His anger and sorrow reveal the depth of righteous frustration when loyalty, love, and godly order become overshadowed by envy and dishonor.
Then Jonathan, son of King Saul around the 11th century BC, had joined his father at the royal table at Gibeah (a city located just a few miles north of what is now Jerusalem). Then Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon, for he was grieved over David because his father had dishonored him (v.34). This second day of the new moon was part of a regular festival gathering, and the fact that Jonathan refused to eat showed his deep distress over Saul’s hatred toward David. Jonathan was David’s close friend, bound by a covenant of mutual devotion (1 Samuel 18:3-4), making Saul’s offense a direct rejection of both David’s innocence and Jonathan’s faithfulness.
By leaving the table, Jonathan publicly broke rank with his father, King Saul, who had served as Israel’s first king starting around 1050 BC. Saul had descended into jealousy toward David, the young man anointed to succeed him. The phrase did not eat food on the second day underscores not just Jonathan’s anger, but the heartbreak he felt for David’s humiliation at the hands of the king. The dishonor Saul displayed toward David stood in stark contrast to the deep respect, protection, and love Jonathan had pledged to him, reflecting what true covenant faithfulness looks like under God’s anointing.
Jonathan’s fierce loyalty to David, despite the conflict with his own father, foreshadows the commitment demonstrated by Jesus’ followers in the New Testament, where friendship and sacrificial love stand as hallmarks of true devotion (John 15:13). Jonathan put the Lord’s chosen servant before his personal interests or family politics, highlighting the principle that obedience to God and love for one another can transcend even the most powerful earthly ties.
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1 Samuel 20:34 meaning
Then Jonathan, son of King Saul around the 11th century BC, had joined his father at the royal table at Gibeah (a city located just a few miles north of what is now Jerusalem). Then Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon, for he was grieved over David because his father had dishonored him (v.34). This second day of the new moon was part of a regular festival gathering, and the fact that Jonathan refused to eat showed his deep distress over Saul’s hatred toward David. Jonathan was David’s close friend, bound by a covenant of mutual devotion (1 Samuel 18:3-4), making Saul’s offense a direct rejection of both David’s innocence and Jonathan’s faithfulness.
By leaving the table, Jonathan publicly broke rank with his father, King Saul, who had served as Israel’s first king starting around 1050 BC. Saul had descended into jealousy toward David, the young man anointed to succeed him. The phrase did not eat food on the second day underscores not just Jonathan’s anger, but the heartbreak he felt for David’s humiliation at the hands of the king. The dishonor Saul displayed toward David stood in stark contrast to the deep respect, protection, and love Jonathan had pledged to him, reflecting what true covenant faithfulness looks like under God’s anointing.
Jonathan’s fierce loyalty to David, despite the conflict with his own father, foreshadows the commitment demonstrated by Jesus’ followers in the New Testament, where friendship and sacrificial love stand as hallmarks of true devotion (John 15:13). Jonathan put the Lord’s chosen servant before his personal interests or family politics, highlighting the principle that obedience to God and love for one another can transcend even the most powerful earthly ties.