Last week we talked about David. We have learned that he is only 15 but has been chosen by God to become the next king of Israel. The reason being that he has a heart for God. That meant his very being, innermost person desired to please God above everything else.
This same 15-year-old boy decided to fight a man who stood over nine feet tall and created fear within the entire Israeli army. He declared the battle to be the Lord’s battle and he was just an instrument to be used. His victory over Goliath inspired the entire army to route the Philistines. But this victory would lead to his very life being endangered.
Saul was so impressed with David’s victory that he immediately enlisted him in his army. David’s days of being a shepherd had ended. Saul saw David as a great warrior.
But Jonathan, Saul’s son, saw David as so much more. We are told that there was an immediate bond between them, for Jonathan loved David. And Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, because he loved him as he loved himself. Jonathan sealed the pact by taking off his robe and giving it to David, together with his tunic, sword, bow, and belt.
There has been much debated on this relationship between David and Jonathan. Some have hinted that they were involved in a homosexual lifestyle. This would mean that David decided to violate God’s law and not pursue God’s desires but rather his own flesh. David would do that very thing one day with disastrous results bringing about God’s punishment on him. But as we will see God’s hand of blessings continue to be on David for many leading us to the conclusion that he in do way was involved in a relationship of a sexual nature with Jonathan.
Rather Jonathan recognized that God was with David and they became one spirit. By giving David his robe, tunic, sword, bow, and belt, he was resigning himself to the possibility that he would never be king after his father’s death.
When the army returned home from battle the story of David’s triumph preceded them. The women from all the towns of Israel came out to meet King Saul. They sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals. This was their song:
“Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his ten thousands!”
This made Saul very angry. “What’s this?” he said. “They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!” So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
Saul began to plot to kill David. During the seven years of service with Saul twice he attempts to run David through with a spear. Then he sent men to David’s house to kill him in his sleep. But David’s wife, who was Saul’s daughter, helped him escape. When Jonathan came to David’s defense Saul hurled a spear at him in an attempt to kill him.
For 8 years, David was on the run. Saul became infatuated with the purpose of hunting down and killing David. In his infatuation, he became insane. He had all the priests of Nob slaughtered for assisting David even though they no knowledge Of David being a fugitive.
Yet in the midst of this turmoil, David is presented with the opportunity to kill Saul twice, once in the Crags of the Wild Goats while Saul is using the bathroom and again on the hill of Hakilah while Saul was sleeping. But he refused to do so because he recognized Saul as God’s anointed.
Saul would die in battle along with Jonathan. David wept bitterly over the death of both his king and his friend. The nation of Israel split. The largest tribe made David their king but Abner, the commander of Saul’s army, named Ish-Bosheth son of Saul king of Israel and the other tribes. David, who is now thirty, would rule Judah for seven years.
During that time, Abner realized that Ish-Boseth was incapable of ruling and eventually David would become king of all of Israel. So he began plotting with David to bring about his kingship and unite Israel once again.
When David’s commander, Joab, heard that Abner was plotting with David, Joab killed him. This was to avenge the death of his brother at Abner’s hands.
When word reached Ish-Boseth of what had happened, he became frightened. Two of his own men decided to win favor with David by killing him and delivering his head to David. When David learned what they had done he had them executed.
Then representatives from all the tribes of Israel came and asked David to be their king. So Israel became united once again under King David. He is now 37 years old. This had been a twenty-two year journey for him.
David began to put things in order. Jerusalem had fallen into the hands of the Jebusites. David led an army and re-conquered the city. He then defeats the Philistines and captures the Ark of the Covenant that Saul had lost in battle. It is brought back to Jerusalem, although God would not permit him to build the temple to house it because he was a man of war. He led his armies into battle against the nations that had invaded Israel and purged the land of their influence. Israel was finally at peace. And it was this peace that David’s mind wandered back to his good friend Jonathan.
David began to ponder if all of Saul and Jonathan’s relatives were deceased. It was common for a conquering king to wipe out the defeated king’s family to stop the chance of a rebellion. Although he was not directly an instrument of the end to Saul’s lineage, he felt that anyone that could lay claim to the throne was assassinated. He knew nothing of Jonathan’s son.
We read about him during the time of Ish-Bosheth death. He was Saul’s son who had become king of Israel. Let’s read
2 Samuel 4:4 “(Saul’s son Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth, who was crippled as a child. He was five years old when the report came from Jezreel that Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle. When the child’s nurse heard the news, she picked
him up and fled. But as she hurried away, she dropped him, and he became crippled.)” She feared for his life so she fled with him.
So David began to inquire of Saul’s servants if anyone had survived. Saul’s servant Ziba came forth and told him of Mephibosheth. Let’s look at 2 Samuel 9:3 “The king then asked him, ‘Is anyone still alive from Saul’s family? If so, I want to show God’s kindness to them.’
Ziba replied, ‘Yes, one of Jonathan’s sons is still alive. He is crippled in both feet.’”
Mephibosheth lives with a label. He is a cripple. He has spent somewhere between 20 to 30 years hiding from King David. He is the last of the lineage of Saul. His constant fear would be that one day the King would find him and kill him.
At one time, he lived in the palace, sleeping in the most comfortable of settings, running in spacious hallways, eating the best of food. Now he is living in the house of Makir, which meant, “sold”, in a place called Lo Debar, which meant “no pasture.” It was desolate and filled with poverty.
Mephibosheth was a cripple. He could not work. He could not care for his son Mica. He had no inheritance from the royal family. His life was filled with desperation and fear. Then his greatest fears were realized.
2 Samuel 9:5 “So David sent for him and brought him from Makir’s home.”
Can you imagine the knock at the door? Makir opened the door to see the King’s guards standing there. Mephibosheth instructed to gather all of his belongings and family to accompany them to see King David. He would have been carried to a chariot that raced across the desert heading back to Jerusalem. Perhaps tears streamed down his face as he prepared to meet his fate as the sole remaining survivor of King Saul along with his son.
Upon arrival, he was carried into the presence of the king. Unable to stand he bowed deeply before David in submission.
He expected death. But he was in the presence of a man who had a heart for God. The tradition of killing your enemy and their family did not matter. The threat of an uprising when it would be discovered that Saul still had a relative who could lie claim to the throne did not matter. What mattered was his love for a friend and a promise he made to care for his friend’s family.
Let’s read 2 Samuel 9:7 “‘Don’t be afraid!’ David said. ‘I intend to show kindness to you because of my promise to your father, Jonathan. I will give you all the property that once belonged to your grandfather Saul and you will eat here with me at the king’s table!’”
With just one command from the King, Mephibosheth was fully restored. He had his inheritance back. He had his place in the palace back. He would be eating once again at the royal table. He became the master of the servant Ziba, Ziba’s 15 sons, and Ziba’s 20 servants. They were ordered to farm the land for him and bring him the crops. And Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of his sons.
One day a rebellion would come against David. Ziba used this opportunity to deceive David about Mephibosheth’s loyalty. He convinced him that Mephibosheth had remained in Jerusalem to obtain his grandfather’s throne. In anger, David gave all of Mephibosheth’s possessions to Ziba.
When David returned and learned of Ziba’s deception he ordered that half be returned to Mephibosheth. But Mephibosheth’s response showed that he also had become a man with a heart for God.
2 Samuel 19:30 “‘Give him all of it,’ Mephibosheth said. ‘I am content just to have you safely back again, my lord the king!’”
He was content to be in the presence of his king. He was content in living in the palace. He was content in sitting at the table. Worldly possessions meant nothing to him because he was content.
There is a story of Fiorello LaGardia. LaGuardia was the mayor of New York City during the worst days of the Great Depression and all of WWII. He was called 'the Little Flower' because he was only five foot four and always wore a carnation in his lapel. He was a colorful character who used to ride the New York City fire trucks, raid speakeasies with the police department, take entire orphanages to baseball games, and whenever the New York newspapers were on strike, he would go on the radio and read the Sunday funnies to the kids.
One bitterly cold night in January of 1935, the mayor turned up at a night court that served the poorest ward of the city. LaGuardia dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench himself.
Within a few minutes, a tattered old woman was brought before him, charged with stealing a loaf of bread. She told LaGuardia that her daughter's husband had deserted her, her daughter was sick, and her two grandchildren were starving. But the shopkeeper, from whom the bread was stolen, refused to drop the charges.
"It's a real bad neighborhood, your Honor." the man told the mayor. "She's got to be punished to teach other people around here a lesson."
LaGuardia sighed. He turned to the woman and said, "I've got to punish you. The law makes no exceptions--ten dollars or ten days in jail." But even as he pronounced sentence, the mayor was already reaching into his pocket. He extracted a bill and tossed it into his famous sombrero saying: "Here is the ten dollar fine which I now remit; and furthermore I am going to fine everyone in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a town where a person has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat. Mr. Baliff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant."
So the following day the New York City newspapers reported that $47.50 was turned over to a bewildered old lady who had stolen a loaf of bread to feed her starving grandchildren, fifty cents of that amount being contributed by the red-faced grocery store owner. The rest came from some seventy petty criminals, people with traffic violations, and New York City policemen.
You would have thought that those fined would have been angry. But each of whom that had just paid fifty cents gave the mayor a standing ovation for the privilege of doing so. His heart for compassion ignited their heart for compassion on that cold winters night.
This story of David also reflects the story of Jesus and what He has done for us. We were a part of a disgraced family. When Adam sinned, it brought disgrace and death to us. We were destined to die simply because were Adam’s seed.
We lived in a destitute place, crippled and unable to care for ourselves. We lived in a house called “sold” because it belonged to Satan. We lived in a place called “no pasture” because it was barren and hopeless.
But then Jesus sought us out. He began looking for the relatives of Adam. He sent the Holy Spirit to search people’s heart and request their presence before the King. When they responded He spoke to them about their need for a savior. He spared them from the death they deserved by birthright and promises his kindness toward them instead.
Jesus moved us from a pauper’s house to his palace. He invited us to dine at his table where we would be fed spiritually. His Father would become our Father.
But let’s revisit our introduction to Mephibosheth.
2 Samuel 9:3 “The king then asked him, ‘Is anyone still alive from Saul’s family? If so, I want to show God’s kindness to them.’
Ziba replied, ‘Yes, one of Jonathan’s sons is still alive. He is crippled in both feet.’”
Then notice how the story ends.
2 Samuel 9:13 “And Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet, lived in Jerusalem and ate regularly at the king’s table.”
Notice he is still crippled in both feet. The difference is now he lives in the palace and his crippled feet are hidden under the king’s table.
We are still crippled. The only difference is now we live in his presence and sit at his table. Through the blood of Christ, our crippled feet are hidden and that is something to rejoice about.
