Jonathan and David's romantic love. The pro-gay theologians use this as a prime example of same-sex romantic love. The traditional interpretation would be that it is a prime example of brotherly love, with the addition that it is also covenant love. The charges against Jonathan and David. Jonathan took off his clothes before David.
Jonathan loved David, and they kissed.
David says that Jonathan's love was more wonderful than that of a woman.
It seems that the case is already settled, but not quite. It is true that gays love to tout the story of Jonathan and David as an example of same-sex romantic love. However David was married to Jonathan's sister (1 sam 18:27) and went on to have a number of wives and committed adultery with Bathsheba.
As far as men kissing each other it was normal practise in the ANE just do a search of the bible with your concordance2. Men still kiss each other on the cheek and hug each other in the Middle East today3. In the NT we are told to greet each other with a Holy kiss4. Also the NT clearly endorses and encourages brotherly love5. The problem with pro-gay theology is that it perverts brotherly love into romantic love. This is a classic case of reading ANE culture (and the modern day Middle East) with the eyes of modern day Western culture. Whatever he was, David was not gay, he was married to Jonathan's sister (1 Sam 18:27) and he went on to have many wives. Jonathan was also married and had a five year old son when he died at an early age (2 Sam 4:4). To make anything out of this at all you would have to argue that they were closet gays, rather than very close friends (or they were bisexual). In 1 Sam 20:17 Jonathan loved (ahab) David, the word "ahab" means to have affection (sexually or otherwise)6. It is true that to understand the meaning of "ahab" we need to read it within context, but it is all too easy to read into the text what we want to without understanding Middle East culture. We should also note that they made a covenant together 1 Sam 18:3, 20:8, 20:16, 22:8, 23:18 (essentially to protect each other, especially for Jonathan to protect David from the wrath of his father king Saul). It was a covenant relationship not a sexual relationship. Note that only Jonathan took off his robe and tunic (1 Sam 18:3), as a sign of submission to David, as he would be the future king. The phase "I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women" occurs during David's lament over the death of Jonathan (2 Sam 1:26) and is no more than hyperbole in a moment of grief (cf. verse 23).
We should also note that Jonathan had protected David's life7, in such circumstances when David's very life was at stake a strong bond will be present. Now the one who had protected David was dead, but David was alive, it is hardly surprising that David lamented Jonathan's death in this way. In India today it is not uncommon to see two close male friends holding hands, but are not in fact gay. Gays seem to make up so much out of so little. If Jonathan and David were gay then this gives the bibles best example of a man becoming ex-gay, because David went on to have a number of wives.
Maybe David wasn't gay in the first place, perhaps he was bisexual. But then how do you distinguish between someone who is truly gay from a bisexual? How long should a person be gay before he is truly gay? If a gay deconverts after ten years of being gay, does that prove that he was not gay in the first place? The mind games on this are endless. If we look at the story of Jonathan and David, none of their actions are condemned. But David is clearly condemned later for murder and adultery. Does that mean that they gloss over David and Jonathan's homosexual relationship because it is not sin in God's eyes? Or simply, because there was not a homosexual or a bisexual relationship in the first place? Nowhere in the bible are close friendships between people of the same sex condemned (we have the examples of David and Jonathan, and Ruth and Naomi). Brotherly love in the NT is a virtue (Rom 12:10, 1Th 4:9, Heb 13:1, 1Pe 1:22, 1Pe 3:8, 2Pe 1:7). But if I go to my brother and say "I want sex with you" then we have a problem (unless he is gay that is). To summarise the argument against the pro-gay interpretation of Jonathan and David:
Ruth and Naomi The story of Ruth and Naomi has been preached from many MCC8 pulpits as an example of same-sex love, as well as Jonathan and David. Of course Ruth and Naomi did have a very close relationship, but it can hardly be said to be Lesbian. Naomi was a widow and Ruth after all marries Boaz, and the descendants of that union include King David and Jesus Christ himself. It also shows that Jesus lineage included a Moabite woman. It is one of the most tenderest stories in the whole of the Old Testament. But now we find that the GLBT movement like to pervert it, simply to help it meet their own agenda. May God help us?
The bible nowhere condemns close same-sex friendships such as Jonathan and David, Ruth and Naomi, Jesus and John. But to suggest that these stories legitimise same-sex intercourse is to twist and distort them far beyond what the text actually says. Other examples of same-sex love that are cited by the GLBT movement.
There is, of course, nothing wrong with same-sex love, brotherly love is encouraged in the NT. But the subtle twist is to pervert it into same-sex romantic love. References:
Links: Were David and Jonathan Gay Lovers? James Patrick Holding
|