16 And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD take vengeance on David’s enemies.” 17 And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God…” That is the Shema from Deuteronomy 6, the call for the heart, soul, and might to be one with the Lord. That is covenant love, like marriage. In a marriage covenant, two become one and their souls are knit together. Here in 1 Samuel, Jonathan loved David as his own soul. This also reminds us of something Jesus said. It was the command to love our neighbor as yourself. Jonathan’s love was more than words. Later in this chapter, he will defend David to his father Saul, the king, even though he knew he was forfeiting his own right to the throne. That is a supreme expression of love when it costs you dearly. Jonathan had that love.
How we wish the idea of covenant was still prevalent in marriages and that divorce was not the first reaction to trouble in the marriage. The phrase, for better for worse, are mere words now. How we wish that all Christians knew that, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are in covenant with God through Jesus Christ, who loved us as his own soul at the cost of his life. Therefore, we are to love him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. How we wish everyone loved their neighbor as Jonathan and the Good Samaritan did. We love ourselves very dearly. O that we loved God with the love he had for us…
To the death.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church