Sunday School | David - 2 Samuel 9

Tim and Kelly are on vacation, and he asked if I'd fill in for him. So, I said yes. And we tried to time it so that it would be exactly align with where we'd be, and we're in 2 Samuel 9. We're gonna continue with the life of David. And of course, when we talk about the life of David, there's all these other people that are intertwined with it. And today, it's gonna be about Mephibosheth. So you can turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 9.

We know that the Bible, when it was originally written in the scroll of Samuel, didn't have chapter delineations or verses. It was just a long narrative. So, if you're reading through and you see chapter 8, which we covered a couple weeks ago, David is consolidating his kingdom. He's fighting the Moabites and the Philistines. And then chapter 10 next week is David continuing that consolidation and he's fighting the Ammonites. But sandwiched in between these two battlefield situations, you've got this story. And it's a great story. I think it's a story of compassion, of love. And in many ways, I think we'll see how we are like Mephibosheth.

The chapter is very short—only 13 verses. So I'm gonna read it through in its entirety before we go back and unpack it. But as I'm reading it, I think it's pretty neat to see how there's a structure to this book. And a lot of the Old Testament writers, and some of the New Testament writers, when they would write their books in the Bible, they would do it in a manner where they'd kind of set the table, feed you a meal, and then clean off the table. And as I'm reading it, I think you'll see this in chapter 9 here.

So David starts off the chapter by showing his intentions—that he wants to demonstrate kindness. And then David speaks to Saul's servant Ziba to find Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth then shows up and shows deference to the king. And then David feeds the meal, because he's offering protection and provision because of this covenant. And then going backwards again, Mephibosheth shows amazement at what the king has just done. And then David once again speaks to Saul's servant Ziba, but this time not to find Mephibosheth, but to support him. And then finally, Mephibosheth experiences the kindness that's been carried out by David. So you can see this arching flow of how it goes.

So I'm gonna read through. You can follow along. I'm using the ESV. Chapter 9:

And David said, "Is there still anyone left in 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 Ziba. And they called him to David. And David said to him, "Are you Ziba?" And he said, "I am your servant." And the king said, "Is there still not someone in the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of God to him?" Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan. He's crippled in his feet." The king said to him, "Where is he?" And Ziba said to the king, "He is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel at Lo Debar." Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel at Lo Debar. And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the 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 he, Mephibosheth, paid homage and said, "What is your servant that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?" Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, "All that belonged to Saul 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 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 Micah. And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king's table. Now he was lame in both his feet. — 2 Samuel 9

Let's look at verse one and start us off here. The very first word, the very first verse really has a lot of information in it. It's kind of setting the table, or the thesis, or the theme of what we're gonna be looking at for those 13 verses. And it has a who, what, and why. So what do we think the "who" would be? It's the house of David. We wanna say it's Jonathan or it's Mephibosheth.

David is not even aware, or if he's not aware, he's not mentioning Mephibosheth. He's saying, "Who?" So the what? He wants to show kindness. There we go. And the why? For Jonathan's sake. Exactly right.

So the word that we see here in showing kindness—that's going to be a critical part and probably the most important part of this passage. We're going to delve a little bit into that, and I think it'll even come into play later on in the rest of Second Samuel.

The word is "kindness," and I think we can all see what it says there. That's the word. This word you have to pronounce with no food in your mouth: chased. The "h" has kind of a "kh" sound to it, but it's chased. But it doesn't just simply mean kindness. It's absolute goodness and mercy. It is the devoted loyal love that one has because of a covenant.

What's really kind of neat is that it's the key ingredient in God's own description of who he is. When God is talking to Moses, right before he's to give him his covenant, we see in Exodus 34:6-7.

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in chesed, and faithfulness keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin." — Exodus 34:6-7

I think Tim touched upon this a few weeks back and pointed out that this verse is actually the most quoted verse in all of the Old Testament, where it's either directly quoted or inferred as much. So this is what God is describing himself as.

Covenants in Scripture

When we looked several months ago at the relationship that David had with Jonathan and the covenant that they established, we're going to kind of go back and look at that, because it ties in to what we're looking at today in chapter nine. In First Samuel 18:

Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David and his armor and even his sword and his bow and his belt. — 1 Samuel 18

So the question is: how important is a covenant? When we see the covenants that are in the Bible, sometimes we have a tendency to just look at them individually. But that would be, I think, a wrong approach. Because the reality is, the Bible is a progression of covenants that are not only interconnected and related, they are building upon one another.

Let's just glance at a few of them real quick.

The first one—the covenant that God had with Noah. What was the promise made with that covenant? That God would never destroy the world again with a flood. And what was the outward sign? The rainbow.

The next one: the covenant with Abraham. His promise was, "You will have many descendants, and through you all the nations will be blessed." And what was the outward sign for that one? Circumcision. That's right.

The covenant with Moses—this one is kind of tricky because there's mixed opinions of what the covenant was and the time frame that it entailed. A lot of people want to focus just on Sinai, and that truly is where the covenant is issued and discussed. But a lot of people, and I kind of like this, say that the covenant with Moses actually begins with their departure in Egypt. So it's the rescue from slavery, and if they will abide by the terms of the covenant, God would make them a kingdom of priests. The outward sign for this one applies to both of those issues, and that is the blood. If you think back to the Passover while they're getting ready to leave Egypt, the blood was over the doorpost. They get to Mount Sinai, and they are given the instructions of how to do the sacrifices and the offerings. So the blood is critical. Without blood, there is no remission of sin.

Then I think three or four weeks ago, we talked about the Davidic covenant. And that would be: there's always going to be an heir on the throne. And the outward sign there was, in most cases, the throne, the scepter, the crown.

And then the last covenant, which is so critical, is the new covenant. The one that is highlighted in Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36. And that one is that we can have an intimate relationship with God because we have a changed heart. And in this case, as Christians, we actually celebrate the outward sign on a weekly basis here, and that is through communion.

This new covenant was actually instituted by Jesus at the last supper:

"This is the cup of the covenant of the new covenant." — Luke 22:20

The blood represents that. So it's instituted by Jesus. It was guaranteed by his death and his resurrection, and it is empowered through the Holy Spirit.

So you could see this progression—that all of these covenants point to Jesus, that all of them are dependent upon and fulfilled and culminate in Jesus.

So back to the question: are covenants kind of important?

I think I could safely say that covenants are definitely important. The outward sign that Jonathan gave to David when they had their covenant was he gave him his royal robe, his sword—the signs of his authority and power. He was relinquishing that. So Jonathan actually gave an outward sign. We have no record of David giving anything as an outward sign. But I would say chapter nine, what we're talking about today, is his demonstration in his outward sign.

So continuing with this Jonathan and David story, chapter 20 of First Samuel verse 14. If this is Jonathan talking:

If I am still alive, show me the chesed, the steadfast love of the Lord that I may not die. And do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth. And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David saying, May the Lord take vengeance on David's enemy. And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as his own soul. And then in verse 42, and Jonathan said to David, Go in peace because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying that the Lord shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring forever. And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city. — 1 Samuel 20:14-42

In chapter nine here, David finds himself in a situation of following through with this covenant, of honoring that covenant. Do you think there's any chance that David might say, "I don't wanna do it"? Or is it possible that he heard this inner voice saying, "Oh, that was twenty years ago. The guy I made the promise to, he's not even alive anymore. Things were so different back then. I don't need a..."

What's the most common thing in our world, in our lives today that is a covenant? Marriage. So how would our marriage vows be if we said, when we said "I do," and then twenty years later we go like, "That was twenty years ago. My spouse was so different back then. Things have changed." The vows wouldn't be worth the paper they're written on. That's the same thing with these covenants.

And fortunately, David has a track record of being a loyal person. We see that the promises he made in the past are directing the actions he's taking now, and they're going to pay dividends in the future. That's the beauty of a covenant when you honor them.

Finding Mephibosheth

So let's go to verse two.

Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, Are you Ziba? And he said, I am your servant. — 2 Samuel 9:2

We don't know too much about Ziba, but apparently he worked in the house of Saul, worked in the palace. It's entirely plausible that Ziba actually saw David when he was in the good graces of Saul, when he would be visiting and eating at the table there. Although he's mentioned as a servant, he must have been in a position of authority even as a servant because it said that he had lots of sons and lots of servants of his own. So he had to have some kind of authority. Plus, David is actually reaching out to him for the information he's trying to acquire about the whereabouts of Mephibosheth.

Verse three:

And the king said, Is there still not someone of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of God to him? Ziba said to the king, There is still a son of Jonathan. He is crippled in his feet. — 2 Samuel 9:3

David looks like he's just repeating the same question from verse one about wanting to show kindness. But there's a big difference. What's the difference between verse one where it just says "to show him kindness," and verse three which says "to show him the kindness of God"?

In verse one, it sounds like David's wanting to show him his kindness. But here—and what's neat is this is the exact phrase that Jonathan used when he was making the covenant with David. He said, "Show me the kindness of God." And David is actually reiterating that same promise that he made to Jonathan.

Notice the last statement that Ziba makes about Mephibosheth's condition—that he's crippled in his feet. It seems a little odd that he would mention that, but the very last sentence of the very last verse in chapter 13, he mentions it again. It's like, okay, what's the significance? Some have speculated that in those days especially, those who were handicapped, crippled, lame like that, were fairly looked down upon. It's possible that Ziba was saying, "Your highness, he's crippled. Do you really want him here in your nice big new palace? You really want him here?" And David could have said something like, "Oh, how bad is he?" But he doesn't. What does he say? Basically says, "Go get him."

Verse four:

And the king said to him, Where is he? — 2 Samuel 9:4

And Ziba said to the king, he's in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel at Lo Debar. Then king David sent and brought him from the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel at Lo Debar. 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.

So does it seem a little strange that David, as king, doesn't know where Mephibosheth is? Maybe even who he is or his location. Any thoughts on why he's having to ask to find him?

Well, enough time has passed between all the stuff that David has had to do from running to now taking over Jerusalem that it's entirely reasonable. Exactly. The time frame. Yes? I thought maybe they were hiding. That's another possibility—that they actually were hiding him. And plus David was pretty busy consolidating his kingdom, fighting the Philistines and the Moabites and everyone else. So it's almost as if there's this pause. He's finally getting things established and he's going, hey, I remember that promise I made to Jonathan.

Lo Debar is an interesting location. We know where Lo Debar was. It's about 40 miles northeast of Jerusalem across the Jordan River. What we don't know, or at least what we don't have a certain idea of, is what does Lo Debar mean? We do know that "Lo" always means in Hebrew: no, nothing, not. But some of the translators want to say it means no communication or no speech, not having, no thing. The one I like and the one that most of the translators agree upon or is closest to the consensus is "without pastures." So in effect, Mephibosheth's living in the middle of nowhere with no pastures. He's kind of living in not the greatest place.

So what do you think Mephibosheth's feeling right now? Leaving this kind of desolate place and suddenly showing up in the king's castle. Is it possible he's like excited or is he thinking something else?

He's probably aware that the tendency is for a new monarchy to find the heirs of the old monarchy and get rid of them. He's certainly, I would think, aware of what happened to his uncle, Ishbosheth. And he's certainly aware of the conflict that used to go on. We saw in chapter three where it says there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. And David grew stronger and stronger while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker.

So what does David do? He kind of puts him at ease.

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. — 2 Samuel 9

This is Hasid, kindness in action. His life is no longer in danger. And we could characterize that as he's got protection. He's getting back all the land and belongings that used to be Saul's. And we could say that's possessions. He will eat at the king's table always. And that means more than just the meals. He's going to be living in the palace. And that's position. So he's going from worst case scenario basically to suddenly living the dream.

And what's ironic is it wasn't too many years earlier that David was sitting at this guy's grandfather's table, eating at the table, enjoying his time there. Well, except for when he was getting spears thrown at him. But for the most part, it's just literally the tables have turned.

This is Mephibosheth's response:

And he paid homage and said, What is your servant that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I? — 2 Samuel 9

Do you remember the last time the phrase "a dead dog" was used to describe themselves? Anybody remember that? It was David when he was in the cave and after Saul had left. David came out and he says, "After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog, after a flea."

I think that's pretty ironic that David is saying and using the phrase, and then Mephibosheth describes himself in the same way.

David's Loyalty and the Contrast with Saul

So often we think of David's loyalty to Jonathan as the reason behind—and it is the primary motive to—seek out and find the heir. But there's so much more here. Jonathan was arguably David's best friend, and Saul was probably one of David's greatest enemies for many years.

But I wanted to show a comparison between chapter nine and David's relationship with Mephibosheth, and chapter 24 of First Samuel, where David was in that cave and Saul was in the cave. And I think it's pretty apparent. Think if whoever wrote First and Second Samuel, that scroll way back when, they would be sitting here and they'd go, "Hey, I'm glad you noticed that. There is something there to be seen."

So let's look at those. David's a man after God's own heart and we know that Saul really wasn't. So let's compare the two.

So in 1 Samuel, Saul is seeking David to kill him. And in this chapter, David is seeking Saul's heir to bless him. First, Saul unwittingly comes to David. And here, Saul's heir obediently comes to David. In 1 Samuel, David has the ability to kill Saul and he doesn't. And the same thing happens here. In 1 Samuel, David pays homage to Saul. And we see that Saul's heir pays homage to David. In 1 Samuel, David shows proof of his goodwill towards Saul. What was that proof? You remember? He held up the corner of the robe that he had cut. And here, David is showing proof of his goodwill by giving him all the provisions and everything that he's giving him. And then of course, what we alluded to, David compares himself to a dead dog before Saul. And Saul's heir compares himself to a dead dog before David. And then finally, Saul recognizes David will one day be king and makes him swear an oath not to kill his heirs. And David, in fact, does become king and fulfills his oath. Not only does he not kill Saul's heirs, but he provides for them. So I think there's lined up pretty clearly the difference of what happened in chapter 24 of 1 Samuel and what we see going on here. And I think this is again another example of the difference between Saul's failure and David's faithfulness.

Provisions for Mephibosheth

So let's go to verse 9.

Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, "All that belong to Saul and all of 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." — 2 Samuel 9:9-10

Now Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants. So whereas Mephibosheth was living way out, 40 miles away in the middle of nowhere, suddenly he's living in the heart of the capital with the king. And he's given back all this property. But what good is this property if you're crippled, if you're lame? And so David takes care of that problem by saying, "Hey, you were Saul's servant. Now you are gonna be working for Mephibosheth. And not only that, your servants and your sons are gonna be taking care. And they're gonna be generating income, but the reality is he doesn't really need it. Because why? David's taking care of him. He's always gonna eat at his table."

Then Ziba said to the king, "According to all 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 Micah, and all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem and he ate always at the king's table. Now he was lame in both his feet. — 2 Samuel 9:11-13

So once again, just to reiterate the whole idea of what this has said: he no longer has to fear for his life. He receives his inheritance as an heir to the king. He has all the physical necessities required. And he's to live his life as a son of the king.

Our Relationship with God

So let's kinda wrap this up here. How is Mephibosheth's situation like ours? And how does it reflect how the Lord demonstrates the relationship he wants to have with us? There are several different things. In many ways, we are Mephibosheth. And David, as we've seen so often, he's kind of a picture of what Jesus fulfills in perfection.

David displayed God's loving kindness, not because of anything Mephibosheth did, but because of David's faithfulness to the covenant that he had made. Because of past sins, we too are separated from our king. And as followers of Christ, it's not because of any works we did, but it's because of God's faithfulness to the new covenant.

And I think it's important to see that David was the one that initiated the relationship. He sought Mephibosheth out just like it is God who seeks us out. And until the Holy Spirit does his work in our lives and our hearts, we're kind of looking at God the same way that Mephibosheth was looking at David—someone to fear, someone to hide from, to avoid at all costs. But remember, it was Jesus who said that he came to seek and save the lost.

David accepted Mephibosheth in his broken state. And because of our fallen state, we were weak, lame, and fearful of the king. All Mephibosheth had to do was acknowledge David as king and lord. And we must recognize our position and our condition to receive the king's kindness.

David took great pleasure in restoring Mephibosheth to the place of honor that was forfeited in his inheritance. So our king returns to us so much more than what we ever lost—more than we can even imagine. David, in effect, brought Mephibosheth into his household and made him a son, or treated him as such.

It makes me think of the verse in Romans 8. It says:

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry, Abba, Father. — Romans 8

So he ate at the king's table for the rest of his life, just like one day we'll be eating at the banquet table at the marriage feast of the Lamb.

A Story of David and Mephibosheth

In closing, I got a story. Part of it is in the Bible, and you'll see what I mean. But for this to really work, it's going to require everyone's cooperation. You guys are going to play the part of David, and I'm going to play the role of Mephibosheth.

The story is basically this: David is sitting at the banquet table in the palace. They've just finished a nice meal, and he looks over and sees Mephibosheth. He says, "Hey, Mephibosheth, come on over here." And Mephibosheth gets over there and sits down next to the king. He goes, "I've been working on this song and I just finished it. And I want you to tell me what you think about it."

So when I put up the lines, you may not even need to read it because I think a lot of us have memorized this:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. — Psalm 23

Some of David's favorite chefs are going, "Wow. This guy used to be a shepherd, and now he's a king. Because of that, I have everything I want. I used to live in a place in the middle of nowhere that had no pastures, and look what I've got now. You restored my soul. You gave me back all the possessions that belonged to my grandfather, and here I am. I don't have to worry about walking anywhere. Besides that, I have a hard time walking, but it doesn't matter because you're here to protect me.

You had a staff as a shepherd, and now you have a scepter, the rod of power and authority. I'm better for it. God bears the table before me in the presence of my enemies. Just think, I used to sit at my grandfather's table and he saw you as the enemy. And now here I am, sitting at your table and you see me as a son. Because I'm sitting with the Lord's anointed, my cup is always full. You said you would show mercy to me and I would eat at this table forever.

So surely goodness and mercy. Does anybody want to guess what the Hebrew word for mercy is in the Twenty-third Psalm? Hasid. And so I think surely goodness and covenantal love will follow us all the days of our lives."

Like I said, that story I just made up, but I kind of believe there's a chance it happened. I'd like to think it did.

Next Week

Next week will be chapter 10 of Second Samuel. As I mentioned, chapter 9 is kind of placed between battles, and it seems strange, but there is one connection between nine and ten, and that's the word chased. So we'll look at that next week in chapter 10.

So that's it. Thank you.