When David and Jonathan met, they at once became close friends as described in chapter 18. Their friendship is one of the closest and deepest recorded in the Bible. They based their friendship on a commitment not only to each other, but also a commitment to God. Nothing came between them, not family, not loyalty to a king or a parent, not careers.
Jonathan was not jealous when he learned David would become king instead of him. Jonathan would rather lose the throne of Israel than lose his best friend. Extreme testing drew them closer together in friendship as we see in chapter 20. They remained friends until the end. Theirs was a special blessed friendship indeed.
I have been fortunate to have several close friends in my life, those with whom I felt a special bond from the first meeting, those who take me as I am, with whom I can be myself, friendships which go back some fifty or sixty years. These are friendships such that whenever we meet again or talk again, it is as if it was yesterday, no matter how much time has passed. I thank God daily for sending me such people in my life.
Lord, may each of us know the riches of close friendship. Amen. —