One bright morning Jonathan, the prince of Israel, called a little boy to him and said, “Come with me out to the field near the city. I am going to shoot with my bow and arrows, and I want you to watch where the arrows fall. Then you can run and pick them up and bring them back to me.”
So the two started off together, walking out of town into a wide field. How proud the little boy felt to be walking along beside a prince! Perhaps he even tried to take steps as long as Jonathan’s. Perhaps his eyes sparkled when he saw the shining bow that Jonathan carried. Finally they came to a great rock in the field, and Jonathan stopped to fit an arrow into his shining how. Then he aimed carefully at an object far off, and shot the arrow. How swiftly it darted through the air! The little boy watched to see where it should fall and then Jonathan shot another arrow farther away, and called after him, “Is not the arrow beyond you?”
When the arrows had all been shot, and picked up from the grass, Jonathan told the little boy that he might carry the shining bowl and the arrows back to the city. And perhaps the boy thought that would be the greatest fun of all.
Now Jonathan had not told the boy why they had come out to shoot in the field that morning. And the boy did not know that some one was hiding behind the great rock while Jonathan was shooting with his bow and arrows. But all the while David was hiding behind the great rock, listening to hear what Jonathan should tell the child. And after Jonathan sent the boy away, David came out from his hiding-place and fell on his face to the ground, bowing down before Jonathan three times. Then Jonathan ran to meet him, and the two friends wept and kissed each other.
You remember that Saul was trying again to kill David, and that he had gone to Naioth for this purpose. But the Lord would not let him kill David there. And while Saul worshiped the Lord at Naioth, David ran away and came back to talk with Jonathan. He told Jonathan how Saul was trying to kill him. And Jonathan felt very sad. He wanted to help his friend whom he loved so much. He asked, “What can I do to help you?” And David said, “Tomorrow will be a feast-day and Saul will expect me to eat at his table, because I am his son-in-law. I can not go, for I fear he will kill me there. Let me hide in the field, and if Saul becomes angry because I am not present at the feast you will know that he is trying to take my life; but if he speaks well of me, then you will know that it will be safe for me to return again.”
Jonathan promised to let David know whether his father was still angry or whether he would be kind. He told David to hide behind the great rock, and he said he would come out in the morning and bring a little boy along to pick up the arrows which he would shoot. If he should say, “The arrow is beyond you!” then David would know that Saul was very angry; but if he should tell the boy to find the arrow at one side, then David would understand that Saul was no longer displeased. Saul was very angry when David failed to come to the feast, and he even threw his javelin at Jonathan because he thought Jonathan was too friendly with David. And Jonathan knew that David’s life was in great danger, so he rose from the table and would not eat any food that day. He hurried out to the field with the little boy, to let David know that he must go away from that place and never let Saul find him again. Because David and Jonathan loved each other very dearly, they were sorry to part. They did not know whether they should ever see each other again. Jonathan knew that some day God would cause David to become the king of Israel. He asked David to promise that he would always be kind to him and to his children. And David was glad to make such a promise to his faithful friend.
Then the two men parted, and Jonathan went back to the city. But David went away to seek a hiding-place somewhere in the land of Israel.