1Sa 20:12-17

Then Jonathan said to David,
“The LORD, the God of Israel, be witness!
When I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if there is good feeling toward David, shall I not then send to you and make it known to you?

“If it please my father to do you harm, may the LORD do so to Jonathan and more also,
if I do not make it known to you and send you away, that you may go in safety.
And may the LORD be with you as He has been with my father.

“If I am still alive, will you not show me the lovingkindness of the LORD, that I may not die?

“You shall not cut off your lovingkindness from my house forever,
not even when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”

So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying,
“May the LORD require it at the hands of David’s enemies.”

Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him,
because he loved him as he loved his own life.

Jonathan promised to find out what was happening.
He promised that if good, he would tell.
If bad, he would tell.
If bad, he declared that the same be done to him, if he did not tell David so that he could flee.

Then Jonathan states this…”May the Lord be with you as He has been with my father.”
Jonathan knew the Lord had been with his Father.
He now knew that the Lord would be with David.

Jonathan then stated…requested…that David not cut off his family…should Jonathan survive.
He desired the lovingkindness of David upon his house forever.

Note how this is done in covenant language.
Not contract.
Covenant.
He called upon the Lord God of Israel as Witness.

Jonathan initiated the covenant…before and in the moment.
His motivation was his love for David.

Jonathan was planning for the moment.
He was also laying the groundwork for the future based upon the faithfulness of the Lord.

We will see later that this proves to maintain his lineage.

May we do likewise.

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