WWUTT 364 David's Kindness to Mephibosheth?

We should be looking at King David as a foreshadowing of Christ. Jesus is the greater

David. And so what we're going to read about today is a story where David showed kindness to somebody who didn't deserve it, just as Christ shows us mercy when we don't deserve it, when we understand the text.

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Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. Second Samuel chapters 8, 9, and 10 today in our

Old Testament study. This is in between the Davidic covenant in chapter 7, which we looked at last week, and then

David's downfall in his affair with Bathsheba and covering up the affair by murdering her husband,

Uriah the Hittite. That's in chapter 11, perhaps the most notorious story in Second Samuel.

So this is between the two biggest chapters of the book, the Davidic covenant in chapter 7, and then

David's affair in chapter 11. Now last week, as we looked at this covenant that God made with David, God said to David, on your throne,

I will establish my kingdom forever. And this was in reference to the coming

Christ and that Jesus, who was going to come from the line of David, would be king of kings and Lord of lords.

And so surely on the throne of David, God established his kingdom forever, just as David would be considered the greatest king in the history of Israel.

So Jesus becomes the greater David. David is a foreshadowing of Christ who fulfills all the law and the prophets.

Everything that we read about in the Old Testament. So last week we looked at chapter 7 and also

Psalm 89, where David praises the Lord for this covenant that he has made with his servant

David. So then in chapter 8, chapters 8, 9, and 10 are the events that take place between that covenant and David's stumble,

David's sin. I don't want to shorten it by saying it's something less than what it really was.

But we'll get to that next week, his affair and the murder of Uriah the Hittite. Second Samuel chapter 8.

After this, after this covenant that God had said that he would establish with David.

After this, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. And David took Methagama out of the hand of the

Philistines. And whatever that is, what that references to, Methagama, is unknown. We actually don't know what it means.

Some have theorized that it could have been one of the false gods of the Philistines with a lesser god and David seized an idol, just like the

Philistines had seized the Ark of the Covenant. I don't think that's necessarily the reference. More than likely, it's a plot of land.

So David, in defeating the Philistines, took Methagama out of the hand of the Philistines and he defeated

Moab and he measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. Two lines he measured to be put to death and one full line to be spared.

And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute. David also defeated

Hadadezer, the son of Reob, the king of Zobah, as he went to restore his power at the river

Euphrates. And David took from him 1 ,700 horsemen and 20 ,000 foot soldiers.

And David hamstrung all the chariot horses but left enough for 100 chariots. And when the

Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David struck down 22 ,000 men of the

Syrians. Then David put garrisons in Aram of Damascus and the

Syrians became servants to David and brought tribute. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

And David took the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem.

And from Bethah and from Barothi, cities of Hadadezer, king David took very much bronze.

And these probably weren't used as gold shields. They were probably melted down and used in other ways, money, for example.

But all of this chapter 8 here is chronicling David's military successes after the covenant that God made with David.

Verse 9, when Toi, king of Hamath, heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer, Toi sent his son

Joram to king David to ask about his health and to bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him.

For Hadadezer had often been at war with Toi. And Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze.

These also king David dedicated to the Lord together with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he subdued, from Edom, Moab, the

Ammonites, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer, the son of Reob, king of Zobah.

And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down 18 ,000 Edomites in the

Valley of Salt. Then he put garrisons in Edom. Throughout all Edom, he put garrisons and all the

Edomites became David's servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

And just a reminder, the Edomites are descendants of Esau, whereas the

Israelites are descendants of his twin brother, Jacob. So this is a continued fulfillment of the prophecy that the descendants of Jacob, that Jacob himself would rule over Esau.

And so we have that happening here, even among the kingdom that David was king over and the

Edomites themselves. So verse 15, so David reigned over all Israel and David administered justice and equity to all his people.

Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was over the army and Jehoshaphat, the son of Helod, was recorder.

And Zadok, the son of Ahitab and Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar, were priests and and Sariah was secretary.

And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was over the Cherethites and the

Pelethites and David's sons were priests. So here we are at chapter nine,

David's kindness to Mephibosheth. This is personally one of my favorite stories in the book of Second Samuel.

Remember, we read about Mephibosheth a little bit. I think it was back in chapter five. Let me go back there.

And no, it was verse four or chapter four. That was where we first saw Mephibosheth's name.

So just a reminder, this is in chapter four, beginning in verse four, Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet.

He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel and his nurse took him up and fled.

And as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.

It's kind of interesting that that's there in chapter four. I don't know why it's all the way back that far, because we don't get to the actual story of Mephibosheth until chapter nine.

So just to recap, we've had his name mentioned. He is lame. He is the son of Jonathan.

And because of an accident, he was he was lame in his feet. And so that's significant to this story, to understand

David's kindness to Mephibosheth, which we see in Second Samuel chapter nine.

And David said, is there anyone left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?

Now, there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Zeba, and they called him to David and the king said to him, are you

Zeba? And he said, I am your servant. And the king said, is there not still someone from the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of God to him?

And Zeba said to the king, there is still a son of Jonathan. He is crippled in his feet.

The king said to him, where is he? And Zeba said to the king, he is in the house of Mekir, the son of Emil at Lodabar.

Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Mekir, the son of Emil at Lodabar.

And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage.

And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, behold, I am your servant.

And David said to him, do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father,

Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul, your father. And you shall eat at my table always.

And Mephibosheth paid homage and said, what is your servant that you would show regard for a dead dog such as I?

Now, this is an incredibly humble approach of Mephibosheth when he has rights to the kingdom, considering that he is the grandson of Saul.

Jonathan was the rightful heir to the throne, and then Mephibosheth would have been the rightful heir to Jonathan's throne.

And yet Mephibosheth, before David, is responding in this way. Who am I that you would have such regard as a dead dog as I?

Remember that David approached Saul the same way. When Saul was coming out to take

David's life, there were two occasions where David said, who is it that you come after like this, whose life you are trying to take?

A dead dog, a flea. So David responding of himself that he's worth nothing.

Why is Saul investing so much in trying to claim David's life when David's not trying to take Saul's life nor seize

Saul's throne? So David had the same humble approach with Saul, knowing that Saul was

God's anointed. And Mephibosheth has that same penitence before David, knowing that David is the anointed king of Israel by God himself.

And also understand something else about Mephibosheth's approach to David in this way, that David would show him such kindness.

Remember Mephibosheth is lame. And so a person who was so physically unfit as Mephibosheth was not allowed to eat at table with the king.

And yet the king is is welcoming Mephibosheth where I eat. That's where you're going to eat.

My table is your table. But a person who was lame or who was ill could not eat at the king with or eat at the table with the king.

We saw kind of a glimpse of this back in first Samuel chapter 20. This was where Saul was seeking after David's life, but David had fled.

And Jonathan is kind of doing some reconnaissance for David to find out whether or not his father Saul really wanted to claim

David's life. So when David did not show up that day to eat with Saul at table, it says in verse 26 of first Samuel chapter 20,

Saul thought something has happened to him. He is not clean. Surely he is not clean.

But then on the second day of feasting, the day after the new moon, David's place was still empty.

And Saul said to Jonathan, his son, why is not the son of Jesse come to the meal either yesterday or today?

So remember that Saul's first assumption was the reason why David isn't here is because he's unclean.

And so Mephibosheth knows that about himself also. Why is it that the king is welcoming me to his table when

I'm a lame man? I'm unclean. I am not fit to be at the table with the king.

Verse nine. Then the king called Ziba Saul's servant and said to him, all that belong to Saul and all and to all his house,

I have given to your master's grandson and you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce that your master's grandson may have bread to eat.

But Mephibosheth your master's grandson shall always eat at my table.

Now Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants. Then Ziba said to the king, according to all that my

Lord, the king commands his servant, so will your servant do. So Mephibosheth ate at David's table like one of the king's sons.

And Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was, was Micah. I think it's how you pronounce it.

Not Micah, but Micah. And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servant.

So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem for he ate always at the king's table.

Now he was lame in both of his feet. There's that reminder at the end of verse 13 that David showed such kindness to Mephibosheth when such a man like this would not ordinarily eat at the king, at the king's table.

So David showed this kindness. And this is exactly the kindness that Jesus Christ shows to us.

We are worse than lame. We are unclean. Just as Saul thought of David in first Samuel chapter 20, verse 26.

Maybe the reason David hasn't come to table with me is because he's unclean. We're unclean. We are sinful.

We are fallen creatures. What we deserve is the wrath of the king. We deserve to have the king's judgment laid out upon us.

But he showed kindness to us in that even when we were unfit to sit at the table with the king, when we were unfit to even call ourselves servants of the king, nonetheless,

God showed this kindness to us through Jesus Christ, his son, that we would be treated as sons of the king.

Just as it is described, Mephibosheth was treated this way by King David. We are as sons and daughters adopted into the family of God and our fellow heirs with Jesus Christ of his kingdom.

This is the mercy and the kindness that has been shown to us through Jesus Christ, our

Lord. An even greater mercy than David showed to Mephibosheth, but this is a foreshadowing of the kind of kindness that the king of kings from the line of David was going to show to everyone who was in Christ.

We have eternal life. We have been cleansed. We are treated as clean because of what

Christ has done, because of his mercy and his kindness, not because of anything that we have done, but because of the kindness that God has shown us through Jesus Christ.

Beautiful story. Like I said, I love this story. Love the story of Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel chapter nine. All right.

So we continue. We continue on with David's conquest. We kind of have this this break in David's conquest, which started in chapter eight.

And then we have the story of Mephibosheth in chapter nine, and we continue David's military conquest in chapter ten.

After this, the king of the Ammonites died and Hanun, his son, reigned in his place.

And David said, I will deal loyally with Hanun, the son of Nahash, as his father dealt loyally with me.

So David sent by his servants to console him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the

Ammonites. But the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, do you think because David has sent comforters to you that he is honoring your father?

Has not David sent his servants to you to search the city and to spy it out and overthrow it?

So Hanun took David's servants and shaved off half the beard of each and cut off their garments in the middle at their hips and sent them away.

When it was told David, he sent to meet them for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, remain at Jericho until your beards have grown and then return.

OK, there's so there's a shame practical joke, but it had a deeper significance. It just showed disrespect for David's kindness in the in the way that they treated these particular servants.

Verse six, when the Ammonites saw that they had become a stench to David, the Ammonites sent and hired the

Syrians of Beth Rehob and the Syrians of Zobah, 20 ,000 foot soldiers and the king of of Maka with a thousand men and the king of Tom, 12 ,000 men.

And when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the host of the mighty men. And the

Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the gate. And the Syrians of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tom and Maka were by themselves in the open country.

When Joab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and in the rear, he chose some of his best men of Israel and arrayed them against the

Syrians. The rest of his men he put in charge of Abishai, his brother, and he arrayed them against the

Ammonites. And he said, if the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me. But if the

Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. Be of good courage and let us be courageous for our people and for the cities of our

God. And may the Lord do what seems good to him. So Joab and the people who were with him drew near to battle against the

Syrians and they fled before him. And when the Ammonites saw that the Syrians fled, they likewise fled before Abishai and entered the city.

Then Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem. But when the

Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together and had a desert sent and brought out the

Assyrians who were beyond the Euphrates. They came to Helam with Shobak, the commander of the army of Hadadezer at their head.

And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan and came to Helam.

The Syrians arrayed themselves against David and fought with him. And the Syrians fled before Israel and David killed of the

Syrians, the men of 700 chariots and 40 ,000 horsemen and wounded

Shobak, the commander of their army, so that he died there. And when all the kings who were servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them.

So the Syrians were afraid to save the Ammonites anymore. And that is the conclusion of, uh, of the reading that we will be looking at today.

Chapters eight, nine, and 10, and we'll pick up there next week with 2 Samuel chapter 11.

We're now quite a few chapters ahead of where I'm at on my Thursday night Bible study. We're going through the same book.

We've been going pretty much at the same pace. We've been going through on this, uh, on this broadcast through judges, uh,

Ruth first and second Samuel. Uh, but now I'm ahead before I was kind of a week behind on the broadcast from where I was in the

Bible study. But now I'm ahead because, uh, I continued to do the broadcast last week, even after we had the baby and, uh, and I didn't have

Bible study last week. So anyway, maybe we'll be able to do some extra reading and catch up in the Bible study.

Hey, let's pray. And we'll conclude here. Our Lord God, we thank you. We praise you.

We give you glory for the kindness that you have shown to us through your son,

Jesus Christ. We are not worthy to sit at the King's table. And yet we have this promise that everyone who is in Christ Jesus will be gathered together at the end in the wedding feast of the lamb.

And we will sit at table forever with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Glory hallelujah. I pray that this is a hope that we have in our hearts and our minds. We celebrate and rejoice even as we go throughout our day, knowing that nothing can come against us in this world.

Nothing can separate us from the love of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord, our future, our eternity is secure in Christ Jesus in your kingdom in glory.

Praise God in his name we pray. Amen. Gabriel Hughes is the pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City, Kansas.