In our western systems of government, we have an important principle of a “peaceful transition of power” meaning that when there is a change in the leadership of the government, the new leadership will come into government in peace and the old leadership will leave the government in peace.

The alternative to this peaceful transition is to instead have a transition by war, by killing, and by death, which has been the primary method throughout history as kings and queens rise and fall, having gone to war with one another so as to overthrow the current kingdom and government.

In the close friendship and relationship between Jonathan and David, we see an interesting dynamic in the midst of what will eventually become a transition of power from one kingdom to another. Jonathan is Saul’s son. Saul had been chosen as the first king over Israel, but he had been rejected by God and his kingdom and kingly line would be cut off.

Meanwhile, even while Saul was still in power and ruling over Israel, David had been anointed the next king of Israel. That didn’t mean, of course, that Saul would be in agreement and that he would simply step down from his throne and kingship. No, he would go down fighting. David was a threat to Saul’s throne, Saul knew it, and so he remained against David.

Yet Jonathan and David were good friends and Jonathan would be instrumental in David’s escape from his father’s plan to murder him. Jonathan would, in essence, betray his father and his father’s desires to remove the threat to his throne and instead side with David as a result of his friendship with David. As he does this, though, he also asks for David’s ongoing friendship and kindness both to he and his whole family so that as David comes to power, his family would not be destroyed:

But show me unfailing kindness like the LORD’s kindness as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family —not even when the LORD has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”

So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD call David’s enemies to account. ” And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.

1 Samuel 20:14-17

I think it is important to remember the nature of how kingdoms work because, even if we physically live within a democratic republic type of government, an even greater reality is the warring set of spiritual kingdoms that are working against one another. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness each have kings that will not coexist with one another. It seems, in our day today, that they do coexist, but in reality, there is a war that is going on that will ultimately end by the kingdom of God conquering over the kingdom of darkness.

It is important to remember that this war is happening and we have been enlisted within the war. We do not bring physical weapons, but instead our message of reconciliation with God is the weapon that we brandish. God offered Jesus Christ as the one true and perfect sacrifice for our sins and then defeated death. By offering reconciliation with God, out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of God, we look to show people the path to redemption and reconciliation with God. We work to help them realize that their ransom has already been paid and their captors in the kingdom of darkness have already been defeated.

This is the true reality that is happening all around us and that we live within every day. Jesus is the king and one day he will return to destroy everything that is found to be a part of the kingdom of darkness. Yet there is a friendship, a loyalty, that can save each of us from that final judgment, that final destruction of the kingdom of darkness. That friendship is our salvation in Christ. If we are found in him, if we have placed our faith in Christ’s death and resurrection as payment for our sins, ransoming us from the kingdom of darkness, then we will not be destroyed, but instead we will be saved from the ultimate judgment coming by the king in the kingdom of God, king Jesus.