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The Gospel Project® for Adults
Leader Guide ESV, Unit 11, Session 4
© 2019 LifeWay Christian Resources, Permission granted to reproduce and distribute within the license agreement with purchaser.
Edited by Rev. Lex DeLong, M.A., Sept., 2022.
Summary and Goal
In this session, we will see David, who has been given rest from his enemies, turn his attention to the internal affairs of his kingdom.
This, in and of itself, was not surprising, but one of his acts was quite startling.
Years before, David had promised Jonathan (1 Sam.
20) and Saul (1 Sam.
24) that he would not cut off their family’s descendants but that he would show them kindness instead.
We will see David make good on that promise by extending kindness to Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth.
And in this account, we will see a picture of a greater act of kindness from a greater King: God adopting us into His family through faith in Jesus and giving us a place at His table.
Session Outline
++The king looks for someone to whom he may show God’s kindness (2 Sam.
9:1-5); the King fulfills His promise.
++The king restores a lost estate (2 Sam.
9:6-10).
++The king provides a seat of honor at his table (2 Sam.
9:11-13).
Session in a Sentence
God fulfills His eternal redemptive promise so His people might sit eternally at His secure table of blessing.
Christ Connection
King David extended undeserved and unexpected kindness to Mephibosheth (a cripple, unable to care for himself) when he restored his lost estate and invited him to eat at the king’s table with his own sons.
God has extended kindness to us (cripples, unable to care for ourselves) by graciously adopting us into His family as His children through Christ.
As God’s forgiven children, we look forward to celebrating at His table in His kingdom forever.
Missional Application
To point people to the eternal Shepherd (Ps.
23)
Read the story on page 66 of the DDG
- Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace?
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1997), 48-49.
In June of 1990, a woman threw a party at the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Boston.
The woman and her fiance had visited the hotel some weeks prior to plan their wedding banquet.
The price tag: $13,000, with half required as a down payment.
A few days later, however, the groom got cold feet and called off the wedding.
When the former bride-to-be was told she could only get ten percent back, she decided to go ahead with the banquet, not for her wedding but as a blowout for the down-and-outs of Boston.
Ten years before, she had been living in a homeless shelter; now she had the means to bless the homeless.
So she sent invitations to rescue missions and homeless shelters.
The night of the party, those used to peeling bits of pizza off cardboard for dinner were treated to hors d’oeuvres, chicken cordon blue, and chocolate wedding cake as they danced the night away. 1
Ask:
When has someone extended undeserved kindness to you?
How did it make you feel?
How did you respond?
David, who has been given rest from his enemies, turned his attention to the internal affairs of his kingdom.
David made good on a promise by extending kindness to Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth.
In this account, there is a picture of a greater act of kindness: God adopting us into His family through faith in Jesus and giving us a place at His table.
In 2 Samuel 8, one can see all the victories that David accomplished for Israel.
The Lord gave him victory wherever he went and continued to establish his reign and kingdom (v.
14).
Here, at the height of his power, David turned his attention toward getting the affairs of his house in order.
First up was to make good on a promise to bless the house of Saul.
Point 1: The king looks for someone to whom he may show God’s kindness (2 Sam.
9:1-5); the King fulfills His promise.
Read 2 Samuel 9:1-5 (DDG p. 67).
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.
DDG (p.
67)
The king of Israel, powerful, victorious, and blessed by God, was looking for ways to bless and extend kindness to another—to someone from his former rival’s family, as he promised to Saul and Jonathon that he would.
In that day, it was customary for a new king to wipe out the former king’s family to reduce the threat of a coup or revenge assassination, not show them kindness.
In this we see the depth of David’s character and trust in God, for David to keep his promise knowing that God would keep His promise.
Deep down, he wanted to do good; he wanted to keep his word to bless the house of Saul and to honor his friend, Jonathan.
· Years before, David had promised Jonathan (1 Sam.
20:14-16) and Saul (1 Sam.
24:20-22) that he would not cut off their family’s descendants but that he would show them kindness instead.
· We should be compelled, like David, to seek out ways to do good to others around us.
Jesus Christ did not redeem us merely to respond to opportunities to do good; He wants us to be eager and zealous to do good (Gal.
6:10; Titus 2:14).
He wants us to be proactive, not reactive, in our quest to show others good in light of how we have been shown goodness by God.
We are called to outdo one another in showing honor (Rom.
12:10).
We are commanded to count others’ needs above our own (Phil.
2:3-4).
In other words, we should wake up and ask ourselves:
“Whom can I do good for today?
Who needs grace and kindness from me? How can I love others and count their interests as more important than mine?”
Ask:
Where are some places Christians can intentionally seek out opportunities to do good for others?
(at home; at work; at church; in the community; on the Internet; on social media; on the streets; at the bus stop; at the grocery store; at the gas station; at a restaurant)
DDG (p.
67)
David sent for Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth, who was lame in both feet.
Without regard for the harm or benefit to his kingdom, David planned to show kindness to the grandson of his former enemy, and that kindness would be purely one-sided.
David was going to bless and extend kindness to Mephibosheth with no conditions, and there was no way Mephibosheth could repay him.
· David could gain nothing politically, militarily, or socially by doing anything for the family of his former enemy, Saul, and 2 Samuel 8 is clear that David had all that he needed.
He did not need any social capital, nor was this a publicity stunt to gain the approval of the people in the city.
Everyone was already in awe of David, and Mephibosheth could not further his standing in any way—he was lame in both feet.
In the old testament, David is painted as a picture of the king that would come, one of his descendants, that would show the same kind of love.
Christians are called to love others sincerely from a pure heart (1 Pet.
1:22).
We should labor to keep our motives in check and frequently ask why we are seeking to do good to others—What is my true motivation?
This is what Jesus meant by not practicing our righteousness before men in order to be seen by them (Matt.
6:1).
When we put on a show for people, we get exactly what we want: the applause of people.
Yet in so doing, we miss the applause of God.
David shows us a way forward.
He planned to do good for Mephibosheth without expecting anything in return.
May we follow his example as we look for opportunities to extend kindness to others in need, especially those who cannot pay us back (Luke 14:12-14).
A common understanding during David’s day was that when someone had an ailment or sickness, it was usually brought on by that person’s (or a parent’s) sin.
We see examples of this in the way Job’s friends responded to his suffering (Job 4–31) and in how the disciples viewed the man born blind from birth (John 9).
Even though Mephibosheth’s ailment wasn’t his fault (2 Sam.
4:4), there is no question that he would have been perceived as an inferior person.
From God’s perspective, however, being lame or disabled in some way does not detract from one’s humanity and worth, nor does it disqualify from contributing in this world.
Every person is an image-bearer of God, valuable in God’s sight, and with purpose in God’s plan.
Ask:
What wrong motives might guide our good deeds?
(guilt and shame; personal profit and benefit; the applause of our peers; the applause of those we would serve; just following the crowd; fear of judgment from God and others; pride of position and ability over others)
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