MEPHIBOSHETH
I woke up one day last week with the story of Mephibosheth on my mind. If you haven’t heard of him he was a relative of king Saul in the Old Testament who was alive during David’s reign as king. Unfortunately this man was lame in both of his feet. He was also the last living relative of Saul.
It’s such a relevant story for the time we are currently living in and is a HUGE example of how we (right now) can be taking this time to develop our character. Let’s look in the book of 2 Samuel 9 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
9 And David said, Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?
At this point Saul is dead and David has been anointed, King. You may remember that Jonathan was David’s best friend, protector, and confidant in certain seasons of David’s life. Many speculate that Jonathan later betrayed David. I don’t know for certain, but if that is true, then this just adds another layer of interest to this story. So many people feel betrayed by the caustic venom and anger of their friends, family, media, state government, etc. right now that David’s example of how he handled betrayal is important for us to take note of. Let’s continue with the Scriptures:
2 And of the house of Saul there was a servant whose name was Ziba. When they had called him to David, he said to him, Are you Ziba? He said, I, your servant, am he.
3 The king said, Is there not still someone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the [unfailing, unsought, unlimited] mercy and kindness of God? Ziba replied, Jonathan has yet a son who is lame in his feet.
What is important to notice here is that regardless of how Saul (and possibly Jonathan at some point) treated David, he still wanted to show love, honor, and respect to the house of Saul. Why? David understood that God was the one who set Kings (and presidents) in places of authority. He recognized that Saul was appointed king by God for a purpose even though he was not always an honorable man.
It’s also extremely important to note here as a side-bar that prophets of God and Elders of God usually were the ones to anoint someone king under the direction of God Almighty Himself. Anytime you see someone falsely or prematurely anoint someone king in Scriptures, it usually fell through because it was not God, to begin with. Verse four gives deeper insight into Mephibosheth’s life based on where he lived:
4 And the king said, Where is he? Ziba replied, He is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel in Lo-debar.
Lo-debar was considered an undesirable place to live. No doubt he was in a rough spot financially with his relatives dead and his inability to work because of his disability.
5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir son of Ammiel at Lo-debar.
6 And Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, Mephibosheth! And he answered, Behold your servant!
7 David said to him, Fear not, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your father [grandfather], and you shall eat at my table always.
Surely this man must have believed when he was called from Lo-debar that he was about to be killed by David. David was so in touch with how much-unmerited favor, grace, and mercy that had been bestowed on him by God over the course of his own life that he understood how to extend it to others. He still was in touch with his debt to God even after he had achieved a place of power and could have done whatever he wanted to do with this man and no one would have questioned him. If you read the Psalms, you know that David had been through hell and back in his life. He had learned how to take responsibility for his own sin and failures and humbled himself under the hand of God.
8 And [the cripple] bowed himself and said, What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I am?
9 Then the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, I have given your master’s son [grandson] all that belonged to Saul and to all his house.
10 And you shall till the land for him, you, your sons, and your servants, and you shall bring in the produce, that your master’s heir may have food to eat; but Mephibosheth, your master’s son [grandson], shall eat always at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
As the outcome of this election continues to be in the hands of God, we have this beautiful, golden, possibly once in a lifetime opportunity to show those whose opinion we diametrically oppose honor and grace. This is exciting that we can take this time to build our character deep and wide. This means not gloating, name-calling, etc. regardless of the outcome. I believe as Christians reading this blog we should be exemplifying the love of Christ while still standing our ground and not compromising our beliefs.
11 Then Ziba said to the king, Your servant will do according to all my lord the king commands. So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table as one of the king’s sons.
12 Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in Ziba’s house were servants to Mephibosheth.
Our personal political views may have us viewing others as though they are lame in both feet (or lame in they’re thinking or that they even are listening to the wrong spirits). That may or may not be correct, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that at the end of the day, we are called to honor, love, and encourage one another. We can certainly share our thoughts and views without censorship all the while truly hearing and trying to understand what others are saying and feeling.
13So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table, [even though] he was lame in both feet.
I love in the last verse of this particular story that it highlights that he ate at the king’s table. It reminds me of the verse is Song of Solomon 2:4:
4 He brought me to the [a]banqueting-house,
And his banner over me was love.
David exhibited the attributes of God when he brought Mephibosheth to his table. My prayer today is that we all press in to God and ask what we personally can do to further develop our character in Christ during this time of waiting.
For the Kingdom,
Donna