Theme: The LORD’s King brings division, he cannot be stopped; be faithful in the tasks that he has given to you

When Jonathan was first introduced, at the beginning of Saul’s reign, he was an army commander and so must have been at least 20 years old (cf. Numbers 1:3; 1 Samuel 13:2). If Saul ruled for around 40 years (Acts 13:21) then Jonathan was close to 60 when he died with his father (1 Samuel 31). David was 30 years old when Saul died (cf. 1 Samuel 31:2; 2 Samuel 5:4) thus he must’ve been around 30 years younger than Jonathan.

As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbour of yours, who is better than you. – 1 Samuel 15:27-28

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” – Matthew 10:34-39