In the morning Joseph and I got our stuff together and set out for Davis at about 1pm. After arriving in Davis at about 2pm, we saw our families, got ready, and headed out to the youth group camping trip with Zoya and my brother at about 3pm. We only got lost once, and made it to the site safely.

After dinner, Joseph gave his first message/lesson/talk/thing. He's going to be talking this weekend on worldview. I went to bed pretty early, but my brother kept waking me up, since he stayed up until 1 or 2 in the morning.

Devotion notes and thoughts:

In all my previous notes and thoughts, I had been following the Grace Valley reading schedule. Now that I'm in Berkeley, I'm switching over to the schedule that my housemates, fellowship-mates, and church-mates use. The reading is much less, but there are questions that go along with the reading. I will post the general questions here on this blog, and leave out the personal ones.

1 Samuel 20

What does Jonathan’s request to David in this passage reveal about what he believed about David’s future? How would this have strengthened David at this point in his life?

But show me unfailing kindness like that of the LORD as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family—not even when the LORD has cut off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth."

Jonathan believes that David is God's anointed and the eventual King of Israel, even though at this time David was being hunted by the current King. It looks like he will become a fugitive, not a King. At this time, it might have seemed to David that his eventual kingship wasn't very likely, so Jonathan's faith strengthened his own.

Reflect back on Jonathan’s relationship with David. What kind of person is Jonathan relationally?

Selfless. Loving. Humble. He's fulfilling the greatest commandment.

Given what went on before, what is odd about Saul’s response to David’s absence in v.27?

Saul has given an oath that David not be put to death. Saul seemed surprised that David did not attend the feast, even though he had already tried to pin David to the wall with a spear in the previous chapter.

What warning does Saul’s anger toward Jonathan give me regarding my response when people aren’t supporting me?

Saul's anger is completely irrational, because before he tries to kill Jonathan, he claims to Jonathan that David is a threat to Jonathan's throne. Killing Jonathan himself wouldn't make sense after saying such a thing.

Though in v. 2 we get a glimpse of how close Jonathan and Saul were, Saul gets so angry at Jonathan that he tries to kill him. Reflect on the ugliness of Saul’s lack of emotional self-control, and the destruction of relationships this causes.

Saul's lack of self-control causes him to disregard all of his relationships, even his closest family relationships. Jonathan is probably one of the closest people to Saul, yet Saul doesn't hesitate to make an attempt on his life when he feels that Jonathan is assisting David.

Personal thoughts

Jonathan is humble enough to accept the fact that God's plan didn't have Jonathan becoming king. He accepted the fact that the kingdom would be turned over to his best friend, and did everything he could to protect and assist David.