Text:           2 Samuel 9:1-13

By:               Daniel, Idogar

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2 Sam. 9:1-13 ¹Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” ² And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” He said, “At your service!” ³ Then the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet.”

⁴ So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar.” ⁵ Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar. ⁶ Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?” And he answered, “Here is your servant!” ⁷ So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.” ⁸ Then he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?” ⁹ And the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given to your master’s son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house. ¹⁰ You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s son shall eat bread at my table always.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. ¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do.” “As for Mephibosheth,” said the king, “he shall eat at my table like one of the king’s sons.” ¹² Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth. ¹³ So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table. And he was lame in both his feet.

The first time we read about Mephibosheth is in 2 Samuel 4:4. It means “Dispeller (destroyer) of shame”.

Mephibosheth, was five years old when both his grandfather, Saul and his father, Jonathan, David’s best friend, died at the Battle of Mount Gilboa ensuring that David would become king.

Hearing of their deaths and suspecting that David would eliminate all of Saul’s heirs, potential threats to David’s throne, Mephibosheth’s nurse took him and fled in panic.

In her haste, the child fell, or was dropped while fleeing. After that, he was unable to walk for the rest of his life.

Thereafter, David continued to fight battles until all of Saul’s forces, other rebels and enemies of Israel had been defeated. It’s not until chapter 8 that David eventually begins his reign over Israel and that brings us immediately to chapter nine.

RELATIONSHIPS

It was common in Eastern dynasties for a new king to kill every member of the predecessor’s family.

When Jonathan heard that David would succeed his father, he asked him to spare his descendants. David promised that he would protect Jonathan’s family (I Sam. 20:13-16; 24:21-22).

Mephibosheth should have been a dead man but David decided to spare his life, not really because he loves Mephibosheth, but because he had a covenant with his friend Jonathan.

• Relationships can save you or endanger you
• The kind of relationships you keep may not be valuable now. Sometimes, its importance is felt generations after.
• Whatever you do, raise men! They may be your covenant in years to come.
• What type of covenants have you kept for your generations to come? To protect or to enslave?

KINDNESS OF GOD

David wanted to show to someone the type of kindness he had received from God (2 Sam. 9:3).

It feels as though David has experienced first-hand, the kindness of God.

• There are levels to benevolence and kindness.
• There is one who hears of the needy and helps the needy.
• There is another who seeks for the needy and helps the needy.
• David sort of displayed a type of Christ who seeks for the lost and saves him.
• The true height of benevolence is not being satisfied with waiting for a need to come by, but seeking for someone who needs a drop of kindness.
• David didn’t just show kindness, he transferred the sweetness of God’s kindness he had experienced.
• If God has ever been kind to you, then there’s someone needing that kindness. 

THE POWER OF ACCEPTANCE

(2 Sam. 9:7, 10)

Acceptance is a most wonderful Feeling.

Mephibosheth’s life had been one of rejection. When disaster came and Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle, the nurse who was to care for him fled in fear.

Mephibosheth suffered a fall and was left crippled for the rest of his life. He lived in obscurity and in fear. He felt lost, forgotten, and unimportant.

• Acceptance can make an outcast become like royalty.
• It’s painful we have much talent in rejection than acceptance.
• One thing we usually disregard in growing church numbers is Acceptance.
• We are so keen on door to door evangelism, that when they finally come in, we don’t really accept them.
• Acceptance can change a dead dog to a living Lion.

Let’s talk a little about Ziba…

Ziba was the servant of the late king Saul. When David inquired of Saul’s lineage, Ziba had information to give.

When David inquired about where this person was to be found, Ziba had information to give.

When David needed this man to be brought to him, Ziba was at his service.

AT YOUR SERVICE 

• Maybe we lack men like Ziba today. Men who are always at your service.
• Ziba was so well informed that he was relevant.
• In order to serve, you must be informed, and ready to work.

WHAT ABOUT HIS WORKFORCE? 

• Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants who were to work the land for Mephibosheth.
• You cannot strive in service without a team, a workforce.
• For a ministry to be effective, it will need hands, capable and reliable hands.
• If your workforce is low, it will be obvious in your productivity.
• Being a servant, deacon, ministry leader, does not mean you should do it by yourself or all alone. It means you must be so relevant to command men to serve with you.
• Do you have men ready to work for you in your ministry?

CONCLUSION

Mephibosheth was found in Lodebar.

Lodebar was a dismal place with almost no pasture and very little hope, a desolate, sad place where people went to disappear.

While the name means “no pasture,” it came to mean “no word, or no communication,” as those who went there were never heard from again.

But David remembered him, found him, and there was divine restoration. He gave him a new identity and a new position. (2 Sam. 9:7).

• Today, you have a reason to experience divine remembrance.
• You may be feeling like a dead dog whose value is worthless, but God has something bigger for you.

• There is a seat at the table.
• Here, you’d be called the King’s son.
• You will eat with him, not for now nor for a while, but forever.

God bless you as you make that decision today in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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