Mephibosheth

The story of Mephibosheth found in 2 Samuel 9, is one of honor, mercy, compassion, and grace.

You see Mephibosheth was the young son of a guy named Jonathan, the son of King Saul.  Saul was a man who was appointed the first King of Israel, but after a number of moral and ethical failures, God asked the prophet Samuel to anoint a new king - one who would succeed Saul at the time of his death. As directed, he went to the house Jesse and anointed a young man named David.

David was the youngest of Jesse’s sons and a shepherd.  But sometime after he had been anointed, he was asked by his father to go check on his brothers who were up fighting against the Philistines.  The Philistines had a large warrior named Goliath whom everyone feared, but David said our God is the one fighting this battle and he went out and killed Goliath with just a sling and a stone.  That put David on Saul’s radar.

David was chosen to be Saul’s armor bearer and to play the harp to sootheSaul before he slept.  David and Saul’s son Jonathan became friends.

However as David’s fame grew, Saul became jealous.  So much so that he wanted to kill David.  David fled amassed an army and although David spared Saul’s life on at least one occasion.  

Finally when Saul was off fighting an invading army he was wounded.  Fearing for what the enemy would do to him, he committed suicide, and his son Jonathan was killed in battle.

A nurse named Ziba who then worried that David would kill Mephibosheth to keep him from having a claim to the throne, he whisked him away, but dropped the young boy when doing so, and caused him to be lame. 

When David learned that Mephibosheth had survived this is what he did:

“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.  You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring on the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for.  And Mephibosheth your master, will always eat at my table’” - 2 Samuel 9:9-10

In doing this David honored his friend Jonathan by caring for his son.  He showed mercy, by not killing him amd removing any potential threat, compassion by welcoming Mephibosheth, someone who might otherwise be cast out by society, and he showed grace by inviting him to live out his days as a “son” to David, eating at his table and being treated like family.

Mephobosheth’s story is OUR story.  And just like David, God longs to honor His commitment to Abraham by showing us the mercy, compassion and grace that would have us enjoying his kinship.  He welcomes us to His table.