2 Samuel 9:1-8 – Fellowshipping with Jesus our King.

In talking about David’s kindness to Mephibosheth, a son of Jonathan, 2 Samuel 9 points us to the king's magnanimity. A king would normally seek to annihilate any descendants of the previous king, much less to show kindness to one. Here we see David acted in kindness to a descendent of Saul. We were first introduced to Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel 4:4. He was five years old then. He was in Jezreel when news of Saul and Jonathan’s death came. In a hurry to run away and escape, the nurse who carried Mephibosheth dropped and crippled him. He became lame since then.

A great duration had gone by and David was now more settled on the throne. He probably had more time to reminisce and recall the past. As he did so, his mind gravitated toward Jonathan and remembered the promise he had made to him to treat his descendants kindly when he ascended the throne. So he enquired if there was anyone left of Saul’s family that he could show his kindness to Jonathan. They told him that Ziba, a servant from Saul’s household would probably know. David then had the servant brought before him and found out Jonathan’s crippled son, Mephibosheth, was residing in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lo-debar. David immediately asked for Mephibosheth to be brought before him. Though no word was said about how Mephibosheth felt, we can guess that he must have come with much trepidation. So when he came before David, he fell prostrate before the king probably expecting to be killed. To his surprise, he found only reassuring words. He did not receive a death sentence but a generous acceptance. In verse 7, 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.”

David showed great kindness to him. He did it all for Jonathan’s sake. Mephibosheth was given land that once belonged to Saul, his grandfather. Best of all he was invited to eat regularly at the king’s table, meaning he could come daily before the king’s presence. It is hard to imagine how elated he must have been. It was enough to be spared, let alone be given all the property that once belonged to his grandfather. As if that was not enough, he was also invited to feast with the king regularly. What an honor was bestowed on him! David was actually treating him as one of his own sons.

Inevitably, this kind of gesture that David has shown to Mephibosheth reflects the invitation Jesus our Lord has accorded to us. Like Mephibosheth, we were crippled though not physically, but spiritually. We were crippled by sin and deserved death. But in kindness God, through Jesus our Lord, picks us up and gives us status in Him. Not only do we now have a standing with God, but we are also invited to come regularly to the table of Jesus to feast with Him. A sumptuous spiritual meal awaits us each time we come into His presence. The truth about us is this: we are not physically handicapped like Mephibosheth who needed to be carried into the king’s presence. We can just walk in. But it required a desire to come and a determination to do it. So be sure to start and end each day in the presence of Jesus. For more measure, be sure to have all our in-between meals with Him. He wants to enrich every moment of our lives. What a privilege!