HFL
MAY 15, 2011
2 SAMUEL 9:1-4
1David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”
2Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They called him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”
“Your servant,” he replied.
3The king asked, “Is there no one still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”
Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in both feet.”
4“Where is he?” the king asked.
Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”
SAUL HAD A SON, ISH-BOSHETH; THIS SON BECAME KING AFTER THE DEATH OF SAUL, AND JONATHON. HE WARRED WITH DAVID, AND THE SCRIPTURES SAY IN 2 SAM. 3; THE WAR BETWEEN THE HOUSE OF SAUL AND DAVID LASTED A LONG TIME, DAVID GREW STRONGER AND STRONGER, SAUL GREW WEAKER AND WEAKER.
FINALLY, IN 2 SAM 4, TWO OF ISH-BOSHETH’S LEADERS, ENTER HIS HOME, AND KILL HIM IN HIS BED. THEY TAKE HIS HEAD TO DAVID, AND THEY ARE THINKING THAT THEY WILL BE REWARDED FOR THIS. THEY ARE PUT TO DEATH BY DAVID’S MEN, JUST LIKE THE YOUNG MAN WHO TOOK CREDIT FOR KILLING SAUL WAS. IN 2 SAM 4, WE ARE INTRODUCED TO ANOTHER CHARACTER. HE GETS JUST A MENTION, BUT WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT MEPHIBOSHETH TODAY.
4(Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became crippled. His name was Mephibosheth.)
WITH ISH-BOSHETH DEAD, DAVID IS NOW ABLE TO UNITE THE COUNTRY. DAVID IS A MAN WHO HAS A HEART LIKE GOD. HE FIRST WANTS TO PLEASE GOD IN ALL THAT HE DOES. BEFORE WE CONSIDER MEPHIBOSHETH, I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE OF THINGS FROM CHAPTER 5 AND 6. IN CHAPTER 5, HIRAM THE KING OF TYRE, COMES TO DAVID WITH CARPENTERS AND STONE MASONS AND THEY BUILD A PALACE FOR DAVID. THIS WAS ONE OF HIS FIRST ACTS AS KING. SCRIPTURE SAYS, HE BECAME MORE AND MORE POWERFUL, BC THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY WAS WITH HIM. BC OF THIS, GOD BLESSES HIM WITH VICTORY AFTER VICTORY OVER HIS ENEMIES. HE IS ABLE TO DEFEAT THE PHILISTINES, WHO HAS BEEN THE GREAT ENEMY OF ISRAEL.
WE SEE A COUPLE OF INTERESTING THINGS IN CHAP 6. TO UNDERSTAND THIS, YOU HAVE TO GO BACK TO 1 SAM. SAUL HAD GONE TO BATTLE, AND HE BROUGHT THE ARK OF THE COVENANT TO THE BATTLE, BC HE BELIEVED IT WAS THE KEY TO VICTORY. IT WAS CAPTURED BY THE PHILISTINES, BUT THEY SUFFERED FROM KEEPING IT, SO THEY GAVE IT BACK. IT REMAINED AT THE HOME OF ABINADAB FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS.
DAVID REALIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ARK, AND HE WANTS IT IN JERUSALEM WHERE HE IS. SO HE TAKES HIS MEN TO RETURN IT. I WANT YOU TO NOTICE SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT; THEY WERE GOING TO BRING THE ARK UP. YOU ALWAYS GO UP TO JERUSALEM. JERUSALEM IS A CITY ON A HILL, AND YOU ALWAYS GO UP TO IT.
THEY HAVE A NEW CART, AND THEY HAVE PLACED THE ARK ON THIS NEW CART. DAVID LEADS THE PROCESSION, AND HE AND HIS MEN ARE SINGING AND DANCING BEFORE IT. IT’S ALL GOOD. THEY COME TO A THRESHING FLOOR, AND THE ARK BEGINS TO TIP. WHEN SOMETHING AS IMPORTANT AS THE ARK IS ABOUT TO FALL, WHAT DO YOU DO? YOU REACH OUT TO STEADY IT. RIGHT? WRONG. UZZAH IS STRUCK DEAD FOR TOUCHING IT. GOD’S ANGER BURNED AGAINST HIM FOR HIS IRREVERENT ACTION.
WHAT WE MUST UNDERSTAND IS HOW IMPORTANT THE ARK OF THE COVENANT WAS TO GOD. WHEN IT WAS BUILT, HE GAVE MOSES SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS AS TO HOW IT WAS TO BE BUILT. LOOK AT VS 2, the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims. THE ARK WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT OBJECT IN THE JEWISH RELIGION. THERE WAS SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS AS TO HOW IT WAS TO BE MOVED. 11Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. 12Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. 13Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the chest to carry it.
EXODUS 25:11-14.
WHEN THEY MOVED THE ARK, THEY PUT IT ON A CART THAT WAS PULLED BY OXEN. THE ARK WAS DESIGNED TO BE CARRIED USING POLES COVERED WITH GOLD. WHEN UZZAH WAS STRUCK DEAD, IT MADE DAVID MAD. HE IS THINKING, I TRIED TO DO THE RIGHT THING, WHY AM I BEING PUNISHED. HE LEAVES THE ARK WITH OBED EDOM. ODEB WAS BLESSED, AND DAVID FINDS THIS OUT, SO NOW HE IS DETERMINED TO GET IT TO JERUSALEM. ONLY THIS TIME THEY DO IT RIGHT. THERE WON’T BE MISTAKES THIS TIME. IT IS CARRIED. AND DAVID LEADS THE PROCESSION. HE IS DRESSED IN AN LINEN EPHOD. LET ME HELP YOU TO UNDERSTAND THIS, IF YOU CAN PICTURE THE SHORTEST SKIRT YOU HAVE EVER SEEN, AND THEN MAKE IT A LITTLE SHORTER, THAT WOULD BE ABOUT WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE. AND DAVID WEARS IT, AND DANCES FOR THE LORD. AND HE DANCES WITH ALL HIS MIGHT, HE IS DANCING AND LEAPING. AND HE DOESN’T LOOK VERY KINGLY DOING IT. HIS WIFE, MICHAL, THE DAUGHTER OF SAUL, WATCHES AND SHE BURNS. WHEN HE GETS HOME, SHE LIGHTS HIM UP. DAVID ANSWERS HER, THE LORD MADE ME KING, OVER THE LORDS PEOPLE, AND I WILL CELEBRATE BEFORE THE LORD. I DON’T CARE HOW YOU THINK IT LOOKS; I AM DOING WHAT IS RIGHT IN GOD’S SIGHT.
THIS WOMAN, WHO HAD JUST GOT SAVED, CAME TO THIS CHURCH THAT WAS VERY FORMAL. WHEN THEY SANG, SHE SANG VERY LOUD, AND SHE RAISED HER HANDS, AND CLAPPED. WHEN THE PREACHER BEGAN TO PREACH, SHE SAID, AMEN, AND PRAISE THE LORD. THIS STUFF JUST DIDN’T HAPPEN IN THAT CHURCH. FINALLY, ONE OF THE WOMEN TURNED TO HER AND SAID, WOULD YOU PLEASE. AND THE WOMAN, SAID, SINCE I FOUND THE LORD, I JUST CANT HELP MYSELF. THE OTHER WOMAN, SAID, WELL YOU DIDN’T FIND HIM HERE, SO PLEASE BE QUIET.
THE ARK IS IN JERUSALEM. THE COUNTRY IS AT PEACE. DAVID DESIRES TO BUILD A TEMPLE. DAVID SAYS, I LIVE IN A PALACE, BUT GOD LIVES IN A TENT. HE GOES TO NATHAN WITH HIS PLAN. NATHAN, RESPONDS, GO FOR IT. BUT THAT NIGHT, THE WORD OF THE LORD COMES TO NATHAN, AND GOD TELLS HIM, I HAVE LIVED IN A TENT, AND DAVID YOU CANNOT BUILD THIS TEMPLE. BUT YOUR SON WILL, AND YOUR HOUSE AND YOUR KINGDOM WILL ENDURE FOREVER. DAVID WAS NOT ALLOWED TO BUILD THE TEMPLE BC THERE WAS BLOODSHED ON HIS HANDS. THAT HONOR WOULD BE GIVEN TO SOLOMON.
GOD BLESSES DAVID, HE IS VICTORIOUS IN ALL OF HIS BATTLES. IN CHAPTER 9, WE FIND DAVID, IN A MOMENT OF SILENT REFLECTION, HE THINKS ABOUT SAUL, AND ABOUT HIS GOOD FRIEND JONATHON. HE BEGINS TO REMEMBER A PROMISE HE MADE TO THEM. HE WOULD SHOW KINDNESS TO THEIR FAMILIES. HE BEGINS TO WONDER IF THERE IS ANYONE LEFT THAT HE CAN HONOR THIS PROMISE. KINDNESS IS BETTER TRANSLATED GRACE. DAVID HAS DECIDED TO EXTEND GRACE TO ANYONE FROM THEIR FAMILY.
IN THOSE TIMES, WHEN A NEW KING TAKES POWER, HE DESTROYS ALL OF THE OLD KINGS FAMILY. THE ONLY WAY TO LIVE WOULD BE IN EXILE. THAT IS WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO MEPHIBOSHETH. HE FEARS FOR HIS LIFE. HE DOESN’T KNOW THAT DAVID WILL NOT HARM HIM. HE IS OUT OF SIGHT OUT OF MIND, AND SAFE.
DAVID INQUIRES, AND FINALLY ZIBA ANSWERS. THERE IS A SON OF JONATHON, AND BTW, HE IS A CRIPPLE. PEOPLE CAN BE VERY CRUEL WHEN DEALING WITH THOSE WHO ARE BATTLING WITH DISABILITIES. IT IS EASY TO MAKE FUN OF, TO POINT FINGERS AT, TO CALL NAMES.
AT THIS POINT IT WOULD BE MUCH EASIER FOR DAVID TO JUST FORGET IT. LOOK FOR SOMEONE ELSE. NOTICE HIS RESPONSE, “WHERE IS HE?” MEPHIBOSHETH IS IN LO-DEBAR. THERE IS NO PASTURE THERE; IT IS A DESERT PLACE, WITH NO PLACE TO RAISE SHEEP. THE NAME LO DEBAR CAN ALSO MEAN PLACE OF NO PROMISE. AND THE WORD TRANSLATED HOUSE, CAN ALSO BE TRANSLATED AS PRISON. SO PICTURE THIS, MEPHIBOSHETH, LIVES IN A PRISON WHERE THERE IS NO PROMISE.
DAVID SAYS, GET HIM. HE IS THE GRANDSON OF THE KING; HE IS THE SON OF DAVID’S BEST FRIEND. MEPHIBOSHETH IS BROUGHT TO THE PALACE AND PRESENTED TO THE KING. HE BOWS. DAVID TELLS HIM NOT TO WORRY, HIS LIFE IS SAFE, IN ADDITION HE GIVES TO HIM HIS GRANDFATHERS LAND, AND INVITES HIM TO EAT AT THE KINGS TABLE.
HE HAS GONE FROM LIVING IN THE DESERT, IN A PRISON WITH NO PROMISE, TO NOW BEING RESTORED, AND LIVING IN THE PALACE. HE SAYS, TO DAVID, I AM A DEAD DOG. HE LOOKED IN THE MIRROR AND SAW FAILURE, DAVID SAW HIM FOR WHAT HE WAS, A SON OF THE KING.
THIS IS TRULY A PICTURE OF US. WE ARE FAILURES, CRIPPLED BY ANY NUMBER OF THINGS, LIVING IN PRISONS NAMED NO PROMISE. THEN GOD EXTENDS GRACE TO US THRU JESUS. HE CALLS US OUT OF THE DESERT, OUT OF THE PRISON, AND HE INVITES US TO EAT AT HIS TABLE IN HIS PALACE FOREVER.
