1 Samuel 20:29
And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto the king’s table.
David's absence from the king's table was accounted for by a claimed family sacrifice in the city of Bethlehem and by his brother's command that he be there with his brethren. That account was the agreed explanation Jonathan was to use to test Saul's reaction to David being gone. The episode belongs to a sacred bond of union in which Jonathan's heart was knit to David in a friendship that remained unbroken until the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. That closeness was the Lord's doing, so that Jonathan would be the means of preserving David's life when Saul tried to kill him. In the larger purpose, providence connected David with Saul so that by wise behavior David would gain the confidence of the people, and by a long course of hardships and vicissitudes would learn entire trust in God and be prepared to become ruler of His people.