Blood Brothers

Introduction

Relationship… it’s the essence of life as God intended it. Without relationship life loses it’s meaning. If you’re truly alone you’re not really living, you’re just existing. Lonely is in many ways a synonym for lifeless.

Re-examine briefly with me the account of the creation of mankind in the opening chapters of Genesis. The first mention of human beings emerges from the lips of a Maker Who is Himself a relationship. “Let us make man in our own image, in our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26). As men and women we were originally imprinted with the image of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We derived our likeness from a Creator Who has always been and always will be in relationship.

So from the very beginning man was in relationship, foremost with His Maker. We’ll talk more about that in a moment. But first let’s make a 360 degree visual scan of the environment into which God introduced humanity.

Returning to Genesis 1:26 we continue to read: “…and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Humanity was to be related to all the animals. People were to rule over them. The concept of “rule” has gotten a bad rap because fallen man is inclined to be such a lousy, selfish ruler. From the Lord’s perspective, however, rulership is intended to be a beneficial relationship that brings love, provision, and order to all who come under it.

Even the plants in man’s surroundings were to be in a mutually beneficial relationship with human beings. These green life forms were “…pleasing to the eye and good for food” (Genesis 2:9), and as such were a blessing to people. In turn, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15) so that mankind would be a blessing to the plants.

The circle of relationships for man, however, was not yet complete. Genesis 2:18 informs us that God declared: “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” The following verses tell of the ostensible search for a helper among the animals. That exploration rendered no suitable companion, and thankfully, the Lord made man’s better half, the woman! Thus began the marriage bond, and from that flowed family relationships and other inter-personal associations among humans.

Unfortunately, Satan and sin entered the scene through Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience, and all these divinely ordained relationships became flawed. Saddest of all was the perversion of the most essential of intimate bonds: that between God and mankind. This connection was to have been the source of life’s greatest joys. Tragically, we read how the God/man relationship of love and trust descended into one of guilt and fear as a result of sin. “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3:8).

Now, the opening chapters of Genesis only lay the foundation for relationships as the primary theme of the Bible. The concept continues to build book by book, chapter by chapter. From cover to cover relationships dominate the discussions, and the dominate relationship discussed is the one between the Lord and the creatures originally made in His image and likeness. The last two words of Scripture before the final amen are “God’s people” (Revelation 22:21). That phrase, my friend, represents the focal point of His Word to mankind.

This book I’ve written is about the restoration of that most precious of relationships, the one between us and our Creator. The proper function of this incredibly fulfilling connection is illustrated in the Bible through the bond enveloping two men of royal blood named David and Jonathan. Their unlikely friendship teaches us indispensable truths about what our life with God should be like.

The means through which we learn these lessons is a Bible principle we call typology. So just what is typology? Typology is the understanding that certain people, places, events, and things in Scripture often represent other people, places, events, and things as well. Such types may point to a future fulfillment and thus be prophetic in nature, or they may be timeless models of some general truths from God’s Word.

Thus, simple types become symbols of deeper matters. Bible stories involving these types can be allegories of a sort, where the characters and happenings are representative of larger issues. That’s not to suggest that types are merely poetic or fictional figures intended only to communicate moral teachings. In most cases they’re factual historical accounts which additionally represent other realities.

In the chapters that follow in this book, you’ll need to recognize the symbolism of key characters in the tale of two blood brothers named David and Jonathan. Understanding these types is fundamental to grasping the truths communicated by their very real story. You already know the names of the first two key characters. The third is Saul. In the fascinating narrative we’re about to explore together, each one represents a person or category of people.

In order of their appearance here’s what each one corresponds to… Saul is the epitome of the carnal Christian who trusts the Savior for their personal salvation, but never fully surrenders to Him as Lord of their lives. Saul’s noble son, Jonathan, on the other hand, pictures the committed spiritual believer who not only trusts Christ for his own redemption, but seeks to yield to His will in all things. Finally, David in this story is a type of Christ Himself: Shepherd, Savior, and King.

Before we delve deeply into the principles to be learned from the lives of these three primary characters, we’ll recount the backdrop that establishes the foundation for our story. The first chapter clearly sets the stage for the successive entrances of Saul, Jonathan, and David into our Biblical drama. Join me, if you will, on a journey of discovery as we observe the remarkable story of Blood Brothers.