Preparing for Sunday - 1 Samuel 20

This Sunday we're in 1 Samuel 20, and it's the chapter where David's old life ends. Two men swear a covenant out in a field, in a hurry, while a king back at the palace sharpens a spear for one of them. Read the chapter before you come, sit with the questions below, and come ready to hear what holds God's people to His Anointed when everything else is being torn away.
Critically Think

1. Read 20:1-3. David fires off three questions without stopping for breath. What is he looking for, and what does Jonathan's reply in verse 2 tell you about what Jonathan still believes about his father?
2. In 20:5-11 the two of them set up a test around the new moon feast. What exactly are they trying to find out about Saul, and why would an empty seat at the table make a good test?
3. Look closely at verse 8. On what basis does David ask for Jonathan's help? Notice that he doesn't appeal to their friendship or to how they feel about each other. What does he appeal to instead, and why would that matter more in a moment like this?
4. Read 20:12-17 slowly and count how many times Jonathan lands his words on the LORD. What does Jonathan admit out loud in verse 15 about who is going to win, and what does he ask for in return? Remember who Jonathan is in line to become.
5. Read 20:24-34. Saul won't say David's name, calling him "the son of Jesse" in verses 27, 30, and 31. What does verse 31 show you about how clearly Saul understands what God is doing? How is Saul's response to that news different from Jonathan's response to the very same news?
6. In verse 33 the spear that has been flying at David all series long turns and flies at Jonathan. What does verse 34 say Jonathan does, and why? Add up what his loyalty cost him in a single evening.
7. Read 20:35-42. The two of them built an elaborate system of arrows and code words so they'd never have to be seen together, and then the moment the boy is gone they throw the whole system out. What do they do instead in verse 41? And in verse 42, who does Jonathan say is keeping this promise?

Prayerfully Meditate

1. Jonathan rested this covenant on the Lord on purpose, because he knew he might not live long enough to keep it himself. He didn't. Where have you been resting a promise on your own strength instead of on God's?
2. A covenant is a promise strong enough to outlive the people who made it, because its keeper is God. So where does your assurance before God actually sit this morning, on the firmness of your grip on Him, or on His grip on you? Be honest about which one you were leaning on this week.
3. Saul and Jonathan sat at the same table, heard the same news about David, and went in opposite directions with it. When God visibly blesses somebody else in this church, the ministry you don't run or the family everybody's excited about, which way does your heart move first?
4. Jonathan's faithfulness to God's anointed cost him a meal, a spear, and a father in one night. What has following Jesus cost you? Have you been tempted lately to quietly soften your allegiance to get that seat back? Loyalty you can keep for free was never truly tested.
5. Some of you are walking through a parting you could not prevent. You did everything you could and it ended anyway. Where do you need to hear that you lost the nearness and you did not lose the covenant?

Intentionally Act

1. Read 1 Samuel 20 straight through before Sunday, and then read 2 Samuel 9 right behind it. That's where this covenant finally pays out, and it will change how you hear the sermon.
2. Pick one person in this church and act like you're in covenant with them this week, not just attending alongside them. Send the text, make the call, show up.
3. If somebody is being talked about or piled on and you're in the room, open your mouth on their behalf. It'll cost you something. Do it anyway.
4. If God is blessing someone in a way you had wanted for yourself, bless them out loud this week. Say it to their face rather than swallowing it.
5. If you've had a familiar seat at the feast but you've never bowed the knee to the King, don't carry that into another Sunday. Talk with me or with one of our shepherds this week.

Then learn the songs below, so you can come Sunday ready to sing them with the whole room instead of catching up on the second verse.

Songs for Sunday
Standing on the Promises
Holy Holy Holy
The Solid Rock  
Trust & Obey