Within God's Word, we've been doing this sermon
series on the life of David. And so we continue
that now. We're going to be in 2 Samuel chapter
9 this morning. This is a wonderful scripture
that communicates God's love and mercy and kindness
and grace to us. So I ask that you give special
attention. to the reading of God's holy word
from 2nd Samuel chapter 9. And David said, Is
there still anyone left of the house of Saul
that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?
Now there was a servant of the house of Saul
whose name was Zeba. And they called him to David.
And the king said to him, Are you Zeba? And he
said, I am your servant. And the king said, Is
there not still someone of the house of Saul
that I may show the kindness of God to him? Zeba
said to the king, There is still a son of Jonathan.
He's crippled in his feet. The king said to him,
Where is he? And Zeba said to the king, He is
in the house of Makir, the son of Amiel at Lodobar.
Then King David sent and brought him from the
house of Makir the son of Amiel at Lodobar 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 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." And he paid homage
and said, what is your servant that you should
show regard for a dead dog such as I? Then the
king called Zeba, Saul's servant, and said to
him, all that belong to Saul to all his house
I have given to your master's grandson 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 Zeba had 15 sons
and 20 servants. Then Zeba 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
and Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was
Micah and all who lived in Zeba house became
Mephibosheth's servants. So Mephibosheth lived
in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king's
table. Now he was lame in both his feet." This
is God's word. Let's pray. Father, we indeed
thank you for this word, this word that communicates
your love and your kindness and your grace and
your mercy, Lord. You have showered us with these
things help us to see this grant us understanding
and help us also as recipients of your grace
To show grace to others this we pray in Jesus's
name. Amen When you open up the pages of Scripture
with whom do you identify? Who is it in scripture
that you read of this person or that person and
you say that's me Who resonates with you Maybe
it's Peter Maybe you're like Peter. You've always
got something to say Maybe you're Martha Going
going going and knowing you need to sit at the
feet of Jesus Maybe you're a Gideon constantly
needing reminders of the reality of God and what
he is doing. Maybe you're Jonah running from
a situation that you know God is calling you
to. Who are you? Can I tell you? You're Mephibosheth.
You are Mephibosheth. The reason that this story
resonates with us so much is because the grace
that David shows to Mephibosheth points us ahead
to the grace that God shows to us in Christ.
You know this about yourself. You are unworthy
to come to God on your own, but he showers you
with his kindness. He showers you with his grace.
What's true about Mephibosheth is true about
us, that we merit the opposite of what we get.
Grace. Grace has been defined as God's unmerited
favor. Have you heard that? That's a good definition.
That's a fine definition, but I actually think
we can add to that. Because apart from God's
grace, we're hostile. We're rebellious to God.
It's not that we're in neutral waiting for God
to just put us in gear. God's grace is more than
that. God's grace is his unmerited favor. to
the wretched. God's grace is his unmerited favor
to the guilty. God's grace is his unmerited favor
to the deeply sinful. God's grace rescues us
from the immeasurable depths of our evilness.
What God does When he comes upon us, when his
spirit resides in us, as he does an extraction,
he extracts that cold, dead, stony heart. And
he transplants within us a heart with affections
for him. Friends, we're not Mephibosheth because
life hasn't gone right. We're Mephibosheth because
we're unworthy. And yet knowing this makes his
kindness kinder and his grace greater. Today,
what I want us to see from this text, I want
us to see what Mephibosheth deserves, and I want
us to see what Mephibosheth gets. Now, before
you protest, I acknowledge what might be bubbling
up inside of you. We want to stand up for Mephibosheth
because he cannot stand up for himself. We want
to say, this isn't about Mephibosheth's sin,
and you're right. But we need to understand the
context of this. We need to understand the environment
for Mephibosheth. We need to understand why Mephibosheth
is so very terrified to come into the presence
of David. We want to tell Mephibosheth, you're
not a dead dog, Mephibosheth. We want to have
pity on him. But Mephibosheth doesn't feel like
a dead dog. primarily because of his disability.
Mephibosheth feels like a dead dog because of
his family, and yet that is exactly the reason
that David shows him grace. When he says, I feel
like a dead dog, this is some strong language
from a person at this time. This is self -deprecating
language. He is saying to David, I am nothing.
I am completely unworthy to even be here today.
Now we do know, we do know that Mephibosheth
is crippled. His nurse dropped him in her haste.
You might remember the story from 2 Samuel chapter
4. I'll just read verse 4, 2 Samuel 4, 4. The
son of Saul had a son who was crippled in his
feet. And here's why. He was five years old when
the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel.
And his nurse took him up and fled. And as she
fled, in her haste, he fell and became lame.
And his name was Mephibosheth. What was happening
is the nurse was trying to save his life because
in that scripture What's happening? Saul is killed
in battle Jonathan's killed in battle and what
that means is a change of the guard That means
a change of the guard and so what would happen
is if a king? Died and he didn't have a son for
the throne Another king would come in and oftentimes
what he would do is due away with that whole
former family. Whoever was living, he would put
them to death. And so the nurse recognizes this,
and so she says, I've got this five -year -old.
I've got to get him out of here. And so they
flee. But in her haste, she drops Mephibosheth.
And he breaks his legs. And they were never the
same. He's crippled for the rest of his life.
But the thing about this is, that we know more
of the story. While we know what other kings
have done to those former families, David is
not just any other king. David is a man after
God's own heart. But still, it's not as though
everybody knew of David's covenant with Jonathan.
Matter of fact, we do know that at least at one
point they disguised their covenant together.
And so the nurse doesn't know this. Nobody else,
perhaps, knows this. Does Mephibosheth know this?
Well, he was five when his father was killed
in battle. Jonathan, though, remembers his covenant.
You can see this in verse one. Is there anyone
left of the house of Saul that I may show him
the kindness, kindness for Jonathan's sake? When
he asks that, he brings in Zeba. And Zeba says,
yes, there's one. Now, some scholars, and I think
they're right to say this, looking at the rest
of this story, we do find other members of Saul's
house. So some believe that Zeba's lying here.
He mentions, though, Mephibosheth. Why would
Zeba mention Mephibosheth and not other members
of this household? I think the reason that he
mentions him is because Mephibosheth is lame
in his feet. What Zeba is saying to David is,
yes, there is this one, but he poses no threat
to you. He can't even walk. So he says, don't
worry about Mephibosheth. He's nothing. He's
nothing. And yet David keeps the covenant. He
says here, is there anybody to show kindness
to? And when he uses that word kindness, this
is that word we've looked at before. This is
hesed. We saw this a lot in our sermon series
through Ruth. Hesed, an incredible word in the
Hebrew that we can't really communicate fully
in English. It means something like God's loving
kindness. But I want you to see this is more
than any old kindness. This is more than just
ordinary hesed because while he says, is there
anyone left to show the kindness for Jonathan's
sake? Look in verse three. The king said, is
there not still someone of the house of Saul
that I may show the kindness of God? David wants
to show Yahweh's hesed here. He doesn't want
to show David's hesed. He doesn't want to show
Jonathan's hesed. He wants to show Yahweh's hesed
and thereby keep this covenant that he made with
David. So David's not going to offer the bare
minimum hesed. He's going to go out of his way.
And so he sends for Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth
is at Lodibar, which sounds like it's just far
enough away to have been considered safe for
Mephibosheth. And David brings him in. and Mephibosheth
falls on his face and bows to the king. And you
see what David does. He immediately diffuses
the situation. What does he say? He says, do
not fear. How many times do you see that in scripture?
Where you see God telling someone, do not fear,
for I am with you. David is communicating Yahweh's
hesed. Do not fear. We might say, well, what
is there to fear for Mephibosheth? Why would
he be so scared? Well, let's remember that Saul
on multiple occasions tried to kill David. And
Mephibosheth is the grandson of that former king.
Also, David. He's killed his tens of thousands,
David, who has slew the gigantic giant Goliath.
This is a mighty, powerful man that Mephibosheth
appears before, so he is scared. But David, again,
not just any king, David shows this kindness
and he remembers his covenant with Jonathan.
And I believe that the reason that David is able
to do this is not just because he loved Jonathan.
It's because he realizes that Yahweh loves David.
You see, it wasn't just that there's a covenant
between David and Jonathan. As we saw last Sunday,
there's a covenant between David and God. So
David has received grace. And so he also extends
grace. Friends, as recipients of God's grace,
do we also extend grace to people? We're told
in the Scriptures, have the mind of Christ, love
your neighbor as yourself. We're told that people
will know you are disciples of Jesus by your
love. So do we love people the way that God loves
people? Do we show grace the way God shows grace?
You might say, well, how do I do it? Well, we
could come up with a list about a mile long.
I'll just give you three points of application
here. Three ways in which we can show grace.
Remembering scripture from 1 Peter 4 -8, love
covers a multitude of sins. Friends, that's really
what David does here. He overlooks the sins of
Mephibosheth's grandfather, right? He says, I'm
not seeking revenge. He overlooks this. Are you
able to overlook some offenses of others? Friends,
we don't have to bring people up on charges every
time they look at us weird. We can show grace
to our spouse by overlooking an offense. We can
show grace to our children by overlooking an
offense. We can show grace to our neighbors or
our coworkers or our friends. Now, we need to
use wisdom with this. There are some things we
cannot overlook, but we need to have grace to
say, this is an offense I can overlook. Secondly,
grace in service to others. David serves Mephibosheth
when he is in great need. Do we also serve others
who are in need? I think of this potential mission
trip to Mola in South Carolina. I hope some of
you would want to go on that. This is not a glamorous
trip. It's not glamorous service whatsoever.
Very few people will know what you do there.
And there's something that is, there's something
very gracious about serving God quietly without
seeking recognition. Thirdly, perhaps the greatest
grace, we can tell the gospel. We can share the
gospel and we can share how we're saved by grace
through faith. We can extend evangelism grace.
That's really in a way what David's doing here.
He extends the loving kindness of God to Mephibosheth.
We can show evangelism grace so that people would
see what you receive in Christ Jesus. Well, let's
also look at what David or what Mephibosheth
receives. You can see kind of towards the second
half of our scripture here that Mephibosheth
from David is going to receive land. And this
is land from Saul's family. I think it's very
interesting where Mephibosheth has been. He's
been in a place called Lodabar. You might say,
well, where's that? What's Lodabar like? Is it
like Fountain Inn or what? actually is what its
name is. Low in Hebrew means no. Pretty easy
to remember. Low means no. So when you look at,
say, the Ten Commandments and you see thou shalt
not murder, you're going to see no is being the
word low. Well, that's half the battle here.
What's dabar mean? Dabar in this usage means
pasture. Put them together and what do you get?
you get no pasture. This is telling us that Mephibosheth
is in a barren land that doesn't produce food.
He's in a nothing place. He has been in a place
where he had everything. And then he was displaced
to a place where there is nothing. And so what
does David give him? He brings him back home.
He brings him back home. He also is going to
get lots of servants. You can see 15 servants
or 20 servants and 15 sons, 15 and 20 to handle
this plot of land, meaning this is no small plot
of land that Mephibosheth is going to get. And
with that land and with these servants, Mephibosheth
is going to have plenty to eat. And this is very
important because remember, Mephibosheth, even
as a grown man here, he is completely dependent
upon others. He's crippled in his feet. Right?
We need to think about this, about how in just
a few minutes, everything changed for Mephibosheth
when he was five. Think about what he lost and
what he gains. On that fateful day when Saul
was killed and Jonathan was killed, Mephibosheth
loses his family. He loses his home. He loses
his mobility, he loses his security, he loses
his inheritance, and he loses it all in a matter
of minutes. But David restores what he can, and
David goes beyond the covenant, because David
does not just tolerate Mephibosheth. Actually,
what we could say that David does for him is
that David adopts Mephibosheth into his family.
He adopts him into his family. Mephibosheth cannot
take care of himself. He cannot adopt himself.
He cannot make himself adopted. He cannot sign
his own adoption papers. Mephibosheth can't even
set his own place at the table. He cannot do
anything but receive grace. There was a 20th
century bishop. Anglican bishop named Taylor
Smith. I don't know if you've heard this story.
Taylor Smith went to the barber shop one day
to go get a shave. And as he sat down in the
barber's chair, he decided to tell the barber
about salvation and Jesus. That's a dangerous
thing if you remember how they used to give a
shave, right? The barber didn't like it. And
so the barber said, I don't need Jesus. I do
my best, and that's enough for me." And so the
bishop, perhaps wisely, was quiet while he was
in the chair. But the next man came in and sat
down at that chair. And the bishop said to the
barber, may I shave this customer? To which the
barber said, no, you cannot. The bishop said,
I would do my best. And the barber said, you
might do your best. But your best would not be
good enough for this customer. And the bishop
said, no, and neither is your best good enough
for God. Friends, it's by grace you've been saved
through faith. It's not from yourselves. It's
the gift of God. Mephibosheth could have paid
homage to David all day long, but were it not
for the grace of David, Mephibosheth indeed would
have been a dead dog. He was powerless, but David
kept his promise. And God keeps his in Christ.
Friends, what gets you through the tough times?
What gets you through the tough times when your
sin is glaringly obvious to you, when you falter
again and again and again? What gets you through
tough times when you feel shame and when you
feel guilt and when you feel nothing, like you're
just nothing? Friends, when you feel like that,
remember what Jesus has done for you. About how
he by his grace he removes that guilt and he
removes that shame This is what he did on the
cross. He despised the shame He went to the cross
for you and this reminds me of yet another person
in Scripture that you are just like Luke 23 39
through 43 listen to these words Luke 23, 39
through 43. One of the criminals who were hanged
railed at him, saying, are you not the Christ?
Save yourself and us. But the other rebuked him,
saying, do you not fear God? Since you were under
the same sentence of condemnation, And we indeed
justly, for we are receiving the due reward of
our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.
And he said, Jesus, remember me when you come
into your kingdom. And he said to him, truly
I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.
You have the thief on the cross, the believing
one next to Jesus. who acknowledges his sin,
and he also acknowledges the innocence of Jesus,
and then he says, Jesus, remember me. Friends,
that's what's happening in our passage from 2
Samuel chapter 9. David is remembering his covenant,
and he extends to Mephibosheth, grace that is
totally, completely undeserved. And this is us.
receiving grace. I like this quote from Augustine
who said, the grace of God does not find men
fit for salvation, but makes them so. That's
what God's grace does. And were it not for the
grace of God toward the people of God, there
would be no people of God. First Peter 2 10 says,
once you were not a people, but now you are God's
people. Once you had not received mercy, but
now you have received mercy. Friends, one more
analogy for you. I said that Mephibosheth is
a dead dog before David because of his family,
and yet this is why he is saved. The same is
true of us, isn't it? Our family history is messy.
I'm talking about all of humanity. All of humanity
by the fall was thrown into dysfunction and hostility
and wickedness and sin. We're all born in iniquity.
We all deserve death because the wages of sin
is death. But what does Christ do for us? He
invites us to dine with him at the table. The
marriage supper of the lamb from Revelation 19.
Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage
supper of the Lamb, and people will come from
east and west, north and south, and recline at
the table in the kingdom of God, says Luke 13.
Jesus saves us and reserves for us a place at
his table. And that reservation at the table,
it's not about what you accomplish in life. That
reservation at the table is not about your resume.
That place at the table, it's not about your
GPA. And it's not about your 401K. It's not about
what you did or what you didn't do. It's not
about how much money you donated. It's not about
how you vote. It's not about how many mission
trips you went on or how many times you read
the Bible through. Some of those are very good
things, but you were not saved by those things.
You were saved by grace alone, through faith
alone, in Christ alone. summary friends it's
not about you you who are in Christ you have
received his gracious free gift of the gospel
and you are enabled by the Spirit to have a spot
at the table with your name on it and there's
still other spots at the table if today you're
unsure of what to make of Jesus If you're not
sure what this grace thing is all about, friends,
let me encourage you, let me tell you to pray
today, pray even now, pray knowing that Jesus
is God's greatest gift, but also that faith is
a gift. Pray to receive that gift and know, know
that when you do, by the grace of God, you will
always have a seat at his table. Let's pray.