A Cripple at the King's Table

Date of event: circa 999 B.C.

Key people: King David and Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, son of King Saul

Note: Mephibosheth is likely a purposefully corrupted form of this man’s given name, Merib-ba’al.

This was likely done by a later scribe who wanted to remove all connection of the royal house of Saul with worship of the false god Ba’al. Ba’al was a false god of the Canaanite peoples and means “master.” Merib-ba’al means, “contender with Ba’al,” whereas “Mephibosheth” means “from the mouth of shame.” In this way they derided and made fun of the false god Ba’al.

This is also seen in the name of Mephibosheth’s uncle, Ish-bosheth. His given name was likely “Esh-ba’al,” which means “man of Ba’al,” whereas Ish-bosheth means “man of shame.”

We also see this in 2 Kings chapter 1, where Ahaziah goes to inquire of the false god of Ekron (Philistines). The text says that he went to inquire of “Ba’al-zebub” or “lord of flies.” The likely name of this false deity was “Ba’al-zebul,” which speaks of Ba’al being a prince. And so calling him “lord of flies” is a mockery of Ba’al. This name shows up also in the New Testament, where Jesus equates “Beelzebul” (Greek form) with Satan and his activity.

David was anointed by Samuel to be king in place of Saul when he was about 15 years old. Saul drove David into exile by trying to kill him and when David returned from exile and began to reign over Judah, he was about 30 years old. David reigned over Judah, but not all of Israel at first, for 7 years. When he became king over all of Israel he was about 40 years old. So at the time of this event, David has been waiting to receive the kingdom from God for almost 25 years.

There is a story hidden away in the Old Testament. It is a story of a king and a cripple. A story of undeserved love and of mercy and of kindness. A story of one who has everything, and of one who has nothing, but who is given everything. It is an ancient story, and yet, in so many ways, it is our story too–yours and mine.

There is a story hidden away in the Old Testament. It is a story of a king and a cripple. A story of undeserved love and of mercy and of kindness. A story of one who has everything, and of one who has nothing, but who is given everything. It is an ancient story, and yet, in so many ways, it is our story too–yours and mine.

It is the story of King David and a crippled boy named Mephibosheth. And their story is found in the ninth chapter of second Samuel. But before we hear their story, I think it is helpful for you to understand some of the background to what is going on here.

It is the story of King David and a

crippled boy named Mephibosheth. And their story is found in the ninth chapter of second Samuel.

But before we hear their story, I think it is helpful for you to understand some of the background to what is going on here.

David is now king over all of Israel. He was anointed as a boy to be king after Saul, and this made him an enemy to Saul, and Saul sought to take David’s life. David and Jonathan (Saul’s son) were the best of friends. But they had to part ways as David was on the run for a while before he was eventually able to return to Judah. David would only see his friend one more time before Jonathan died in battle.

After David returned from exile, he was anointed as king over Hebron (a major city in Judah). He reigned there for seven and a half years before finally being anointed as king over the whole nation of Israel.

David was first anointed king by Samuel when he was about 15 years old. He was 30 years old when he began to reign over Judah and now, 7 years later, he is nearly 40 and has finally received the kingdom promised to him by God almost 25 years earlier.

That was David.

The other person in this story is a man by the name of Mephibosheth, who was just 5 years old when the news came that his grandfather, King Saul, and his father, Jonathan, were killed in battle against the Philistines. Upon hearing this news, Mephibosheth’s nurse took him and fled, but in her haste she dropped him and he became lame in both his feet.

Upon hearing this news, Mephibosheth’s nurse took him and fled, but in her haste she dropped him and he became lame in both his feet.

His father was dead, his grandfather was dead and his uncle was recently murdered as well. He was about 13 years old and he alone was left of the house of Saul, the one who made David his enemy. Now, the most natural thing for David to do now that he is king over all of Israel would be to wipe out anyone remaining that could challenge his ascension to the throne.

Now, the most natural thing for David to do now that he is king over all of Israel would be to wipe out anyone remaining that could challenge his ascension to the throne.

You see, this had already happened earlier on the road to his kingship. After the death of King Saul there were those that wanted to put his last remaining son, Ish-bosheth, on the throne and they challenged David’s claim to kingship by holding up Ish-bosheth as the rightful heir because of his blood connection to King Saul.

This was bad news for Ish-bosheth, however, because he was murdered by his own people who sought to bring themselves into David’s favor by removing the last contender to the throne.

In light of this, it would be very natural for Mephibosheth to fear that there would be those who would also seek his life and end, once-and-for-all, any competing claim to the throne of Israel on the basis of a blood connection to King Saul. However, this is not what David did. Instead, he did what probably seemed to be very foolish to those who knew him and who were his advisors.

However, this is not what David did. Instead, he did what probably seemed to be very foolish to those who knew him and who were his advisors.

And so let us now turn to and read the story of David and Mephibosheth:

1And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 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.” 3 And the king said, “Is there not still 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 ESV

1 And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 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.” 3 And the king said, “Is there not still 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.” 4 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.” 5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. 6 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.” 7 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.” 8 And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?” 9 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. 10 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 fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11 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. 12 And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants. 13 So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.

4 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.” 5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. 6 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.”

7 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.” 8 And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?” 9 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.

10 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 fifteen sons and twenty servants.

As our text tells us, David wants to know if there is anyone left in the house of Saul. Again, the normal practice would be to wipe out any remaining opposition to his claim to the throne. But David seeks out Mephibosheth for another reason: to show kindness to him.

11Then 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. 12 And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants.

13 So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.

As our text tells us, David wants to know if there is anyone left in the house of Saul.

Again, the normal practice would be to wipe out any remaining opposition to his claim to the throne. But David seeks out Mephibosheth for another reason: to show kindness to him.

Why would David do this, you might ask. He did it because of his love for Jonathan and the covenant that they made with each other before God to always do good and act kindly toward each other and their descendants. When David hears that Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, is still alive, he sends for him.

Mephibosheth comes to David–remember, Mephibosheth is a cripple. He could not come to David on his own–he had to be carried to the king. And so Mephibosheth is carried before King David and he pays homage to David and says, “I am your servant.”

And so Mephibosheth is carried before King David and he pays homage to David and says, “I am your servant.”

Mephibosheth is likely very nervous–imagine if your grandfather tried to kill the person who is now in authority over you, and he summons you to come before him–you would likely be pretty nervous as well.

David, seeing Mephibosheth’s nervousness and fear, gently comforts him and says, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father, Jonathan.” David goes on, “I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father.” And David doesn’t stop there. He also says, “And you shall eat at my table always.”

David goes on, “I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father.”

And David doesn’t stop there. He also says, “And you shall eat at my table always.”

What? Stop and think about this for a moment. To eat at the king’s table is to be as the king’s son. David didn’t stop with sparing Mephibosheth’s life. He didn’t stop with restoring the land that his father had–surely this would have been kindness enough.

But no, David doesn’t stop there. He brings Mephibosheth the cripple into his house, seats him at his table and, for all intents and purposes, adopts him as a son. Mephibosheth is dumbfounded. What can you say to such kindness? Surely this was not what he expected to hear from the king.

Mephibosheth is dumbfounded. What can you say to such kindness? Surely this was not what he expected to hear from the king.

All Mephibosheth can say is, “Who am I that you should treat me so kindly?” Mephibosheth was crippled in both his feet. He could not provide for himself. He was not a great warrior, nor did he do anything for David that David should show such kindness for him.

Mephibosheth was crippled in both his feet. He could not provide for himself. He was not a great warrior, nor did he do anything for David that David should show such kindness for him.

All Mephibosheth brought with him was his crippled-ness. He could not even come to David on his own–he had to be carried. He did not earn or deserve the king’s kindness, yet David gave it to him freely.

The king then summons Saul’s servant, Ziba, and tells him, “I have given everything that belonged to Saul to Mephibosheth–and that includes you and your family to be his servants–but Mephibosheth, he will always eat at my table.”

And so it was done. All of the land that belonged to Saul was returned to Mephibosheth and Ziba and all his house worked the land as Mephibosheth’s servants. But Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem because he always ate at the king’s table, like one of the king’s sons.

But Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem because he always ate at the king’s table, like one of the king’s sons.

And Mephibosheth was a cripple.

And so you have here a story of a king and a cripple. A story of undeserved love and mercy and kindness. A story of one who had everything and one who had nothing, but who was given everything. It is an ancient story, and yet, in many ways it is our story too–yours and mine.

Can you see your story in this one? Can you see yourself in this story?

We are all like Mephibosheth–you and I. Sure, we may not be physically crippled, but we are all lame in our hearts. We are sinners, you and I. This is not simply a statement about mistakes that we have made or things we have done or left undone. This is a statement of who we are at the core. We are sinners. We sin because we are sinners.

We are sinners, you and I. This is not simply a statement about mistakes that we have made or things we have done or left undone. This is a statement of who we are at the core. We are sinners. We sin because we are sinners.

And sin has made us lame, has made us crippled in our hearts so that we cannot turn ourselves toward God, even though such turning would be life everlasting for us instead of eternal death.

Just as Mephibosheth could not come to the king under his own power, so we cannot come to our King under our own power. We cannot even make the slightest contribution. As the Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the church in Ephesus, we are “dead in trespasses and sins.” ()

Just as Lazarus was dead in the tomb and could not come out until Christ, through His powerful Word, created life in Lazarus where there was death when He called him from the tomb, so we are dead in our sins and cannot come to God without first being made alive by the powerful Word of God–by His Gospel, by His Son.

To think that we can come to God on our own would be as silly as Mephibosheth thinking he could come to David on his own. It simply is not possible without God first creating life where there was death.

Hear also the account of the lame man by the Pool of Bethesda in John chapter 5.

The Pool of Bethesda was a gathering place of those who were blind, lame and paralyzed. The story went that at certain times an angel would come and stir the waters of the Pool. The first one of them that made it to the waters of the Pool after they were stirred would be healed.

This man was there by the side of the Pool for thirty-eight years. Thirty-eight years. He couldn’t get to the waters on his own. He would have remained a cripple there for the rest of his life had not the Son of God come to him and healed him.

We are like this man.

And like Mephibosheth we have nothing to offer or to bring except our deadness and sinfulness. “We are all beggars. It is true.” There is nothing in us that would merit the kindness of God.

And yet, God gives His kindness to us freely. Why does He do this? Because of His great love for us in Christ. says, “But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

And Paul tells us in Ephesians,

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:4–9 ESV

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. And this not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” ()

Though we didn’t and do not deserve God’s kindness, He gives it to us freely. He loves us so much that He sent His Son to earth to live for us and to die on the cross for our sins and to pay the penalty that was ours to pay, and then to rise from the dead that we might rise to eternal life.

Though we didn’t and do not deserve God’s kindness, He gives it to us freely. He loves us so much that He sent His Son to earth to live for us and to die on the cross for our sins and to pay the penalty that was ours to pay, and then to rise from the dead that we might rise to eternal life.

He did this so that He could carry us to His table, forever to remain there with Him. He has adopted us as sons and daughters of the King. He has given us everything we did not have and could not have acquired on our own.

Such is the kindness and mercy of our God. Jesus has done this for you. For you. And for me. Your sins are forgiven you for Jesus’ sake and because of what He has done on your behalf.

And one day our King is coming again and He will gather His children–all who belong to Christ through faith–and He will seat us at His table–at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. As Revelation says, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

And not only has God given us His promise that He is returning for us, He has also given us a foretaste of this marriage supper in the sacrament of Holy Communion.

In Holy Communion, Christ invites us to come and dine and be fed with His body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins. We hear His kind and gracious, life-giving words:

We hear His kind and gracious, life-giving words:

“Here is My body and blood, given and poured out for you for the forgiveness of your sins. Come and dine and enjoy the fellowship of your God and King.”

His promises are yours today: Christ lived for you, Jesus went to the cross and was crucified for you, pouring out His blood to wash away your sins. And they are gone. Your sins are forgiven in Christ today. And Jesus rose again from the dead that you also may rise to life everlasting on the Last Day.

Though we are indeed poor cripples, God in His mercy has done away with our sin through His Son, Jesus, and has carried us to His table as His sons and daughters and there we may stay forever.

Thanks be to God for His mercy and grace in Christ Jesus our Savior.

Amen.