Mephibosheth and Me
Devotions for Growing Christians
Mephibosheth and Me
2 Samuel 9:6-8 – And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he said, “Here is your servant!” 7And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly.” 8Again he prostrated himself and said, “What is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me?”
Read the whole story in 2 Samuel 9.
Do I have anything in common with Mephibosheth? As to culture, time in history, and names, we are worlds apart! However, there’s common ground between Mephibosheth and me - in fact, there’s something in common between Mephibosheth and all true believers. You see, all of us have had a similar experience. Instead of being exiled, we’ve had the experience of being given undeserved VIP treatment by a king! That’s one reason why God included the story of Mephibosheth in His Word. The relationship between David and Mephibosheth is a beautiful picture of the relationship between God and us.
The story of David’s care and provision for Mephibosheth is one of the most heart-warming accounts in all the Bible. It’s found in 2 Samuel 9. The love and mercy that King David showed to this poor disabled man went far beyond the call of duty. David was not requit=red by law to take care of Mephibosheth, but he was very concerned about Mephibosheth’s condition. In grace and mercy, David reached out to him - with no strings attached.
David’s unconditional love for Mephibosheth is a great illustration of the unconditional love that God has for us. The picture God has painted for us could be entitled “Mephibosheth and Me.” Mephibosheth represents us - the “me” that’s been overwhelmed by the love of One who is greater than David, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself!
Background
Mephibosheth was a grandson of King Saul, the first king of Israel. Saul started his reign well, but then he turned away from the Lord. He even plotted to kill David, whom the Lord had anointed as the next king. Thus there was alienation between David and Saul’s dynasty. As a member of the deposed house of Saul, Mephibosheth deserved nothing from King David. In those days when a new dynasty came into power, most new kings would quickly execute any possible rival to the throne. The best Mephibosheth could hope for was exile from Israel.
But David searched for Mephibosheth so he could “show kindness to him for Jonathan’s sake” (v1&7). Jonathan was Mephibosheth’s father, and the son of former king Saul. Although Jonathan was part of the dynasty of Saul, he and David were the best of friends, and made a covenant of friendship together. (See 1 Samuel 20.) David promised that when he became king he would never cut off his kindness from Jonathan’s family.
So David showed kindness and mercy to Mephibosheth. He even treated him as a prince, and brought him into his palace as a member of his own household! In those days a crippled member of a deposed dynasty in his royal courts was a cultural embarrassment, but that didn’t affect David’s gracious treatment of Mephibosheth. What a fascinating picture of the undeserved mercy and over-whelming grace that God has shown us!
The fallen dynasty
The fallen dynasty of Saul is a picture of fallen mankind. Mankind was created by God, and was given a kingly position in God’s creation. But, like Saul, man turned away from the Lord in disobedience and fell from his royal position into sin. Thus, as Romans 5:12 states, sin and its penalty of death was passed on to all mankind. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, so death spread to all men, because all sinned.”
Like Mephibosheth, we were born into a fallen dynasty. Like Mephibosheth, we were by lineage under the sentence of exile and death. Like Mephibosheth, we were helpless - we could do nothing to save ourselves from our predicament. The fact that Mephibosheth was lame in both feet further adds to the picture of helplessness. Perhaps even the fact that a fall that caused Mephibosheth’s disability is intended by God to be part of the picture of our fallen state. (See 2 Samuel 4:4.) Even Mephibosheth’s name adds to the portrayal of fallen man. His name means “shameful speech from my mouth.” As we look back over our lives, all of us must admit. “That name is a fitting description of ‘me.’”
King David completely overcame all the alienation and enmity that separated him from Mephibosheth, a member of the fallen dynasty of Saul. David reached across all the barriers that separated him from Mephibosheth - and God has overcome all obstacles to reconcile us to Himself. In spite of the alienating barriers of enmity and hostility which we erected as members of the fallen human race, God has extended His love to us! Colossians 1:21-22 captures this truth precisely. “And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.”
The king took the initiative
Notice - David took the initiative. He searched for Mephibosheth! How characteristic of our sovereign Lord. He took the initiative, to search and find us. As members of the fallen human race, we were not seeking God. We may even have denied His existence, or had an idea of some kind of “god,” but we certainly weren’t searching for the holy and righteous God of the Bible! Until God began to work in our hearts, our idea of God and our attitude towards Him were probably similar to Mephibosheth’s attitude toward David - someone to fear, hide from, and avoid at all costs. But Mephibosheth came to know and appreciate the love and kindness of the king who sought and found him. In the same way, we have come to know and experience the love and compassion of the King who came to “seek and to save those who were lost” (Luke 19:10).
David searched for Mephibosheth so he could “show kindness to him for Jonathan’s sake” (v1&7). King Saul’s son Jonathan was Mephibosheth’s father. He and David were the best of friends, and they made a covenant of friendship together. (See 1 Samuel 20.) David promised that when he became king he would never cut off his kindness from Jonathan’s family.
In the beautiful picture that God has given to us in this account, the covenant between David and Jonathan reminds us of the covenant of loyal love that God has made with the “fallen dynasty of mankind.” Even Jonathan’s name, “the Lord has given,” serves to emphasize this part of the picture.
Throughout the Old Testament we see God’s unconditional commitment to His covenanted love for sinful man. Immediately after Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God promised to send a Redeemer to rescue fallen man. The first promise of the coming Redeemer was given when God promised that the seed of the woman would crush Satan’s head (Genesis 3:15). God’s loyal and steadfast love for mankind is certainly seen when He preserved the human race at the time of Noah, and again when He promised to bless all the families of the earth through the descendants of Abraham.
The promise of a Redeemer for the fallen race is repeated throughout the Old Testament. The incredible preservation of the nation of Israel, that would bring forth the Redeemer, speaks volumes about God”s loyal love for sinful man. Ultimately, of course, we see God’s covenant love for mankind focused in the giving of His own Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
As Jonathan, a member of the house of Saul, was the link between David’s love and Mephibosheth’s need, so the Lord Jesus, a Member of the human race, was the necessary link between God’s love and our great need. Hebrews 2:17 says that “He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
God’s generosity
All the crown properties that once belonged to Saul and his dynasty were returned to Mephibosheth by David’s royal decree (v7). This is one more detail of the picture that highlights God’s love for fallen man. As part of the fallen sinful human race, we had lost everything, and we were under the sentence of death. But in Christ we have regained our status of righteousness - and so much more. We have been brought into the family of God, and given every blessing heaven has to offer!
The extent of God’s generosity to us is clearly stated in Ephesians 1:3-6. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”
After David discovered him, Mephibosheth’s attitude is very significant in the picture of “Mephibosheth and Me.” Even before Mephibosheth knew what David had planned, he prostrated himself and said, “Here is your servant.” He didn’t try to make excuses for his connection with Saul, or throw the blame for his situation on others. In the same way, to benefit from God’s mercy, we have to come before God with Mephibosheth’s “I’m nothing but a dead dog” attitude. In the Hebrew culture, there wasn’t much lower than a dead dog! Many people today are unwilling to humble themselves before God. Sadly, their humanistic pride and arrogance keep them from experiencing the love and blessings of the King.
Let us, who are now members of the King’s family, reach out in love and carry the King’s official invitation to those who are still alienated from Him. He wants them to join us in the picture of “Mephibosheth and Me.”
- Dave Reid