Title Jonathan's Right Choice (1 Samuel 19:1-7)
Contents
Eighty years ago, in 1929, the United States had the Great Depression. At that time, the United States participated in World War I as an Allied Forces. Because he was at war in another country, he made huge profits by selling military supplies to the Allied Forces without taking any damage from the war. In addition, after the war, the factory that made tanks and fighters was transformed into a factory that made cars and airplanes, and the factory that made radios became a factory that made radios, and returned soldiers were put into industrial sites as workers.
On the other hand, Europe, which had suffered from the ravages of war, continued to sustain its economy by purchasing all commodities, including grain, from the United States until it recovered. As a result, the United States has become a world leader in agriculture, manufacturing, and finance. As the economy is booming, both businesses and individuals have jumped into investing, and stock prices have risen sharply in the US stock market. There were few unemployed people, and most of the people had abundant money. Brokerage firms borrowed money to make a profit by selling more stocks, which plunged the U.S. economy into a huge bubble.
Meanwhile, in Europe, recovering from the aftermath of the war, the demand for American goods declined sharply as crops could be harvested. While industrial production increased, it was impossible to export it, resulting in a shortage of money. On October 24, 1929, the bubble finally burst, and during that day, personal and corporate property was wiped out in an instant. The tragedy occurred when investors, who were filled with cans overnight, jumped from skyscrapers. Banks went bankrupt, agricultural prices fell, factories closed, and exports stopped. As a result, 30 million people lost their jobs, and the economic downturn continued for more than a decade. In such a situation, President Roosevelt overcame the economic crisis in the United States with the New Deal.
Eighty years later, the latest financial crisis stemmed from the subprime mortgage crisis. Subprime is a system that provides loans to low-income people with no credit to purchase houses. They borrowed not only money from the United States, but also money from all over the world, including Europe. As house prices plummeted and they were unable to repay their loans, financial companies such as banks It was only going bankrupt due to huge bad debts. That influence is having a global impact. Korea, which is completely dependent on the US economy, has been hit hard enough to be called the second financial crisis. It is said to be more difficult than it was 10 years ago. In this situation, we need to think deeply about what we have options.
Life is a series of choices, as the saying goes, 'A moment's choice determines ten years'. Depending on what you choose, you can be a success or a failure. In the midst of global financial crises and recessions, the current situation may be exacerbated by making the wrong choice. On the other hand, if we strive to overcome difficult crises with faith, the recession may unexpectedly recover quickly. From the image of Jonathan making a wise choice at a time when our right choice is important, we must learn what he chose and the spiritual wisdom that enabled him to do so.
Choosing faith (God's providence) over blood
God, who abandoned Saul and chose David, gradually led David to the center of politics. David, who came from an unknown rural shepherd, defeated the Philistine warrior Goliath and rose to prominence as a popular politician with national support.
However, as Hosadamah, Saul became very jealous of David and ordered his son Jonathan and his servants to kill him. Jonathan was the next successor to the throne after his father Saul, and from a political point of view, David could be said to be his greatest enemy, so there was sufficient justification to get rid of David. Also, he tried to get rid of David through them by taking advantage that some of his servants also hated David's increasing position and had an atmosphere of caution.
In this urgent situation, God resolved David's tremendous crisis through Jonathan. He had already loved David as his own life (18:1), and he saved David by claiming Jonathan?셲 heart, ?쐆e loved David very much??(verse 1).
From a human point of view, Jonathan at that time was faced with the difficult problem of choosing between his father and his friend David. Even if you don't think deeply about it, it is natural to follow your natural father, and it can be said that it is a reasonable treatment for his future.
Unfortunately, however, his father was forsaken by God because he practiced injustice, so Jonathan, a man of faith, was obsessed with blood and could never obey his father's orders. So Jonathan hastily fled David and spoke directly to his father. It can be said that his appearance like this foreshadows the spirit of love and sacrifice for Jesus of John the Baptist, who said, 'He must increase, and I must decrease' (John 3:30).
But today, contrary to Jonathan, we often make moderate compromises with unrighteousness rather than standing on the path of righteousness and making the right choices. Rather than self-denial and sacrifice, they are immersed in the extreme selfishness of taking care of their own interests, even if they harm others. In a nutshell, did the saying, 'When your cousin buys land, your stomach hurts' originated?
Choosing the cause, not the sound
At that time, Saul was abandoned by God and possessed by evil spirits, and he tried to kill Saul, who was a loyal servant and son-in-law. On the other hand, David was loved by all the people because God was with him. If Saul was already a small being who lost his kingship and could not fulfill his responsibilities as Israel's leader, David was in an important position to bear the heavy responsibility as the future king of Israel as a being worthy of God's will. So Jonathan was not led by simple injustice, but only on the basis of justice, and he dealt with the devastating situation religiously well.
But he was sure that choosing David, who would become a great leader of fairness and justice, would make the kingdom strong, the people at peace, and enable God's will to be accomplished. This was the cause. That is why Jonathan made the courageous decision to abandon the sound and choose the cause.
There is a saying called 弱뤺꺾鸚㎩ㅁ (弱뤺꺾鸚㎩ㅁ). If we cling to small gains right in front of us, it is easy to lose something truly big and precious. But those who dare to give up small gains for a short period of time without being bound by them can achieve great gains.
For example, if you don't sow your seeds in the spring because it's a waste to sow them in the ground, you may have as many grains as unsown seeds for a short period of time compared to those who sow. But that's only for a moment. However, a person who dares to sow seeds in the ground without hesitation will begin to harvest at least 30 times the amount of seeds sown in spring in the fall and harvest up to 100 times more crops (Gen. 26:12).
How long will you cling to the small gains in front of you? Now, lift your eyes away and look at the blessings that God has promised, wide and great. He said to Abraham, ?쏬ift up your eyes and look from where you are, north and south, and east and west, and the land you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever and ever??(Genesis 13:14-15). As in these words, God will surely grant you as much blessing as you seek with the eyes of faith.
Choosing good over evil
Jonathan not only saw David's faith and courage in the battle with the Philistines, but also experienced God with him. On the one hand, he not only envyed his faithful servants for no reason and wanted to kill them, but he was possessed by evil spirits and decided that he could no longer be with his father, who disobeyed God's will. Thus, Jonathan possessed the wisdom to distinguish between good and evil.
So Jonathan said, 'Please, do not sin against David your servant. He has not sinned against you, and what he has done to you is exceedingly good. He did not spare his life, but killed the Philistines, and the LORD worked great salvation for all Israel. So the king was glad when he saw this, so why do you want to sin by killing David without cause and shedding innocent blood???(verses 4-5). It was said that power cannot be shared between rich and poor. Even if he is a father and a son, it is very difficult for the Crown Prince, who will inherit the throne from his father, who is the most powerful, dare to say such a direct statement. During the Joseon Dynasty, Yeongjo hated his son, Crown Prince Sado, and eventually died by imprisoning him in rice wine. With this in mind, Jonathan at that time could have been killed by his father. At that time, when Saul was possessed by an evil spirit, the danger was even greater because he was so stubborn that he lost his discernment. Nevertheless, Jonathan knew how to discern what was good and what was evil, so he was able to risk his life to speak directly to his father for David.
Our selection criterion must also be the discernment of ?쁶hat is good and what is evil?? Sometimes it takes courage and sacrifice to forsake evil and choose good. If Jonathan had been obsessed with the next throne at that time, how could he have loved David? Jonathan was a man of true faith who knew how to lay down himself to accomplish God's will.