We enter this chapter with our hearts still racing from the painful farewell of David and the narrow escape from Saul’s murderous jealousy. David, forced to abandon the safety of his home, has fled into the night, and when dawn breaks he makes his way to Gibeah, the fortress of Saul, seeking out Jonathan. Despite the dangers of approaching the king’s court, David trusts in the covenant of friendship he and Jonathan have forged. In that moment we feel his mixture of hope and dread: here, perhaps, he will find refuge; yet here his life also hangs by a thread.
Their reunion is both joyful and bittersweet. Jonathan, Saul’s son, wraps David in a brotherly embrace and weeps at the thought of the peril David faces. David articulates the fear that has driven him into exile—his father’s relentless intent to end his life—and he asks his friend to look for some indication of how Saul truly feels. Jonathan listens intently, torn between loyalty to his father and loyalty to his friend. When we have stood between those dueling demands, we know how wrenching it can be to choose where our deepest allegiance lies.
Jonathan’s response reassures David: he will find out what his father intends. Yet the risks are grave. Saul has already shown himself capable of murderous rage. Jonathan proposes a clever signal: they will meet in the field tomorrow under the pretext of Jonathan’s archery practice. He will shoot arrows beyond the mark and call after his servant to fetch them. If he tells the boy that David’s arrows lie further off, then all is well—David can safely return to the court. But if Jonathan drives his servant back with the warning that the arrows lie close to them, then David will know Saul’s heart is set on his destruction and must flee. Even now, as we imagine the two men sealing this plan, we sense the depth of trust and the stakes of their covenant.
Before parting, they renew their oath before the Lord, binding their families together in faithfulness. They eat together and share a final moment of closeness, knowing that what begins as a test of safe passage may well become the prelude to a longer separation. When they rise early the next morning to carry out their plan, we feel their anxiety: every arrow fired carries more than wood and iron—it carries the weight of David’s life and of Jonathan’s own future in a household divided by suspicion.
As Jonathan shoots arrow after arrow, he calls to his attendant to retrieve them. Three times he signals that David may safely return to the court. Yet on the third arrow, he urgently bids the boy to run back, as if the arrows were dangerously near. In that instant David knows the signal he has sought: Saul’s rage has once again risen. Jonathan breaks away, weeping, and they embrace as sorrow and love mingle in their tears. In that farewell we feel their broken hearts, shattered by the fact that loyalty to the Lord and to one another forces them apart.
David hastens away and Jonathan returns to the palace, walking into the lions’ den. At the dinner table, Saul notices Jonathan’s absence and demands an explanation in front of the entire court. Jonathan, deftly, turns his father’s own words against him, challenging the rash vow that the king had sworn to defend the kingdom by slaying David. He distracts Saul long enough for David to slip away without direct suspicion. Yet Saul’s fury burns hotter than before, and this time we know David’s flight must be permanent. The prince, torn between fatherly duty and the covenant with his friend, finds no way to bridge the chasm that envy has wrought in Saul’s heart.
In the hush of night, David flees once more, deeper into the wilderness, while Jonathan returns to confront a father whose promise of protection proves hollow. The tension between them—the pure loyalty of one and the corrosive jealousy of the other—forms the tragic chord of the story. We are left to ponder how jealousy can hollow out even the most regal of hearts and how covenant loyalty can flourish in the shadow of betrayal.
As we reflect on this poignant chapter, we recognize the power of true friendship. In Jonathan’s courage to speak for David, to risk his standing with the king, we glimpse the model of a faithful companion who values loyalty to God’s purposes above family or self-preservation. We see that covenant love, like the bond between David and Jonathan, often demands painful sacrifice but also becomes a fortress of grace that shelters us when the world turns against us. Their example reminds us that Proverbs is right: a friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
At the same time, the tragic portrait of Saul’s envy warns us how swiftly honor can decay into suspicion. A heart turned inward by fear loses the capacity to rejoice in another’s success and loses sight of God’s sovereign plans. Saul’s broken oath and his swift return to violence reveal how leaders can betray their own best intentions when they refuse to surrender to God’s will.
In our own lives, we may never face daggers thrown in palace halls, but we know the sting of jealousy and the comfort of a loyal friend. When circumstances force our friendships into sharp tests of faith, we can learn from David and Jonathan: to cling to God’s covenant, to speak truth with courage, and to stand by one another even when it costs us dearly. And when our own hearts threaten to harden, we can remember Saul’s fate and humbly return to trust in God’s timing rather than our own schemes. In this delicate dance of loyalty and survival, 1 Samuel 20 speaks to the tender place where friendship, faith, and the fear of God intersect in the most profound ways.