PHILEO LOVE

When hearing the phrase, phileo love, I always have three mental images.  One is Philadelphia, which is one of the seven churches addressed in Revelation and is one of two churches that receive only praise and no criticism. The second is of the city called Philadelphia that can be found in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, named for brotherly love and the third is the Jonathan and David relationship found in 1 Samuel, chapters 18, 19 and 20.  Pastor Lauren focused on phileo love this past Sunday while giving us the broader context of four different types of love.  God wants His people to be loving, hence the second greatest commandment given by Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 22.  Today’s writing will focus on love’s commitment, its concern and its constancy.

Commitment – 1 Samuel 18:1-4

Saul is king and Jonathan is his son, who would probably be the next king had not Saul disobeyed God.  God had chosen David to be the next king and this relationship had purpose in that end.  Here we see David and Jonathan committed to one another through a covenant. Jonathan sealed this covenant by giving David his tunic, his sword, his bow and his belt. This signified that David would be the next king instead of Jonathan.  This is significant in that it evidenced Jonathan loved David more than he loved being next in line for the throne. 

Concern – 1 Samuel 19:1-7

Because Saul was jealous of David’s popularity with the people, he wanted to kill David.  So Jonathan warned David when he found that his father wanted to kill him.  Then, following that warning, he admonished his father, advising him not to do so.  There was great risk to Jonathan in taking this position with his father. 

Constancy – 1 Samuel 20:4, 14, 17, 42

Saul reneged on his oath to not kill David, even though he was unsuccessful.  Jonathan remained totally committed to David.  David reciprocated this love through a promise to protect Jonathan and his descendents.  David spared Jonathan’s son later on (check out 2 Samuel 21:7).