Don't Forget Your Shoes

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.

The relationship of Jonathan and David in the Old Testament is a beautiful picture of Christ and the Believer in the New Testament. In our story Jonathan gives his future king everything, but one thing. Sometimes we boast in what we’ve given to the Lord; but He is more interested, I think, in what we haven’t given Him, that one thing we are holding back. In Jonathan’s case, it was his shoes.

If David was going to flee away from his adversary Saul, he would need shoes for those hot sands. How many there are who would have others believe they have given “all” to the Lord, when in reality, like Ananias and Sapphire “keep back part.” I think it may be good for each of us to sing afresh, “Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?”

You’ll remember the sacrifices of the Old Testament were, for the most part, divided evenly; one portion went to God, another to the priest, and an equal part to the one who brought it. But the whole burnt offering was exclusively for God and God alone. It represented complete dedication and consecration to Him. God is a jealous Lover; He will not share you with another.

Jesus made plain God wants the whole man. In Mark’s gospel, discussing the first Commandment with a scribe, our Lord says we are to love God with all our heart (emotional), with all our soul (spiritual), with all our mind (intellectual), and with all our strength (physical). When he heard this ,the scribe said, “This is more than all burnt sacrifices and offerings.” And so it is my friend!