10.17.21 2 Samuel 9:1–13
1 David said, “Is there anyone still left from the house of Saul, to whom I may show kindness for the sake of Jonathan?” 2 There was a servant of Saul’s house named Ziba, so they summoned him to come to David. The king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” He said, “I am.” 3 The king said, “Isn’t there still a man left who belongs to the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan. He has crippled feet.” 4 The king said to him, “Where is he?” Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.” 5 So King David sent and brought him from the house of Makir son of Ammiel from Lo Debar. 6 When Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, came to David, he bowed facedown to the ground. David said, “Mephibosheth?” He said, “I am.” 7 David said to him, “Do not be afraid. I will certainly show kindness to you because of Jonathan, your father. I will return to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat bread at my table.” 8 He bowed down and said, “What is your servant that you have paid attention to a dead dog like me?” 9 The king called Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “Everything that belonged to Saul and to his entire house I am giving to your master’s son. 10 You are to work the soil for him, you and your sons and your servants. You are to bring in the crops, so your master’s son will have food to eat. Mephibosheth, your master’s son, will always eat bread at my table.” (Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.) 11 Ziba said to the king, “Everything that my lord the king commands his servant, your servant will do.” So Mephibosheth began eating at the king’s table like one of the king’s sons. 12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica. Everyone living in Ziba’s house became servants of Mephibosheth. 13 So Mephibosheth took up residence in Jerusalem because he was always to eat at the table of the king. He was crippled in both his feet.
Alfred was the well renowned butler of Batman. And who can forget Jeannie from “I Dream of Jeannie,” Rosey the Robot from the Jetson’s, Alice from The Brady Bunch, or Alice and Flo from Mel’s Diner? Sometimes the servants have a way of stealing the show.
God wants us to serve as well. Tis better to give than to receive. Paul wrote in today’s epistle, “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone.” Jesus said in today’s Gospel, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” When you’re busy serving other people you don’t have time to worry about yourself or feel sorry for yourself. You are forced outside of yourself. This is the life of a Christian. One of service. So as we look at the Old Testament lesson from 2 Samuel 9, we see once again how,
We are Here to Serve, Lord, As You Wish
Those who can’t pay me back
David had finally risen to power after Saul died. If you remember your Bible history, it wasn’t an easy journey to be king. For years and years he had to run from King Saul who was jealous of him and wanted him dead. He had to hide in caves and forests. He had to flee the country. And the thing was, he had several chances to kill Saul, but he refused to do so out of honor and reverence for the office of the king. Eventually, Saul died in battle and David was able to then rise to power. He finally ended up with a united kingdom of north and south. The ark had returned to Jerusalem. David had defeated their longtime foes in the Philistines, along with the Arameans and the Edomites. He had a palace along with several wives, servants, and an entire army at his beckon call. Everything was going great.
It was at this time that David, with a profound sense of thankfulness, wanted to do something kind for his old friend Jonathan. David’s relationship with Jonathan was unique and dangerous in a sense. Jonathan was the son of Saul, the old king that was trying to kill him. Under normal operations, Jonathan would have been the next king, but David had been anointed as the next king instead of Jonathan. But Jonathan didn’t care about that. He and David had become tight friends. Jonathan and David bound themselves together in a friendship that was thicker than blood. Saul hated Jonathan for becoming friends with David, but Jonathan didn’t care, and neither did David. When Jonathan later died in battle with Saul, David wanted to do something kind for an offspring of Jonathan. Most kings would have probably killed Jonathan’s offspring because of the possible threat to the throne they might pose, but David wasn’t worried about that. He wanted to give back to an offspring of Jonathan if at all possible. He wanted to use his riches and his blessings to serve an old friend.
Think of the many ways you have been blessed here in America. Who else in the world has such a variety of food and clothing? Who else can afford campers and an automobile, much less two or three cars, with one per child? Is this all just for you to consume? Of course not. There are people you have been placed here to serve with money or time or service. I think of what Paul told the Corinthians, and it applies to us as well. 2 Corinthians 9 says, “he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” There are plenty of needy people that could use your assistance in some way. We have members with health problems, members in the hospital, members who have had parents and spouses who died. We have single and divorced members. They sometimes could just use a friend. Are you seeking people to help? Or are you selfishly spending your time only on your entertainment?
David ended up finding a son of Saul who could not really do anything in return for David. He was lame in both feet, as his nurse had dropped him as a young boy when fleeing from the palace. (2 Samuel 4:4) Yet that didn’t matter to David. It actually made him all the more generous.
Think of how God has been generous with you. He doesn’t pick you because you are so strong and able bodied. His choice is based on grace, as we are all born dead, blind and hostile. He decided to give us complete forgiveness, perfect protection, giving us more than enough in this life. He came into this sick and deadly world, sacrificed His very life, went through hell, all for you! Why? So we can pay Him back? We could never pay Him back for what He’s done. And that’s ok with God. That’s good with God. Then He gets all the glory. Ought we not do the same for those who CAN’T pay us back? Jesus said,
When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
By being served
Sooner or later, however, there will come a time in your life when YOU need to be on the receiving side of someone’s gifts and generosity. You’ll get sick, get in an accident, or just get old. For some people this is 100 times more difficult than giving, because pride gets in the way along with a profound sense of worthlessness. Look at how Mephibosheth referred to himself. He called himself a “dead dog.” Think about it. The first record of any type of wheelchair dates back to perhaps the 6th century A.D. in China and Greece. So how did Mephibosheth get around? He would have had to have been carried around from place to place or crawl around on all fours, just like a dog. In his own eyes he was nothing better than a dead dog.
What a contrast Mephibosheth would have been in comparison to many of David’s sons who felt entitled to such care and treatment! Absalom comes to mind, who felt that he could do such a better job at being king than David. He was full of pride. He expected to be fed at the king’s table. He probably complained about half of his meals. When people are entitled they think the world owes them something, and when you serve them they aren’t in the least bit appreciative. Mephibosheth was grateful for everything David gave him. He welcomed the gift of being able to sit at the king’s table with profound gratefulness. He didn’t deserve it.
How do you respond to those who come to help? Are you angry about it or thankful? Have you ever said to someone, “Just shoot me and put me out of my misery.” I’ve personally heard that from people, and it is a sad thing to hear. Where does it come from? Pride? Misery? Worthlessness? I’m sure it’s different in every case. Maybe you know people are having to spend extra time and effort to take care of you, and you feel it is YOUR fault.
It wasn’t Mephibosheth’s fault that his nurse dropped him. So think about your own situation. Was it your fault that you needed help? It’s often just due to old age or arthritis or weak bones and muscles. It’s not your fault. There is a difference between HEALTHY humility and UNHEALTHY humility. Unhealthy humility puts guilt on yourself for things that are beyond your control through no fault of your own. It is more difficult to care for someone who feels even MORE guilty when people come to help them. You not only spend time trying to take care of them, but then you also spend time trying to soothe them and build them up and assure them that they aren’t just a waste of space and time. You make them and yourself so much more miserable when you are angry about having to be served. How much easier is it to care for someone who is appreciative and thankful in a happy and positive way?
A positive sense of humility is appreciative and thankful for those who offer to help. It is wiser to recognize when you need help and to accept that help. I think of an elderly couple who refused to give up their driving privileges. They were in their lower 90’s. When the husband dropped off his wife for church, he didn’t put the car in reverse, ran over her and killed her in the parking lot. They should have been getting rides well before that. But for whatever reason they tried to do it themselves, and his wife ended up dying as a result.
The very nature of grace is that we can’t do it ourselves. We need not Jesus to do all for our salvation. The moment we try to do anything for our salvation, we end up sending ourselves to hell. It is the nature of faith to first of all realize how helpless and sinful you really are. Genuine faith is thankful to God for giving you salvation as a beggar. Why does life need to be any different? When you genuinely need help, why be angry about it? Why punish yourself over a genuine weakness or need? Why crucify yourself by calling yourself names? Why not rather be thankful for those God sends to help and be a THANKFUL recipient?
The thing is, many Christians LIKE to help. They WANT to help. Why deprive them of the opportunity? Why deny them the joy of helping by being grumpy and negative about it? Why not make it easier for them by smiling at them and thanking them, accepting the gifts they offer? God sends friends, nurses, children, and neighbors to help in time of need. Why not use them? Even Jesus was served by angels when he was in Gethsemane. He welcomed the service of the woman who poured oil on His head too on the way to His death. Why can’t you accept someone’s help as well? Don’t be too proud! Be thankful!
By doing the service myself
David wanted to serve Jonathan by taking care of his grandson Mephibosheth. He, of course, had other things he needed to do as King. So he delegated Ziba to do most of the actual service. The king called Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “Everything that belonged to Saul and to his entire house I am giving to your master’s son. 10 You are to work the soil for him, you and your sons and your servants. You are to bring in the crops, so your master’s son will have food to eat. Mephibosheth, your master’s son, will always eat bread at my table.” (Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.) 11 Ziba said to the king, “Everything that my lord the king commands his servant, your servant will do.”
Ziba sounds like a rich man himself with 20 servants of his own and 15 sons. He must have been a busy guy. It was probably a prominent job as being servant to the king. Maybe he hoped to keep serving David as his new king? But instead, he was placed in service of Mephibosheth. Yet we hear no complaints of it. He really has no choice in the matter. He just said, “Fine, I’ll do it.”
Sometimes you have no choice in the matter of what your service is. Your parents simply give you a duty, and you have to do it because that’s what God tells you to do. You get a new boss who changes your duties and gives you more to do or makes your life more miserable. What are you going to do, quit? Maybe you can’t.
Nowadays you don’t find too many people working long hours at jobs they don’t particularly like. They quit much more quickly. The factory workers who come home dirty after a long day's work are harder to find. People say, “My life is too short to work a job I can’t stand.” Yet isn’t there something to admire in those who did those jobs they don’t like in order to pay their bills and keep their families fed?
It is the nature of faithfulness to do the job that is required, even when there isn’t much glory or appreciation in it. Our whole life is based on the job that Jesus did for us, that was neither fun nor glorious in going to the cross. He was only mocked for being there and taunted to come down. But He didn’t. He stayed there. He finished the job, inglorious as it was, in order to pay for our sins, even though it was fun by any stretch of the imagination. And we are thankful for his faithfulness. If you have people depending on you, sometimes you have to do jobs that are less glorious, not as exciting, in order to provide for those who depend on you. That’s what Ziba did for Mephibosheth under the direction of the king.
Now, it’s interesting to note what happens later on however. When David’s son usurped David’s palace and throne for a time, everyone had to flee. Ziba, however, abandoned Mephibosheth, and told David that Mephibosheth purposely stayed behind to serve Absalom. I don’t believe this was true. Mephibosheth purposely didn’t care for himself in protest over what had happened to him, so that when David returned he could tell that Mephibosheth was in a sort of mourning over what had happened to him. Nonetheless, since David wasn’t sure who was telling the truth, he simply split the land between Ziba and Mephibosheth and let them part ways. I tend to think Ziba lied for that half, which is a dishonorable thing to do. If someone is going to lie in order to get their piece of the pie, that’s ultimately on them. You don’t have to play that game. Justice doesn’t always come about on this side of heaven like we’d like it to. Nonetheless, Mephibosheth was really no worse for wear. David welcomed him back. If someone lies about you to get something from you, maybe there’s nothing you can do about it. Let God take care of it in the end. You don’t have to go down that road.
One of my favorite servants from the movies was when Wesley served Buttercup in the Princess Bride with a charming and quick line, “As you wish.” His service was driven by love, which ended up bringing the slave together with the rich fair maiden. Think about how much greater is the story of Jesus! The king comes down to serve the ugly slaves who were bound to sin. It is through His loving service that He draws us to Himself, the “as you wish” to the Father on the way to the cross. And so He places us in this world. Serving and being served, in a world that despises service, doing what needs to be done, showing a Christian type of love. It may not be a glorious thing, but we are here to serve, as You wish, Lord. As You wish. Amen.
