How Far Will You Go?
1 Samuel 20, especially verses 41-42 (ESV)
41…David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. 42 Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’ ” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.
Will you follow the Lord wherever He goes? Will you suffer reproach with the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season? Will you? Really, how far will you go?
Jesus said (Matthew 10:38) “And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”
There are those that told Jesus they would follow Him wherever He went, but when The Lord laid out the real cost to them, and it was time to commit, they reneged:
Matthew 8:19-22 (KJV) And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will
follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes
have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not
where to lay his head. 21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord,
suffer me first to go and bury my father. 22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow
me; and let the dead bury their dead.
Here in 1 Samuel 20, we see Jonathan’s closeness and allegiance to his friend, David. Jonathan’s father, King Saul, in a frenzied, crazed grasp to retain power, was trying to kill David, but Jonathan remained a loyal friend.
Then we see a curious thing at the end of verse 42: “Jonathan went into the city.”
Do you see how significant this is? I never gave much thought to it. I suppose I was assuming that Jonathan was destined to live out his life in the essentially defunct kingdom of Saul; after all, he was Saul’s son. It never occurred to me that he had a choice. He could remain on his present, expected course. Pause. Deep breath. Or he could leave all and follow David, whom he knew was to be king.
Granted, Jonathan was steeped in princely court life, and we might think that it would never occur to him to leave all this to follow the one who would be the new king. But we know that Jonathan did indeed consider it. In 1 Samuel 23:17, we read,
He (Jonathan) said to him, “Do not be afraid, because the hand of Saul my father will not find you, and you will be king over Israel, and I will be second in command to you; and Saul my father knows that as well.”
Jonathan had a difficult decision. Would he abandon palace life completely and follow David into the lifestyle of a fugitive, perhaps into dens and caves and exile? He did consider it. He spoke of it as if it were both God’s desire and his own.
But Jonathan chose instead to help David on his way, and cry over the separation, and make covenants before God, but not side with him enough to go with him into whatever uncertainties were to befall the certain king-to-be. There were those that later joined David in his wilderness exile, but they were distressed, discontented debtors (1 Samuel 22:2) who had far less to lose than Jonathan did. So instead, Jonathan “went into the city.” He went back into the place of familiarity, ease, security, predictability, the life of monotony, vanity, and eventual destruction. Is this the way you are living? Are you helping the cause of Jesus with your money and giftings and influence while still being so tied up in your earthly kingdoms that you cannot follow Him with total abandon? Is your heart okay with this close, but not all-in relationship with Him? Or do lament deeply over this, crying about it, but yet refusing it by holding on to your “city life”?
In the scriptures, cities often represent a certain ease or worldly security that detracts from a dependent, thriving relationship with the Lord. This seems to be the case here. The kingdom of Saul was at this time very much like this world. It is a functioning, but fallen kingdom, one that merely goes through the motions as it hurtles toward destruction. It is a ‘lame-duck” kingdom. Its paychecks, its respectability, its routine are still in place, but its days are numbered. These are the things — this is the life that Jonathan chose, and he died alongside his father while battling to preserve a defunct kingdom. If a righteous man connects himself with the wicked, except it be for God’s mercy, he will perish with them. May this make us sober of heart.
Have you professed allegiance to Jesus and walked with Him and gotten to know Him and regarded Him as your best friend? Please be cautious nonetheless, for the old regime of the world may beckon to you, and before you know it, you may bow to its attraction and find yourself serving the it once again. It’s comfortable. It’s familiar. You know what to expect. But is its familiarity blinding you? Is the notion “I’ve-always-done-it-this-way” keeping you from seizing a short-lived opportunity from the Lord?? You’re on the cusp. The door has swung open for you to abandon all to follow Jesus fully. What are you going to do? Will you go anywhere with Jesus? Or will you serve the unsatisfying, but familiar tyrant, the world?
Hebrews 13:13-14 (ESV) Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear
the reproach he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the
city that is to come.
Is the Lord drawing you to depart from even more of the life you now know in order to follow Him fully? Pray earnestly about this.
