Developing Friendships That Last
1. Who will stick closer to you than a brother? Proverbs 18:24
2. Who will love you at all times? Proverbs 17:17
3. Who is faithful in his wounds, telling you what you need to hear--not necessarily what you want to hear? Proverbs 27:6
4. Who is committed to your best, and will sharpen you like iron sharpens iron? Proverbs 27:17
5. Who will be there to lift you up if you fall? Ecclesiastes 4:10
Now it came about when he had finished speaking to
Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David,
and Jonathan loved him as himself.
5 Principles of Friendship
1. Mutual Faith
1 Samuel 14:6--Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, "Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few."
1 Samuel 17:46-47--This day the LORD will hand you over to
me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your
head...and the whole world will know that there is a God in
Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not
by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle
is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands."
2. Mutual Loyalty
Proverbs 19:4--Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man's friend deserts him.
1 Samuel 19:1-5--Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. But Jonathan was very fond of David and warned him, "My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding and stay there...
1 Corinthians 13:4--Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy,
it does not boast, it is not proud.
3. Mutual Candor
1 Samuel 20:3-4--But David took an oath and said, "Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, `Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.' Yet as surely as the LORD lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death." Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you want me to do, I'll do for you."
1 Samuel 20:9--"Never!" Jonathan said. "If I had the least inkling that my father was determined to harm you, wouldn't I tell you?"
Proverbs 27:5-6--Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy
multiplies kisses.
4. Mutual Vulnerability
1 Samuel 20:41-42--After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side [of the stone] and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together—but David wept the most. Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the LORD, saying, `The LORD is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.'" Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.
5. Mutual Encouragement
1 Samuel 23:16-18--And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. "Don't be afraid," he said. "My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this." The two of them made a covenant before the LORD. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.
Proverbs 12:25--An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.
*Scripture is quoted from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.