You next reference 1 Samuel 18:1, apparently completely unaware that this verse and its surrounding storyline actually sanctify homosexual relationships – by openly honoring the probable gay relationship between David  & Jonathan!  Indeed, the Scriptures devote more chapters to their beautiful love story than to any other human relationship in the entire Bible.

Please consider the following little-known truths about this story …

 

 

*The very first time that Jonathan (son of King Saul) met David, it seems that there was Love at first sight – a type of Soulmate reunion, with the Bible stating straight away that, “The soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” (the very verse – 1 Samuel 18:1 – that you cited above)

 

*Jonathan then immediately made a “covenant” with David, and gave him both his armor and his weapons – a prince’s most prized possessions; something that a heterosexual man would never have done for a mere first-day friend, even a first day “blood brother” (see 1 Samuel 18:2-4).

 

*Saul soon soured of David and wanted to kill him, but Jonathan would have none of it – warning his beloved of his father’s cruel plans and allowing David to escape.  Jonathan and David then met in secret and Jonathan tried to convince David to return to the palace to live with him, and yet David still feared for his life.  Jonathan returned without him and one night thereafter, the subject of David came up at the royal table, with Saul saying, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman!  Do I not know that you have chosen [David] to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness?” – a statement that more than a few homosexual sons have certainly since heard at the dinner table from their own similarly intolerant fathers (see 1 Samuel 20:30) …

[By the way, “uncovering the nakedness” of a family member was a common euphemism of the time for incest, and Saul would not have used such a term lightly – certainly not to denigrate a mere heterosexual friendship that was not to his liking.]

 

*Immediately thereafter, a heartbroken Jonathan ran to David to tell him the sad news, and the romantic tragedy of this meeting is palpable, with the Scriptures stating that, “David rose from the table and prostrated himself with face to the ground.  He bowed three times [to Jonathan] and they kissed each other and wept with each other” (see 1 Samuel 20:41).

 

*They then essentially made a pact to love each other forever (see 1 Samuel 20:42), and Jonathan left.  He was subsequently killed in battle, and yet David honored their promise to one another – later adopting Jonathan’s only son as his own (something that was completely unheard of at a time when kings were expected to kill anyone with blood-ties to a previous, rival ruler).

 

*But this is not all … In the first chapter of 2 Samuel the author tells us that after Jonathan was killed in battle, David tore his clothes and fasted – both a sign of deep mourning.  He then wrote a song in Jonathan’s honor and ordered all the people of Judah to sing it – a song that includes the words, “I am distressed for you my brother Jonathan.  Greatly beloved you were to me.  Your love to me was so wonderful.  It surpassed the love of women.” (see 2 Samuel 1:26)

 

*Indeed, the Hebrew words used to describe the “love” of these two men were aheb [Strong’s #157] & ahabah [Strong”s #160], the first of which being regularly used to describe the romantically sexual relations between a man and his wife, and the second of which being also used not infrequently in the Bible to describe a similar marital love.

In conclusion then, it must now be clear to you & yours that the Bible does sanctify gay relationships.  Yes, it is true that both Jonathan & David married women after their dramatic final parting, and yet this does not diminish the obvious fact that they loved each other as homosexual partners before they were forced to separate.  Indeed, many homosexuals even today still succumb to societal pressures and choose similarly, and Jonathan – as a prince – would have actually had no choice but to marry a woman, whether he wanted to or not.

 

As such, there really is little doubt that Jonathan & David were true romantic lovers in every sense of the word, and there can now be just as little doubt that the Bible itself honors such sincerely loving relationships, regardless of the genders involved.

 

P.S.  And remember, David is no mere minor hero in the Bible.  He is called “a man after God’s own heart” (see 1 Samuel 13:14) and he was one of Israel’s most beloved kings.  Also, at least according to tradition, he is one of the more prolific biblical authors (having supposedly written the majority of the Psalms).  And most importantly of all for you & yours, he is – at least according to Paulinist tradition – in the direct lineage of Jesus Christ himself!

Filed under: Burnishing Bigotry by Scaughdt