The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Sam. 20:31-39, “’For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Therefore now, send and bring him to me, for he must surely die.’
32 But Jonathan answered Saul his father and said to him, ‘Why should he be put to death? What has he done?’ Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him down; so Jonathan knew that his father had decided to put David to death.
34 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.
35 Now it came about in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field for the appointment with David, and a little lad was with him.
36 He said to his lad, ‘Run, find now the arrows which I am about to shoot.’ As the lad was running, he shot an arrow past him.
37 When the lad reached the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the lad and said, ‘Is not the arrow beyond you?’
38And Jonathan called after the lad, ‘Hurry, be quick, do not stay!’ And Jonathan’s lad picked up the arrow and came to his master.
39 But the lad was not aware of anything; only Jonathan and David knew about the matter.”

Saul was furious! Anger had superseded his wisdom and he was determined to kill David. What had David done? He was simply absent from a meeting that was apparently regularly attended by the three of them. (Anger will ultimately be Saul’s downfall.)

Saul was never angered like this prior to becoming King. His ego has superseded his rank. Ever know anyone like that?

Had Saul paid closer attention to David and Jonathan, he could have uncovered the mystery of their “shooting the arrow.” This small secret enabled the two boys to communicate without anyone noticing. Children are often clever in concealing their habits from their parents.

There’s a lesson here for parents: Keep an eye on the habits of your children. Curb your anger! There’s an observation for the children, as well. Be careful about hiding things (even non-hurtful things) from your parents and from those who arecharged with caring for you. It worked well this time; it may not work as well next time.

Let love, honesty and faithfulness be the key to all your successes. “Train up a child in the way he should go…” Do you know the remainder of that verse, and where that is found in the Bible? Try Proverbs 22… It’s guaranteed to help!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom