Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger; on that second day of the feast he did not eat, because he was grieved at his father’s shameful treatment of David.

1 Samuel 20:34

For Meditation

How long did it take Jonathan to come to terms with the truth that his father’s threat to kill David was real? Jonathan knew how, out of Jealousy, Saul hated David. He was there when his father thrust a spear at David to kill him (1 Sam. 19:10). He witnessed all the other attempts Saul made to kill David. Yet, he was in denial that Saul really wanted to kill David.  

“Never!” Jonathan replied. “You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn’t do anything, great or small, without letting me know. Why would he hide this from me? It isn’t so!” (20:3).

It was not until in anger, “Saul hurled his spear at him [Jonathan] to kill him” that “Jonathan realized that his father was really determined to kill David” (1 Sam. 20:33).

But, thank God that “Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger,” [and] “did not eat, because he was grieved at his father’s shameful treatment of David” (34).

How long have you lived in denial of the social injustices around you? Do you care about the life of your fellow human being? How much value do you put on human life? How do you react when you witness such a heinous offense and disregard for the sanctity of human life, as happened on the streets of Minneapolis in broad daylight on Monday, 25 May 2020?

Are you grieved enough to look into your life and allow Christ to reveal you to yourself, and open your heart for Him to heal you of any racial, tribal, lingual, or any other prejudices or superiority you may have against another person or people, whether, black, brown, white, or yellow? 

It is your challenge. It is my challenge. It is the challenge for all of us before the God of justice, who will judge all of us one day. That is why you must confess your sins and accept the forgiveness of God that comes through Jesus Christ and receive real life, eternal life, from Him (Rm. 3:23; 6:23; Jn. 3:3, 16; 1:12-13; Rm. 10::9-10, 13; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:3-8).

May He thoroughly heal you today.