“And The Soul of Jonathan WAS KNIT …”
1 Samuel 18:1
A Purposeful and Pure Union (Affinity of hearts, Unity of Purpose)
One of the definitions of “affinity” is ‘a chemical attraction between substances causing them to combine’ (The Penguin English Dictionary)
Spiritually this happened when Jesus “Himself drew near and talked with” the travellers on the Emmaus Road. They, in retrospect remarked, “did not our hearts burn within us as He talked with us along the way?” There is an Impact in Affinity … an interlocking of heart, mind, and a commitment of will.
This happened with Jonathan toward David, John toward Jesus … Paul toward Timothy, Ruth toward Naomi, and negatively, between Lot’s wife and Sodom.
There is a deep attraction in what soon becomes an AFFINITY of heart … Jonathan and David’s reciprocal relationship had nothing to do with homosexuality as advocates of that Lifestyle insist:
How do we know that?
Because in his lament when hearing of Jonathan’s untimely death he proclaimed their deep relationship as “surpassing the love of women” which culminates in physical expression.
What then was the attraction leading to affinity … the Spirit of God in David, that once dwelt within Saul. The wholesomeness of David’s nature and the purity of his heart.
As Jesus saw deep, spiritual quality in the soul of Nathaniel so, John glimpsed the spirit of Jesus infilled with The Holy Spirit which answered the craving of his own heart for the Presence of God
What he probably couldn’t express verbally for years was sensed and impacted within his awakening spirit. That’s what the world lamely calls, having “chemistry” the igniting of two compatible substances making “one”.
Paul saw the purity of desire in Timothy, no doubt a reflection of his own youthful desire in the past. Ruth had the same Divine “chemistry” in Naomi …
Lot’s wife had an absorbing affinity with Sodom, her home and dwelling place that was now no longer hers; her “looking back” was with desire based on affinity.
Ruth, Jonathan, John and Timothy were interwoven with the hearts of those they became inseparable with, for Divine Purposes.
No one spoke of such intimacies with Jesus as John, commissioned to “pen” and disclose the Gospel From The Throne … and the Epistles of Divine Intimacy culminating in The Revealing of the Apocalypse.
By hideous contrast,
Lot’s wife became inseparable with a Divine Judgment … “Where your treasure is, that’s where your heart resides”
Divine Purposes and Plans require Divinely appointed Partners and Companionship.
Many years ago a colleague in Ministry told me that he was envious of the relationship I had with someone I had an affinity with, an “affinity of Divine appointing”. This colleague lamented openly that we shared so many causes and projects but there was not the bonding. There was one simple reason why it could never, ever be. We believed in the same ideals, agreed to work together for the implementation of our plans but, sadly, our hearts were never “knit” or interwoven with an affinity beyond the roles we shared.
Affinity is not so much an “affair of the heart” as it is a bonding of the spirit initiated by God for our good, and His glory.