David Kept His Promise For The Cripple Boy

KINDNESS TOWARD MEPHIBOSHETHS

2-20-2011, Rich McQuinn, Minister: New Liberty Christian Church, Veedersburg, IN

TEXT: II SAMUEL 9: 1-13

INTRODUCTION: He was born in 1912 to some very poor parents in Russia. These were the times of rationing---you know the things you read about in history. You stood in line at the bakery to get a day’s ration for your family. Another line for beans, apples, potatoes. You could not find work, the government was into everything and you were afraid to do anything for fear of them watching you and finding something bad that you have done. You had to keep your children in line at all times. If they had a handicap then you kept them hid before the government took them away for experimental studies. Jules was born in February of ’12. He was born normal in every way. Mom and Dad had high hopes for their first born child. When he was 3 and a half he and his father was walking into town for supplies. Jules saw a team of horses coming and he cried out to his Papa to see them coming. The Father was preoccupied as the horses got closer. Jules slipped out of the hands of his father and rushed toward the brick streets. He fell in the way of the horse drawn wagon. The horses missed the tiny chap, but not the wagon wheels. The front wheel and back wheel ran over his legs crushing them into splinters. No hospitals at that time could fix little Jules. Cut them off or let them heal on their own. There wasn’t any money. Dad never got over his preoccupation and the mangling of his sons legs. Jules was never taken outside to play or to be seen. His mother kept him inside to watch and study. She taught him to read, write, add, science and he read two books a week. He knew he was a freak, an outsider, a no gooder, but it wasn’t his fault. He was not accepted in his society. He could no longer walk, jump, run or play at the age of three. That did not stop the rest of his body. He lifted weights and had a thirst for learning. Science was his fascination and he thought that science could rule the world. He studied and studied and later worked on different projects for the Russian government. In 1940 he came to America and immediately stated working with a group of men on a project only known as the Manhattan project. He was the only person working on the project from a wheel chair. He hated war and it was his idea to develop the weapon of destruction that would end all of the violence in the world. The Manhattan project was later known as the Atom bomb makers and Dr. Jules directed much of the science work. It was there that he was finally accepted for his worth, not how he was built. He was no longer a freak.

Later on I will give you another story of a cripple boy in the Old Testament and see what happened to him. But first we have to get a little background to this text.

Much of II Samuel is written about David, King David, and mighty David. The Bible leaves nothing about a mans life out. Good or bad it is all laid out in front of you. David was a great hero and a great sinner. That means that there is hope for all of the rest of us.

In the opening chapters of II Samuel we find David and his army conquering and winning many battles for the Lord. Saul and his son Jonathan were in the midst of a battle when both men were killed. David was anointed King. But what you do not realize is that many people were skipped over in the Kings line in order to get David to be King. They could have been jealous or even yet murderous. David treated them well.

In Chapter 4 we find the brief scripture of this little boy by the name of Mephibosheths. It is pronounced Mu fib o seth. His nurse dropped him when he was 5 years old and broke his legs. He was a cripple for the rest of his life. He crawled on his hands or someone picked him up to take him places. People felt sorry for him. He could have been put to death because he was not normal.

“The blind receive sight, the lame walk; those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear.” Matthew 11:5 NIV None were more shunned by their culture than the blind, the lame, the lepers, and the deaf. They had no place. No name. No value. Canker sores on the culture. Excess baggage on the side of the road. But those whom the people called trash, Jesus called treasures. ---Max Lacado