Our caveman, in this
series is King David. You remember after he killed the giant,
Goliath, King Saul made him a commander in his army…But the more
success David had, the more jealous Saul became… Saul,
repeatedly tried to kill him with his spear. David fled… and
twelve chapters in the Bible are devoted to David’s wilderness
days, hiding in caves… always trying to stay one step ahead of
King Saul.
Finally Saul is killed in battle… His son Jonathan… David’s
dear friend, Saul’s successor to the throne is killed in the
same battle. Over a long period of time David finally becomes
king of Judah… and then King of all of Israel…but there is some
stuff going on behind the scenes that I want you to see….and it
is the point of today’s message
2 Samuel 4:4 (Saul’s son Jonathan had a son named
Mephibosheth,who was crippled as a child. He was five years old
when the report came from Jezreel that Saul and Jonathan had
been killed in battle. When the child’s nurse heard the news,
she picked him up and fled. But as she hurried away, she dropped
him, and he became crippled.)
What an irresponsible woman! What could have gotten in to her
to race around with a child in her hands and then drop him? It
probably was not quite as simple as negligence on the nurse’s
part. This was not 21st century, democratic America… You
remember two weeks ago when we talked about, David's son,
Absalom. His half brother raped his sister…so he invited all his
brothers to a feast and murdered the rapist. All Absalom’s
brothers, David's sons, thought they were next in line.
Politics were a brutal business in those days… If a king was
killed and his successor was not already instilled in power…
there would be a bloodbath while other contenders tried to gain
power. When Saul, and his stated heir to the throne, Jonathan
died in the same battle… every other descendant of Saul and
Jonathan would have been, seeking power or running for their
lives. The son of Saul who, did, finally came to power was
eventually assassinated.
So the nurse’s panic over Mephibosheth’s life was justified.
What circumstance caused the baby, or even both of them to fall
hard enough to cripple the child …we just don’t know.
The boy went into seclusion and grew up during the years
David was coming to kingship and establishing his kingdom… Years
pass… David has secured peace from the surrounding nations and
has won the hearts of the people at home. He’s expanded the
borders of Israel from 6,000 to 60,000 square miles. His
military is very strong with the clear power of God on their
side…they have not yet been defeated. The economy at home is
doing well… the people are content…David is content….
Somewhere along the line the middle aged David is musing
about where God has brought him from and to…and he begins to
think about his old enemy Saul and his dear departed friend
Jonathan… He kind of instinctively asks a question that he
obviously had never thought of before.
2 Samuel 9:1 One day David asked, “Is anyone in Saul’s family
still alive— anyone to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s
sake?”
He’s probably not so much thinking about honoring the
descendant of Saul as he is honoring a descendant of
Jonathan…but it is a gracious thought, considering the years of
trauma Saul caused him…and even the years of hardship that
Saul’s other kids caused him. But this idea intrigued him enough
to make him really want to know the answer to his question.
2 He summoned a man named Ziba, who had been one of Saul’s
servants. “Are you Ziba?” the king asked. “Yes sir, I am,” Ziba
replied.
3 The king then asked him, “Is anyone still alive from
Saul’s family? If so, I want to show God’s kindness to them.”
Ziba replied, “Yes, one of Jonathan’s sons is still alive. He is
crippled in both feet.”
First of all…what does this tell you about all the other
descendants of Saul and Jonathan? They had all been killed
off…and not by David…perhaps by each other as they fought for
power over the kingdom. David thinks back to the final
friendship covenant he had made with Jonathan before his death.
Some of the last words Jonathan had spoken to him:
1 Samuel 20:14-17 May the Lord be with you as he used to
be with my father. 14 And may you treat me with the faithful
love of the Lord as long as I live. But if I die, 15 treat my
family with this faithful love, even when the Lord destroys all
your enemies from the face of the earth.”
16 So Jonathan made a solemn pact with David saying, “May the
Lord destroy all your enemies!” 17 And Jonathan made David
reaffirm his vow of friendship again, for Jonathan loved David
as he loved himself.
But if I die, treat my family with this faithful love…
the words are ringing again in David’s ears… Is anyone still
alive from Saul’s family? If so, I want to show God’s kindness
to them.” - Hebrew- hesed - loving kindness
The same kind of loving-kindness God showed to me… God took
me from a, nobody, shepherd boy who shouldn't have amount to
much more than that…and has made me the king of his chosen
nation of people. God carried me through years of isolation and
trauma. God has caused this nation to throw their loyalty behind
my leadership when I know how weak I am on the inside and how
only the power of God helps me to do what I do…
Notice, David doesn't say he's looking for someone who might
deserve his kindness… Is there any descendant of Saul who has
the smarts to work in my administration… Is there anyone who has
the physical ability to be a part of my military.
Is there anyone out there that I can show God’s grace to?
This is an awesome and rare chance to see a human being
treating another the way God treats us. When you come to God…
what characteristics is he looking for in you that makes him
want to pour out his loving-kindness on you? ______________ Is
their any part of your sinful self that makes you attractive to
God? No! If you are here today and God is drawing you to
himself… his grace to you is not based on who you are or who you
aren't… he's drawing you and offering you a blessed life of
righteousness just because he loves you…
Is there anyone out there that I can show God’s grace to?
Ziba has a yes in his answer but a no in his voice…
Well…there is one but he is handicapped… he’s not worthy of the
king's attention…. I didn't ask whether he was worthy… I only
asked if there was anyone I could show God's grace to…
4 “Where is he?” the king asked. “In Lo-debar,” Ziba told
him, “at the home of Makir son of Ammiel.”
Lo-debar means "a barren place…a wilderness". Apparently
Mephiposheth was still hiding out where he was sure nobody from
the kingdom would find him and perhaps still kill him.
5 So David sent for him and brought him from Makir’s home. 6
His name was Mephibosheth; he was Jonathan’s son and Saul’s
grandson. When he came to David, he bowed low to the ground in
deep respect. David said, “Greetings, Mephibosheth.”
Mephibosheth replied, “I am your servant.” 7 “Don’t be afraid!”
David said.
The poor man was obviously scared to death when he
arrived…He’s lives his whole life in seclusion…constantly afraid
that he would one day be killed…. right from his earliest baby
days. All he had ever known was somebody telling him to keep his
head down and stay anonymous. Imagine the shock to his system
when the kings messenger knocked on his wilderness hut door and
told him he was to travel from his wasteland hiding place and
stand before the king. What do you imagine he was thinking about
the whole way there… riding in the Kings chariot?
I’m going to die!
It must have been the most tension filled hours of an already
tension filled life.
When Mephibosheth arrived and finally was ushered in to stand
before the king….What he heard instead was a message that must
have blown his mind. Instead of " you're going to have to
die…just because you have the misfortune of being Saul's
grandson".
7b “I intend to show kindness to you because of my promise to
your father, Jonathan.
Whoa…instead of death…I’m going to get some kind of metal for
outliving my whole family. When I get back to the wilderness
I'll be able to hang the metal on my wall and breathe easy for
the first time in my worry-filled life. This is the most
wonderful day of my life!... the king's next words changed,
even, that mental picture.
7c I will give you all the property that once belonged to
your grandfather Saul,
Can you imagine that… Paranoid Saul would, probably, have
been like any petty dictator we have in the world today; who
greedily snaps up possessions and property at the expense of his
poor subjects… Saul would have been very wealthy, in comparison
to the rest of the Israelites…. and apparently every other heir
was dead… Every bit of that land, by default, would have
belonged to who? ___________________ (David!)
So in one 15 second period of time Mephibosheth goes from
fearful, wilderness, dwelling nomad… to one of the richest
landowners in all of Israel. What did he do to deserve this
outpouring of grace from King David???... Nothing!
Again a picture of God's previous grace to David… from scared
wilderness dweller to king….but even more important… it's a
picture of us and God.
We're all lost in the wilderness of our sins. We deserve to
be dropped into eternal punishment because of our inherited, and
actual, sins against the King of Heaven. Like Mephibosheth we
are completely incapable, in our sinful state, to do anything to
justify ourselves before God. We are living in sin's wilderness.
God not only doesn't take us out…he offers us a spiritual
inheritance starting in this life… and lasting for all of
eternity.
7a“Don’t be afraid!” David said.
7b “I intend to show kindness to you because of my promise to
your father, Jonathan.
7c I will give you all the property that once belonged to
your grandfather Saul,
And… 7d …and you will eat here with me at the king’s
table!”
This is amazing… For David to offer Mephibosheth a supply of
food to eat is one thing… For David to let Mephibosheth eat is
his home with all the other non-family members is even better.
But to bring him right into the kings banquet room and sit him
at the table.
This is the table where the kings own sons got the privilege
of eating with their dad. This is the table where dignitaries
and other heads of state would eat with the king. Now an
unworthy grandchild of David's enemy is being invited to daily
fellowship with the king.
Do you see the spiritual correlation here? An unworthy child
of God's enemy being rescued from the wilderness of sin…being
given an inheritance of new life here on this earth; and heaven
and eternal life in the world to come.. and being allowed to
daily fellowship with the king right along-side of the seemingly
most "worthy" people in this world.
Notice the humility…
8 Mephibosheth bowed respectfully and exclaimed, “Who is your
servant, that you should show such kindness to a dead dog like
me?”
9 Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba and said, “I
have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to
Saul and his family.
10 You and your sons and servants are to farm the land for
him to produce food for your master’s household. But
Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, will eat here at my
table.” (Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)
Ziba replied, 11 “Yes, my lord the king; I am your servant,
and I will do all that you have commanded.” And from that time
on, Mephibosheth ate regularly at David’s table, like one of the
king’s own sons.
Imagine King David walking in to sit at the head of the
table. Imagine Solomon and ____________________ entering and
taking their place within chatting distance of their country's
great king. Imagine a dignitary or two that happens to be in
country taking their place…then in walks General Joab… fresh
from another military victory… Then hobbling in from the side
with the help of a servant comes Mephibosheth… not great, not a
blood son of the king… but when he finally gets to the table…
slides his chair underneath, and the table cloth covers his lame
legs… he is equal in status to everyone sitting in the room.
Why?... Because of his worth???.. Because of his value to the
kingdom???.. Because of the DNA running in his veins???..
No!.. just because of the loving-kindness one man showed him…
the same loving- kindness that man had received from God and
desired to pass on to another unworthy person …
Just so you remember… one more time… v:13
2 Samuel 9:13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because
he always ate at the king's table, and he was crippled in
both feet. (NIV)
Unlike General Joab…Mephibosheth didn't have any great "war
stories" to tell at dinner… Unlike Solomon, Mephibosheth didn't
spout lines of wisdom that caused everyone to pause right in the
middle of their lima beans.
What do you bring to the table, Mephibosheth, that makes you
worthy to sit here with us?
Nothing, nothing at all… I haven't done anything or produced
anything that has made this kingdom great…
I'm here only because of the grace of the king! He rescued me
out of the wilderness…gave me an inheritance, and he nourishes
me each day with his own food.
I am the most blessed man in the room!
Conclusion:
This should be a vivid picture to each of us…of ourselves…
1) Living in the wilderness of sin
2) Afraid of how severely the king will one day punish us
3) One day we come face to face with the king
4) Instead of death…he offers us life
4) Instead of eternal punishment he offer us an eternal
inheritance
5) In place of wilderness living he offers a seat at his
table
6) In place of hunger he offers his nourishment
7) Instead of lonesomeness… he offers daily fellowship
Where are you?
