David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth

As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.

Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.

2 Samuel 9:1-13
1 And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”
2 Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.”
3 And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.”
4 The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.”
5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.
6 And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.”
7 And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.”
8 And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?”

It is a common occurrence. One king rises, and the competing kings family is decimated. The rise of David meant the downfall of King Saul, along with all of his descendants. At least that was the expected outcome of a king rising to power in the shadow of a competing monarch.

Such appeared to be the fate of Saul’s bloodline. In the battle of Gilboa, King Saul, along with three of his sons – Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua all perished under the hand of David. Saul’s heir to the throne, Ish-bosheth was assassinated by his own captains in order to gain privilege with David. Finally, in an effort to appease the Gibeonites, David gave up seven of Saul’s descendants, finally clearing out the bloodline, except for a 5 year old boy who escaped the death sentence. Mephibosheth, a little boy who had suffered under the hand of David, being dropped in his nurses attempts to escape

And now he was being summoned by this very same king, surely to be finished off.

Did Ziba tell him that David intended to show the love of God to him. David surely spoke of his intentions to Ziba. Might Ziba have conveyed this information to Mephibosheth? Does it matter, for the news of David searching for Mephibosheth must surely mean his own death sentence. This speaking of the kindness of God must surely be a cover up to draw this crippled young man into a trap.

And yet he came. Mephibosheth, against all odds, faced his fears, or at least understood the long arm of David in retrieving him from where ever he might hide, and approached the man who was the single source of destruction in his family.

He came understanding he would die, yet there may have been a hope, a glimmer of possible mercy based on David’s friendship with his father.

My momma used to say it is all about who you know, not what you know Carl! How right she was!

Mephibosheth was granted pardon due to David’s relationship with Miphiboseth’s father. It was nothing that Mephibosheth did, or any sacrifice he performed, or any great attitude that he expressed. Nothing that was of Mephibosheth, other than who he was related to, which – need I repeat it – was nothing Miphiboseth could boast of.

Mephibosheth is us., a people who are broken and deserving of judgement due to our being on the wrong side. Our allegiance with the world, the flesh and the devil convinced us we would be destroyed, and yet there appeared a competing King, One who dethroned our king, searched for us, found us, called us to His throne, and though we knew judgement was inevitable, He shewed us mercy.

A full pardon, and yet so much more. Mephibosheth gained all his father’s land back, was invited to the kings table, and lived under the favor of Israel’s greatest monarch,

Yes Mephibosheth is us. We are Mephibosheth. And the King is ever merciful to a broken people.

Long live the King. For King Jesus, this saying is eternally true, and we can be eternally grateful.

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