Customer Reviews

The Prince: Jonathan (Sons of Encouragement Series #3)

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The Prince by Francine Rivers tells the story of Jonathon, the son of Israel's first king, Saul. Taken straight from 1 Kings, embroidered with precision, biblical love, and a sanctified imagination, The Prince grips readers from first to last.

Unlike his father, who drifts into self and away from the Lord, Jonathan slowly, painfully learns to place the Lord first while he handles the rival loyalties engendered by his father and his friend, David. Jonathon's victorious battles with the Philistines, his deep love for those he befriends, his desperations and self-questionings, and his devotion to God, all lead to a denouement that is breathtaking, heartbreaking, and victorious.

Writing both secular and Christian novels, award-winning author Rivers adds another fascinating novel to her Sons of Encouragement Series. Starkly told, with complexities woven in seamlessly, The Prince provides a well-planned plot and deep character studies, as well as adventure, and understandable Christian concepts. This book concludes with a Bible study useful for both group and individual study.

Knowing the story of Jonathan from Bible study, I enjoyed The Prince for its loyalty to the Scripture, as well as its intriguing narration and plot. It will be enjoyed by capable young readers as well as High School through adult readers. - Donna Eggett, Christian Book Previews.com

In my review of the first book in this series by Francine Rivers, The Priest, I mentioned that I did not feel the book met the high bar Rivers has set for herself and hoped that other books in the series would show a return to her usual form. I have to say this book, THE PRINCE, is definitely a return to what I've grown to expect from this magnificent writer. The book is derived from the books of Samuel.

This book follows the life of Jonathan, son of Saul, friend of David. Although much of the story is told from Jonathan's viewpoint, this is a masterful chronicle of Saul's transgression from humble farmer to a hostile king consumed by his jealousy of David. Jonathan is accurately portrayed here as a man dedicated to The Law and we also see the beginnings of David's first transgression from God's path.

As we've come to expect, the battle scenes such as David's defeat of Goliath, are portrayed in exacting detail that will place the reader's minds' eye at the scene. And at only 200 pages, this novella is a very easy and fast read. That, however, is what I consider to be the books only short coming. It could have easily been a larger volume and gone into greater detail. For example, I would have liked to have seen Jonathan's wife, Rachel, developed further and given a larger role here.

But all in all, this is exactly what readers have come to expect from this gifted writer. Jonathan's story is certainly a treasure for us all, not just for his fierceness in defeating the Philistines, but more so for this constant dedication and unwavering devotion to God's Law.

She's done it again! God is truly taking Francine to another level. I love the way she has brought the characters of Jonathan, Saul, Samuel and David and to life. As many times as I have read the story of Saul in the old testament, I've not taken a closer look at Jonathan. Francine's master storytelling definitely make you want to go back to God's word and read it again with a whole new perspective. You can relate this story to your personal life also. I have every book she has written. Francine can't write fast enough! I can't wait until the release of the next book in the Novella series. May God continue to bless and anoint Francine Rivers.

Continuing with her third novella in her saga of biblical men, award-winning author Francine Rivers pens THE PRINCE, focusing on the life of King David's best friend Jonathan. It follows THE PRIEST (Aaron) and THE WARRIOR (Caleb) in the projected five-book Sons of Encouragement series.

If you're unfamiliar with the life of Jonathan, turn to 1 and 2 Samuel in the Bible. Israel is tired of letting God be their "king" and clamors for one of the men to be set up as a ruler over them. The wise prophet Samuel cautions that they'll be sorry, but God allows him to choose Saul, a handsome tall farmer, to be anointed king. The unhappy Saul (who initially has no desire to rule) cares little for God's law, but his young son Jonathan rather one-dimensionally has a passion for obeying God and following his word. But still he has questions. "...why didn't the Lord destroy their enemies? Why did He allow the Philistines to oppress them? If God still cared, why didn't he deliver them?"

Saul changes from a mild-mannered, rather cowardly farmer, to one who hacks his oxen to pieces (yes, it's in the Bible, but you won't see this story in a flannelgraph lesson). Once he's king, things move along a little better for Israel although we still don't understand much about what makes Saul tick. And sadly, Saul is still a tormented man. He can't sleep well at night. When a young shepherd boy, David, is brought in to play his harp for Saul to help him rest, it appears things might be redeemed.

When the well-known story of David's slaying of the giant Goliath takes place, jealousy pushes Saul completely over the edge. Although he arranged (reluctantly) a marriage between David and one of his daughters --- and David is now his son-in-law --- Saul eventually flies into a fit of rage and tries to kill him. This attitude toward David, who Saul eventually realizes will rule in his stead, continues until Saul himself is killed.

The story revolves around Jonathan, however: his troubled relationship with his father, Saul; his deep friendship with David; and the politics of Israel that will end in adultery, multiple wives, war, bloodshed, scheming, intrigue, and murder. It is also a story of the nation of Israel's selfishness, greed, and their turning away from the One who loves them the most. As Samuel tells Jonathan, "God does not abandon men, my son. Men abandon God."

There's not a lot of colorful details or character descriptions. Rivers relies mostly on dialogue to carry her tale. The reader is left with several questions about the characters. What makes Jonathan only care about obedience when his father does not? What was his relationship with his wife really like? What we get is a reasonably competent, yet sometimes lackluster story, even though all the material for a fast-paced, exciting narrative is in the scriptural text in abundance.

However, if you love Francine Rivers's novels, you'll want to add this to your collection of her books. Like other books in the Sons of Encouragement series (and her Lineage of Grace series about biblical women), a thorough set of discussion questions is included at the end of the book. Those who use the series as small group studies or with book clubs will find many interesting themes to investigate.

--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby. [...].

This very well might be one of my new favorite books. I love how Francine Rivers takes familiar biblical stories and brings them to life like she has in this 3rd book in the Sons of Encouragement series. The previous books "The Priest" (the story of Aaron) and "The Warrior" (the story of Caleb) are also just as moving and inspiring. If you like this book, you should also read the "Lineage of Grace" series of the 5 stories of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary.

Book #3 in Francine River's Sons of Encouragement series, The Prince is the retelling of the life of Jonathan, son of Saul, first king of Israel. While most church-goers are familiar with the story, Francine has taken a look at this historical character in an eye-opening new light.
Jonathan, lover of God's law, for years is torn between honoring his crazed father and supporting his cherished friendship with David, the man prophesied to take Saul's place on the throne. This beautiful friendship between brothers in spirit as well as by law is brought real throughout the pages of this short, yet captivating book.
As Saul relentlessly pursues his imagined enemy David, Jonathan remains faithful to the Lord and his people, all the while on pins and needles for his friend's safety. He begs his father to see reason, to turn to God, to be forgiven.
Continually in the difficult position of having to choose loyalties, the Prince of Israel shines to the glory of his Father, the King of all eternity. I encourage you to pick this book up for a clearer understanding of the emotional struggles that we often forget these Biblical characters faced.
However, Francine does not leave the reader with her insights alone. The "Seek and Find" segment located at the end of the book, draws you into God's word to study the portion of Scripture relating the life of Jonathan. Poignant questions force the reader to discover truths about Scripture as well as himself. "The Prince" is not only entertaining. If used as a devotional, it can be a tool to mold the reader more perfectly into God's plan.

Another very insightful book! I am so grateful that Francine takes the time to research the not-so-well-know-about characters and is able to present her readers with a deep perspective of what it must have been like for them to live in the time that they did. This is a book worth reading just to find out more about Jonathan's life and trials as well as how God worked in ways that may not be so clear in scripture.

I am so happy that I have picked up this book. I love most of the books by Francine Rivers, but she also has written books that did not engage me at all. The first and second book of the encouragement series was just okay. I could have left reading these books and not come back to them. The first and second book did not draw me in. It took me a long time to finish each book.
The third book about the prince, Jonathan made me long for more. I really loved Jonathan in this book. I loved this man. The author created engaging dialogues, vivid inscriptions that made me one of the people living at that time and seeing Jonathan for the man he was. The book is very well written and should be a motivation to all. The author has done a really good job of bringing people closer to GOD. The end of the book was very moving. Your throat might tighten and eyes moisten. It is a wonderful story of a wonderful man! I think that the author was really excited to write a story about Jonathan, and it has shown in this book.

Rivers is a wonderful author and I expected these books to be as good as her Lineage of Grace series. They were not quite there...

Maybe it's because Jonathan has always been one of my heroes or maybe it's just because he was such an amazing person, but I found this book fantastic. It's beautifully written and does justice to Jonathan's story. I don't think a book has ever really made me cry, but the end of this book was so beautifully written and so powerful that I just falt out bawled. It was a great story that was beatifully written and has really made me feel a closeness to the character and to God alike. If the author ever reads this, I just want to tell you Ms. Rivers, that I really enjoyed it and I thank you for doing such a wonderful job with one of my favorite heroes from the bible.