The King's Love at the Lord's Table

The King’s Love For Us At The Table

II Samuel 9 (NKJV)

1 Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

2 And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” He said, “At your service!”

3 Then the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet.”

4 So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar.”

5 Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.

6 Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?” And he answered, “Here is your servant!”

7 So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.”

8 Then he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?”

9 And the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given to your master’s son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house.

10 You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s son shall eat bread at my table always.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do.” “As for Mephibosheth,” said the king, “he shall eat at my table like one of the king’s sons.” 1

12 Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth.

13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table. And he was lame in both his feet.

INTRODUCTION

Sometimes when you see a name featured in the Bible, you can automatically picture that person and remember the story that accompanies them.

But when you see the name, “Mephibosheth,” probably your response is “Who?”

Briefly appearing in 2 Samuel, Mephibosheth is the disabled son of Jonathan, the son of Saul.

Jonathan was King David’s best friend and defended him when Saul wanted to kill him.

Upon his death in battle, King David made a vow that he would care for the needs of Jonathan’s family in thanks for his friendship.

But the story of Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth is one to be remembered for how King David honored a man he called a friend, even after his death, by caring for the needs of his disabled son.

It’s also a reminder that when you least expect a blessing or miracle in life, that is when God ushers one in for you!

What’s Mephibosheth’s Story?

Mephibosheth, which means “dispeller of shame” in Hebrew, was the son of Jonathan, who was the son of Saul and best friend to King David.

Jonathan was beloved by David for not only the commonality they shared but also because of Jonathan’s defense of David, which almost resulted in Saul killing him with a spear.

When Jonathan and his father died in battle at Mount Gilboa, David wanted to show kindness to their family for his friendship with Jonathan.

He also felt led to bless others because of all the blessings of battle conquests that God had provided him (2 Sam. 7-8).

David had requested the help of a servant, Ziba, from the house of Saul, for assistance in finding a relative of Jonathan and Saul to help, to which he was told about Mephibosheth.

Now Mephibosheth had a difficult childhood early on.

With the news of his father and grandfather’s passing, young Mephibosheth was taken away from his home in Gilbeah by his nurse, probably to avoid retaliation from enemies.

Unfortunately, in the process of escaping, he was accidentally thrown to the ground and his feet were permanently maimed.

In that time period, people with severe injuries or disabilities weren’t proudly shown or welcomed, especially if they were royalty.

So Mephibosheth was probably hidden away to ensure his safety from David and because it was considered better not to recognize disabilities connected to well-known authority figures.

David made it a point to meet with Mephibosheth at once and sent for him to be taken from where he was staying.

Mephibosheth went from the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar, and was brought to David (2 Sam. 9:4).

King David and Mephibosheth

When the new king and former enemy of your grandfather requests your presence before him, chances are it’s not for anything good.

You can guess what Mephibosheth must have been feeling: fear.

He had already gone through so much in his life due to his childhood injury and losing his father and grandfather at a young age, so he wasn’t hopeful for this meeting ahead.

Yet the complete opposite happened.

Mephibosheth fell down in front of David in surrender and humility, but the king advised him not to fear; that he was not only to be given the land Saul owned but that he was to be a permanent guest at David’s table.

This was all to honor David’s friendship with Jonathan (2 Sam. 9:7).

He didn’t end there, as David also requested that Ziba and his sons care for the newly restored land given back to Mephibosheth, while Mephibosheth would continue to eat bread at David’s table.

This probably included Mephibosheth’s own son, Micha, as well (2 Sam. 9:10, 12).

To say Mephibosheth was shocked would be an understatement.

But more he was probably curious about why David would show such favor to not only a former enemy’s son but one who couldn’t give anything back to him due to his disability.

He even referred to himself as a “dead dog” when questioning the king on why he would look so fondly upon him (2 Sam. 9:8).

NOTHING forced David to seek out Mephibosheth.

NO ONE pressured him to do it.

Something within David moved him to reach out and act in kindness.

When David inquired about the surviving members of Saul and Jonathan’s family, Ziba singled out Mephibosheth.

But he did not mention Mephibosheth by name; Ziba introduced Mephibosheth by his condition: “he is crippled in his feet.”

Isn’t it true that people want to tell others about your shortcomings?

Abraham was old

Elijah was suicidal

Joseph was abused

Job went bankrupt

Moses had a speech problem

Gideon was afraid

Samson was a womanizer

Rahab was a prostitute

The Samaritan woman was divorced

Noah was a drunk

Jeremiah was young

Jacob was a cheater

David was a murder

Jonah ran from God

Naomi was a widow

Peter denied Christ three times

Martha worried about everything

Zacchaeus was small and money hungry

the disciples fell asleep while praying

and Paul a Pharisee who persecuted Christians before becoming one.

So, God has a history and has always had a theme for choosing imperfect, flawed, broken, and weak people, always.It comes up time and time again in the Bible, but why?

Because He’s perfect when we are imperfect.

He’s pure when we are impure.

He’s whole, and complete when we are broken.

He is strong when we are weak.

Through our lack, He shows how He is able to work all things together for the good to those who love Him.

He is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ask or think.

Mephibosheth was a crippled man from a fallen dynasty living in a horrible environment.

Yet David reached out to him in kindness.

Mephibosheth’s nurse dropped him, leaving him permanently crippled.

Some of us today have been dropped by our parents…

Some of us have been dropped by our friends…

Some of us have been dropped by society…

Some of us have been dropped by life situations…And we have a disability…

It may be a physical disability or it may be a mental disability…

Life has dropped us…

BUT THERE IS A KING WHO IS INQUIRING ABOUT US!!!

IT SEEMS… that Ziba reports Mephibosheth’s condition to say that he was NOT WORTH David’s time.

He could neither help nor hurt the king.

David said, “WHERE IS HE?”

That is what GRACE does for us. God reaches out to us in spite of us.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by GRACE  you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

When Mephibosheth came to David, he was expecting to be killed and fell on his face and paid homage to him.

David responded and said, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Johnathan and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father and you shall eat at my table always” (2 Samuel 9:7).

CLOSING

This story seems small and short when in reality, it is full of love and a reflection of God’s love.

David’s promise to Johnathan’s son is like how God’s grace is to us.

We are like Mephibosheth:

We are hiding, weak, lame, and fearful before the King who comes to us.

We are separated from our King.

We separated ourselves from the King because we didn’t know Him or His love for us.

We must receive the King’s kindness in humility.

The King returns to us more than what we lost when we hid from Him.

We can eat at the King’s table.

We have access to a relationship with Him.

He does not immediately take away our weaknesses and lameness but gives us a favor and standing that overcomes its sting and changes the way we think about ourselves.

No matter who we are, or what we have done, the King still loves us unconditionally.

Mephibosheth’s situation is like ours and God’s and shows the relationship we have with Him.

We are weak and broken and yet God has a place for us at His table, regardless of our flaws and shortcomings.

He loves us so much and wants us to get to know Him.