Who Was Prince Jonathan–David’s Best Friend?

Have you ever had a best friend? I have several. Okay, so “best” friend implies one and only, but my God is an ABUNDANT Giver. I believe best friends are His special gift–and He can give as many as He wants!

I still consider the girl who became my best friend in grade school through middle school, high school, and college as my best friend forty two years later! The best friend in the picture I met in 2005 at a California writer’s conference. She lived in Washington State, and I lived in Indiana. Two years later, the Lord moved Hubby and I to Washington–only 35 minutes from where this best friend lived!

It seems with each season of my life, the Lord graciously knits my heart together with someone else. Someone with whom I can share thoughts about HIM and other important moments.

What “Best Friend” Means To Me:

Here are a few characteristics of the best friends I’ve been given in life:

1. A truly BEST friend is knit together with your heart for a lifetime.
2. You can say absolutely anything to your best friend without fear of judgment or shaming.
3. It doesn’t matter how much time passes between contact because when best friends reunite, you feel as comfortable together as if no time at all has passed.
4. A best friend knows when something is wrong without telling them–sometimes sensing it across miles and miles.
5. A best friend doesn’t need to know why you’ve asked them to pray, but they’ll keep a confidence if you need to tell someone.
6. A best friend will tell you if you’re being stupid–in the kindest way possible.

When Did David & Jonathan Become Friends?

Let’s set the stage before we reveal the punchline. David has been serving at King Saul’s palace in Gibeah, playing his lyre to calm Saul’s mania from an evil spirit that torments him. When war season begins, David is sent home to tend his father Jesse’s flocks, and his brothers fight in Saul’s army.

David’s father sends him with a donkey loaded with food to the battlefront to provide nourishment for the sons of Jesse. (There were no McDonalds or government organizations to feed soldiers in ca. 900 B.C., so all provisions came from their families.) David received a snarky welcome from his jealous brothers, but he was more appalled by Goliath’s blasphemy than offended by his brothers.

So, David volunteers to fight the mammoth Philistine. This Goliath has been shouting threats to the whole Israelite army for forty days, and their bravest warriors are too afraid to fight him! But David doesn’t fight for Israel. David fights for Yahweh…

[David said to King Saul,] “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

1 Samuel 17:36–37

And that’s exactly what happened. With his shepherd’s sling and one smooth stone, David shouted at Goliath before he killed him:

You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

1 Samuel 17:45

BAM! Don’t you want to jump up and celebrate! I’m sure that’s exactly what Israel’s army did when David killed Goliath with a sling, a stone, and the power of Almighty God!

Now Comes the Best Friend Part

Saul’s firstborn son, Jonathan–who was also the crown prince in line to inherit Israel’s throne–would have been standing right beside his father to watch it all unfold. He would have witnessed David’s refusal to wear Saul’s armor (1 Samuel 17:38-40) and felt both excitement and fear at David’s faith-filled threat of doom when he met the giant face-to-face.

So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. 

1 Samuel 17:50

David took Goliath’s sword, cut off the dead man’s head, and presented it to King Saul (ewwww!). How did Jonathan feel in that moment?

King Saul was likely in his early seventies and Jonathan probably in his fifties. David was probably mid-teens. This BOY had done what no Israelite warrior dared to attempt–and he’d done it with total reliance on Yahweh.

As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine’s head. “Whose son are you, young man?” Saul asked him. David said, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.” After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.

1 Samuel 17:57–18:1 (emphasis added)

Was Prince Jonathan Star Struck?

When I first read this passage–many years ago–I thought Jonathan was on the David “groupie” wagon. Maybe Jonathan was a little star struck by David’s boldness and success and wanted to be best friends with the best warrior in Israel.

I don’t think so any more. Instead, I believe that Jonathan’s heart was knit together with David’s because he’d finally found someone whose heart was as passionate for Yahweh as his own. We see several hints in Scripture that point to others in Jonathan’s family being double-minded about their faith. Here are a couple of biblical clues that helped change my mind:

1. David’s wife placed a large IDOL in her bed to trick Saul’s assassins when she helped David escape. Why would she have access to an idol if someone in the family (or several someones) didn’t worship idols (1 Samuel 19)?
2. After Saul orders all the priests of Nob killed–where the Tabernacle was located–he chooses another chief priest. Who was the new chief priest? Was he a direct descendant of Aaron as the Law required? How was he chosen? And the Bible gives us no record of how the Tabernacle was transferred from Nob (1 Sam. 21) to Gibeon (1 Chron. 16:39).
3. I saw other hints and clues highlighted while reading a well-researched novel by Jubilee Lipsey, My Brother the King. CLICK HERE to read my full review or purchase your copy HERE. Jubilee’s descriptions of David’s and Jonathan’s emotions and how their relationship began and deepened helped me understand these two men and what God must have done in such a tumultuous time in both their lives.

Has God Blessed You With a Best Friend?

The answer to the above question is an adamant, YES! But I must add one caveat. Our loving Heavenly Father may choose NOT to knit your heart together with a best friend. Why would he do that? Speaking from experience, there was a season in my life when I so yearned for a best friend, and there was simply no one around me that felt safe or seemed interested in that sort of reciprocal relationship.

What do we do then?

Those were the weeks, months, and–yes, years–that I grew deeper in my relationship with Jesus than at any other time in my life. When God doesn’t bring you an earthly best friend to tend your heart, He may be calling you to draw closer to Him. To listen to His whisper. To sense His heart being knit together with yours. Nothing is sweeter than knowing the still small voice of our Father’s personal comfort.

One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 18:24

Today’s Question:

• Have you experienced the certainty of a God-given best friend? If you feel comfortable, share a bit about that journey in the comments below.

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