Sociologists in America
interviewed three-thousand American teenagers about their religious beliefs,
and came up with the term Therapeutic Moralistic Deism. Therapeutic Moralist Deism is the conviction
that a god exists and wants people to be nice, that the central goal of life is
to be happy and feel good about ourselves, that this god in not involved in our
lives unless he is needed to resolve a problem, and that ‘good people’ go to
heaven.
Sadly, this
self-centred undemanding belief system sounds a lot like what many people in
the church think Christianity is about.
The passage before us
is filled with covenant language. A
covenant is a formal binding agreement.
We can see that David and Jonathan entered into a covenant relationship
with each other. The Son of
David—Jesus—calls us into a covenant relationship with him. This is a relationship that demands great
costs from us, but enjoys infinite benefits.
We are going to look at
the costs and benefits of a covenant relationship with the Son of David.
The
cost of covenant
David has been on the
run from King Saul. He goes to his
friend, Saul’s eldest son Jonathan, and asks, ‘what have I done? What is my
crime? How have I wronged your father
that he is trying to kill me?’
Jonathan seems to be in
denial. He doesn’t seem to believe that
his dad wants David dead. That actually
makes sense. The last time Jonathan was
a part of this story was when his dad promised, ‘as surely as I live, David
will not be put to death’ (19:6).
You can be sure that
Jonathan desperately hoped that Saul would not harm David. He loves both his friend and his father. Indeed, it seems that Jonathan has an
especially close relationship with his father.
He tells David, ‘my father doesn’t do anything, great or small, without
confiding in me’ (2). It will break
Jonathan’s heart to have to choose between his dad and David.
Jonathan had made a
covenant with David. He had given David
his sword and robes, in an act that seems to point to the fact that Jonathan
recognised God’s good intention that David should be the next king rather than
him. Isn’t it amazing that the
crown-prince Jonathan, the eldest son of Saul, would say to a commoner like David,
‘whatever you want me to do; I’ll do it for you’ (4)? This boy had grown up expecting everyone to
do as he said. Now he is willing to
serve David!
The Son of David talks
about the cost of entering a covenant relationship with him. ‘Anyone who loves his father or mother more
than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me
is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me is
not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life
will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it’ (Matthew 10:37-39).
A young man approached
a Christian preacher after a church service and pointed out that being a
Christian doesn’t make you any friends.
The preacher wanted to point the young man to all the friends that he
had in the church, but he knew what the young man was saying. Since he had become a Christian this guy
hadn’t received a single positive response from anyone among his family and
friends. That hurt!
Another young man, who
was very wealthy, approached Jesus and enquired about life with God. When Jesus pointed out that God claimed the
right to tell him what to do with his possessions the rich young man thought
the cost was too high, and so walked away materially rich and spiritually
bankrupt.
As we read this
narrative we might wonder why David would even consider attending a festival
with King Saul. But the people have been
talking about the fact that the Holy Spirit had overpowered Saul and caused him
to prophesy. David might be hoping that
this means that Saul is now a changed man.
So Jonathan and David devise a plan that will reveal Saul’s heart
towards David.
Jonathan’s heart must
have broken when his father’s anger flared up.
His covenant with David is going to cost him the love of his
father. How tragic to be on the
receiving end of his father’s abuse.
‘You son of a perverse woman!
Don’t I know that you sided with son of Jessie to your own shame and the
shame of your mother who bore you? As
long as the son of Jessie lives on this earth, neither you nor you kingdom will
be established’ (30-31). Could you
imagine Saul’s reaction if he knew that Jonathan was happy for David to be king
instead of him? When you enter a
covenant relationship with the Son of David there will be many who think that
you are mad to give up your supposed right to rule your own life!
The
benefit of covenant
Why would Jonathan be
willing to give up the claim to the throne for David? Why would he be willing to receive his
father’s abuse for the sake of David? It
is all to do with love!
‘… Jonathan became one
in spirit with David and he loved him as himself … and Jonathan made a covenant
with David because he loved him as himself’ (18:1-3). ‘And Jonathan made David reaffirm his
covenant of love for him, because he loved him as himself’ (17). ‘The kissed each other and wept together, but
David wept the most’ (41).
Maybe I’m taking things
too far to draw any conclusion from the fact that David wept the most. There is no doubt about the extent Jonathan’s
love for David, but is there a hint that David’s love for Jonathan was even
greater? Isn’t that true of our covenant
relationship with the Son of David? We
may love Jesus, but he loves us more than we will ever love him!
Love for the Son of
David is God’s gift to us. We love
because he first loved us (1 John 4:19) and he has poured love into our hearts. God has knit our souls with that of the Son
of David that we might love him as ourselves.
But we never out-love the Son of David.
‘Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends’ (John 15:13). Jesus laid down
his life while we were still his enemies.
Jonathan did as David
said, because their covenant demanded it.
Jonathan delighted to do as David said because love compelled him. ‘This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome’ (1 John 5:3).
The
cost of not being in covenant
One theme running
through this chapter makes me a little uncomfortable: Jonathan talks of the
time when the Lord ‘destroys all your enemies from the face of the earth’ (15). He envisages a day when the enemies of David
will be destroyed!
He also seeks to ensure
that his people will not be amongst the enemies of David. It was common practice that when a dynasty
changed the new king would wipe out the family of the old king in case any of
them made a play for the throne.
Jonathan has David promise that he will not do that, and indeed I we
will see the resulting kindness shown to Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth.
No one spoke more
clearly about judgement and hell that the Jesus. God will punish those who refuse to enter
into a covenant relationship with the Son of David. Listen to the words of our Messiah: ‘Do not
be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both body and soul in hell’ (Matthew 10:28).
In the Christianity
Explored course Rico Tice points out, ‘When we hear Jesus’ words about hell we
have to ask ourselves, “Why would he talk like that?” … The reason that Jesus warns us about hell
is surely that he loves us and does not want us to go there. He knows that if we reject God throughout our
lives then ultimately God will reject us.
He knows that sin, if left undealt with, will take us to a place of
unimaginable and unending suffering. He
warns us, because he loves us.’
Conclusion
Therapeutic moralistic
deism is a self-centred belief system in a god whose only purpose is to make us
feel good about ourselves. Does your
faith look like therapeutic moralistic deism, or has does it reflect the fact
that you have entered into a life-transforming covenant with the Son of
David? Some of you know a little bit
about the nature of a covenant relationship (when you promised to forsake all
others). Yet the covenant with Jesus is
the only one that promises incomparable love and both, now and for all
eternity.
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