We have been studying in the Psalms about the importance of God’s Word in our lives as Christians. It is to be our map and mandate for decisions we face. It’s also to be a source for inspiration, encouragement and empowerment. We should therefore meditate on it day and night.
But there are times when we face decisions and we don’t know any clear statement in the Bible to give us direction. What do you do in such times? Well, let me share some thoughts from the life of Jonathan in the Old Testament. Those of you who regularly listen to this program know that my Bible Hero and Mentor is Barnabas in the New Testament. Jonathan manifests many of the same characteristics Barnabas did, so I consider him my Old Testament Hero and Mentor.
When I studied his life I didn’t find any place where it clearly states he based his decisions in daily life on God’s Word. It is true they didn’t have much of the Bible at the time he lived. And his father wasn’t the best example of one who ordered his life based on what he knew of God’s Word or of what the prophet Samuel told him.
It appears, however, Jonathan did have a basic understanding of who God is and some of his expectations, and his life was exemplary in many ways. So let’s do a biographical study of his life over the coming days. To do this we first will collect and review what is said about his life in 1st Samuel 9 through 2nd Samuel 1. Then we will correlate what we find into an outline that focuses on his character. Once we’ve done this we’ll crystallize what we’ve learned into some applications.
