I will shoot three arrows.” So much depends on these three, will David be restored to the court of king Saul, or will he need to flee into the wilderness?
Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon; and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. And when you have stayed three days, go down quickly and come to the place where you hid on the day of the deed; and remain by the stone Ezel. Then I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target; and there I will send a lad, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I expressly say to the lad, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them and come’—then, as the LORD lives, there is safety for you and no harm. But if I say thus to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you’—go your way, for the LORD has sent you away. And as for the matter which you and I have spoken of, indeed the LORD be between you and me forever.”
1 Samuel 20:18-24
Jonathan’s plan is simple. It’s a setup after observing the response of Saul to David’s absence at a feast. He is being secretive, his father’s spies are everywhere, but his heart and covenant with David compel him.
It was the second day, and David’s chair was still empty. Saul noticed this and became furious. It’s this furious anger that betrays him.
“Then Saul became angry with Jonathan and shouted, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you are siding with Jesse’s son to your own shame and to the disgrace of your mother? 31 Every day Jesse’s son lives on earth you and your kingship are not secure. Now send for him and bring him to me—he must die!”
It’s here we see Saul broadcasts his hatred toward David. It exposes everything and now Jonathan knows what is in his father’s heart. It’s a rage that bubbles up for all to see; it is uncontrollable and obvious. David “must die.”
Pay attention now. Saul attacks Jonathan’s mother in verse 30. We don’t know the details, but it seems that in his anger he disparages the character of Jonathan’s mother. Anger has the tendency to completely twist and distort one’s perception of reality. It’s like a wildfire that can’t be controlled.
“An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.”
Proverbs 29:22
Jonathan’s plan has now become active. He now knows what he must do. He picks up his bow and gets his arrows. He must communicate with David about what he knows. His covenant with David supersedes everything, even the chance to rule as the next king of Israel.
The wilderness in desperate hiding is the last place David wants to be. As I read the life of David, I see that he doesn’t want this—he has done everything possible to avoid it. This isn’t a choice he makes, rather it’s been thrust on him by God himself. And who can walk with God without doing His will?
Jonathan shoots his arrows in the field, but wide of the mark. This is David’s cue that he must run; Saul intends to murder him. He dares not remain under Saul as his king. He must escape into the desert.
King David 101 