CHAPTER 20 Jul. 8 
Jonathan Helps David
David fled from Naioth in Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, What have I done? What is my iniquity? What is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life? 2He said to him, Far from it; you shall not die. Look, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me, so why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so. 3But David took an oath and said, Your father knows well that I have found favour in your eyes, so he says, ‘Don’t let Jonathan know this, or he will be grieved’; but truly as Yahweh lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death. 4Then Jonathan said to David, Whatever your soul desires, I will do it for you. 5David said to Jonathan, Look, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to dine with the king; but let me go so that I can hide myself in the field until the third day at evening. 6If your father misses me at all then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem, his city, for it is the yearly sacrifice there for all the family’. 7If he says, ‘Very well’, your servant will have peace; but if he is angry, then know that evil is determined by him. 8Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of Yahweh. But if there is iniquity in me, kill me yourself; why should you bring me to your father? 9Jonathan said, Never! If I should know that evil were determined against you by my father, wouldn’t I tell you? 10Then David said to Jonathan, Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly? 11Jonathan said to David, Come, let us go out into the field. They both went out into the field. 12Jonathan said to David, By Yahweh, the God of Israel, when I have sounded out my father, by this time tomorrow or the third day, if he is favourable toward you I will send and tell you. 13Yahweh deal with me severely, if my father intends evil against you and I don’t disclose it to you so that I can send you away safely. May Yahweh be with you, as He has been with my father. 14But while I live, show me the grace of Yahweh so that I will not be killed. 15Also, do not cut off your kindness from my house forever, not even when Yahweh has cut off all the enemies of David from the surface of the earth.

Jonathan and David’s Covenant
16So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Yahweh will require it at the hand of David’s enemies. 17Jonathan made David swear again, for the love that he had for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul. 18Then Jonathan said to him, Tomorrow is the new moon and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19When you have waited three days, go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when this started, and stay by the stone Ezel. 20I will shoot three arrows to the side of it as though I shot at a mark. 21Then I will send the boy saying, ‘Go, find the arrows!’. If I tell the boy ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them’, then come, for you are safe, as Yahweh lives. 22But if I say this to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you’, then go your way, for Yahweh has sent you away. 23Concerning the matter which you and I have spoken of, behold, Yahweh is between you and me forever. 24So David hid himself in the field, and when the new moon had come, the king sat down to eat. 25The king sat on his seat by the wall as usual and Jonathan sat opposite and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty. 26Nevertheless Saul didn’t say anything that day, for he thought, Something has happened to him. He is not clean. Surely he is not clean. 27On the next day after the new moon, the second day, David’s place was empty again. Saul said to Jonathan his son, Why didn’t the son of Jesse come to eat, either yesterday or today? 28Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. 29He said, ‘Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city. My brother has commanded me to be there. Now, if I have found favour in your eyes, please let me go away and see my brothers’. That is why he has not come to the king’s table.

Saul Turns against David Again
30Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, You son of a perverse rebellious woman, don’t I know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the confusion of your mother’s nakedness? 31As long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth you will not be established, nor your kingdom. Therefore now send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die! 32Jonathan answered Saul his father, Why should he be put to death? What has he done? 33Saul cast his spear at him to strike him. By this Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death. 34So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had treated him shamefully. 35In the morning Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little boy went with him. 36He said to his boy, Run, find now the arrows which I shoot. As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37When the boy had come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy, Isn’t the arrow beyond you? 38Jonathan called after the boy, Go quickly! Hurry! Don’t delay! Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master. 39But the boy didn’t know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy, and said to him, Go, take them to the city. 41As soon as the boy had gone David got up from the south side of the stone, fell on his face to the ground and bowed himself three times. They kissed one another and wept one with another, and David wept the most. 42Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, because we have both sworn in the name of Yahweh, saying, ‘Yahweh shall be between me and you, and between my seed and your seed, forever’. David arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

Commentary

20:8 Your servant- David was respected by Jonathan as his spiritual superior because of David’s victory over Goliath (see on 18:3), but despite that, David considers himself Jonathan’s servant, in the spirit of servant leadership which characterizes Jesus. 
20:16 Yahweh will require it- This affects the question of whether there will be a specific 'going through' of many (all?) our deeds at the day of judgment, or at least, all the sinful deeds of the condemned. Actions in this life will be "required" by God (Dt. 18:19; 23:21; Josh. 22:23; 2 Chron. 24:22; Ez. 3:20; 33:6,8)- at judgment day, when an explanation for our behaviour will be "required". The Hebrew word translated "require" in the above passages has the sense of to search / enquire- which suggests a process of discussion during the judgment process. Likewise God will "require" the flock at the hand of the pastors (Ez. 34:10; Heb. 13:17). There must be answerability before God for human actions; in this life and / or at the day of judgment when Christ returns. The apparent silence of God in this life can lead us to think that there are things we can ‘get away with’; but ultimately there will be accountability before God.
20:27 The Jews asked about Jesus "Where is he?" at a feast time (Jn. 7:11); just as Saul did about David.
20:30 To the confusion of your mother’s nakedness – The Hebrew idiom is hard to interpret, but it could suggest that Saul was falsely accusing Jonathan of having a homosexual relationship with David. If you feel you have been slandered by gossip in the church, remember that almost every servant of God has been through this at the hands of those they counted as their brethren: Joseph, Moses, Job, David, Jeremiah, Nehemiah, Paul, and above all Jesus Himself
20:31-34 Jonathan  represents us all in our relationship with Christ (see on 18:3). He lived in an environment which was bitterly opposed to David; yet he stuck up for him, at the risk of embarrassment and opposition, and certain damage to his own prospects; as we should in this wicked world. As Saul cast a javelin at David, so he did at Jonathan; as we should fellowship the sufferings of David's greater son. Saul's hate of David resulted in Jonathan being "grieved for David, because his father had treated him shamefully". Is this not our response to our world in their ceaseless blasphemy of Christ?