Bosom Buddies

My friend Firefly and I think freakishly alike. Just so we're all clear.

Here's what I was pondering the other day. Jonathan seemed like a pretty cool guy, and pretty fine with the fact that David was (one day) going to have the kingdom instead of his father, Saul. We are discussing the Biblical Jonathans and Davids, by the way, in case I jumped into this story too swiftly for some.

So Jonathan straight-up told David, "You'll be King, I'll be second in command, we'll be cool." Right. And he could have. Jonathan and his armour-bearer slew a ton of Philistines that time in 1 Samuel 13, after all. Jonathan was clearly an excellent soldier as well as an inspirer of the people.

But... Jonathan died. In a tragic twist, Jonathan was slain among his father's people, fighting a battle he knew he'd lose. David was left with a kingdom in the absence of Saul, but without a right-hand man. Now it was David in the place of authority, trying to keep afloat without his confidante.

But David needed a chief captain. Jonathan was no longer an option, and David needed someone else. I Chronicles 11 tells that David set up sort of a contest for the position. And the man who won was none other than Joab, David's nephew, trouble-maker extraordinaire.

David encountered so many problems with Joab at the helm of his battles. Joab was many things, but a peacemaker was not one of them. Sometimes, when I read this account, I get so sad just thinking about all the things that could have gone better had Jonathan not died during the chaos of the battlefield.

And what stops me every time is the thought, "Did Jonathan really even have to die?" What if, instead of going back to his father, Jonathan had stayed with David? What if he'd given up those years in the seat of the kingdom for the rest of his life at David's right hand?

I, for one, tend to think that David's kingdom would have gone more smoothly, not just on account of Jonathan being a superior captain, but because Jonathan, being Saul's son, could have promoted peace in a fractured kingdom. I know we all like to think that we'd do better--chosen the life with David instead of the comfortable palace bed--but Jonathan seemed to be doing his part by keeping his ears to the wall, so to speak, to listen to what his father was saying, and simultaneously being able to keep alongside David in spirit and encourage him.

But it wasn't enough. When the battle was over, Jonathan fought and died on the wrong side. David was left without a friend; Israel without a stable captain. David's kingdom was less than it could have been, because Jonathan remained in the comfort of his father's kingdom, unwilling to suffer the rejection of David's daily walk.