2Sam.
9:1-end
1David 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.”
4 “Where is he?” the king asked. Ziba
answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”
5 So King David had him brought from Lo Debar,
from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.
6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of
Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David
said, “Mephibosheth!”
“At your service,” he replied.
7 “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I
will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will
restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you
will always eat at my table.”
8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your
servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”
9 Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and
said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to
Saul and his family. 10 You and your sons and your servants are to farm
the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be
provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my
table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)
11 Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will
do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate
at David’s[a] table like one of the king’s sons.
12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all
the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth.
13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he
always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.
MEPHIBOSHETH'S
FAMILY
Ø a person's
family tells you a lot about them!
Ø a person has
the wrong family heritage, it can cost them social standing.
Ø In fact, one of
the first things we want to know about someone new is, "What kind of
family does he come from." While that is true in the physical realm, it is
also true in the spiritual realm.
Now,
check this insight about the Mephibosheths family:
1.
A DISGRACED
FAMILY:
Ø He was the
descendant of king Saul.
Ø He was born
into a family that had been rejected by God, 1 Sam 15:23.
Ø This family had
once be in power, now they were out of favor with God and with men.
(The same is
true for every person born into the human family. There was a time when humans
were given dominion over the earth, Gen. 1:26, 28. However, when man sinned in
the Garden of Eden, the entire human race fell from power and from favor. Now,
all humans that are born into this world are born as members of a disgraced and
fallen family, Rom. 3:10; 23; 5:12.
2.
A DOOMED
FAMILY:
Ø All the
descendants of Saul had been earmarked for death.
Ø In fact, David
had been busy purging the sons of Saul, 2 Sam. 3:1.
Ø Because Mephibosheth
was a descendant of Saul, he too was doomed to die an inglorious death.
(So it is with
those born into the human family. We are born under the curse of death, Eze.
18:4. Every person who is born into this world is born destined to die. Why?
Because we are sinners before the Lord, Rom. 6:23. There is a death sentence on
the entire human family!)
3.
A DESTITUTE
FAMILY:
Ø The Bible tells
us in verse 4 that Mephibosheth was living in a place called
"Lodebar."
Ø Lodebar means
"No Pasture." This was in the house of "Machir", which
means "Sold".
Ø Mephibosheth
was living in a place of poverty and want.
Ø Consider the
fact that Mephibosheth was a cripple. He had been dropped by his nurse when he
was 5 years old and as a result he was lame on both of his feet, 2 Sam. 4:4.
2Sam. 4:4
4 (Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in
both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came
from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he
fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.)
Ø Because he was
lame, he could not work.
Ø He had
inherited nothing but poverty and death from his family.
Ø He was a man who
was in a desperate situation.
Ø He was a man
who was missing the best life had to offer.
Ø He was a man in
a terrible condition.
4.
GRACE MADE
THEM A DESIRED FAMILY:
Ø Notice that
despite all the bad blood between David and Saul, David wants to honor the
covenant he made with Saul's son Jonathon, 1 Sam, 20:11-23. David, therefore,
reached out to Mephibosheth because of the love he had for Jonathon.
Ø This family
that was disgraced, doomed and destitute has become a desired family.
Ø David wants to
reach out to them and bring them into a relationship with himself.