2 Samuel 3: 1 Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker.
2 Samuel 4: 4 And Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.
2 Samuel 9:
1 And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan's sake?
2 And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he.
3 And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet.
4 And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.
5 Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.
6 Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant!
7 And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.
8 And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?
9 Then the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master's son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house.
10 Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master's son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master's son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11 Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king's sons.
12 And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth.
13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king's table; and was lame on both his feet.
Mephibosheth had been born into royalty. The son of Jonathan, the grandson of king Saul. He had known the life of living in the kingdom at a very high level. Just think about it. Mephibosheth had witnessed the inner workings of the kingdom. Was under the protection of the royal family. Living at that high level in the kingdom of his grandfather everything available in the kingdom was at his disposal. When we live at a high level in a kingdom with that close personal relationship with a king it gives us great authority. But Mephibosheth not only had that relationship with the king but he was blood kin!
He has special privileges that other kids didn’t have. So as the news is pouring in that his grandfather Saul, and his father Johnathan has been killed, his nurse picks him up and they begin to run.
He is now in the arms of the only one he knew and trusted, fleeing with his nurse. Then, in the rocky hills in the Mahanaim area, she slipped and dropped him. He came crashing down on his feet, and severe pain overtook him. Both of his feet were broken. But, they could not think about getting to a doctor at this time. They must only think about survival. She picked him up and continued to carry him. The bones never mended correctly. He would never walk again. Imagine his pain inside as he watched the other boys and girls his age running and jumping and playing- and, he knew that he would never be a part of that. He would be dependent upon others just to transport him from place to place. And, as he reflected on his misfortune, one wonders if he thought to himself again and again, Mephibosheth had been hurt and made lame by someone else.
His nurse was there with him from day one, when he was born. She tended to him, she helped bath him, she helped feed him, she changed his diapers, she was there when he was sick, she helped to teach him to walk, and when he took his first steps and when he wanted to go outside she was there pushing him on the swing, and playing hide and seek and duck, duck, goose. This nurse, was not a stranger this nurse was someone that loved him and cared for him as one of her own. One cannot fault the nurse for she had good intentions. She was trying to save his life.
Because she knew that when Saul and Johnathan being dead, that they would come and kill Mephibosheth because he was heir to the throne. She picked him up and fled with him and the chaos of fleeing she dropped him. She made a mistake, she wasn’t a stranger, she was a friend.
He may not have completely understood what was happening at the time, but he knew that something was desperately wrong in the palace.
He received the news that both his father and his grandfather had died. His home was shattered. He had no father to guide him, no grandfather to shower him with love and affection. Who would take care of him? Who would feed him, clothe him, or put him to bed at night? Imagine how alone he must have felt. Imagine the pain of the memory of his father and grandfather. Imagine the insecurity of no more home that he could call his own.
Many, many out there today are suffering spiritually wounded and made lame by one who hurt them.
Hurt in church is the biggest excuse I hear for not serving God. In all probability they were hurt by someone who really intended to help them but something ran a foul.
The nurse never intended to drop Mephibosheth! In fact, she saved his life but in the process he was made lame.
But there is not a word about Mephibosheth becoming ill and bitter toward the nurse. To many times, we have excuses why we don’t live for God. Someone hurt our feelings, someone said something wrong, someone did something, the preacher done something that you didn’t agree with, the praise team sang a song you didn’t like, someone did this or someone done that. Your husband doesn’t want to live for God, or get his lazy carcass up on a Sunday morning so you want to stay home with him for family time, or your wife got her feelings hurt so now it’s affected the whole family. You won’t quit going to your job and punching that clock, because you can’t stand half the people you work with, because you know you going to get a paycheck come Friday. You won’t stop going to family reunions and get together, and you can’t stand half your family and they have hurt your feelings a bunch a times.
He can’t walk for the rest of his life, because of someone else. He has to have help to the bathroom, someone has to work and provide for him. Someone has to help cloth him and help him through life because he was Dropped and Hurt, and Crippled!!!!
He can’t jump up and run and play with the other kids, he can’t play hide and seek no more, he can’t play on the swings or run over the hills, or be in the kingdom any longer because he is crippled! He is hurt! He was dropped! He is now disabled! He is relying on someone else to carry him!!!
He can’t run around with the other teenagers, he can’t go into the army like other young men, he can’t provide as an older man. Someone hurt him!!!!
He has been on the run since he was young, and now he is older and living in Lodebar. Lodebar, is a ghetto town, it’s a garbage dump for the bigger cities, there is no pastures for animals to graze on, it’s barren, there is no economy there, so it was the worst of conditions for a King’s son to be living in.
Stop blaming other people for your misfortune, and blaming people for why you aren’t where you want to be or where you thought you should be. You don’t have the job you thought you deserved, or you thought you could have done better in picking out a spouse, you got dropped! You got hurt! You got crippled! I am not making light of your misfortune.
Stop punishing the preacher because another preacher dropped and hurt you and your spiritually crippled! If I done that, please forgive me! Forgive me!
Don’t punish the church in your giving’s of your tithes and offerings to the kingdom because some other preacher ran off and spent it on booze and hookers! Or some other church secretary mis-handled the funds!
Don’t punish your current boyfriend or girlfriend, or spouse because your ex was no good and they dropped you! They hurt you! They crippled you mentally when it comes to relationships!
People are going to leave you, people are going to hurt you, people are going to walk away from you, if people walk away, LET THEM WALK! Don’t you beg someone to love you, don’t you beg someone to care about you, don’t beg someone to stay! LET THEM WALK!
I might have been much further along in accomplishing my life dreams and in the fulfilling of the vision for my life with its peace, power and prosperity had it not been for those things that took place in my past that have crippled me, if not in my body then surely in my mind.
When a person has been broken by the neglect of another the scars left behind on the inside are far more numerous and unsightly than the ones that are seen on the outside. The scars that are the most painful reminders of the terror of past hurts, pain and traumas are the ones that attach themselves to the mind. Many who have been afflicted by the demons of their past remain infected by the pain of abuses inflicted upon them by people that they trusted and are still haunted and affected in there right now.
This is so because they are still struggling in their minds and hearts with the pandemonium and peril of a pitiful past. The mind can be tormented by memories of having been battered and blistered by the burden of brokenness.
God sent me by to tell someone tonight that you have been hurt but not abandoned!
David always showed that kindness to his entire house. He went out of his way to prove his loyalty to Jonathan’s father, King Saul. He protected his family as far as possible. After Saul’s death, David was anointed king, and he took the throne- and, his house and his support grew stronger. And, Saul’s son, Ishbosheth, also took the throne- and, his house and his support grew weaker. The result was civil war. Even then, because of David’s respect for King Saul and his love for Jonathan, David went out of his way to try to make peace, but it was impossible. Ishbosheth continued to fight David, but he was defeated and killed.
After the civil war was over, David remembered that he had made a covenant of friendship with Jonathan and with his family.
Mephibosheth was a special person, a son of Jonathan, David’s loyal friend. David made a covenant with Jonathan (a “binding agreement”), and along with that covenant, there was a promise that David gave to Jonathan- 1 Samuel 20:15- that he would “not cut off his kindness to the house of Jonathan forever.”
So, Mephibosheth was a fugitive, living in fear, constantly harboring the dread that one day he would be found and put to death himself.
He finally did get that knock on the door that he dreaded. He knew nothing of David’s intent (to show kindness to Jonathan’s family). All that he knew was that that fatal knock came one day. A servant named Ziba told him that he would be taken to the king’s palace. Why? He was not told. But, he had a good idea that it would not end up well for him and those who cared for him. And, all the way to the palace, he may have thought- “Why me?”
Finally, in David’s inner court, vs. 6- Mephibosheth fell on his face, and David called his name- “Mephibosheth!” And, he responded, “Your servant!” He expected the king’s wrath and judgment. And, I wonder if he was not thinking, “Here it comes. It’s all over. Why me?”
Mephibosheth came to the king. Broken, but he came to the king. Battered, but he came to the king. When he came the king restored all that he lost. When he came to the king the king made him a permanent member of the king’s court. Healing came to him, restoration came to him; renewal came to him Revival came to him.
Somebody said, “Well he was crippled, how could he have made to the king” I’ll tell you how he made it. Yes, his feet were broken, but his knees worked just fine and he kneeled over to where the king was. He got down on his knees and that’s how he made it.
That tells me that if I’ve been battered, broken, bruised, raped, abused, forgotten, or betrayed; that’s all right. I got an invitation from the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and He has called me to Himself!
HOW DO YOU GET PAST YOUR PAIN?
Do what Mephibosheth did. Come to the King. That’s what I did. I came to Jesus just as I was, lowly, broken, wounded and sad. But I found in Him a resting place and He has made me glad. Somebody once asked me “Clay, why do you love Jesus so much?” Well, I’m glad that you asked.
When I fall, He lifts me up! When I fail, He forgives! When I am weak, He is strong! When I am afraid, He is my courage! When I stumble, He steadies me! When I am hurting, He heals me!
Vs. 7- “’Don’t be afraid,’ David said to him, ‘for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.’”
He expected the king’s wrath; instead, he got grace- unbelievable grace. David would show him kindness; he need not fear anything. He would be under his protection. David would restore to him all the land of his grandfather, Saul. Best of all, he would eat at David’s table regularly with all of his family. The King Redeemed him!
He sat at the kings table and looked like everyone else!
When I am broken, He mends me! When I am blind, He leads me! When I am hungry, He feeds me!
HOW DO YOU GET PAST YOUR PAIN?
Turn it over to King Jesus and He will work it out. He supplies Strength for the weak He’s available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and he saves. He strengthens and sustains.
He guards and he guides. He heals the sick.
He discharges debtors. He delivers the captives.
He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. And He
blesses the broken.
I wonder, DO YOU KNOW HIM?
He’s the Doorway of Deliverance. He’s the Pathway of Peace. He’s the Key to Knowledge. He’s the Wellspring to Wisdom. His life is matchless. His goodness is limitless.
He’s the Gateway of Glory. His Love never Changes. His Word Is Enough. His Grace Is Sufficient.
His Reign Is Righteous. His Yoke Is Easy. And His Burden Is Light.
I wonder, DO YOU KNOW HIM?
I’m through - But – let me tell you my 7 reasons of why I praise the Lord every chance I get
1. HE’S BEEN GOOD TO ME!
2. HE’S BEEN GOOD TO ME!
3. HE’S BEEN GOOD TO ME!
4. HE’S BEEN GOOD TO ME!
5. HE’S BEEN GOOD TO ME!
6. HE’S BEEN GOOD TO ME!
7. HE’S BEEN GOOD TO M
