There once was a young man named Jonathan. He lived in a little land under the dominance of a much stronger nation. To eliminate the risk of rebellion, no one was allowed to become a blacksmith – they couldn’t even sharpen their own tools. But one day something rather extraordinary happened. Jonathan’s father was appointed king over this subdued nation. And so Jonathan became a prince.
I don’t know exactly what Jonathan was doing before his circumstances drastically changed. When we’re introduced to his father, Saul, he’s out searching for lost donkeys. So it seems doubtful that Jonathan was doing anything particularly “princely.” But when God entered the scene, everything began to change. After his promotion, Jonathan led 1000 soldiers to victory against a garrison of the occupying Philistines. It was a spark that lit a fire for independence in the Israelites.
But when the Israelite army gathered, fired up and ready to kick out the invaders, they realized they were massively outnumbered and began to run away, hiding “in caves, thistles, rocks, holes, and cisterns” (1 Samuel 13:6). At that moment, Saul threw away Jonathan’s inheritance. He attempted to shore up morale by offering sacrifices to the Lord. But when Samuel installed Saul as king, he “told the people what the rights and duties of a king were” (1 Samuel 10:25). Offering sacrifices wasn’t the king’s job, and Saul failed the first test of his leadership in God’s Kingdom.
In the end, Saul’s power grab didn’t work. He and Jonathan were left with only 600 men against a fortified army. It was an inauspicious start to Israel’s rebellion. But Jonathan was undeterred. He said to his armor bearer, “Let’s go check it out”. Two men against a stronghold. As he led the way down the rocky cliff to the Philistine outpost, Jonathan said, “Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!” (1 Samuel 14:6)
Maybe Jonathan understood that the kingdom had never been Saul’s. It had never been his. The kingdom had always belonged to the Lord.
Sometime later, in one of those “only God could make this happen” kind of ways, Saul’s successor came to the palace. His name was David and he wasn’t Saul’s son. But he didn’t come with an army to overthrow Saul. Instead he came with a harp to soothe him. And when he first picked up a sword, it was to kill the giant Goliath.
As David confronted Goliath, he shouted, “Everyone assembled here will know that the LORD rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the LORD’s battle, and he will give you to us!” (1 Samuel 17:47) Here was Jonathan’s compatriot.
How easy it would have been for Jonathan to hate David for taking the place that should have been his. Instead, Jonathan was able to love David; “there was an immediate bond of love between them, and they became the best of friends” (1 Samuel 18:1).
I think Jonathan was able to do this because he understood the sovereignty of God. How could Jonathan be king after Saul when God had already chosen David? It wasn’t about Jonathan’s kingship or his kingdom. He wasn’t looking for an impressive throne in a magnificent palace. There was an eternal kingdom at stake. Jonathan’s royal standing in the Kingdom of God was unchanged.
The trials, setbacks and disappointments that we face have absolutely no affect on our royal standing as beloved sons and daughters of the King of Kings. It’s an eternal and enduring relationship that will.not.fail. There’s an unfading crown, a priceless inheritance “kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay (1 Peter 1:4).