God's Kindness

If you have your Bible (and I hope you do), please turn with me to 2 Samuel 9.

If you don’t have a Bible, let me know and we’ll get you a Bible you can keep. My beautiful wife ordered a case of Bibles; they are available at each entrance. If you don’t have one, please take one.

If you ask my opinion, this is one of the most underrated stories in the Bible. It’s underrated and unfamiliar.

Thankfully, all video evidence has been lost of the time I played one of the main characters of this story. My friend Sarah Jean filmed a short movie for an OT project at Manhattan Christian College, and I played a part.

When she was begging her friends to help her out, she asked if I would be in her video. I said, “Sure. What’s the story?”

Sarah Jean said, “Mephibosheth,” and walked away like I was supposed to know who that was. I didn’t.

I was a sophomore at Bible college, had spent my entire life in the church, had read the Bible through from beginning to end (at least twice at that point), and still, I had no recollection of this story.

I didn’t know Mephibosheth. Didn’t remember this at all.

If I were a betting man, I’d say easy money is that most people are largely unfamiliar with this account.

2 Samuel 9 probably isn’t on your list of favorite Bible stories.

But maybe it should be.

Maybe this story will be on your radar and, by God’s grace, stuck in your head and heart from this morning forward—

Not because of the sermon I’m going to preach (I don’t care if you remember a single sermon I preach).

My prayer this morning and every Sunday is that you would be captivated by the beauty of God’s Word and even more that your heart would be gripped by the riches of God’s kindness.

I pray that’s what happens this morning.

As you are able and willing, please stand with me for the reading of God’s Holy Word:

2 Samuel 9

1 David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

2 Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”

“At your service,” he replied.

3 The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”

Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.”

4 “Where is he?” the king asked.

Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”

5 So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.

6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.

David said, “Mephibosheth!”

“At your service,” he replied.

7 “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”

9 Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10 You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

11 Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons.

12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth. 13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.

May God add His blessing to the reading of His Holy Word!

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The story of Mephibosheth is a beautiful story on its surface. What David did for this young man is just stunning on a number of levels.

It’s a beautiful, underrated story. And it has much to teach us, to show us. It’s powerful and pointed. And it’s here for us.

>It’s a number of years into David’s reign as king over all Israel. David decides it’s time to make sure he’s keeping his promise to his best good friend, Jonathan. Jonathan, you know, was killed in battle along with his father, the former king, Saul.

A few years before that, Jonathan and David had made a covenant, you might remember, back in 1 Samuel 20. Jonathan says this to David:

1 Samuel 20:14–17

14 But show me unfailing kindness like the Lord’s kindness as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, 15 and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family—not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”

16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord call David’s enemies to account.” 17 And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.

David made a promise to his friend. David made a covenant with Jonathan that he would show Jonathan’s family kindness.

David promised King Saul the same, even though Saul tried kill David six ways from Sunday. Saul wanted David to swear he wouldn’t kill any of his family.

Saul says to David:

1 Samuel 24:21–22

21 Now swear to me by the Lord that you will not kill off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.”

22 So David gave his oath to Saul…

A promise, a covenant, an oath is no small thing. David certainly remembers these promises; there’s no way you forget those words. They’re binding.

David’s covenant with Jonathan, especially, highlights a key word here in 2 Samuel 9.

Jonathan wants David to show him unfailing kindness like the LORD’s kindness. And says to David, “Don’t ever cut off your kindness from my family.”

It’s the same kindness David is going to show to whoever might be left in the house of Saul. David is determined to show kindness to Saul/Jonathan’s descendants.

Kindness is the word hesed, a very important word. Hesed or kindness appears three times in the chapter (vv. 1, 3, and 7).

Hesed is the devoted love promised within a covenant. It’s love that is willing to commit itself to another by making its promise a matter of solemn record.

David mentions kindness (hesed) for Jonathan’s sake. We know he’s referring to what he promised Jonathan. Unfailing kindness.

Through a servant named Ziba, David finds out that there is still one of Jonathan’s sons left. Mephibosheth. Lame in both feet, living in Lo Debar, east of the Jordan, at Makir’s house.

This is the one to whom David will show hesed. Kindness.

That solemn word, given in that solemn covenant ceremony, under threat of a solemn curse if he didn’t act with devoted love. But it’s not merely forced. David’s love for his dear friend motivates him.

Dale Ralph Davis writes this:

“The promise made in the past directs fidelity [faithfulness] in the present…

What the world does not see is that love that truly loves is willing to bind itself, is willing to promise, willingly and gladly obligates itself so that the other may stand securely in that love.

If you are a Christian, your life consists of covenant obligations, times when you have made sacred promises—when you confessed your faith before the congregation, when you followed the LORD in baptism, when you entered into marriage. One does not keep such vows because it is dramatic, but because it is faithful. Sometimes you do not keep your covenants because you feel like it, but simply because you promised.”

David is keeping his covenant promise of kindness/hesed—why? Because he promised. Because he meant it. Because he means it.

The king of Israel—King David—is going to show Mephibosheth kindness. Hesed will be shown to Jonathan’s son. Hesed/kindness will be shown by the king.

Someone probably has to bring Mephibosheth to the king, he can’t just walk up to the palace on his own. He’s lame in his feet, after all (something the author of 2 Samuel makes sure we know about him).

Mephibosheth comes to the king, and he bows down to pay him honor. He falls on his face before King David.

If Mephibosheth believed what his grandfather (Saul) said about David, he would have feared for his life.

And maybe Mephibosheth was fearful for his life. David was dispensing with his enemies right and left. What if this was David summoning the last of Saul’s family to finish him off?

If Mephibosheth had listened to what his father (Jonathan) told him about David, he would have rejoiced. He would have heard from Jonathan about hesed, kindness, about David’s covenant, dedicated love.

Mephibosheth comes to the palace. He bows down before David and acknowledges his own unworthiness. When David speaks his name, Mephibosheth humbly replies, “At your service.”

And what’s the first thing the king says to Mephibosheth? He says,

Don’t Be Afraid

Don’t be afraid. Fear not.

The king spoke his name and then immediately assured him that there was nothing to fear. Don’t be afraid.

Imagine what it was like for Mephibosheth to hear those words. Summoned before the king. Plenty of reason to assume David might just kill him. Mephibosheth can’t run away, can’t fight back. He’s at the mercy of the king.

And David says, “Don’t be afraid.”

In the first 5 verses of this chapter and the last 6 verses of this chapter, the author of 2 Samuel refers to David as “the king.”

But here, here in these middle verses, here in this interaction with Mephibosheth, it’s just “David.” Not king. Just David’s first name. Mephibosheth’s dad’s good friend. And if a friend of his dad, a friend of Mephibosheth himself.

Don’t be afraid, for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father, Jonathan.

What a marvelous truth. There’s no fear in light of this kindness. There’s no fear in light of hesed.

David tells Mephibosheth not to be afraid. No reason to fear. And then, David shows what this kindness looks like, saying,

I Will Restore

David reaches out to Mephibosheth to show him kindness. Not killing this young man is pretty generous of the king. But King David goes far beyond that.

David promises restoration. David is going to restore to [Mephibosheth] all the land that belonged to [his] grandfather Saul.

Can you imagine?! Remember who Saul was: Saul was the king—what kind of land did the king have for himself? What kind of land did Saul’s family possess? How much land did Saul claim for himself when he was conquering the enemies of the people around him?

I think it may well have been a substantial amount of land, not just a few, piddly plots.

I can make a pretty solid argument, even, right here from the text in front of us.

Ziba, the servant of Saul’s household, is summoned by David (vv. 9-10) and is told that he (Ziba) and his sons and his servants are going to farm all of Saul’s land for Mephibosheth. And we read at the end of verse 10 that Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

Ziba, plus 15, plus 20…that’s like 30-some people tending the land. Oh, come on. I do math. It’s 36 people taking care of the land. That’s a lot of manpower; one can easily assume there’s a lot of land to tend.

And it’s all being restored to Mephibosheth—he who had been living in someone else’s house in Lo Debar.

Lo Debar means something like “no pasture.” Mephibosheth was an exile, hiding out of country, away from the King. Living in someone else’s house, in a land of no pasture.

And NOW, in the kindness/hesed of David, he’s been given a straight-up bounty, a windfall, a staggering amount of land. He is now, by all measures, an extremely wealthy land-owner in Israel. All the land that belonged to Saul is now his.

But there’s more. Hesed kindness says to Mephibosheth:

Eat at My Table

This is repeated four times in this short, incredible chapter.

2 Samuel 9:7 “you will always eat at my table.”

2 Samuel 9:10 “And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.”

2 Samuel 9:11 “So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table…”

2 Samuel 9:13 “And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.”

David means what he said when he promised Jonathan that he would show kindness to his family. David isn’t just “not cutting off kindness.” David is making sure Mephibosheth knows he’s a loved and honored friend.

Eating together is a powerful symbol of friendship. What’s true today was especially true in the ANE. To have someone sit at your table and share your food was a staggering expression of friendship.

For the king to invite you to his table was an unspeakable honor. You don’t invite yourself to dine with the king; that’s a good way to lose your head.

The king invites Mephibosheth to his table, not just to share a meal, but to share ALL his meals. The last verse in the chapter makes this clear: he always ate at the king’s table.

Of course, the invitation, the welcome, the offer of eating at King David’s table communicates something deeper. It’s David saying,

Be Like a Son

Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons.

He’s treated like a royal son. This is quite the reversal. Mephibosheth’s name means something related to shame. “One who scatters shame” or “from the mouth of shame,” something like that.

My friend Sarah Jean’s video project, starring yours truly, was entitled, “Son of Shame.” Don’t go looking for it online. Mercifully, it was filmed before YouTube existed.

What we know is that the name ‘Mephibosheth’ incorporates something about shame. Mephibosheth even refers to himself as a dead dog (v. 8). He’s a nobody from nowhere with nothing to offer.

In the reversal of all reversals, Mephibosheth, a shameful, pitiless, forgotten nobody becomes like one of King David’s sons—all thanks to kindness/hesed.

David, acting with hesed-kindness, says to Mephibosheth: “Don’t be afraid. I will restore. Eat at my table. Be like a son.”

>It’s a beautiful story. Beautiful and moving on its face, all on its own. It’s a true story, but it’s also a picture, a shadow of our own stories. This with David and Mephibosheth actually happened. Historical. True. Real people.

But it serves a deeper purpose, too.

In the OT “we see gospel truths within the context of story.” -Melissa Kruger

David’s dealing with Mephibosheth is a picture of God’s kindness to lost sinners.

David couldn’t show any love or kindness to Jonathan (who is now deceased), so he looked for one of Jonathan’s relatives to whom he could express his affection, his kindness, his covenant devotion.

So it is with God’s children: they are called and saved, not because they deserve anything from God but for the sake of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

God, in His grace, gives us what we don’t deserve, and in His mercy does not give us what we actually deserve.

Titus 3:4–5

4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.

David made the first move to rescue Mephibosheth.

It’s God who reaches out to us. "There is no one who seeks God” (Romans 3:11); God comes after us.

David takes Mephibosheth into his own family, provided for him, protected him, and let him eat at his own table. Jonathan’s son would be treated as David’s son.

Hesed-kindness says to us all, “Don’t be afraid…”

The angel announcing the birth of Jesus told the shepherds, “Don’t be afraid,” because he was bringing “good news of great joy for all the people.”

The birth of Jesus, the coming King, was good news for all of His people.

Years after the announcement of His birth, the Risen King Jesus appears to the women that first Resurrection Morning and says, “Don’t be afraid.”

There’s no reason to be afraid. No reason to fear. Because of Jesus—His death and resurrection—we come into the presence of God, without fear, warmly welcomed and forever loved by the King.

“Don’t be afraid. I will restore…”

In the presence of Jesus, we who belong to Him by faith, have nothing to fear. Indeed, in Him, we receive all manner of blessing.

The psalmist writes that the LORD has dealt bountifully with us.

We who were dead in our trespasses and sins have been made alive in Jesus!

We are seated in the heavenlies with Him.

We’ve been given an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade, kept in heaven for us.

Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us, and He will return and take us to be where He is.

In Christ, God reconciles His people to Himself. We’ve been restored to relationship with Him—something only possible through Jesus, the Messiah, the son of David.

Everything lost by sin, Jesus restores to us. And then some.

“Don’t be afraid. I will restore. Eat at my table…”

Please hear this, friends. In Christ, God doesn’t merely tolerate us. He invites us into a relationship with Himself and invites us to eat at His table.

The cup and the loaf that we receive are a reminder of the grace He’s shown to us. His body broken, His blood poured out for the forgiveness of the sins of many.

We are invited to eat at His table, to remember His atoning sacrifice for His people.

“Once His enemy, now seated at His table.” By His invitation, we share all the blessings of fellowship with the King.

He invites His people to eat as His table. Always.

“Don’t be afraid. I will restore. Eat at my table. Be like a son.”

In Christ, we have been adopted into God’s family. We’ve received the spirit of sonship.

Romans 8:14–15

14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

We are, in Christ, sons and daughters of God. We are “in Christ” and that means we are loved by God the Father with the same love He has for His own Son.

We aren’t “like” sons and daughters. We are His sons, His daughters. Full adoption, eternal adoption.

Hesed/Kindness says to us: “Don’t be afraid. I will restore. Eat at my table. Be like a son.”

>This story about Mephibosheth and David is a really good story; I told you it was.

It’s a really good story because it’s an echo of the best story.

You can’t appreciate David’s covenant love/kindness/hesed unless you understand the source of it, the Author of it.

This is what Paul purposes in Romans 5.

Romans 5:6–10

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

Pay special attention to these phrases:

When we were still powerless/helpless…

While we were still sinners…

While we were God’s enemies…

It makes no sense—absolutely no sense whatsoever—that the LORD God would love us. None.

We were His enemies. Sinners. Objects of wrath.

There’s no reason why we should be eating at this table.

No reason at all, except this:

The King Himself, in His kindness, called us and said to us, “Don’t be afraid. I will restore. Eat at my table. Be like a son.”

It’s His kindness. And that’s all.

If you don’t belong to Him by faith and personal confession, please understand that His kindness is intended to lead you to repentance.

Don’t show contempt for the riches of His kindness, forbearance and patience (Romans 2:4-5).

Turn from your sin, your shame, and all that separates you from the Holy God. Do it today.

Come to Him, bow before Him, and hear Him say:

“Don’t be afraid.

I will restore you.

Eat at my table always.

Be my son, my daughter.”