Lord's Day, International KJV Sunday School Lesson: Outline for Students and Teachers

August 4

Lesson 10 (KJV)

A Covenant Between Friends

Devotional Reading: John 15:12–17

Background Scripture: 1 Samuel 18–20

1 Samuel 18:1–5

1 And it came to pass, when he had 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.

2 And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house.

3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.

4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.

5 And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

1 Samuel 19:1–7

1 And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David.

2 But 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:

3 And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee.

4 And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good:

5 For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the Lord wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?

6 And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the Lord liveth, he shall not be slain.

7 And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past.

Key Verse

The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

—1 Samuel 18:1

Covenant in God

Unit 3: Covenant: A Personal Perspective

Lessons 10–13

Lesson Aims

After participating in this lesson, each learner will be able to:

1. Retell the story of the friendship between Jonathan and David.

2. Describe the significance of the covenant between Jonathan and David.

3. Make a plan to be a better Christ-honoring friend to another person.

Lesson Outline

Introduction

A. Promise Keepers

B. Lesson Context

I. A Covenant Made (1 Samuel 18:1–5)

A. United in Friendship (v. 1)

BFFs

B. Bound in Service (v. 2)

C. Formed in Love (vv. 3, 4)

The Meaning of Gifts

D. Sent in Service (v. 5)

II. A Covenant Observed (1 Samuel 19:1–7)

A. A Plot (v. 1)

B. A Plan (vv. 2, 3)

C. A Defense (vv. 4, 5)

D. A Promise (v. 6)

E. A Reunion (v. 7)

Conclusion

A. Covenant Keepers

B. Prayer

C. Thought to Remember

HOW TO SAY IT

Abraham	Ay-bruh-ham.
Bethlehem	Beth-lih-hem.
Deuteronomy	Due-ter-ahn-uh-me.
Ecclesiastes	Ik-leez-ee-as-teez.
Goliath	Go-lye-uth.
Leviticus	Leh-vit-ih-kus.
Philistines	Fuh-liss-teenz or Fill-us-teenz.

What Do You Think? How can we ensure that our friendships are genuine and not simply founded in a desire for gain of some sort? Digging Deeper Under what circumstances, if any, would it be appropriate to draw up a general rule of friendships that is based on a single bad experience with a “fair-weather friend”? Why?

What Do You Think? What could be some modern equivalents of the way Jonathan expressed friendship with David? Why? Digging Deeper Think of nonmaterial things as well as tangible objects. Be prepared to explain the nature of the equivalence.

What Do You Think? What are some ways we can act to defend an innocent friend without jeopardizing our own credibility in the process? Digging Deeper What types of situations might call us not to defend a friend, either to protect ourselves or to do what is ultimately best for the friend in question? And if there are limits to loyalty, what are they?

What Do You Think? What are some techniques to keep a vouching-for situation from resulting in more emotional “heat” than the “light” of facts and reason? Digging Deeper Should you focus on reducing emotional “heat” (and run the risk of appearing defensive) or on increasing the “light” of reason (and run the risk of allowing emotional characterizations to stick)?

What Do You Think? If a church were to have a ministry to reconcile conflicts between friends and family members, what would such a ministry look like? Digging Deeper Consider further how churches in a given area could band together to do this.

Thought to Remember

Honoring covenants, commitments, and contracts honors the Lord.

Visual for Lesson 10. Point to this visual as you ask what elements your learners see that they experience or desire to experience in friendships.

To print the reproducible activity page, simply click the highlighted text below to create a pdf file on your hard drive. Then open the pdf file in Acrobat Reader and print.

Activity Page (August 4: A Covenant between Friends)

Boatman, Charles R. et al. “A Covenant between Friends.” The KJV Standard Lesson Commentary, 2018–2019. Ed. Ronald L. Nickelson et al. Vol. 66. Colorado Springs, CO: Standard Publishing, 2018. 417–419. Print.