David and Jonathan Enact Their Covenant

Text: 1 Samuel 20:1-23

Reflection and Question: David has been staying ahead of the soldiers sent by Saul to attack him when he meets up with Jonathan who is slow to acknowledge his father’s plans to kill David. Their covenant becomes a practical matter as David promises to care for Jonathan’s family forever and Jonathan promises to help David flee from danger. The narrator comments on both men saying “He loved him as his own life.” What kinds of commitments have you made when you loved another as your own life?

Prayer: Most Loving God, You make covenants and You bless the covenants we make, like the one between David and Jonathan. When we love another as our own life, turn our love into real action, into care and comfort and response to need. Amen.

This meditation is based on the Daily Lectionary Year 1 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).