YAHUSHA WARNED THE LEADERS OF YISHARAL THROUGH SAMUEL THAT THIS KING (THAT THEY CHOSE) WOULD BE A TAKER. YAHUSHA’S JUDGES WEREN’T TAKERS; THEY WERE DELIVERERS. SO WHAT WAS PREDICTED IS NOW HAPPENING, AND IT’S HAPPENING TO DAVID AS WELL, WHO IS BASICALLY LEGALLY KIDNAPPED FROM HIS FAMILY TO SERVE KING SAUL. THERE WAS NO RUCKUS OVER IT, BECAUSE ALL UNDERSTOOD THAT IN THE WORLD THIS IS THE WAY OF KINGS AND KINGDOMS AND NO ONE HAS A CHOICE IN THE MATTER.
LOYALTY (SAM.18)
David and Jonathan (Saul's son) struck up a friendship and became really good mates, almost inseparable. Infact Jon so admired Dave's strength of character and abilities in Yahusha that the two of them made a Covenant-Agreement to always be there for each other as loyal friends and never let each other down. And Jon loved Dave as much as he loved himself and took off the robes of royalty that he was wearing and put them on Dave, as well as his military armor, sword, bow and arrows, and belt (and the huge significance of this gesture would've been understood by everyone).
THIS WAS BUT THE FIRST OF SEVERAL SIMILAR EVENTS THAT SERVED TO UNNERVE SAUL AND MAKE HIM MURDEROUSLY JEALOUS OF DAVID.
WE SAW JON AND DAVE MAKE A COVENANT AGREEMENT AND THE REASON IS BECAUSE JONATHON LOVED HIM. THIS WAS NOT A CONTRACT FOR SERVICES RENDERED. NO SELF-SERVING POLITICAL ALLIANCE WAS FORMED AND MAINTAINED, NO FINANCIAL GAIN OR BUSINESS VENTURE CONTEMPLATED, IT WASN’T A MUTUAL PROTECTION TREATY EITHER. EVEN THOUGH THESE WERE THE USUAL REASONS FOR FORMING A COVENANT IN THAT ERA, THIS ONE WAS STRICTLY OUT OF LOVE. JONATHAN WAS OF THE ROYAL FAMILY AND SO HE WAS THE ONE THAT HAD TO OFFER IT. LOWLY DAVID, A COMMONER, COULD NOT OFFER A BLOOD-COVENANT AGREEMENT (OF FRIENDSHIP) TO THE KING’S FAMILY.
THIS IS A SHADOW OF YAHUSHA'S ETERNAL BLOOD-COVENANT WITH MANKIND. MAN COULD NOT COME TO YAHUSHA WITH THE OFFER OF DELIVERANCE - YAHUSHA HAD TO COME TO MANKIND. WHETHER IT WAS WITH NOAH, NOT TO DESTROY THE WORLD BY FLOOD AGAIN, OR WITH ABRAHAM TO ESTABLISH A SET-APART PEOPLE AND GIVE THEM AN INHERITANCE OF DIVINE BLESSING, LAND AND KINGDOM THAT WOULD SOMEDAY BENEFIT THE WHOLE WORLD, OR AGAIN WITH MOSES TO GIVE THE REDEEMED PEOPLE OF YISHARAL OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIVING AND A MEANS TO LIVE IN HARMONY WITH YAHUSHA, THE REASON FOR THE BLOOD-COVENANT WAS ALWAYS YAHUSHA’S LOVE FOR LESSER BEINGS.
JONATHAN GAINED NOTHING BY MAKING THIS COVENANT WITH DAVID, IT WAS FOR THE SAKE OF A SPIRITUAL KIND OF LOVE THAT HE SOUGHT THE BOND. JON WOULD EVENTUALLY EVEN GIVE UP HIS RIGHT TO SUCCEED SAUL.
THE BLOOD-COVENANT THAT YAHUSHA RENEWED IN HIS OWN BLOOD IS CALLED THE COVENANT OF LOVE, AND IT'S THE SAME ONE THAT'S BEEN RUNNING SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME. AND HERE WE HAVE A SHADOW IN JON COVENANTING WITH DAVID IN EXACTLY THAT SAME MOLD.
How would David have felt, after copping so much abuse from everyone around him? Here he is a nobody, out from looking after the sheep, called into rescue the entire Yisharalite Army. Would they have really `let him have it' inside themselves, or hated his guts and taken it personally that he'd shown them all up for the gutless wonders they were? Then, after such hatred and mocking from friends, family, the King and the enemy giant, we have Jon come and show loving-kindness to this young man, lifting him up, soothing his heart and promising to always be there and never let him down. How would Dave have felt after that? WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO PUT YOURSELF OFF AND OFFER SUCH A PROMISE OF COMFORT AND REAL FRIENDSHIP TO ANOTHER?
So David had killed Goliath, the battle was over, and the Yisharalite army set out for home and as the army went along, women came out of each Yisharalite town to welcome King Saul. And they were singing happy songs and dancing to the music of tambourines and harps, singing:
“SAUL HAS KILLED A THOUSAND MEN, BUT DAVID'S KILLED TEN THOUSAND! SAUL IS SUCH A MIGHTY KING BUT DAVID CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS!"
And this song made Saul furious, and he thought, “They're saying that David has killed 10 times more enemies than I ever did. What next? They’ll want him to be their bloody King!” And from then on Saul kept a close (jealous) eye on David and didn't trust him at all.
The next day Yahusha let a tormenting spirit take control of Saul again, and he began acting like a crazy man inside his own house. And David came to play the harp for him as usual, but this time Saul had a spear in his hand, and thought, “I’ll pin that little piss-ant to the wall.” And he threw the spear at David twice, but David dodged and got away both times. And Saul was afraid of David, because he could see that Yahusha was helping David and not him anymore. So Saul put David in charge of 1000 soldiers and sent him out to fight (hoping he'd get snuffed out by the enemy). But Yahusha helped David, and he and his soldiers always won their battles, which made Saul even more furious and afraid of him. But everyone else in Judah and Yisharal were becoming more and more loyal to David and they all loved him because he led the army in victorious battle.
THIS BLESSING ON DAVID SERVED TO FURTHER ELEVATE SAUL’S SUSPICIONS AND PARANOIA BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH SAUL HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO KEEP ELEVATING DAVID THROUGH THE RANKS (TO APPEASE HIS COURT AND HIS SUBJECTS BECAUSE DAVID'S SKILL WAS OBVIOUS TO EVERYONE WHO WITNESSED IT), DAVID WASN’T SUPPOSED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN HIS MISSIONS (IN SAUL'S MIND) - HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE KILLED BY THE ENEMY IN BATTLE. BUT IN NO TIME AT ALL DAVID BECAME BOTH PUBLICALLY POPULAR AND POLITICALLY POWERFUL.
One day (even though Saul had already promised his daughter to the slayer of Goliath), he told David, “If you’ll be brave and fight Yahuah’s battles for me, I’ll let you marry my oldest daughter Merab.”
But Saul was really thinking, “I don’t want to kill David myself, so I’ll let the Philistines do it for me.”
And David answered, “How could I possibly marry your daughter? I’m not important or royalty, I'm a no one!”
But when the time came for David to marry Saul’s daughter Merab, Saul told her to marry Adriel from the town of Meholah! Saul had another daughter. Her name was Michal, and Saul found out that she was in love with David. This made Saul happy, and he thought, “I’ll tell David he can marry Michal, but I’ll set it up so that the Philistines will kill him.”
UNDER DAVID THE 12 TRIBES WERE UNITED AND THE NATION WAS CALLED “YISHARAL” AGAIN BUT THAT WOULD ONLY LAST A MERE 80 YEARS UNTIL DAVID’S SON (KING SOLOMON) DIED AND A CIVIL WAR SPLIT THE NATION OF YISHARAL BACK INTO THE TWO KINGDOMS (HOUSES) AGAIN. AND AT FIRST THOSE TWO KINGDOMS USED THEIR FORMER NAMES: YISHARAL (IN THE NORTH) AND JUDAH IN THE SOUTH. BUT IN ONLY A FEW DECADES THE NORTH WENT BY “EPHRAIM”, REFLECTING THE NEW REALITY THAT THE TRIBE OF EPHRAIM HAD BECOME THE MOST POWERFUL TRIBE.
Then he told David, “I’m going to give you a second chance to marry one of my daughters.” Saul ordered his officials to speak to David in private, so they went to David and said, “Look, the King likes you, and all of his officials are loyal to you. Why not ask the King if you can marry his daughter Michal?”
“But I’m not rich or famous enough to marry a princess like Michal!” David answered. The officials went back to Saul and told him exactly what David had said. Saul was hoping that the Philistines would kill David, and he told his officials to tell David, “The King doesn’t want any silver or gold for the Bride-Price. He only wants you to get even with his enemies. So all you have to do is give him 100 Philistine foreskins to prove that you’ve killed them!” And David agreed for he really wanted to marry her.
King Saul had set a time limit, and before it ran out, David and his men left and killed two hundred Philistines. Then he brought back the proof (foreskins) and showed it to Saul, so he could marry his daughter Michal. And Saul agreed because he knew that his daughter loved David, and he also realised that Yahusha was helping David. But knowing those things made Saul even more jealous and afraid of David, and he was David’s enemy for the rest of his life. The Philistine rulers kept coming to fight Yisharal, but whenever David fought them, he won. He was famous because he won more battles against the Philistines than any of Saul’s other officers.
IF YAHUSHA HAS ANOINTED YOU AND YOU'VE TRULY GIVEN OVER, THEN THOSE AROUND YOU WILL BE JEALOUS AND AFRAID. NOT BECAUSE YOU'RE SCARY, BUT BECAUSE THEY FEEL PAIN WHEN THEY'RE AROUND YOU (AND THEY DIDNT BEFORE), SO THEY START `PULLING UP THEIR SOCKS' (BEHAVIOURALLY) FOR FEAR OF `GETTING INTO TROUBLE' (BUT NOT FROM YOU) ... IT'S THE PAIN THEY GET WHEN THEY TOUCH THE ANOINTING OR COME CLOSE TO IT WITH UNCLEAN BEHAVIOUR. WE NEED TO BE AWARE OF THIS REACTIONS IN THOSE AROUND US AS YAHUSHA TAKES US OVER MORE AND MORE, MAKING US A WITNESS OF HIS LOVING POWER.
WE SEE SAUL’S EXTREME FRUSTRATION WITH THE DAVID ISSUE. EVERYTHING HE TRIES TO COUNTERACT DAVID WITH GOES WRONG. AND DESPITE SAUL’S BEST EFFORTS, DAVID’S RISE WAS METEORIC, FROM SHEPHERD TO CHAMPION, TO COURT MUSICIAN, TO MIGHTY WARRIOR, TO POPULAR HERO, THEN A COMMANDER OF A LARGE FORCE AND NOW PART OF THE KING’S OWN FAMILY THROUGH MARRIAGE.
AND WHILE IN EARLIER TIMES THE PHILISTINES HAD SO MUCH SUCCESS IN ATTACKING YISHARAL, NOW WITH DAVID ON THE SCENE, ALL YISHARAL KNEW WAS VICTORY. THINGS COULDN’T HAVE BEEN WORSE FOR KING SAUL.
YISHARAL IS BEING RESTORED TO A STATUS THEY'VE NOT EXPERIENCED SINCE THE DAYS OF MOSES AND JOSHUA, WHERE YAHUSHA IS ACTUALLY FIGHTING THE SET-APART BATTLES TO BRING ABOUT HIS DIVINE REIGN AND THE ROYAL DYNASTY OF HIS CHOOSING, THROUGH A MAN AFTER HIS OWN HEART, WHO'S WILLING TO STEP ASIDE WITHIN HIMSELF, SHED ALL IMPORTANCE AND EGO AND ALLOW YAHUSHA TO MOVE THE WAY HE DESIRES, BRINGING ABOUT A UNITED 12 TRIBES (ANOTHER THING THAT'S NEVER HAPPENED SINCE MOSES AND JOSHUA).
LOYALTY OF FRIENDSHIP
HEBREW UNDERSTANDING: (FAITHFUL) - to build up or support; to foster as a parent or nurse; to render (or be) firm or loyal, to trust or believe, to be permanent or quiet, to be morally true or certain, assurance, believe, bring up, establish, long continuance, steadfast, sure.
SCRIPTURE UNDERSTANDING:
"I am so distressed for you, my brother Jonathan, for you've been so very pleasant to me and your love was so wonderful, even passing the love of women." 2 SAM BRS
“Love one another as I've loved you, for there's no greater love or loyalty than someone who lays down his life for a friend.” JOHN 15 BRS
"Love bears all things, believing, hoping and enduring all things too." 1 COR 13 BRS
"A man with stacks of mates will probably fail in life, so it's better to have a loyal friend who sticks closer to you than a brother will". PROV 18 BRS
"A loyal friend will love you at all times, but a brother is born for heartbreak and trouble". PROV 17 BRS
Loyalty is being trustworthy, unwavering and steadfast, not just avoiding the temptation to betray or hurt, but actually following through on your promises and plans, keeping your word, and sticking with your partner/friend til the end. It's building a reputation of being reliable and regular with a dependable behaviour and character (not an emotional rollercoater) so that your love stays the same.
Isn't this how Yahusha told us to love one another? More than ourself? And later he said 'husbands love your wives as Yahusha loved the Assembly' ... (He died for it).
IT SOUNDS LIKE THE ONLY WAY TO BE A GOOD LOYAL FRIEND IS TO TREAT SOMEONE AS YOU'D LIKE TO BE TREATED YOURSELF, AND IT ALL STARTS AT THE EAR-GATES, BECAUSE (JUST LIKE MARRIAGE) SATAN HATES LOVE, LOYALTY AND KINDNESS, SO IF YOU'RE GUNNA COMMIT TO SOMEONE LIKE THIS, HE WILL SEND HIS MINIONS TO COME AGAINST YOU TO MAKE YOU BREAK YOUR PACT, SO YOU WILL BE TESTED !!!
Would you be willing to empty yourself as He did, making yourself unimportant and nothing so that someone else could live, see and be delivered from evil ? Yahusha was! This is the way, follow Him. The life of David is but a shadow of a King after Yahusha's own heart and in his relationship with Jonathon we see a love that surpasses that of women (ie romantic, erotic) ... a genuine care and friendship that should be happening among the Bride ... isn't that how they'll know us, by the love we have for each other ?
THE SCRIPTURE IS FULL OF BEHAVIOURAL PATTERNS FOR US TO LEARN AND FOLLOW IN ORDER TO PLEASE YAHUSHA, AND STANDING AS A LOYAL FRIEND IS DEFINATELY ONE OF THEM. CAN YOU DO IT?