[434 words]
Shortly after David became king of Israel, he remembered a promise he had made to Jonathan and Saul concerning their descendants. To Jonathan, he promised to protect his life and to show lovingkindness to his house forever (1 Sam. 20:12-17). To Saul, he vowed not to cut off his descendants after him (1 Sam. 24:21-22). So in 2 Samuel chapter 9, David seeks out any descendants of Saul and of Jonathan to whom he may show favor. The only candidate he could find was Jonathan’s crippled son, Mephibosheth.
So David summoned Mephibosheth into his presence. One can only wonder what was going through Mephibosheth’s mind as the king’s officials came to his door. He may have thought that he was about to be executed. It was not uncommon in that era, when an entirely new family administration would take over, that the new king would kill all of the former king’s family. But Mephibosheth was about to find out differently.
David promised to restore to Mephibosheth all the land which had been his father’s, and which he had evidently lost sometime after the death of Saul and his father. Not only would David restore all that to which Mephibosheth was heir, he would make him his regular guest at the palace. Mephibosheth was overcome with gratitude and relief, falling prostrate before David, calling attention to the fact that he is but a “dead dog.”
What David expressed here is an amazing act of grace. In this touching scene, David portrays himself as a foreshadow of God distributing His grace to us today. David showed kindness, love, and mercy toward Mephibosheth. David sought this man out, not because of what he could contribute to David and to his kingdom (because he was handicapped and deemed worthless in the eyes of men in those days), but because of David’s love for his friend, Jonathan.
Christians, we should rejoice that we have been saved by God’s sovereign grace. We, like Mephibosheth, were undeserving of God’s grace, and our sinful state was repulsive to God. We were like “dead dogs.” But in spite of our pitiable condition, God chose to pour out His love on us.
To receive this grace, however, we must act like Mephibosheth. We must, like Mephibosheth, come to recognize our unworthiness to dwell in God’s presence. We must, like Mephibosheth, humbly accept God’s grace, as extended through His Son Jesus Christ (note: this is done today by obeying the gospel of Christ). It is then that we will be invited into fellowship with Him, be a part of His family, and be allowed to fellowship and dine with Him (Rev. 3:20).
Edd Sterchi
Broadway church of Christ
Campbellsville, KY