October 5, 2021
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Reading along with us in 2 Samuel? Here’s today’s reading:
2 Samuel 9 (NIV)
David and Mephibosheth
1 David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”
2 Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”
“At your service,” he replied.
3 The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”
Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.”............Continue Reading
2 Samuel 9
Such amazing kindness David shows to Jonathan’s son. Mephibosheth must have been so shocked thinking if anything that David may want to bring harm to him based on Saul’s action towards him and instead he gave him such blessings and restored all that was originally Saul’s….glorious day for him!!
This is such a great account of the type of graciousness that comes from a person who has received God’s grace. Lo Debar actually means no pasture or no thing or no word. It is a picture of destitution. So just imagine what Mephibosheth’s life must have been like there, especially as someone who was crippled. The day that David sent his envoys to find him probably started like other days, eeking out an existence. And then he becomes aware that David wants an audience with him. He may have even been living in Lo Debar to avoid such an interaction. It was common for kings to eliminate the kin of the former king. So just imagine the radical juxtaposition that happens between I might die today to I am receiving great wealth and I am going to eat at the king’s table. It is a great picture of the transformation that happens in our lives when we move from darkness to light, from outside relationship with and the knowledge of God to into an intimate relationship with Him. We move from being spiritual paupers to children of the King!!!
2 Samuel 9
David is very gracious toward Mephibosheth even if it is a little self-serving (taking care of the last possible claim to Saul’s throne). In verse 8, Mephibosheth wonders why David considered “a dead dog like me”. I have read elsewhere that “dead dog” is used by the writer as a metaphor for a life without consideration of God. Interesting.
David is gracious to Mephibosheth. He goes above and beyond to elevate the humble.