The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid when this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel. – 1 Samuel 20:19

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 6, 2019): 1 Samuel 20

I have an image in my mind of my grandmother sitting outside of her place of residence waving goodbye as we left for home. In our case, home was a 2000, four-hour plane ride away. If we drove and depending on who was driving, the trip could take three to five days. But in this memory, we weren’t driving; we were heading for the airport to fly home. I think the reason why this image is burned into my mind is that I really expected that this would be the last time that I would see my grandmother. As I drove away, I was deeply saddened. I didn’t want to leave. I know that I have been fortunate. I have had four grandparents in my life, and every one of them has had a significant impact on who I am. And with each of them, I have a very specific memory of the saying goodbye. What is strange, at least to me, is that with my other grandparents, the recollection that I have is of the last time that I saw them. But not with this grandmother. The image that is burned in my memory was not of the last time that I would see her. There would be a couple more visits made to a different place of residence. But in my memory, it is this place, and the action of her waving good-bye as we drove away, that I remember.

There is a common understanding that this passage has been corrupted over the years and the many times the passage was copied. But there is no common consensus of how to fix the passage. We have no idea what this “stone Ezel” might be. Some argue that Ezel is a stone of departure. But that is really an understanding that is the result of this scene between Jonathan and David. It is the place that they departed from each other.

Other understandings are that this was maybe a pile of stones or a natural cave where David could hide. It might have even been a place of old ruins, buildings that long ago fallen into disrepair. It is likely that it was a familiar meeting spot, a famous place that everyone knew just on the edge of Saul’s home.

But on this day, it would be a place to say good-bye. The stone Ezel was a place that would be burned into the memories of David and Jonathan as the end of the good times that they had spent together, and the place where David’s life a fugitive would begin. No matter what the “stone Ezel” might have meant to David and Jonathan before this time, from now on it would be remembered as the place where they said good-bye.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 59