advantage of the Israeli invincibility in two battles against the Philistines: the battle of Micmash, in which Jonathan, single-handed, defeated a Philistine outpost and sent panic through the Philistine camp that eventually led to their defeat by Israel; and the battle of the Valley of Elah, in which David killed Goliath and sent panic through the Philistine camp that also resulted in Israel defeating the Philistines.

Chosen Vessel

David and Jonathan admired each other for these accomplishments, but Jonathan saw an overall superiority in David and was convinced David was the chosen leader to succeed Saul as king of Israel. He determined to support David, strengthened him spiritually when necessary, and emotionally by promising to serve as 2nd in command to David when David became the king.

More Information

Please join us as we examine more details of the interactions between David and Jonathan to learn from this example of a “Perfect Heart for Strategic Alliance.”  You can play the video or audio files or download the audio or pdf files.