Mephibosheth – A Study in Gracefulness

Introduction

I’m really grateful to this congregation for being so understanding and patient in the circumstances of my family’s situation. And I’m very grateful for those of you who’ve been praying for my wife. And she is getting better, and we continue to see her improve on a regular basis, and we’re very thankful for that. And a lot of that I think is due to people like you praying for us. And I’m really glad we were able to put this together, even on somewhat short notice, and that a lot of you came tonight. If you’re one of the people that was paid to come tonight, thank you for that. And that means a lot. We’ve got a good gathering of people here tonight to study together.

I come from Tampa, Florida. For those of you who don’t know me, that’s where I live, and I work with a congregation there both as a preacher and one of five shepherds in the congregation. And it’s a it’s a great place to live, but it’s very humid. I was telling the people at supper tonight that people say, What is that like? The heat in Florida, and particularly in Tampa where I’m from, and I say, Well, when I get up in the morning and open the door and walk outside, it’s like I’ve stepped into the face of a giant panting Saint Bernard. And then I say to the people here, you have a bigger dog than we do. You do. Your dog is bigger. It is really humid here.

And you know, when we talk about the eternal punishment that’s going to happen in hell, if you don’t mention humidity, you’ve just left out one of the worst features of that place of torment.

We have changes of rule and authority and responsibility in our country, and it whenever it takes place, a changing of the guard of presidents or governors or mayors, it is met with pretty civil reactions on the part of citizens. I was thinking about what’s just happened in Puerto Rico and how people were in the streets dancing and yelling, and if that isn’t a contrast to what’s happening in Venezuela where there’s rioting and fussing going on that we cannot even imagine because there isn’t a changing of the garden guard, we can’t really understand how volatile in some countries and some cultures it is to have a change of authority. But when Saul and Jonathan died, Saul is the king and Jonathan as his heir apparent, the prince.

And we’ll we’ll talk more if the Lord allows us to be together Sunday night. We’ll talk about Jonathan, the man who would be king. But when that happened and those two men died, there was incredible turmoil. And the other sons of Saul began to vie for who’s going to become the king in place of our father. And there was an event that happened that changed the life of a baby till his story interesting, but I think you’ll see as we move through the lesson that it has value to us. If I were to ask you to list what you know about certain characters in the Bible, if I said Moses, we’d all get something. I mean, we’d say something about him, right or wrong. If I said Abraham, most of us would get that right.

David, we know. Peter, Paul.

But if I ask you, what do you know about Mephibosheth? I think most of us would probably say, You’ve got me there. I don’t know him. But I hope that after tonight, if you didn’t know him before, you’ll know him. And I’m persuaded you’re going to know him in a more personal way than you ever have before. So I’m in my Bible in 2 Samuel chapter 4. I’m going to begin there. 2 Samuel chapter 4. Ishboasheth is one of the sons of Saul. And the story comes to him that Abner, I’m going to get you’re not going to have, you’re not going to be tested on these names. You don’t have to remember them all. But I hope this will help you picture the story. Abner was Saul’s general.

And Ishbox is counting on Abner to help deliver the kingdom to him. But it turns out Abner dies at the hands of Joab, one of David’s generals. And when he hears about that in the beginning of chapter 4, he flees. He loses courage. All Israel is disturbed. And Saul’s two henchmen scatter. And then almost like a parenthetical statement is this in verse 4. And it’s not meant to say this happens chronologically, but it is meant to say this is part of the turmoil that occurred when there was a changing of the guard in Israel. So verse 4 says this. Now Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son crippled in his feet. And then it tells us how that happened. He was five years old when the report of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel.

The report from Saul and Jonathan and Jezreel was they’ve been killed in battle. They’re dead. And their bodies have been carried off and pinned to the wall of Jezreel.

And so it says, when the report of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened that in her hurry to flee, he fell, and he became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth. Now, that little story is one of these ways that the Bible writers often have planting a little tiny seed and then saying, log that, because it’s going to come back. We’re going to come back to it. But we don’t come back to that story until chapter 9. So go ahead and flip over to chapter 9. And if you don’t have a Bible, just rustle a songbook. Make me think you’re there. Okay? I just feel good about that, you know. Chapter 9. Alright. The people in the back say, Give me a Bible.

He’s coming back here. Here he comes. And then David said, Is now David’s king now? By chapter 9, David is the new king in Israel. And David said, Is there yet anyone left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake? Alright, there’s a lot in that, and we’re going to come back to it. Why in the world does David want to show kindness for Jonathan’s sake? What’s the relationship he has with him? We’ll get to all of that in a moment. And there was a servant of the house of Saul, whose name was Zeba. And they called him to David, and the king said to him, Are you Ziba? And he said, I am your servant. And the king said, Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?

And Zeba said to the king, Well, there’s still a son of Jonathan, who’s crippled in both feet. And the king said to him, Where is he? And Zeba said to the king, Behold, he is in the house of Mekir, the son of Amiel in Lodabar. King David sent. And he brought him from the house of Mekir, the son of Amiel from Lodabar. Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, and he fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, Mephibosheth, and he said, Here’s your servant. David said to him, Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you shall eat at my table regularly.

And again he prostrated himself, and he said, What is your servant that you should regard a dead dog like me? And then the king called Saul’s servant Zeba, and he said to him, All that belong to Saul and to all his house I’ve given to your master’s grandson. You and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him. You’ll bring in the produce so that your master’s grandson may have food. Nevertheless, Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, shall eat at my table regularly. Now, Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. And then Ziba said to the king, According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do. So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table as one of the king’s sons. And Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micah.

And all who lived in the house of Zeba were servants to Mephibosheth. So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate at the king’s table regularly. And then this reminder, just remember, he was lame in both feet. Now there’s some really interesting repetition that takes place in this story for a purpose.

So as we look at it, I want to look at it first of all from the standpoint of David, and then I’m going to look at it from the standpoint of Mephibosheth, and then I want to see what it means to us, to you and me. Is it just is this just a really good story? And we go home like we do from some movies and say, Boy, that was really good. Or do we go home and say, there’s something valuable in that for me.

Wonderful grace, the riches of God’s grace. We often talk about it. We define it. Every person that’s been in any kind of Bible class for any length of time knows to parrot the two words when the Bible class teacher says, and what is grace? Yes, Ralph, unmerited favor. And we here, we’ve settled it. What in the world does that mean? Unmerited favor. I mean, what does that translate into for us? Well, we can try to define it, or we can show it. The word grace appears ten times in the Old Testament in the New American Standard Version that I use. Only ten times is a word grace found in the Old Testament. But I want to tell you, nowhere in the Bible, with the exception of the cross of Christ, will we see grace so beautifully displayed?

As in this story. And you may say, I’m not getting it yet. Stay with me. Because I think you will.

1. David Shows the Kindness of God

Extend to somebody else. And he asks that question Is there anybody in the house of Saul to whom I may show some favor that I may bestow some gift that he doesn’t deserve, that I can do some kindness for Jonathan’s sake. David is motivated by one thing. It’s his love for somebody. His love for somebody motivates him to do this. This is not a political move. You know, I don’t know about you. I really get tired of the politicians. I’m not saying all politicians, but the politicians who want everything they do to be seen by men so they receive accolades for that. David’s not motivated by that.

People don’t like you, David. Well, then let me do something that’ll bring them all back. I’ll show how kind I can be.

None of those things are motivating David. He’s not motivated by guilt. Maybe I haven’t done enough for my predecessor Saul in his household. I probably need to just do some little favor for him here. None of those things motivate him. What does is this? In 2 Samuel, in 1 Samuel chapter 20, 1 Samuel chapter 20. When David and Jonathan meet for the last time.

And Jonathan says to David, by the way, I gotta tell you, I am convinced my dad wants to kill you. He wants you dead. And the only thing for you to do is to flee.

I have always done what you wanted done. And he says this in verses 14 and 15. This is Jonathan to David. If I’m still alive, will you not show me the loving kindness of the Lord that I may not die? You shall not cut off your loving kindness from my house forever. Not even when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth. Let me translate that for you in simple terms. It was pretty common in that day that when a king is deposed, whether it’s by death or they run him out or they murder him, that all of his family is wiped out.

We have the bloodline of our father. We I should be king because my dad was king, or I should be queen because my father was king. So the way to take care of that was to just kill the family. It has its own name. It is called regicide. It’s the death of regents, family. A regent is a ruler or authority. Regicide. It was so common it has its own word. And what Jonathan is saying to David is, look, here’s what I’m begging. I know you’re going to be king. God’s going to make you the king. I know that. But when he does, don’t kill me. I’m not going to be in opposition to you. I’m on your side. Don’t kill me. And further, don’t let other people kill me, because you may have some people on your side who think the best course of action is give rid of Jonathan, because he’s a threat to David as long as he’s alive.

Don’t let that happen. And here’s one more thing. If I die, don’t let my kids die. Don’t kill them. Even when the Lord raises his hand against all your enemies, and included in that would have been his father Saul. Jonathan knows that. Please, David. Don’t kill my family. So we come to this. Is there anybody in the house of Saul to whom I may show favor for the sake of Jonathan? You see that? He’s now wanting to make good on the promise. Is there anybody left alive in his family? And then David is told. Notice this. He’s told who it is, but he does not ask the question, is there anybody deserving of my grace? Is there anybody who I, whom I owe something to?

He doesn’t consider it that way. He’s not thinking of it in those terms. This is not a political favor. This is not a payback. This is not a deficit he has to fill. He’s not thinking about that.

That’s not at all what he’s thinking. I’m repeating that for you because I want you to see the purity of David’s motive. David’s not always motivated that way, but he is here. This is a purely motivated man who wants to do something nice. I mean, really nice for the descendant of the former prince of Israel who was David’s friend. Now you need to listen. Let’s go back because I want you to listen to what Ziba says. He says, David says in verse 3, is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show? Look at his words. The kindness of God. Man, that is something. The kindness of God.

David here speaks about the depth of his kindness. This is not just me. This is what God would do. Now I’m going to tell you, and I’m going to say this, and it’s okay if you chuckle, but it’s not really meant to be funny. But it’ll sound that way to you, and that’s all right. But that would be like my giving a gift to my wife, and she goes, That is so kind of you to give me that gift. That is so kind. I say, hey, it’s the kindness of God. To make the presumption that I could have a heart as full of kindness as God is almost frightening. But that’s the way David speaks. And there’s a reason. We’ll get to that. Is there somebody of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?

And then Ziba answers him, and he says, There is still a son of Jonathan. And he quickly responds. He doesn’t say how old he is or where he’s living or what his nature is. It’s not, there’s still a son of Jonathan, but he’s a threat to you, your kingdom. There’s a son of Jonathan, but he’s kind of a social, awkward, socially awkward guy. There’s a son of Jonathan, but he’s 24. I don’t know how old he is. But there’s none of that. There’s this. There is a son of Jonathan, but he’s lame in both feet. Immediately, what Ziba is doing is saying, there is somebody you could show kindness to, but you need to know it’s a challenge. It’s a challenge.

My wife in March had back surgery, really serious back surgery. And she’s walking with the aid of devices. First a wheelchair, and then a walker that moves without wheels, and then a wheeled walker, and most recently a cane and a walker. This one. This one.

But those devices, with the exception of the cane, would not have been readily available for David’s day. A man who’s lame in David’s day, like the people in the days of Jesus, have to be carried everywhere. They’re carried. People have to carry them either in their arms or on some kind of gurney. So when Zeba says to David, there is somebody, but you might want to think about this. Because he’s he’s lame in both feet. He’s not limping.

He could have said, Oh, not that one. No, I’m not ready to take that on.

2. Mephibosheth, a Man Filled with Grace

Send for Mephibosheth. Now, David is a man who is full of grace. We’ll talk a little more about him in a moment. Mephibosheth is a man who is filled with grace. Because he comes in before David. And you’ve got to understand, remember, understand the times. Ishbosheth, that son of Saul, when he heard that Abner was dead, fled. He thought, flee for your lives, everybody, flee. Because the standard practice is kill the family, regicide. I have no doubt. When Mephibosheth is brought in before David, he thought he’s been living under the radar. And now the eye of Sauron has found him. He’s dead. And he comes in before David. There’s a reason why he prostrates himself before him. They bring him in and set him down. He immediately falls on his face in front of David.

And look at the words that he used. Here is your servant. What does he want to reassure him of? David, I’m yours. I’m your guy. It’s the same thing Zeba said. Zebah’s tainted with the house of Saul. He smells like the Kishites. Saul, son of Kish. He smells like Benjamin. When he comes in, what did he say? Immediately. Your servant, your servant, I’m on your side. Mephibosheth prostrates himself.

And David says to him, Don’t fear. I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan. David knows what’s going on. David sees him trembling. David knows the fear in his eyes. I’m dead. I’m dead. It’s not enough that I’m lame. Now they’re going to kill me. Hey, don’t fear. He prostrated himself again. And then he says, This. What is your servant that you should regard a dead dog like me? What is he saying? What kind of value does a dead dog have?

I mean, granted, it’s easy to take care of him. Doesn’t eat anything. Doesn’t have to be taken out in the morning. It’s like that veterinarian sign in Tennessee on a backcountry road, said John Smith, veterinarian and taxidermist. And underneath it said, either way, you get your dog back.

What good is a dead dog? Can’t play with him. Can’t call him. Depending on how he died, he might sit. He has no value. A dead dog has no value. That’s the point Mephibosheth is making. Why would you have a regard for me? I can’t do anything for you. I can’t garner political votes for you. I can’t advise you. I’ve been out of this. I never knew what the political intrigues of my father’s house was. I was five years old when I was lame. I have no value. I’m not a financial wizard. I’ve been living in the outcountry, and I have been deprived of all my father’s goods. I’ve not done a great job financially with what belonged to my dad’s and my grandfather’s household. Why would you care about a dead dog like me?

And then David opens up. He is no longer to be disgraced and poverty stricken. David says to Zeba, all that belong to Saul and to all his house, I’ve given to your master’s grandson. Man, he’s got land. And not only does he have land, because he would say, Well, what am I supposed to do with land? I’m crippled in both feet. I can’t manage the land. Zeba, I want you to take care of the land. And not just you, but your family. And the text goes on to tell us that Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants. They’re going to take care of all this for Mephibosheth. He’s not going to have to do any of it. He’s rich. Overnight he’s rich. By David’s words, he has given everything.

3. You Shall Eat at My Table Regularly

But what is fascinating in this story is the repetition. I want to read four verses for you. Verse 7. Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you shall eat at my table regularly. And then verse 10.

You shall bring in the produce so that your master’s grandson may have food, but it’s not that food he’s going to eat. Nevertheless, Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, shall eat at my table regularly. Verse 11 says, So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table as one of the king’s sons. And verse 13 says, So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate at the king’s table regularly. You have to put yourself in that scene for just a moment to understand what David is saying. Here is a man who has lived in obscurity. I mean, David didn’t even know he was alive. On the record books of Israel, he’s just one name under M. But all of a sudden now the spotlight is on him. And he’s got land and he’s got farms to cultivate, and he’ll make money.

They’re going to generate food to be sold. He has everything. But the thing I am convinced really stood out to him in all those things that were being said, I’ll restore all the land of your grandfather, and Zeba will work the land, and he will produce the food, and the money for that will go to you. Of all those things, the one thing, the one thing that stood out, not because David repeated it three more times, but because of the incredible blessing given him, you shall eat at my table regularly. We sometimes talk. This is food fit for a king. Right? Food fit for a king. And we’re not talking about a whopper.

Not Burger King. Nobody ate like the kings in Israel. Nobody in Israel ate like the kings of Israel. And here’s the thing. You know, if you’re with a group of people, it may be your wife or your husband for an anniversary, or it’s a birthday celebration, or it’s a wedding celebration. You may go to some place that’s nicer than the places you normally go to. And you spend a lot of money and you get to enjoy that one time. And maybe you go there once or twice a year, but not any more often than that because it’s really expensive and it’s opulent fair and it takes a lot to go there. But imagine that you can eat there every night. Every day. David stresses regularly.

This is not Mephibosheth gets to come once a month. He eats at David’s table regularly. So I want you to think about, first of all, what fair F-A-R-E he is getting to eat. I don’t know what would be on the table for you if you could say this would be the greatest meal ever to have this. But whatever it is, I have no doubt David beat it. And I don’t know where your tastes run in food. I mean, some of us like country food. Some of us like soul food. Some of us like Tex Mex. And we might say that’s the best ever. I don’t care what it was. In that day, David had it all beat. And Jonathan gets to eat that all the time.

All the time.

And Mephibosheth will eat at the king’s table regularly. But I want you to also think about the continual blessings of that fellowship, the company that he gets to keep. Sometimes it’s not just about the food. In fact, I will tell you for me, it is rarely just about the food. It’s about who you get to share the food with. You know. Sometimes it’s just being able to share something with other people. My wife doesn’t ride rides at the fair. And when my last daughter was still home, Bonnie and Paula and I went to the county fair, Strawberry Festival. I ride anything. If I didn’t think I’d get burned up or beat up, I’d put a quarter in a dryer and climb in.

So we went to the fair and I looked at the rides. I said, hey, you want to ride this? And neither one of them. And you want to ride this? Mm-mm. Neither one of them. And they finally said, look, you want to ride that one? Just go ride that one. You ride it. You ride it. I won’t begin to describe it because you’d probably get confused by it. But suffice it to say, it treated me like I was in a dryer. It was a wonderful ride.

I was strapped in, and there was hardly anybody else on the ride but me, and my wife and my daughter stood on the ground and lifted me up and it began tumbling me, tumbling me. And at first I thought, whoa, this is fun. Then I thought, there’s nobody to share the fun with. There’s nobody next to me that I go, whoo, that was good. It was just my wife and my daughter on the ground looking. Just watching. It lost something. Don’t ever go see a comedian by yourself. Because there’s nobody to punch and say, that’s fun. That was that was funny. Take the best meal and don’t put anybody at the table but you sitting there by yourself eating it, and it loses something. The point that David is making about him is he will eat as one of the king’s sons.

You see that? It’s not just we’ll feed you the food from the table, we’ll treat you like family. Have you ever thought about what David’s family looked like when they gathered at that table? Have you ever thought about that? I want you to picture the dinner bell ringing in David’s palace and the members of his family gathering to eat. Would you like to have spent one evening in conversation with the Queen of Sheba? Or potentates from other lands. Would you have liked to sit at a table with ambassadors who came from distant lands to meet David and sit at that table? Would you like to have been at the table and seen the beautiful Tamar, David’s daughter, walk in on the arm of the most handsome man in the kingdom with long, flowing raven locks?

Absalom enters the room. And every woman’s heart beat faster. Absalom. And the dark, brooding Amnon comes into that room. And then probably late because he’s writing Proverbs, comes Solomon saying, I just thought of something. And the rest of the family goes, not again. What is it this time? Can you imagine sitting at the table with that family? And then down at the end of the table, Joab, David’s frightening henchman. It was big, massive arms put down on the table looking at everybody there. Can you imagine the conversations that took place with David, the sweet singer of Israel, saying, I wrote another psalm. See how y’all like this one? Bring me a lyre.

4. Mephibosheth, It's Me

Bring me a tambourine. The Spirit is moving me. Mephibosheth. I think sits at that table every night and pinches himself. I can’t believe I’m here. I have no right to be here. Yet David has blessed me. All right. If you got the picture and you’ve seen the blessings, David, a man full of grace, giving to Mephibosheth, a man filled with grace and enabled to eat at the table. Let me tell you what that means to us. Folks, Mephibosheth. It’s me. It’s me. I fit the bill in every way. Because you see, I was a descendant in my father’s house, Adam. And I had all the blessings of being a descendant of the first man. And because he sinned, and then because I inherited a corrupted world that he was given.

And then I sinned, not that I inherited his sin any more than Mephibosheth did spiritually.

I became lame in my soul, absolutely incapable of living the life I wanted or needed to live. I was crippled in my soul. And because God wanted to show favor to his sons, through Jesus Christ, he extended a blessing to me. Here’s what God said. Ralph, you shall eat at my table regularly. I really think about that passage today. Seven years ago today, my father passed away.

But I cannot wait to ask my father to pass a salt. I know the salt will be in front of him because he salted everything. You know, when Jesus wanted to talk about the blessings of the kingdom of God, do you remember what he used? And many shall come from the east and west and do what? Sit down at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Can you imagine, folks, pulling a chair up to a table and saying, So, Abraham, how’d it go today? To say to Jacob, tell me, how in the world did Dinah survive having twelve brothers and no sisters to talk to Isaac about his love, his fervent love for his wife Rebecca, to sit at table with the greats of all history. That’s the way Jesus described one of the great blessings of heaven to regularly eat at the table of the Lord.

And even now, let me tell you something. This coming Sunday, we will have our own preview of that when we break bread and drink the blood of the covenant. And Jesus said, I’ll take it new in my Father’s kingdom with you. Great blessings. Mephibosheth had nothing, he deserved nothing, and he received everything. I just described myself, lost in sin, saved by grace, by one who was full of grace, and I get to dine regularly with the people of God, both here and in the eternal kingdom. I am adopted as royalty. I am a child of the king, not by pedigree, but by the grace of God.

Carried in and sat at the table, I still carry the scars of my sins.

Conclusion

So I want to close with one reading from Titus chapter three.

Titus three, beginning in verse three. For we also once were foolish ourselves, were disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. Listen, if God stood here this evening and we were all brutally honest, and he said, How many of you here have been disobedient? Every hand did go up. How many have been deceived? That’s me. How many have been enslaved to lusts and pleasures? That’s me. How many of you have spent your life in malice and envy and you have been hateful and hated others? How many of you? And we all would raise our hands. But when the kindness of God, our Savior and His love for mankind appeared. Remember what David said? Is there someone from the house of Saul to whom I may show what?

Kindness. He saved us. Not on the basis of deeds which we’ve done in righteousness. What did Mephibosheth say? Why would you show that to a dead dog like me? No merit in my life. But according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace, we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. We will be made heirs. He shall eat as one of my sons. I am Mephibosheth. And you either are Mephibosheth, and if so, I hope you appreciate the grace of God and the kindness of God that has been shown to us. Or you are Mephibosheth in prospect.

God is calling you this evening to say, you come. You come with your crippled soul. And let me show kindness because of my son Jesus. Let me give you the opportunity to eat at my table as one of my children regularly by the washing of the waters of regeneration and baptism. Your soul can be made clean by the work of the Holy Spirit in revealing to you what your life has looked like and what it can look like to show you as the crippled soul you are and the redemption that can be yours if you will respond to the invitation to come eat at the table of our Lord regularly. Don’t pass up the kindness of God. You come now while we stand and sing this song.