20:15-16 The Law of Love This covenant between David and Jonathan stood in contrast to the conventions of the time. Middle Eastern kings, upon rising to power, commonly killed off surviving family members of previous dynasties to prevent threats of insurrection and claims to the throne. In David’s promise to extend kindness to Jonathan’s offspring in the same way that Jonathan had shown kindness to him, David bound himself to a higher principle—the law of love—which is able to overcome even the most brutal of human traditions.