Title: Life In Lodebar
Text: 2 Samuel 9:1-13
Date: August 19, 2012
Place: Washington A/G
Introduction
I. The plan of the message.
A. Share an Old Testament narrative
B. Draw a New Testament era parallel from the story
II. History of Israel
A. A nation ruled by Prophets and judges; men who spoke for God
B. Israel cries out for a king.
1. Saul was anointed king
2. Saul repeatedly fails without repentance
3. Saul will be replaced by a little shepherd boy named David
C. Saul and his son Jonathan were killed in battle
III. Jonathan’s son.
A. We all know that King Saul had a son whose name was Jonathan
B. Jonathan had a son whose name was Mephibosheth.
C. News hits home. (2 Samuel 4:4 NLT)
1. Mephibosheth is injured
2. Goes into hiding.
3. Some time passes and no one knows where Mephibosheth is
4. A few chapters we find that Mephibosheth is in a city called Lodebar.
IV. Life in Lodebar.
A. I want to show you how this man represents every one of us
B. I also want to show you how this land in which he dwelt represents a very real spiritual condition.
Body
I. Let’s Begin with a name.
A. Fallen, Lame and Fleeing from the presence of the king.
B. His destination would be the land of Lodebar.
1. The name translated from the Hebrew means “Pasturless” or “place of no pasture.”
2. It represents a place where there is a lack of sustenance
3. A place where there is nothing truly satisfying for the hungering in our heart.
C. Mephibosheth is a picture of us all at some point in time.
1. We have all fallen.
2. We can none walk as we ought
D. Lodebar represents the life of sin
1. Living to satisfy the pleasures of the flesh.
2. The vanity and emptiness of life apart from God
3. The pleasures of sin that last only for a season and their moment of satisfaction fleeting.
II. Represents a place of unfounded fear.
A. The two great distressing problems of Mephibosheth’s life
1. Those two lame feet
a. He was messed up and he knew it
b. There was nothing he could do about it
2. His fear of one day having to face the King.
B. A very real threat behind this story.
1. It was customary that whenever an old king was deposed that the new incoming king would kill any surviving members of the former king’s family
2. This is the reason his nurse took him up and fled
3. I’m sure that every passing day he lived with the fear that one day it would be found out that something remained of the bloodline of Saul
4. Everything that said bump made him think that the king’s men were at the door.
5. For fear of facing the king he continues to live in a pastureless land
C. How we’re like Mephibosheth
1. We have a king
2. We’re messed up, we have lame feet.
3. There has been some point in our lives when we opted for life in Lodebar because of our reluctance to stand before the king
4. We have assumed that the king meant us harm.
a. Our King does not carry the great cosmic whoopin’ stick!
b. Ours is a just king
c. One day justice will be dispensed on the nations, but His will and intention today in this hour of grace is that all men receive the free gift of salvation.
d. God didn’t bleed and die to have the right to judge you; He had that to begin with.
e. He was prompted by love.
f. It is his desire that all men would no longer settle for the pastureless land of Lodebar but come and be made to lie down in the green pastures and be led by the still waters
III. Represents a place for redemption
A. A lifetime of fear
1. Don’t know how much time had passed
2. Mephibosheth was 5 years old when news of his father’s death reached him.
3. Now has children of his own.
B. A heart to bless (2 Samuel 9:1 NKJV)
C. Read down and Highlight verse seven.
IV. Altar Call
V. Communion
Then he bowed himself, and said, "What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?" 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. 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. 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." Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth. So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king's table. And he was lame in both his feet. (2 Samuel 9:8-13 NKJV)
