撒母耳记第十四章，今天我们将分享约拿单的故事。在我读完圣经中有关如何与未得救的家庭成员相处的这一部分之后，我想分享一些个人想法。这个问题至少在我们一些人中很普遍，尤其是对新基督徒，因为有时我们是全家人中第一个被拯救的人，会与约拿单面临类似的情况。我们在打开圣经之前，先祷告。
亲爱的天父，谢谢您赐给我们圣经和圣灵，好让我们能从您那里得到光明。今晚我们打开真理，主啊，我们想了解如何与未得救的家庭成员相处。有时候这对我们来说是一项艰巨的任务，但是我们知道，我们有圣灵来帮助我们。我们知道，通过您赐给我们的主耶稣，我们有了完全的祝福。主啊，我们只是请求，今晚您可以打开圣经，向我们启示真理，从而坚固我们，让我们可以面对您摆在我们身上的属灵任务。谢谢您。祷告奉主耶稣基督的名，阿们！
我们知道，在主耶稣基督的讲道中，有一次祂说，家庭成员是我们的敌人，对吗？有时候，这对新基督徒来说有点奇怪。耶稣为什么这么说？当我们得救了一段时间并与家人相处之后，我们发现这是真的，对吗？我们需要做决定。我可能想走这条路，他可能想走那条路，我们或多或少都会有冲突。当我们在基督里越来越成长，我们会发现这些冲突变得越来越激烈。在主另一部分的教导中，祂还要求我们为我们的敌人祷告，为迫害你的人祷告，爱你的仇敌。这意味着我们要面对一项在别处从未遇到过的任务。有未得救的家庭成员。不容易，因为我们无法摆脱他们。我们不得不面对他们，有时几乎每天都要面对。例如，如果一对夫妇中有一个得救了，而配偶没有得救，这意味着我们需要每天面对他们。
今天，我们将学习约拿单的故事。我们会学习，约拿单面对未得救或未在主里的父亲，他的父亲扫罗王时，是如何处理的。我们先读一些经文。
撒母耳记上13
23 非 利 士 人 的 一 队 防 兵 到 了 密 抹 的 隘 口 。
撒母耳记上14
1 有 一 日 ， 扫 罗 的 儿 子 约 拿 单 对 拿 他 兵 器 的 少 年 人 说 ： 我 们 不 如 过 到 那 边 ， 到 非 利 士 人 的 防 营 那 里 去 。 但 他 没 有 告 诉 父 亲 。
停在这。在这里，我们学习第1条原则。第1条原则是，无论你的家庭成员的态度如何，你都应该一直站在上帝这边。这是我们与家人相处时，首先要想到的，就是我是否与上帝站在一起。 我们会发现这很有趣。约拿单，直接站起来去到非利士人那并与他们作战。而与此同时，扫罗王就在那儿等着。 这是为什么？ 从上一章里，我们知道一个有趣的细节，在第13章22节。
撒母耳记上13
22 所 以 到 了 争 战 的 日 子 ， 跟 随 扫 罗 和 约 拿 单 的 人 没 有 一 个 手 里 有 刀 有 枪 的 ， 惟 独 扫 罗 和 他 儿 子 约 拿 单 有 。
原因是在第19节
撒母耳记上13
19 那 时 ， 以 色 列 全 地 没 有 一 个 铁 匠 ； 因 为 非 利 士 人 说 ， 恐 怕 希 伯 来 人 制 造 刀 枪 。
20 以 色 列 人 要 磨 锄 、 犁 、 斧 、 铲 ， 就 下 到 非 利 士 人 那 里 去 磨
这意味着，在当时的所有以色列人中，只有2个人有剑，其他人只是有犁或斧头。 好吧，这让我想起了以斯帖的日子。以斯帖的父亲告诉她，你应该成为拯救整个国家，整个以色列人的人，因为你是皇后。这里有2个人，他们也有责任。这2个拿着剑的男人，他们有责任为人民战斗，一个是扫罗，另一个是约拿单。 但是扫罗为什么不动呢？
撒母耳记上14
18 那 时 神 的 约 柜 在 以 色 列 人 那 里 。 扫 罗 对 亚 希 亚 说 ： 你 将 神 的 约 柜 运 了 来 。
19 扫 罗 正 与 祭 司 说 话 的 时 候 ， 非 利 士 营 中 的 喧 嚷 越 发 大 了 ； 扫 罗 就 对 祭 司 说 ： 停 手 罢 ！
扫罗在等什么？扫罗非常恐惧。当他需要战斗时，就像以利的两个儿子一样，他希望约柜先走。我们知道，当扫罗没有动弹时，约拿单认为，好吧，他应该是继续前进的人。如果我们面对家人，我们需要做出选择，我们是上帝的儿女，我们有责任与上帝站在一起。所以在这里，当约拿单知道扫罗没有动弹时，他站了起来。
一个有趣的细节是他没有带别人，他只带了一个扛他剑的人。你可能会问为什么？因为他不是国王，他没有调动军队的权力。所以他选择了什么？好的，我有责任，但我仍然服从扫罗的权柄。例如，我是一个姊妹，如果我得救了，那么我就必须跟随上帝，但是无论是我老板还是我丈夫，我仍然服从世上的权柄。这不容易。
通常，如果我们想战斗，我们会带来很多人一起。即使在大卫王时期，他战斗时也带着300或400人。甚至在士师记中的基甸，他也带了300人参加战斗。如果我没记错的话，也许这是唯一一次，他们中只有两个人站起来去争战。这并不容易，但是他知道自己有责任，因为他有剑。他需要战斗，但他无权调动部队。
这使我想起了我得救后与父母的关系。我需要面对我的父母，那时他们还没有得救，但是我不能说：“好的，我会为你做决定；我会告诉你该如何领导这个大家庭。”但我应该说，我想与上帝同行，但我会尊重您的权柄。我将不惜一切代价继续履行自己的职责。这就是第一条原则。
为什么我们需要保持这种关系，并在尊重我们世上权柄的情况下保持这种关系？因为你知道，神会在适当的时候使用你这个通道。在最坏的时候，当你的家人遇到一些问题时，尤其是当罪的后果开始显现时，你可能将是这个世界上他唯一仍然可以信任的人。所以永远不要放弃他们。您可以看看约拿单的生活，直到他去世，他都没有放弃他父亲。没有。也许有人会说，好吧，他需要去找另一个受膏的大卫。不，大卫本人并没有放弃扫罗王，是扫罗王把他赶走了。扫罗王追赶他时，他说：“哦，在你眼里，我只是一条死狗，我只是逃跑。”如果可能的话，他仍然想跟随他的国王，即扫罗王，因为那时扫罗王仍是国王。在约拿单的一生中，他直到死都没有放弃他父亲。因此，对于我们来说，我们永远不应该离开家人。因为有一点，如果主愿意，他可能会利用你作为拯救他们的渠道。这是第一条原则。你与神同在，你为上帝站立，却从不挑战权柄，也不放弃他们。
原则2，要小心从他们而来的试探。 让我们看一下第19章。我们继续讲约拿单的故事。
撒母耳记上19
4 约 拿 单 向 他 父 亲 扫 罗 替 大 卫 说 好 话 ， 说 ： 王 不 可 得 罪 王 的 仆 人 大 卫 ； 因 为 他 未 曾 得 罪 你 ， 他 所 行 的 都 与 你 大 有 益 处 。
5 他 拚 命 杀 那 非 利 士 人 ， 耶 和 华 为 以 色 列 众 人 大 行 拯 救 ； 那 时 你 看 见 ， 甚 是 欢 喜 ， 现 在 为 何 无 故 要 杀 大 卫 ， 流 无 辜 人 的 血 ， 自 己 取 罪 呢 ？
我们来读一些经文，看看约拿单是怎么应对他悖逆的父亲的。 他做的第一件事是他以谦卑的方式告诉了父亲正确的事情，所以他只是告诉父亲真相，然后把父亲交回到上帝手里，对不对？ 看看第5节的后半部分，他说：“现 在 为 何 无 故 要 杀 大 卫 ， 流 无 辜 人 的 血 ， 自 己 取 罪 呢 ？” 因为他们都是以色列人，所以他提请扫罗王归回上帝的权柄。 尽管你是国王，你也不能无故杀死任何人，因为在天堂有一位真正的国王。这是他做的第一件事。
其次，让我们看第20章第1和第3节，然后继续讲第21章第1节。
撒母耳记上20
1 大 卫 从 拉 玛 的 拿 约 逃 跑 ， 来 到 约 拿 单 那 里 ， 对 他 说 ： 我 做 了 甚 麽 ？ 有 甚 麽 罪 孽 呢 ？ 在 你 父 亲 面 前 犯 了 甚 麽 罪 ， 他 竟 寻 索 我 的 性 命 呢 ？
2 约 拿 单 回 答 说 ： 断 然 不 是 ！ 你 必 不 致 死 。 我 父 作 事 ， 无 论 大 小 ， 没 有 不 叫 我 知 道 的 。 怎 麽 独 有 这 事 隐 瞒 我 呢 ？ 决 不 如 此 。
我们可以发现，在约拿单的答复中，他实际上发现他的父亲开始迫害大卫，但他不相信。 在我看来，这是约拿单内心挣扎的开始，他的内心需要做出一个非常重要的决定。我们将继续读经文，看看他的挣扎是什么。
撒母耳记上20
13 我 父 亲 若 有 意 害 你 ， 我 不 告 诉 你 使 你 平 平 安 安 地 走 ， 愿 耶 和 华 重 重 地 降 罚 与 我 。 愿 耶 和 华 与 你 同 在 ， 如 同 从 前 与 我 父 亲 同 在 一 样 。
14 你 要 照 耶 和 华 的 慈 爱 恩 待 我 ， 不 但 我 活 着 的 时 候 免 我 死 亡 ，
15 就 是 我 死 後 ， 耶 和 华 从 地 上 剪 除 你 仇 敌 的 时 候 ， 你 也 永 不 可 向 我 家 绝 了 恩 惠 。
他在这里开始与大卫立约。首先，他劝说他的父亲，他的父亲甚至发誓我不会杀死大卫。 扫罗实际上在撒谎，对不对？当大卫受到迫害时，大卫向约拿单报告。 约拿单意识到一个现实，那就是他深爱的父亲可能会做出一件真正悖逆的事，去杀死另一个受膏者。他与大卫立约。他决定，即使他的父亲悖逆上帝，他仍想服从上帝。
撒母耳记上20
30 扫 罗 向 约 拿 单 发 怒 ， 对 他 说 ： 你 这 顽 梗 背 逆 之 妇 人 所 生 的 ， 我 岂 不 知 道 你 喜 悦 耶 西 的 儿 子 ， 自 取 羞 辱 ， 以 致 你 母 亲 露 体 蒙 羞 麽 ？
31 耶 西 的 儿 子 若 在 世 间 活 着 ， 你 和 你 的 国 位 必 站 立 不 住 。 现 在 你 要 打 发 人 去 ， 将 他 捉 拿 交 给 我 ； 他 是 该 死 的 。
我们发现，扫罗王现在渴望杀死大卫，甚至到一个程度，威胁要杀死自己的儿子。他当然不会，但是他很生气，很生气。因此，现在整个情况出现了。让我们做几个详细的比较。
首先，我们发现约拿单可以是未来的国王，对吧？他是王子，未来的国王，宝座的继承人。当扫罗王犯下这个罪行时，约拿单面对的头号敌人是什么？成为未来国王的试探。因为如果扫罗王和大卫死了，他可能会成为未来的国王。因此，第一，我们可能会遇到试探。这就是试探。实际上，当我们的家人这样做时，我们可能也会被试探做同样的事情。
其次，我们发现约拿单非常勇敢。在上一章中，我们略过了一些内容。我们继续阅读原则1中提到的同一场战斗。那是一次胜利。那天，扫罗王制定了一条原则，直到所有敌人被消灭，任何人都无法进食。那天，约拿单说好，这不是一个明智的原则。由此我们可以看出，约拿单实际上是一个有牧者之心，善良之心的国王。他绝对是比他父亲更好的以色列人的国王。这是什么试探？人性的骄傲。如果我是约拿单，我会认为我比父亲更好。
如果比较约拿单和大卫，你会发现这两个人非常相似。他们俩都爱羊，他们都很勇敢。他们都自己面对敌人。大卫面对哥利亚，约拿单只和另一个扛剑的人一起面对整个非利士军队。他们俩都得胜了，没有去杀另一个受膏者，因为约拿单没有杀死大卫王，而大卫王也没有杀死扫罗王。如果我没记错的话，这可能是以色列历史上仅有的两次，而整个以色列历史充满了此类故事。如果主派先知膏某人，那么这个人将被现任国王迅速追杀，或者现任国王知道后会追捕这个人，而这个人会逃到另一个国家。有一次，一位先知去告诉一个人，他将成为受膏者，成为将来的国王，上帝告诉这位先知在膏了他之后要逃走。这个人回到会议上，他所有的朋友问他，先知说了什么？他什么也没说。他们说不，一定发生了什么事。他说，好的，我将成为受膏的国王。每个人都立刻拥他当国王。你知道为什么？因为如果他们不这样做，他们将受到现任国王的迫害。除了这两个，没有人在类似试探中得胜。
约拿单不是一个普通的人，他是一个敬虔的人。如此敬虔，如果我们将他与大卫进行比较，我们会发现他俩是非常具有可比性的。唯一的缺点就是，当大卫与歌利亚作战时，他直接起来就去了。而约拿单站起来告诉那个拿剑的人，如果非利士人告诉我们前进，我们就前进。这是一个征兆，他向上帝求一个征兆。我不想对约拿单过于苛刻，我认为如果将他与大卫进行比较，这是我唯一能想起来不同的，其他所有都一样。
回到刚才的点。为什么约拿单不能成为国王？这不是我们应该问的问题。祂是国王，祂任命这一位，祂任命那一位。我们只负责顺服。约拿单从没想过，好吧，我应该当国王，如果我将自己与大卫进行比较，我们是一样的，为什么我就不能成为国王呢？好吧，在那种情况下，他就被撒但抓住了。
因此，约拿单的第一个敌人是试探。第二个是骄傲。他得胜了。第三个？我们来看一下。扫罗为什么要不惜一切代价杀死大卫？只为自己？我不这么认为，为了约拿单。兄弟姐妹们，让我告诉你真相，这个世界上有一种爱，叫假爱，只存在于家庭中。什么是假爱？就是他犯罪，我享受罪中之乐。他犯罪了，给了我罪的乐趣，他告诉我这就是他爱我的方式。如果最爱你的那个人骗了别人，只为替你赚一些钱，他说我是如此地爱你，你知道我要承担多大的风险吗？你不知道我如此爱你吗？你怎么看？你接受钱吗？不。你甚至都不接受他的假爱。这不是真正的爱。真正的爱总是基于真理，基于对上帝的顺服。在这个世界上，没有任何一种爱可以让他向你显示爱，却悖逆上帝。假爱是约拿单当时所面对的第三个敌人。
我们看这个顺序。试探，当我为他人工作时，我是公司的雇员，我可能会遇见，对吧？ 因为他可能会用金钱诱使我做一些坏事。其次是骄傲，这在一家公司中也可能会碰到，对吧？ 但是在公司里，你的同事不会给你虚假的爱，他会犯罪，并且自己享受罪的乐趣。 但是在家庭中，你应该谨慎。
第四点，也是最后一点，扫罗王犯了罪，这将给约拿单带来后果，会给约拿单带来诅咒。我们刚刚读了第20章13至15节，这就是为什么当约拿单与大卫立约时，他说了这些话。
撒母耳记上20
14 你 要 照 耶 和 华 的 慈 爱 恩 待 我 ， 不 但 我 活 着 的 时 候 免 我 死 亡 ，
15 就 是 我 死 後 ， 耶 和 华 从 地 上 剪 除 你 仇 敌 的 时 候 ， 你 也 永 不 可 向 我 家 绝 了 恩 惠 。
他意识到，如果他的父亲真的悖逆神，到一个程度，甚至想杀死大卫，这个罪将影响他自己和他的后代。所以第四个敌人是恐惧。因为这个家庭成员的罪将影响我，将使我陷入我不愿陷入的境地，并且由于他是权柄，所以在某种程度上，我无法改变他的主意，我没有选择。当我读所有这些经文时，约拿单的信心使我深深感动。亲爱的兄弟姐妹们，这并不容易，真的不容易做到。
即使到第四步，你也会发现，只要我不让大卫知道，因为不是我试图杀死他，我不需要通知他，也不需要帮助他逃跑，因为我会死的，我会受到惩罚的。我和扫罗王在同一条船上。因此，我审视了所有这些试探，最后他的选择是，我将与上帝站在一起，即使以我的生命为代价。
我们知道圣经中有很多案例，都在谈论如何与未得救的家庭成员打交道，例如，创世纪里的约瑟和他的未得救不信的十个兄弟。以利和他不信的两个儿子。如果将所有这些案例进行比较，约拿单的案例可能是最好的案例，它向你展示了可以达到什么样的极端程度。比如，在以利的情况下，以利是父亲，他有两个儿子。以利是权柄，他可以做出决定，可以斥责他的两个儿子，甚至可以做更多。他不仅是父亲，还是大祭司。他可以断绝他两个儿子的责任，并将他们赶走。但是约拿单别无选择，他的父亲是国王，他是儿子。扫罗王决定不惜一切代价杀死大卫。约拿单无法改变父亲的想法，但他可以相信上帝。
最后，原则3，忍耐，长久苦难。不管什么时候，你总是遵守上帝的旨意。为什么？因为如果你只是顺服神的旨意一次，那是可能的。但是随着时间的流逝，你发现未得救的父亲扫罗根本没有改变，这就是另一项任务了。你可能会发现这毫无希望。我看不到光明，没有办法走出去，对我来说没有未来。但是我们看约拿单的举动。
撒母耳记上23
15 大 卫 知 道 扫 罗 出 来 寻 索 他 的 命 。 那 时 ， 他 住 在 西 弗 旷 野 的 树 林 里 ；
16 扫 罗 的 儿 子 约 拿 单 起 身 ， 往 那 树 林 里 去 见 大 卫 ， 使 他 倚 靠 神 得 以 坚 固 ，
17 对 他 说 ： 不 要 惧 怕 ！ 我 父 扫 罗 的 手 必 不 加 害 於 你 ； 你 必 作 以 色 列 的 王 ， 我 也 作 你 的 宰 相 。 这 事 我 父 扫 罗 知 道 了 。
18 於 是 二 人 在 耶 和 华 面 前 立 约 。 大 卫 仍 住 在 树 林 里 ， 约 拿 单 回 家 去 了 。
这可能是约拿单活着的时候与大卫的最后一次会面了。这离第一次提及扫罗王想杀大卫，已经有一段时间了。所以，约拿单一生都面临着同样的情况，直到死亡。什么情况？他无法改变父亲的想法。他需要听从上帝，他需要随时不计代价保护大卫，而且他不能离弃他父亲，所有这些都指向他与父亲去世的那一刻。
亲爱的兄弟姐妹们，我要鼓励你，我们的主是如此仁慈的。到目前为止，我学到的，甚至从我自己家人的经历看到，上帝给我们的都比这个极端例子要容易得多。祂总是让你等半年或一年，你会发现你的丈夫变了，或者你的儿子开始读圣经了。但是，即便是3年，5年甚至更长的时间，我也想鼓励你，圣经中还有一个案例或一个例子可以坚固你。
最后，我会给你关于约拿单的最美的话语。这时候，约拿单已经死了。这是大卫王给的，是大卫对扫罗和约拿单的哀歌。
撒母耳记下1
26 我 兄 约 拿 单 哪 ， 我 为 你 悲 伤 ！ 我 甚 喜 悦 你 ！ 你 向 我 发 的 爱 情 奇 妙 非 常 ， 过 於 妇 女 的 爱 情 。
当我第一次阅读这节经文时，我不明白。当我默想约拿单的生命时，我很感动。这不仅仅是来自于大卫，也来自于上帝。约拿单得到了回报。兄弟姐妹们，尽管你就像约拿单一样，在你的一生中，你都在等待悖逆的家人悔改，而在你的一生中都看不到，我也告诉你，你已经从上帝那里得到了回报。大卫为什么这么说？因为大卫知道若扫罗王若杀了大卫，约拿单就应该成为国王。约拿单将生命，宝座和一切都交给了大卫，以表示我要顺服上帝的旨意，而不是我自己的旨意。
所以，在上帝眼中，我们对祂的祭物是什么？让我们看看约拿单。我们都是亚当和夏娃的后裔。从理论上讲，我们是这个世界的王，就像王的后代一样，对不对？因此，我们放下败坏的王冠，对主说，我将用它来交换你的永恒认可，你的永恒冠冕，即便到一个程度，我会死在这个世界上。这是一个蒙福的选择。
约拿单死后，他没有看到米非波设从大卫那里得到的祝福，也没有看到强大的大卫国，甚至没有看到他的悖逆的父亲得救。他没有看到用属地的眼睛能看到的任何正面的东西。但是上帝悦纳了他的信心。我认为这是圣灵通过大卫给约拿单的哀歌，是对他信心的认可。够了。不一定要说，好，我要成为大卫王。如果你比较约拿单和大卫，他们是相同的。上帝说，约拿单，你的任务是，在未来几千年中，你将成为所有处于同一困境中的所有人的最好榜样，并鼓励所有人跟随你，遵行上帝的旨意。最终，在那一天，你将得到主的夸奖。
亲爱的天父，谢谢您给我们约拿单弟兄的好榜样。主啊，因为今天我们面临着类似的情况，我们也面临着同样的试探，我们正面临着类似的悖逆的家庭成员。主啊，求你赐给我们约拿单的心，让我们顺服您的话语，顺服您的旨意，到一个程度，我可能会牺牲我的生命。主啊，如果我们软弱，请坚固我们；如果我们害怕，请鼓励我们。主啊，我们把自己交在您的手中，直到那天见您面的时候，也许我们会听到您说，你，忠实的仆人。够了，对我们来说就够了。谢谢您！奉耶稣的名，阿们！
Samuel chapter 14， today we will share the story of Jonathan and through this story I want to share some personal thought after I read this part of the bible regarding how to get along with unsaved family members which is pretty common at least among some of our new Christian because sometimes we are the first 1 saved in the whole family and then will face this similar situation with Jonathan. Let's pray before we open the word.
Dear father in heaven, we are so thankful for the word and Holy Spirit that we can have the light from you, Lord. Tonight we open the truth. Lord, we want to understand how to get along with the unsaved family members. This is sometimes a tough task for us, but we know that we have Holy Spirit to help us. We know that we have the full blessing through Lord Jesus you give us. Lord, we just pray that tonight you can open this word, open the truth to us that we can get strengthened, and we can face this spiritual task you lay upon us. Thank you. In Jesus name, Amen!
We know that in the preaching of Lord Jesus Christ, one time He said family members are our enemies, right? This is sometimes when a new Christian feel kind of weird, right? Why Jesus said this? And then after we were saved for a while and get along with our family members, we find that's true, right? We make decisions. I may want to go this way, he may want to go that way, and more or less we will have conflicts. And when we grow in Christ, we can find these conflicts getting fierce. In other part of the Lord’s teaching, he also asked us to pray for our enemies, right? Pray for the one who persecute you, love your enemies, which means we face a task that we did not encounter elsewhere. I mean there are unsaved family members. Not easy, because we cannot get away from them. We have to face them, sometimes almost every day. For example, if between a couples, one saved, the spouse did not, which means we need to face them every day.
Today we will study through this story of Jonathan. We will find how Jonathan did when he faces unsaved or not in Christ, his father King Saul. We read some verses first.
1 Samuel 13 （NIV)
23 Now a detachment of Philistines had gone out to the pass at Mikmash.
1 Samuel 14 （NIV)
1 One day Jonathan son of Saul said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.
I will stop here. Here we study the rule Number 1. The rule number 1 is no matter what's your family members' attitude, you should stand for God at any time. So this is the first thing when we get along with our family members we should think of, that's whether I stand with God. We can find this very interesting. Jonathan, he just stood up and went to the Philistines and fought with them. But at the same time, King Saul was waiting there. Why is that? From last chapter, we know an interesting detail. That's chapter 13, verse 22.
1 Samuel 13 （NIV)
22 So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
The reason is that in verse 19
19 Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!”
20 So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plow points, mattocks, axes and sickles sharpened.
Which means among all Israel people, only 2 men at that time have swords, others just had a plow or an axe. Well, that reminds me the day of Esther. Esther's father told her that you should be the one who would save the whole country, the whole Israelite, because you are the queen. So here, 2 men, they have their responsibility. 2 men with swords, they have the responsibility to fight for the people, one is Saul, and one is Jonathan. But why didn't Saul move?
1 Samuel 14 （NIV)
18 Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God.” (At that time it was with the Israelites.)
19 While Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the Philistine camp increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”
What's Saul waiting for? Saul is very fearful. When he needed to fight, just like Eli's two sons, he wanted the ark of covenant go first. We know that when Saul did not move, Jonathan thought, okay, he should be the one to go ahead. If we face with our family member, we need to make a choice, that we are the sons and daughters of God, we have the responsibility to stand with God. So here, when Johnson knew that Saul did not move, he stood up.
One interesting detail is he did not bring other people; he only brought one man carrying his sword. You may ask why? Because he was not the king. He did not have the power to move troops. So he chose what? Okay, I have the responsibility, but I still obey the authority of Saul. For example, I'm a sister. If I am saved, and then I need to follow God, but I still obey the earthly authority, no matter it is my boss or my husband. It is not easy.
Generally if we want to fight, we will bring a lot of people. Even at King David's time, when he fought, he took 300 or 400 people. Even Gideon in book of Judges, he brought 300 people to fight. If I'm not wrong, probably this is the only time, 2 of them raised and just went ahead. It's not easy, but he knew that he had the responsibility because he had sword. He needs to fight, but he has no authority to move the troops.
That reminds me the relationship with my parents after I was saved. I needed to face my parents, they were not saved at that time, but I couldn't say, "Okay I'll make the decision for you; I'll tell you how to lead this big family". But I should say I want to go with God, but I will respect your authority. At any cost, I will go ahead to fulfill my responsibility. So this is the number 1 rule.
Why do we need to keep the relationship, and keep it with respecting our earthly authority? Because you know what, Lord will use this channel when time is due. At the worst time, when your family members encounter some problems, especially when the consequence of sins starts to appear, you probably would be the only one in this world whom he can still trust. So never forsake them. You can have a look at the life of Jonathan, he did not forsake his father until death. Never. Somebody may say, okay he need to go to another anointed one David. No, David himself did not forsake King Saul, that's King Saul drove him away. When King Saul chased him around, he said, "oh, in your eyes, I'm just a dead dog, I'm just flee." If possible, he still wanted to follow his King, that's King Saul, because at that time King Saul was still the king. In Jonathan's whole life, he did not forsake his father until death. So for us, we'll never leave our family members because at one point, if Lord willing, he may use you as a channel to save them. This is number 1 rule. You stay with God; you stand up for God, but never challenge the authority and never forsake them.
Rule number 2, be careful about the temptations from them. Let's have a look at chapter 19. We'll continue this Jonathan story.
1 Samuel 19 （NIV)
4 Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly.
5 He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The Lord won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?”
I'll read some verses and we'll look into the lines that how Jonathan dealt with a rebellion father. First thing he did is that he told the father the right thing in a humble way, so he just told the father the truth and left the father back to God, right? Look at the last part of verse 5, He said, "Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?”Because they were Israelites, he gave King Saul back to the authority of God. Although you are a king, you cannot kill anybody without any reason, because we have a real king in heaven. So this is the first thing he did.
Secondly, let's look at chapter 20 verse 1 and 3, and things moved on to chapter 21 verse 1.
1 Samuel 20 （NIV)
1 Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to kill me?”
2 “Never!” Jonathan replied. “You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn’t do anything, great or small, without letting me know. Why would he hide this from me? It isn’t so!”
We can find that in Johnson's reply, he found actually his father started to persecute David and he did not believe. This is the start, in my thought, of Jonathan's struggle. In his heart he needed to make a very important decision. We will move on in the verses and then we'll see what the struggle is.
1 Samuel 20 （NIV)
13 But if my father intends to harm you, may the Lord deal with Jonathan, be it ever so severely, if I do not let you know and send you away in peace. May the Lord be with you as he has been with my father.
14 But show me unfailing kindness like the Lord’s kindness as long as I live, so that I may not be killed,
15 and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family—not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”
Here he started to make a covenant with David. First he persuaded his father and his father even swore that I would not kill David. Actually Saul was lying, right? And when David was persecuted, David reported to Jonathan. Jonathan realized the reality that his beloved father may do a thing really rebellion to kill another anointed one. He made a covenant with David. He decided that even though his father might be rebellious to God, he wanted to obey God.
1 Samuel 20 （NIV)
30 Saul’s anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you?
31 As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send someone to bring him to me, for he must die!”
Okay, we find King Saul now was keen to kill David, even to an extent, he threatened to kill his own son. Of course he would not, but he was furious, he was angry. So now the whole picture comes up. Let's do several detailed comparison.
First, we find the fact that Johnson is the future king, right? He's a prince, the future king, the heir of the throne. When King Saul did this crime, what was the number 1 enemy that Jonathan faces? It was the enticement to be a future king. Because if King Saul and David died, he could be the future king. So number 1, we may meet the temptation. That's the enticement. Actually we may also be enticed to do the same thing when our family members are doing so.
Secondly, we find that Jonathan is very brave. We skipped some versus in previous chapter. We continue to read the same battle we mentioned in rule number 1. It was a victory. And then at that day King Saul made a rule that nobody could eat until all enemies were vanquished. On that day Jonathan said okay, that's not a wise rule. From this we can see actually Jonathan is a king with pasturing heart, a kind heart. He is definitely a better king for Israelite than his father. What's in this temptation? Human pride. If I was Jonathan, I would think that I'm better than my father.
If you compare Jonathan and David, you can find these 2 people are very similar. Both of them love sheep, both of them are very courageous. They face the enemy by themselves. David faced Goliath and Jonathan with a man carrying his sword face the whole Philistines. Both of them won the battle of killing another anointed one, because Jonathan did not kill King David and King David did not kill King Saul. If I'm not wrong, these are probably the only 2 cases in the Israelite history which is full of such story. If the Lord sent a prophet to anoint someone, this guy would be quickly chased and killed by the existing king. Or the existing king knew the news would chase this guy and this guy would flee to another country. One time, one prophet went to tell a man that he would be the anointed one to be the future king, and God told this prophet to run away after anointing him. This man went back to the meeting and all his friends asked him, what did the prophet say? He said nothing. They said no, something had happened. And he said, okay, I will be the anointed king. And everybody pushed him to be the king. You know why? Because if they did not do so, they would be persecuted by the existing king. Nobody won this battle except only these 2.
Jonathan is not a so so man, he is a godly man. So godly, if I compare him with David, I find it is kind of apple to apple. The only maybe a drawback is that, when King David fought with Goliath, he just stood up and go ahead, while Jonathan stood up and told the man carrying his sword, we go ahead if the Philistines tell us to go ahead. This is a sign. He asked a sign from God. I don't want to be too harsh towards Jonathan, I think that is the only thing I could find if I compare him with David. All the others are same.
Back to the point. Why cannot Jonathan be the king? That's not a question we should ask. He is the King, He will appoint this one, He will appoint that one. We are just responsible for obedience. Jonathan never thought, okay, I should be the king. If I compare myself with David, we are the same, why can't I be the king? Well, in that case, he would be caught by Satan.
So the first enemy to Jonathan is enticement. The second one is pride. He overcame. The 3rd one? Let's have a look. Why did Saul want to kill David at any cost? For himself only? I don't think so. For Jonathan. Brothers and sisters, let me tell you the truth. There's one kind of love in this world, fake love, which only exists among families. What is fake love? That is he commit crime, I enjoy the pleasure of sin. He commit a crime and give me the pleasure of sin, and he told me that's the way he loves me. If the one who loves you the most, he cheated others and made some money only for you, he said I so love you, do you know how much risk I take? Don't you know I love you so much? What do you think? You accept the money? No. You don't even accept his fake love. This is not true love. True love always based on truth, based on obedience to God. There is no such kind of love in this world that he can show love to you, but disobeying God. Fake love is the 3rd enemy that Jonathan was facing at that time.
If I look at this order, the enticement. When I worked for others, I'm an employee in a company, I may meet, right? Because he may use money to entice me to do some bad things. And secondly pride. Well in a company that can be a problem, right? But in a company your colleague will not give you fake love, he will commit crime and he will enjoy the pleasure of sin. But in families, you should be cautious.
The 4th one and the last one, King Saul committed sin, which would bring consequences to Jonathan. That would bring curse to Jonathan. We just read chapter 20 verses 13 to 15, that's why when Jonathan made the covenant with David, he said these words.
1 Samuel 20 （NIV)
14 But show me unfailing kindness like the Lord’s kindness as long as I live, so that I may not be killed,
15 and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family—not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”
He realized that in case his father was really rebellious, to an extend he wanted to kill David, this sin would influence himself and his descendants. So the fourth enemy is fear. Because this family member's sin that will influence me, that will brought me into the situation that I don't want to be in, and to an extend because he is the authority, I cannot change his mind, I am out of choice. When I read all these verses, I am so touched by Johnson's faith. Not easy, dear brothers and sisters, really not easy to practice.
Even to this fourth step, you find that, so long as I don't let David know, because it's not me who tried to kill him, there is no need for me to notify him, or no need for me to help him run away, because I will be dead, I will be punished. I'm on the same boat with King Saul. So I looked at all these temptations, and finally his choice means that, I will stand with God even at the cost of my life.
We know in the bible there's a lot of cases talking about how to deal with unsaved family members, for example, like Genesis, Joseph and his unsaved or unbelieved 10 brothers; and Eli and his unbelieved 2 sons. If you compare all these cases, Johnson's case is probably the best one that shows you how extreme you can go. For example, in Eli's case, Eli is the father. He has 2 sons. Eli is the authority, he can make the decision, he can rebuke his 2 sons or even do more. He is not only the father, but also a high priest. He can cut off this responsibility of his 2 sons and drove them away. But Jonathan had no choice, his father is a king, he is a son. King Saul made the decision that he would kill David at any cost. Johnson could not change his father's mind, but he could believe in God.
Lastly rule number 3, perseverance, long suffering. And in the time, you always do God's will. Why? Because if you obey God's will for one time, it is possible. But when time went by, you find that your unsaved father Saul did not change at all, this is another task. You probably find this hopeless. I see no light, no way to get out, no future for me, right? But look at Jonathan's action.
1 Samuel 23
15 While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life.
16 And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God.
17 “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.”
18 The two of them made a covenant before the Lord. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.
This could be the last mention of Jonathan meeting with David alive. This is already some time later after the first time, King Saul tried to kill David. So Jonathan faced the same situation in his life until death. What situation? He could not change his father's mind. He needed to obey God, he needed to protect David at any time at any cost. And he could not forsake his father. All these pointed to one time when he died with his father.
Dear brother sisters, I want to encourage you that our Lord is so gracious. So far what I learned, even my own family, God is way better than this extreme, He always have you maybe wait for half a year or 1 year, you'll find that your husband change or your son starts to read bible. But even 3 year, 5 year or even longer, I want to encourage you, there is another case or another example in bible that can strengthen you.
Lastly I'll give you the loveliest word regarding Jonathan. At this time Jonathan already died. This is from King David. This is David's lament for Saul and Jonathan.
2 Samuel Chapter 1
26 I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother;
you were very dear to me.
Your love for me was wonderful,
more wonderful than that of women.
When I read this for the first time, I did not understand. When I meditated on Jonathan's life, I was so touched. This is not only from David, but also from God. Jonathan had his reward. Brother and sisters, even you are like Jonathan and in your life long, you wait for a rebellion family member to come back and in your lifetime you do not see, I shall tell you, you already receive the reward from God. Why did David say this? Because David knew that Jonathan should be the king if King Saul killed David. Jonathan gave his life, his throne, his everything to David, as a sign to show that I want to obey the will of God, not my own.
So in God's eye, what will be our sacrifice to him? Let's have a look at Jonathan. We are all descendants of Adam and Eve. We are theoretically the king of this world, we are just like the king's descendant, right? So we put the corrupted throne down, and say to Lord that, I will use this to swap the eternal acknowledgement from you, the eternal crown from you, even to an extend that I will die in this world. This is a blessed choice.
When Jonathan died, he did not see the Mephibosheth's blessing from David, he did not see the powerful kingdom of David, he even did not see his rebellion father become saved. Particularly he saw nothing positive in our earthly eyes. But God received his faith. This is the verse, I think, given by Holy Spirit to Jonathan through David, an acknowledgement of his faith. That is enough. Not necessarily say okay, I need to be King David. If you compare Jonathan and David, they could be the same. God said that, Jonathan, your task is that you will be the best example of all those who are in the same dilemma in the next thousands of years and encourage all of them to follow you, obey God's will. Finally, on that day, you will get praise from our Lord.
Dear Father in Heaven, we are so thankful that we have this good example of Brother Jonathan. Lord, because today we are facing the similar situation, we are facing the similar temptation; we are facing the similar rebellion family members. Lord, please give us the heart of Jonathan's heart to obey your word, to obey your will, even to an extent that I may sacrifice my life. Lord, please strengthen us if we are weak, please encourage us if we are fearful. Lord, we put ourselves into your hand until that day, that day we will see you, and we may hear from you that you said, you, faithful servant. That’s enough, that's enough for us. Thank you, In Jesus Name, Amen!