The Blood Covenant | Part 1

David and Jonathan's deep commitment to one another illustrates the commitment God has made with us.

Listen to Adrian Rogers. Now one of the greatest truths that you will ever learn, one of the greatest concepts that can ever come into your mind is the truth of the blood covenant and the concept of the blood covenant. You could not have had a deeper commitment than Jonathan and David made one to the other this day. See what that means to us. One day we were rebels.

We were outcasts. Then we received Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. Then we agreed with the terms of the covenant.

And in the next day, we're seated in heavenly places. We are royal blue bloods, seated with the King. Welcome to Love Worth Finding featuring the timeless messages of pastor, teacher and author Adrian Rogers. A blood covenant is a biblical principle that permanently unites two people together in marriage, business or in friendship. Under this covenant, the two parties adopt a loving kindness toward each other, meaning their love surpasses all differences. Jonathan and David's blood covenant in First Samuel Chapter 18 and 19 is a picture of the blood covenant God made with us through Jesus. If you have your Bible, turn there now as Adrian Rogers explains more about the blood covenant. Now, one of the greatest truths that you will ever learn, one of the greatest concepts that can ever come into your mind is the truth of the blood covenant and the concept of the blood covenant. Now, a blood covenant was an unbreakable partnership between two people who greatly loved and greatly trusted one another. And the blood covenant was practiced not only in biblical times by biblical characters, but historians tell us that it has been practiced by most primitive tribes as they go back in history that most primitive tribes had one form or another of a blood covenant.

Now, a blood covenant really involved three things. When people who were very close friends entered into covenant, there was a mutual mingling of lives and it involved, number one, a sharing of possessions. Many times to symbolize that if I'm in covenant with you and you're in covenant with me, that our possessions are co-owned and co-mingled, I would take off a garment, a coat or a tunic or a robe and give it to you.

And you would put it on, symbolizing thus that my garment representing my possessions is my way of saying that what I have belongs to you. And then not only was there a sharing of possessions, there was also a sharing of protection. That meant that if you were ever in a battle, ever in a fight, you could count on me to be at your side.

Your enemies were my enemies, just as your friends were my friends. And so in order to symbolize this many times, they would take a implement of war, a hatchet, a dagger, a sword, a spear, whatever, some implement of war, and this would be given. And then this covenant reached perhaps the highest form.

Not only was there a sharing of possessions and a sharing of protection, but a sharing of personhood itself. An incision would be made often in the wrist of the right hand. A cut would be made there and a cut would be made in both hands until the blood would mingle. And then these hands would be clasped where the wrist would touch and the blood would commingle. And with their hands clasped, they would lift their hands to heaven and pledge themselves one to the other, saying that the very lifeblood that flows through you flows through me and that our blood now has been commingled and there is more even than a sharing of possession and a sharing of protection, there is a sharing of personhood itself. They had become blood brothers, blood brothers. And almost all of us who used to go to the movies as little boys, I used to go as a little 10-year-old boy.

Saturday morning we'd get a quarter and be able to go down to see the serials and we always enjoyed seeing The Lone Ranger and Tonto and Kemosabe and watch those movies. And always, you know, when the white man would get off in Indian territory and he'd get in real difficulty and finally he'd make friends with the Indians, who were the enemies, then the Indian would say, well, you become blood brother. And what they would do, you remember how they would cut their wrists and mingle their blood like that and smoke peace pipe and all of this? They had become blood brothers. Now, that roots back to antiquity. And in a sense, that is really what happened here with David and Jonathan. They made a blood covenant, as we're going to see.

Now, when these people entered into covenant, they had a new attitude one toward another. This attitude is called in the Bible loving kindness, loving kindness. Now, we use the word loving kindness very loosely. It's a very beautiful word.

It has a nice sound to it. But scholars tell us that the word loving kindness, the name loving kindness, is an attitude that is to be shown to someone with whom you have a blood covenant. It is really a blood covenant word. Another word is the word friend, which is a blood covenant word. Now, we use the word friend very lightly. But the word friend is not really truly meant to be very lightly. Sometimes I get what I call junk mail from maybe an insurance company or whatever, and they begin to say dear friend.

That's the way they start. They don't even know you. They may even misspell your name. One radio evangelist sends me a letter once a month written to dear Dr. Bodgers. That's truth. Isn't that right, Linda? Nod your heads.

That's right. Dear Dr. Bodgers, they don't know me, but I am dear to them, so they say. As dear friend, we use the word friend so lightly. But dear friend, the word friend is not meant to be used lightly. People who were in blood covenant one with the other had a relationship, and they were called friends. Have you read in the scripture there's a friend that sticketh closer than a brother? That means that if you're in a blood covenant with someone, your relationship to that person is closer. Your duties and responsibilities to that person are understood to be closer than your duties and responsibilities even to a brother of the flesh.

There's a friend that sticketh closer than a brother, indeed blood brothers. Now, keeping that in mind, let's go back and look at these verses that we just read here in 1 Samuel 18, beginning in verse 1 again. And it came to pass when he'd made an end of speaking unto Saul that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul and took him that day and would let him go no more home to his father's house. And Saul took him that day.

And then notice verse 3. And Jonathan and David made a blood covenant because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him and gave it to David. Here is a sharing of possessions. And his garments even to his sword and to his bow and to his girdle.

Here is a sharing of protection. It's Jonathan's way of saying to David, David, from now on, your battles are my battles and you can count on me to be a loyal soldier by your side. But not only was there a sharing of possessions and protection, there was a sharing of personhood itself. Look again in verse 3. Then Jonathan and David made a blood covenant because he loved him as his own soul, that is, as his self, as his self.

A sharing of personhood. You could not have had a deeper commitment than Jonathan and David made one to the other this day. Now, they made the covenant, and then what happened was this. Saul becomes more and more insanely jealous of David. Look, for example, if you will, in chapter 19, verses 1 and 2. And Saul spake to Jonathan his son and to all his servants that they should kill David.

Now, all of the desires of the kingdom and all of the ambitions of the kingdom and all of the programs of the kingdom are brought into one burning focus. Because Saul is insane with rage, he's eaten up with envy, his decree goes out to everyone, kill David. And David is hunted like a wild animal.

He lives in holes and caves away from friends and family. But Jonathan is more loyal to David now than he is even to his own father. And look, if you will, in verse 2. Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David, and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee, now therefore I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself. There's a sense in which Jonathan is guilty of treason, treason not only against the king, but disloyalty to his own father, but yet he has a higher relationship now. And he takes David's side, and he comes to David's aid because they are now blood brothers.

Finally, however, Jonathan and Saul have been slain by the Philistines, and they're now dead. And God has seen to it that David his anointed has become king over Israel. In the seceding messages that we'll preach, we'll talk about David becoming king because there are many wonderful lessons to learn.

But let's just go forward in the material quite a bit and turn to 2 Samuel chapter 9. David is a full-grown man. He has become the king over all Israel. He now has virtually unlimited power as a king. Now he goes into the palace.

He's ready to take over, and he asks a question. Look at it in 2 Samuel 9 verse 1. And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul? Now let me just stop right here in the middle of a sentence and say, I imagine that when David asks that question, Is there any left of the house of Saul that all of those people who were there said, I wondered when the purge would begin. I wondered when David would start to take vengeance on his enemies. He's going to root out the last vestige of the family of Saul and persecute them to the death, and indeed he ought to the way they hounded him, the way they fought him, the way they sought for his life. But they were not prepared for the rest of the question.

Look at it. And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? Because you see, when a man entered into covenant with another man, not only did he enter into covenant with that man, but he also entered into covenant with the relatives, the children, the offspring of that man. And David knew that he was in a blood covenant with Jonathan, and so he says, Is there any left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? Now verse 2, Now there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he. And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul that I may show him the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son which is lame on his feet. And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Major, the son of Amiel, in Lodibar. Then David sent and fetched him out of the house of Major, the son of Amiel, from Lodibar. Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was coming to David, he fell on his face and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth.

And he answered, Behold, by servant. Now here's what had happened. When the kingdom of Saul fell, and when Saul and Jonathan were slain, when it was obvious that David, Saul's enemy, was going to be king, there was blind panic in the household of Saul. Everybody started to flee. They're going into their houses and taking things out. They're hiding their possessions.

They know there's going to be a complete change, a new regime. And there was a nurse there who was given the job of taking care of King Saul's grandson, Jonathan's son, a little baby named Mephibosheth. If you're fixing to have a baby and looking for a good name, that's a good name, Mephibosheth. And so this was the name of the little baby, Mephibosheth. And the baby was in the nursery. Now this nurse, thinking that perhaps the baby would be harmed because the baby was Saul's grandson, ran into the nursery, picked up the little baby, and ran out with the little baby to hide the baby. She was in such a panic and such a hurry that she stumbled and fell with the baby in her arms, and the great weight of her body crushed that baby beneath her, and the little baby's legs were hopelessly mangled in that fall. And the baby from that time on was lame in its feet and could never walk without the aid of crutches as he pulled his dead limbs behind him. This little baby was crippled. Now the nurse took the baby to a hideout, a place on the backside of nowhere called Lodivar.

And the very name itself means a place of no pasture. That is, it was a dark, dingy, dusty, dirty hideaway. And I can just in my mind's eye see this old nurse raising that little baby out there and saying to the baby, You have an enemy. Your enemy is David. You must continually hide from David. No one must know that you're here. You must keep your whereabouts secret. And I know this is a dingy place. I know this is a dirty place. I know this is a sterile place, a place of no pasture.

It's the only way that you can continue to live, and so you must stay here. And there he is, a little prince in exile. He grew up breathing dust, dragging his dead limbs behind him, fearing David and hating David. And all the time he was fearing David and all of the time he was hating David, he was in a blood covenant relationship with David. Now David takes the initiative. David asks, Is there anyone left of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of God unto him? And an old servant spoke up whose name was Ziba, and he said, Oh, yes, I know.

And Ziba somehow was privy to the fact as to where Mephibosheth was, and he told King David about this young man who had now grown up as a cripple living out there in this hideout, and so David said, Go get him and bring him to me. And so the king's entourage goes out there. He drags himself to the window. He looks out. He sees the king's soldiers coming. He sees the king's chariot.

He sees the royal guard. He thinks this is it. Are you Mephibosheth? Yes. Come.

Where? The king, David, requires it. Come. And they take him away. He comes into the palace. He's never even seen the palace.

He's lived on the backside of nowhere. He comes in. His crutches go to either side, and he falls prostrate on the ground in front of David. He's lying there quivering like a trapped animal. He's hoping for mercy. He hopes that the mercy that he will receive, that the blow will be swift, that he'll not be tortured, that he'll be suddenly killed.

That's all he can hope for. He knows the sentence of death is upon him. And then notice what David says in 2 Samuel 9, verse 7. And David said unto him, Fear not, for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and I will restore thee all of the land of Saul thy father, and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. And he bowed himself and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am? Mephibosheth says, I don't understand it. Who am I that you would say this to me, that you would tell me not to be afraid, that you would say you want me to eat at your table, you want to restore the riches to me? Who am I?

Oh, thank God for Nancy's songs, not because of who I am or what I've done. He says, Who am I, he says. Verse 9, Then the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master's son all that pertaineth to Saul and all his house. That is, everything that belonged to Saul now belongs to Mephibosheth. Thou, therefore, and thy sons and thy servants shall till the land for him.

He has a farm, and he's got people to farm it for. And thou shalt bring in the fruits that thy master's son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth, thy master's son, shall eat bread always at my table. Now, Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants, and overnight they all became the servants of this man, Mephibosheth.

It's a miraculous thing. And there's Mephibosheth. He's faced at this particular moment with a decision. Now, here's the decision that he has to make. He can either refuse the terms of the covenant, continue to be an enemy of David, and receive the judgment that was due and step outside the covenant, or he can personally ratify the covenant and receive the benefits and the blisses of the covenant.

Thank God he made the right decision. And so here's Mephibosheth. He's sitting there and saying, you know, this is wonderful. Yesterday I was an outcast and a rebel and an enemy. Today I'm an insider, a friend. Yesterday I was in a hideout. Today I'm in a palace. Yesterday I drank from a tin cup. Today I drink from a golden chalice. Last night I slept on a mat of straw. Tonight I sleep on silken sheets. Yesterday I had nothing.

Today I'm wealthy. I don't understand it. I don't think I know all that goes with it, but I cannot deny it, and thank God then I am going to enjoy it. And so he just says, praise God, David, if that's what you want to do, that's just fine with me. And so here is a great transformation. He comes the next morning. He's asleep there on those beautiful soft mattresses, those silken sheets, and the servants come in and nudge him gently about 9 o'clock. Would my Lord Mephibosheth like to rise now? Here's a basin for my Lord Mephibosheth to wash his hands. Oh, my Lord Mephibosheth, the king requires your presence at breakfast.

Would you like to come down to breakfast? And Mephibosheth comes down to breakfast, and there's the king's table, and there are the king's sons, and right at the king's right hand is an empty chair. Would my Lord Mephibosheth be seated there, please? There's that beautiful white linen tablecloth covering the table, just groaning with good things. Mephibosheth puts his mangled feet beneath that white linen.

They're not even seen at all. He's sitting up there from the table up. He looks like everybody else, just sitting up there because those things are hidden by God's grace, and he's sitting there at the table having such a wonderful time, and after a while he gets to feeling at home, and so he says, pass the biscuits, please. And David takes that tray of biscuits and passes them on down, and as they pass by, Mephibosheth looks at David's wrist, and on David's wrist he sees a scar because in these days when they would make a covenant where the wound was, they would rub dark powder into it and leave a mark there. It was called the mark of the covenant to remind them, and Mephibosheth sees that scar on David's wrist, and he says it's all because of the covenant that my father made with David so long ago.

I don't deserve it. I'm not certain I understand it completely, but I'm not going to deny it, and bless God, I'm going to enjoy it. And coming up tomorrow here on Love Worth Finding, we'll hear part two of this important message, but maybe as you've listened today, you have questions about who Jesus is or what he means to you, how to begin a relationship with God through Christ. We invite you to our Discover Jesus page at the website lwf.org slash radio.

You'll find resources and materials there that can answer questions you may have about your faith. Again, click Discover Jesus when you go to lwf.org slash radio. Now, if you'd like to order a copy of today's message, you can call us at 1-877-LOVEGOD.

Mention the title, The Blood Covenant. This message is also part of the insightful series, Live Like a King. For the complete collection, all 12 powerful messages, you can call 877-LOVEGOD or order online at lwf.org slash radio, or write us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. Thank you for studying in God's word with us today. If you'd like to start receiving daily devotions and links to our program, sign up for our daily heartbeat emails at lwf.org slash radio.

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As I can best characterize Adrian Rogers, he was brilliantly simple and simply brilliant. Blessings to you and all at Love Worth Finding. Well, we are honored to share these life changing messages and the resources that we develop so that you can learn and grow in your faith. When you donate to Love Worth Finding right now, we want to send you a hardcover copy of our new book, 25 Days of Anticipation. 2,000 years ago, the world waited in anticipation for the Messiah. Inspired by the teachings of Adrian Rogers, this powerful new resource will lead you in an advent study of the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled when he came to earth. Request the book, 25 Days of Anticipation, when you call with a gift at 1-877-LOVEGOD.