Carried To the Table

When I was growing up there was a place of banishment when it came time to eat. It was seemingly only there at large gatherings like church-wide meals or family reunions. It was a place called the KIDS TABLE. As a child, I couldn't wait to get big enough to be able to sit at the Adults Table. Of course, if you know me well enough, you know I'm now a big kid sitting at the Adults Table…and there are many more of us here in this room. 

Imagine with me, for a moment, being a child who would give ANYTHING to just be at the KIDS TABLE…at ANY table. You're being punished for something that is no fault of your own, by being physically challenged and unable to walk. You have no family that loves you. They're all dead. And you fear that you will be too if anyone finds out who you are.

Today, we’re going to be looking at the life of such a boy. His name was Mephibosheth. We find his story written in the book of 2 Samuel.

To set up what we are about to read, let me give you some foundational details that have already happened that you need to know:

Jonathan and (along with two more of his brothers have been killed on Mount Gilboa by the Philistine army

King Saul, their father, died on the same mount by falling on his own sword after being badly wounded

Jonathan was King David’s best friend with whom David had sworn an oath of loyalty

2 Samuel 4:4 (NLT)

"(Saul’s son Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth, who was crippled as a child. He was five years old when the report came from Jezreel that Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle. When the child’s nurse heard the news, she picked him up and fled. But as she hurried away, she dropped him, and he became crippled.)”

We see in verse 4 here that Mephibosheth was dropped when he was only five years old. Now we fast-forward in time another 15 years. Mephibosheth is now 20 years old and we are 5 chapters further along in 2 Samuel.

2 Samuel 9:1-13 (NLT)

"One day David asked, “Is anyone in Saul’s family still alive—anyone to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” He summoned a man named Ziba, who had been one of Saul’s servants. “Are you Ziba?” the king asked.

“Yes sir, I am,” Ziba replied. The king then asked him, “Is anyone still alive from Saul’s family? If so, I want to show God’s kindness to them.”

Ziba replied, “Yes, one of Jonathan’s sons is still alive. He is crippled in both feet.” “Where is he?” the king asked.

“In Lo-debar,” Ziba told him, “at the home of Makir son of Ammiel.” So David sent for him and brought him from Makir’s home. His name was Mephibosheth; he was Jonathan’s son and Saul’s grandson. When he came to David, he bowed low to the ground in deep respect. David said, “Greetings, Mephibosheth.”

Mephibosheth replied, “I am your servant.” “Don’t be afraid!” David said. “I intend to show kindness to you because of my promise to your father, Jonathan. I will give you all the property that once belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will eat here with me at the king’s table!” Mephibosheth bowed respectfully and exclaimed, “Who is your servant, that you should show such kindness to a dead dog like me?” Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba and said, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. You and your sons and servants are to farm the land for him to produce food for your master’s household. But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, will eat here at my table.” (Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.) Ziba replied, “Yes, my lord the king; I am your servant, and I will do all that you have commanded.” And from that time on, Mephibosheth ate regularly at David’s table, like one of the king’s own sons. Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica. From then on, all the members of Ziba’s household were Mephibosheth’s servants. And Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet, lived in Jerusalem and ate regularly at the king’s table.”

Mephibosheth found himself in:

A Prison

It wasn’t his fault

Sometimes the prison in which we find ourselves is a result of our own sin

Sometimes our prison is one in which we’ve been DROPPED

Resulted in a physical handicap or challenge

Our prisons can hinder our walk with Christ

SIN - HABITS - STRONGHOLDS

DISEASE

FEAR (failure, speaking, rejection, heights - SOARING with eagles)

PRIDE

FRUSTRATION (impatience with God’s timing)

LACK OF SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES

Our prisons can bring intense negative feelings

Loneliness

Anxiety

Stress

2.  A Pardon

Mephibosheth expected to be killed

After his grandfather, King Saul, died

By King David when the king sent for him

He lived 15 years not knowing that grace was for him

How long did it take you?

He lived all that time believing death was just around the corner. Until we respond to the grace of God, spiritual death is always just around the corner for us.

Mephibosheth became as one of David’s sons

Through grace, we become sons of the King of Kings

3.  A Position

Given a permanent seat at the king’s table. What he found there:

Was around the best in society - we are in the presence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the saints and angels

Gladness - the joy of being in fellowship and being cared for

Safety - the palace of the king is arguably the most secure place in the land - IF GOD BE FOR US…

Always available. If he didn’t enjoy it, it was his own fault. We feast on the fruit of the Spirit, dine on the joy of our Lord, sup on His body and blood as remember His death, and are nourished by the life He lives through us!!!

Exaltation - we are raised with Christ knowing that death cannot, WILL not defeat us. Still "lame" and otherwise defective, and unfit perhaps for much service, yet admitted to favor and honor. 

2 Samuel 16:1-4 (NLT)

"When David had gone a little beyond the summit of the Mount of Olives, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, was waiting there for him. He had two donkeys loaded with 200 loaves of bread, 100 clusters of raisins, 100 bunches of summer fruit, and a wineskin full of wine. “What are these for?” the king asked Ziba. Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s people to ride on, and the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat. The wine is for those who become exhausted in the wilderness.” "“And where is Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson?” the king asked him. “He stayed in Jerusalem,” Ziba replied. “He said, ‘Today I will get back the kingdom of my grandfather Saul.’”” “In that case,” the king told Ziba, “I give you everything Mephibosheth owns.” “I bow before you,” Ziba replied. “May I always be pleasing to you, my lord the king.”

With POSITION comes COMPETITION

Ziba wanted what Mephibosheth had. He felt jilted by him and his sons being given to Mephibosheth, along with all his servants. He tried to gain favor with the king by bringing all the supplies and then telling the king that Mephibosheth was basically mounting a coup while he was away.

Ziba tried to gain what was not rightfully his. David had made a covenant with Jonathan, thus Mephibosheth gained access to the table through his dad. We gain access to the King’s table through the Son, Jesus. Without there is no RELATIONSHIP,FELLOWSHIP.

4.  A Provision

Mephibosheth enjoyed the best the world could offer

At the King's table is plenty, and of the best. At the table of the heavenly King, spread under the gospel, are provisions the choicest and rarest, to be found nowhere else; and which nourish, not for this short earthly life, but for life eternal. The best intellectual food is here; but especially that food which quickens and nourishes the soul, in faith, and love, and hope, and holiness. Divine truth and whatever it reveals and presents - the pardoning mercy and fatherly love of God, the love and sacrifice of Christ, his body and his blood, which are the real food and drink of men. Of these the believing and loving soul may partake at will, anywhere and everywhere. The King's table is not confined to place; but especially in the house of God and at the Lord's Supper, the table is spread, and Christians gather together to feed and feast.

5.  A Proclamation

He loved the BENEFACTOR more than the BENEFIT

Upon Davids return after retreating from the throne following the treason of his son, Absalom:

2 Samuel 19:24-30 (NLT)

"Now Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, came down from Jerusalem to meet the king. He had not cared for his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes since the day the king left Jerusalem. “Why didn’t you come with me, Mephibosheth?” the king asked him. Mephibosheth replied, “My lord the king, my servant Ziba deceived me. I told him, ‘Saddle my donkey so I can go with the king.’ For as you know I am crippled. Ziba has slandered me by saying that I refused to come. But I know that my lord the king is like an angel of God, so do what you think is best. All my relatives and I could expect only death from you, my lord, but instead you have honored me by allowing me to eat at your own table! What more can I ask?” “You’ve said enough,” David replied. “I’ve decided that you and Ziba will divide your land equally between you.” “Give him all of it,” Mephibosheth said. “I am content just to have you safely back again, my lord the king!””

Remember when Solomon had the two women who said a baby was theirs? One had rolled over and killed her baby, then stolen another baby to claim as her own. Solomon was going to divide the baby so each could have a half. One woman screamed not to kill the baby, but to just give it to the other woman. This is how Solomon determined who the real mother was. Maybe he learned something from Dad? David did the same thing to determine Mephibosheth’s loyalty to him.

Mephibosheth’s actions said:

I want you in Jerusalem.

I want you on the throne.

I want to eat with you at your table.

I want to be like your sons.

Mephibosheth cared more about his benefactor than he did the benefits. Does Christ find us to be equally: • Grateful?

Loyal?

Loving?

2 Samuel 9:13 (NLT)

“And Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet, lived in Jerusalem and ate regularly at the king’s table.”

Carried To the Table - Video

Takeaway:

Mephibosheth was crippled in his feet. When he was seated at the table, he could no longer see that which crippled him. If we are believers in Christ, because of grace, seated at the table of our King, neither can we see the sin that crippled us.