WEBVTT 00:00:05.099 --> 00:00:07.799 Well, here it is another week, another episode 00:00:07.799 --> 00:00:10.800 of the Semi -Seminary. And this week, I've got 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:15.439 a little -known story for you from the Hebrew 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:19.320 Bible, from the second book of Samuel. It's a 00:00:19.320 --> 00:00:21.739 story of a character by the name of Mephibosheth. 00:00:21.980 --> 00:00:26.519 It's a story that is a beautiful story of restoration 00:00:26.519 --> 00:00:30.589 and redemption. I hope that you can see yourself 00:00:30.589 --> 00:00:34.070 in this story as well. Hey, I'll see you on the 00:00:34.070 --> 00:00:42.250 other side. Now, this episode is the story of 00:00:42.250 --> 00:00:44.729 a biblical character in the Old Testament named 00:00:44.729 --> 00:00:48.670 Mephibosheth. Now, you might be thinking, Mephibo 00:00:48.670 --> 00:00:54.049 who? Am I making stuff up? No, I'm not making 00:00:54.049 --> 00:00:57.130 stuff up. This is a wonderful, wonderful story. 00:00:57.789 --> 00:01:01.049 that we find in the Old Testament. Now, you may 00:01:01.049 --> 00:01:03.950 not go to church very regularly, or you may go 00:01:03.950 --> 00:01:07.409 to church sometimes, and you might feel a little 00:01:07.409 --> 00:01:10.349 bit insecure. You feel like maybe you don't know 00:01:10.349 --> 00:01:13.549 Bible stories as well as the person that might 00:01:13.549 --> 00:01:16.609 be sitting next to you, but understand that today, 00:01:16.709 --> 00:01:21.069 we're pretty much all on the same playing field, 00:01:21.150 --> 00:01:25.030 because Mephibosheth's story is an unlikely one. 00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:29.659 It's one that's not taught a whole lot, but it 00:01:29.659 --> 00:01:33.939 is a beautiful, beautiful story. The story starts 00:01:33.939 --> 00:01:37.780 for us in the second book of Samuel in chapter 00:01:37.780 --> 00:01:42.480 4, verse 4. And Hebrew scripture says this, Saul's 00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:46.060 son Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth, who 00:01:46.060 --> 00:01:49.129 was crippled as a child. He was five years old 00:01:49.129 --> 00:01:52.950 when the report came from Jezreel. Saul and Jonathan 00:01:52.950 --> 00:01:56.370 had been killed in battle. Now, let's just pause 00:01:56.370 --> 00:01:59.390 for a second because it's very important to understand 00:01:59.390 --> 00:02:02.010 the power of the story. It's important that we 00:02:02.010 --> 00:02:04.790 get the context of these characters who are in 00:02:04.790 --> 00:02:06.590 the story. So we're going to kind of rewind a 00:02:06.590 --> 00:02:08.550 little bit right off the bat, and we're going 00:02:08.550 --> 00:02:11.610 to take a deeper look at this. King Saul, right? 00:02:11.669 --> 00:02:15.250 At this time, he was the king of Israel. He's 00:02:15.250 --> 00:02:19.009 the current king, King Saul. His son is Jonathan. 00:02:19.150 --> 00:02:22.409 It's important to know that. Then we've got our 00:02:22.409 --> 00:02:24.849 character of the story today, Mephibosheth, who 00:02:24.849 --> 00:02:30.789 is Jonathan's son or Saul's grandson. And then 00:02:30.789 --> 00:02:34.370 we're going to have David. And David is going 00:02:34.370 --> 00:02:38.310 to eventually succeed Saul as king and become 00:02:38.310 --> 00:02:41.729 the king after Saul. And also note that this 00:02:41.729 --> 00:02:45.150 is David as in David and Goliath, the guy who 00:02:45.150 --> 00:02:48.310 kills the giant that we all know. It's that David. 00:02:48.590 --> 00:02:53.250 So these are our characters. So imagine that 00:02:53.250 --> 00:02:55.909 you're five years old and you're out playing 00:02:55.909 --> 00:02:59.419 in the courtyard having a fun day. doing whatever 00:02:59.419 --> 00:03:02.479 it is that royal children do, whatever it might 00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:05.819 be, hanging out, having a good time. And then 00:03:05.819 --> 00:03:09.139 the palace doors burst open and people are thrown 00:03:09.139 --> 00:03:12.759 into pandemonium. They're screaming and hollering 00:03:12.759 --> 00:03:17.120 and yelling. And all you know is, you know, you're 00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:19.939 thinking, well, what's going on? And they tell 00:03:19.939 --> 00:03:22.020 you that your dad and your granddad have been 00:03:22.020 --> 00:03:26.900 killed in battle. That's a bad start to a day 00:03:26.900 --> 00:03:30.759 for a five -year -old kid, for anybody, much 00:03:30.759 --> 00:03:34.300 less if you're five years old. But this story 00:03:34.300 --> 00:03:37.840 gets worse. You see, these people are all in 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:41.840 a panic because David was now on his way to the 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:46.780 palace to assume power. Now, that would have 00:03:46.780 --> 00:03:50.479 been a problem in this monarchy because, at any 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:55.379 time, in a monarchy, Family lines change. Anytime 00:03:55.379 --> 00:03:58.379 the monarchy family changes, what happens to 00:03:58.379 --> 00:04:02.180 the old family? Well, they get eradicated. They 00:04:02.180 --> 00:04:05.460 get killed off. Why? Because you don't want a 00:04:05.460 --> 00:04:08.300 potential heir to the throne to be alive. So 00:04:08.300 --> 00:04:11.900 everybody in the palace is freaking out, knowing 00:04:11.900 --> 00:04:15.780 that they're going to get killed, including Mephibosheth. 00:04:15.780 --> 00:04:18.420 Now, why would that be? Because his dad had been 00:04:18.420 --> 00:04:21.829 killed, and his grandfather, And that would have 00:04:21.829 --> 00:04:25.189 put him next in line. Therefore, he would have 00:04:25.189 --> 00:04:27.230 been, Mephibosheth, would have been the number 00:04:27.230 --> 00:04:31.509 one guy to go, right? So Mephibosheth's there. 00:04:31.649 --> 00:04:35.310 He's five years old. My grandfather, my dad are 00:04:35.310 --> 00:04:41.870 both dead. And then, well, David's coming. Now 00:04:41.870 --> 00:04:44.470 understand the context for this five -year -old 00:04:44.470 --> 00:04:50.779 boy. David was iconic. And chronologically speaking, 00:04:51.019 --> 00:04:54.800 when this would have occurred in Scripture, David 00:04:54.800 --> 00:04:58.600 had already killed Goliath. In fact, David had 00:04:58.600 --> 00:05:02.439 already had many escapades as one of Saul's top 00:05:02.439 --> 00:05:06.819 generals and had gone out and slain many Philistine. 00:05:07.759 --> 00:05:10.579 In fact, there's a scripture in the Old Testament 00:05:10.579 --> 00:05:13.860 where people sang a song and said, Saul, he's 00:05:13.860 --> 00:05:17.500 killed his thousands, but David, his tens of 00:05:17.500 --> 00:05:25.019 thousands. David was an icon. Also, David and 00:05:25.019 --> 00:05:27.939 Mephibosheth's father, Jonathan, were really 00:05:27.939 --> 00:05:32.699 good friends. Therefore, it's almost as if David 00:05:32.699 --> 00:05:38.029 could have been like maybe a hero. to Mephibosheth. 00:05:38.709 --> 00:05:42.009 In modern day times, he may have even had a poster 00:05:42.009 --> 00:05:45.129 of David on his wall in his bedroom. And David, 00:05:45.290 --> 00:05:48.389 because of his relationship with Jonathan, he 00:05:48.389 --> 00:05:51.310 could have been a very close family friend to 00:05:51.310 --> 00:05:54.649 Mephibosheth, like an honorary uncle or something. 00:05:55.370 --> 00:05:58.949 So Mephibosheth, at five years old, is understanding 00:05:58.949 --> 00:06:03.209 my dad is dead, killed in battle. My grandfather's 00:06:03.209 --> 00:06:05.970 dead and now David, well, everything's going 00:06:05.970 --> 00:06:10.209 to be okay because now David's coming. And the 00:06:10.209 --> 00:06:14.050 people in the pandemonium are saying, no, no, 00:06:14.129 --> 00:06:19.430 he wants to kill you. What do you mean? I don't 00:06:19.430 --> 00:06:23.449 understand. That's a lot for a five -year -old 00:06:23.449 --> 00:06:27.329 boy to take in, for anybody. And all of a sudden 00:06:27.329 --> 00:06:30.949 they're in a panic. Well, in that panic, the 00:06:30.949 --> 00:06:34.649 nurse picks him up and begins to run, and they 00:06:34.649 --> 00:06:37.689 continue in verse 4 of our story. She drops him, 00:06:37.750 --> 00:06:41.610 and he breaks both of his legs and becomes crippled. 00:06:42.589 --> 00:06:46.089 Five years old. They pick him back up. They don't 00:06:46.089 --> 00:06:48.509 have time to set a splint. They don't have time 00:06:48.509 --> 00:06:51.209 to do anything. They just run with him to a place 00:06:51.209 --> 00:06:54.269 called Lodabar. Now, we'll talk about this place, 00:06:54.389 --> 00:06:57.310 Lodabar, here in just a little bit. But his dad 00:06:57.310 --> 00:07:00.689 passes. His grandfather passes. David, whom he 00:07:00.689 --> 00:07:03.209 thought he could trust, is now going to try to 00:07:03.209 --> 00:07:05.870 kill him. And now both of his legs are broken. 00:07:06.209 --> 00:07:08.769 And they pick him up and they whisk him away. 00:07:08.910 --> 00:07:12.149 And his whole world at five had been flipped 00:07:12.149 --> 00:07:17.819 upside down. Have you ever had a Mephibosheth 00:07:17.819 --> 00:07:21.680 moment in your life? Where maybe you're just 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:23.699 sitting there and everything seems to be fine 00:07:23.699 --> 00:07:26.639 and you're just hanging out in the palace, everything's 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:29.019 good, and then all of a sudden the doctor gives 00:07:29.019 --> 00:07:33.560 you a report that you didn't expect. One day 00:07:33.560 --> 00:07:36.680 you felt healthy, the next day you feel like 00:07:36.680 --> 00:07:40.220 everything had been turned on its end. Maybe 00:07:40.220 --> 00:07:42.420 it's that someone you thought you could trust 00:07:42.420 --> 00:07:46.339 violated that trust. relationship you thought 00:07:46.339 --> 00:07:48.399 would go the distance, but it's crumbled down 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:52.959 around you in such a short time. And it's just 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:57.980 flipped your whole world upside down. And in 00:07:57.980 --> 00:08:01.399 that emotion, you can begin to understand where 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:10.040 Mephibosheth is. And for him, years go by and 00:08:10.040 --> 00:08:14.610 nothing happens. He doesn't get healed. He doesn't 00:08:14.610 --> 00:08:20.050 get helped. He's just broken. This is the story 00:08:20.050 --> 00:08:25.250 of Mephibosheth. But one day, the Bible says, 00:08:25.470 --> 00:08:30.129 in 2 Samuel 9, the first verse of that chapter, 00:08:30.310 --> 00:08:35.049 one day, the Bible says, King David, is there 00:08:35.049 --> 00:08:37.990 anybody, King David says, left in the household 00:08:37.990 --> 00:08:42.710 of Saul to whom I can show kindness to? for Jonathan's 00:08:42.710 --> 00:08:47.529 sake. Now, based on what we know of the killing 00:08:47.529 --> 00:08:50.409 off of a monarchy, that would be a weird statement 00:08:50.409 --> 00:08:53.450 to make, right? It's kind of interesting unless 00:08:53.450 --> 00:08:56.970 we understand the context. You see, as we talked 00:08:56.970 --> 00:09:00.309 about, Jonathan and David were actually very, 00:09:00.529 --> 00:09:03.740 very good friends. At one point in scripture, 00:09:03.960 --> 00:09:06.759 what had happened was David had been anointed 00:09:06.759 --> 00:09:09.320 by this Old Testament prophet by the name of 00:09:09.320 --> 00:09:14.539 Samuel, and Jonathan was aware of this. The anointing 00:09:14.539 --> 00:09:18.259 was that David was to be the rightful king of 00:09:18.259 --> 00:09:22.759 Israel, and Jonathan, Saul's son, Jonathan believed 00:09:22.759 --> 00:09:26.700 that. Therefore, he talked to David and he said, 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:31.840 listen, when you do become king, Would you show 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:34.320 kindness to me and my family? Because remember, 00:09:34.539 --> 00:09:37.639 again, it wouldn't be a good thing for Jonathan 00:09:37.639 --> 00:09:41.440 if the royal line of Saul changed. He said, Would 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:45.220 you show kindness to me and my family? And David 00:09:45.220 --> 00:09:49.399 said, As surely as the Lord lives, I will show 00:09:49.399 --> 00:09:53.759 kindness to you and to your family. Now, he had 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:57.360 made this promise, this covenant with Jonathan. 00:09:58.009 --> 00:09:59.830 that he would do this. And the Bible records 00:09:59.830 --> 00:10:05.909 in 2 Samuel 9 that one day, and we don't know 00:10:05.909 --> 00:10:08.909 why, perhaps it was the same time of year where 00:10:08.909 --> 00:10:12.350 David had lost his friend Jonathan. Maybe it 00:10:12.350 --> 00:10:14.070 was that they were out doing something that he 00:10:14.070 --> 00:10:16.789 and Jonathan used to love to do together. For 00:10:16.789 --> 00:10:19.889 whatever the reason, it brings to mind for David 00:10:19.889 --> 00:10:23.669 this promise, this covenant, his love for his 00:10:23.669 --> 00:10:28.129 dear friend whom he lost. And he says, is there 00:10:28.129 --> 00:10:31.909 anybody left whom I can show kindness to for 00:10:31.909 --> 00:10:38.450 Jonathan's sake? So they summoned this guy, Ziba, 00:10:38.649 --> 00:10:42.450 who was one of Saul's servants. And they asked 00:10:42.450 --> 00:10:47.330 him this question. And Ziba replies to King David 00:10:47.330 --> 00:10:51.110 and says, well, yes. There is one of Jonathan's 00:10:51.110 --> 00:10:54.909 sons still alive, but he's crippled in both of 00:10:54.909 --> 00:10:57.909 his feet. He kind of pushes Mephibosheth aside 00:10:57.909 --> 00:11:01.210 as if David, yeah, there is, but you don't want 00:11:01.210 --> 00:11:07.149 that guy. And why would Ziba do this? Because 00:11:07.149 --> 00:11:09.389 you see in this day and age, in this culture, 00:11:09.490 --> 00:11:13.110 at this time, To have broken both of your legs, 00:11:13.289 --> 00:11:16.389 right? There's no ADA compliance. There's no 00:11:16.389 --> 00:11:19.830 handicap ramps. There's no wheelchairs. There's 00:11:19.830 --> 00:11:24.850 nothing for him. So this society would, in many 00:11:24.850 --> 00:11:27.950 ways, just push him aside and consider him rather 00:11:27.950 --> 00:11:31.669 to be a burden. He's just kind of worthless. 00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:35.879 Now, in our world today, in our culture, we understand 00:11:35.879 --> 00:11:38.840 that to be absolutely absurd and actually quite 00:11:38.840 --> 00:11:42.840 ridiculous because we know now, today, that any 00:11:42.840 --> 00:11:46.519 physical limitation placed upon someone has no 00:11:46.519 --> 00:11:49.000 bearing on God's ability to work through them. 00:11:49.159 --> 00:11:52.600 In fact, many times, He works through you in 00:11:52.600 --> 00:11:57.379 a greater way, in a greater sense. So we understand 00:11:57.379 --> 00:12:00.620 that now to be absurd, but in the context of 00:12:00.620 --> 00:12:03.500 this story, it's important to note how quickly 00:12:03.500 --> 00:12:07.460 Ziba just brushes him aside. Like, yeah, there 00:12:07.460 --> 00:12:11.259 is, but you don't want to mess with him. But 00:12:11.259 --> 00:12:16.299 that's not the response that David gives. He 00:12:16.299 --> 00:12:21.580 says, well, where is he? I want this kid. Ziba 00:12:21.580 --> 00:12:26.019 replies, well, he's out in Lodbar. at the house 00:12:26.019 --> 00:12:31.019 of Mechir. And David says, well, go get him. 00:12:32.019 --> 00:12:39.379 Now, debar normally means word or thing in Hebrew. 00:12:39.480 --> 00:12:44.940 The prefix lo is a negator. Thus, the term lo 00:12:44.940 --> 00:12:50.759 debar would mean no word or no thing. This is 00:12:50.759 --> 00:12:53.740 a town's name that's not complimentary. The name 00:12:53.740 --> 00:12:56.519 may or may not have been an apt description of 00:12:56.519 --> 00:12:59.620 this town. We don't know. If it was an apt description, 00:12:59.860 --> 00:13:02.779 it may have been perhaps lacking good pasture, 00:13:02.879 --> 00:13:05.620 or it just may have been insignificant, a nothing 00:13:05.620 --> 00:13:08.860 town. In English, we might say it's the middle 00:13:08.860 --> 00:13:13.440 of nowhere. In fact, in 1 Chronicles 8, it's 00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:16.500 important to note that in the genealogy of King 00:13:16.500 --> 00:13:20.759 Saul, Mephibosheth wasn't even this young man's 00:13:20.759 --> 00:13:25.879 name. His given name was Meribah, which means 00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:30.460 an opponent of Baal. Now, Baal was a Hebrew scripture 00:13:30.460 --> 00:13:34.460 false god. So it's as if his father, Jonathan, 00:13:34.659 --> 00:13:39.419 had named his son Mirabal, saying, you are of 00:13:39.419 --> 00:13:43.299 royal lineage. You are an opponent of false gods. 00:13:43.419 --> 00:13:46.539 You are stately and you are royal. You are my 00:13:46.539 --> 00:13:51.759 son, Mirabal. But his name got changed to Mephibosheth, 00:13:51.759 --> 00:13:55.960 which means the son of shame or shameful thing. 00:13:58.090 --> 00:14:00.450 So you could imagine, five years old, you've 00:14:00.450 --> 00:14:03.309 lost your father, you've lost your grandfather, 00:14:03.549 --> 00:14:06.710 your legs have become broken. Those whom you 00:14:06.710 --> 00:14:11.009 thought you could trust, you can't. You're taken 00:14:11.009 --> 00:14:14.490 away from a palace and you're left out in some 00:14:14.490 --> 00:14:17.409 place called Lo -Debar, the middle of nowhere. 00:14:17.690 --> 00:14:21.549 And your name has been changed from an opponent 00:14:21.549 --> 00:14:27.389 of Baal, false gods, to Mephibosheth. you son 00:14:27.389 --> 00:14:33.690 of shame. So Mephibosheth had lived many, many 00:14:33.690 --> 00:14:37.750 years in Lodabar. We don't know how many, Bible's 00:14:37.750 --> 00:14:40.429 not very clear on this, but we do know that by 00:14:40.429 --> 00:14:43.929 this point in the story, when he interacts with 00:14:43.929 --> 00:14:47.490 David again, he's grown. He's not a little kid 00:14:47.490 --> 00:14:50.450 anymore. And he's out there and Ziba comes to 00:14:50.450 --> 00:14:54.049 his door and knocks and says, it's Ziba and I'm 00:14:54.049 --> 00:14:58.179 here from the palace. And King David now wants 00:14:58.179 --> 00:15:02.159 to see you. Now, for Mephibosheth, is this a 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:07.360 good day? Would he perhaps think, sweet, man, 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:12.259 I've been waiting for this moment. No. It is 00:15:12.259 --> 00:15:16.580 the incarnation of all of the fear and the worry 00:15:16.580 --> 00:15:19.700 and the terror that has haunted him for years. 00:15:20.460 --> 00:15:23.679 And it is all convening at his door in this moment. 00:15:25.320 --> 00:15:30.059 Because he had to grow up hating David. Because 00:15:30.059 --> 00:15:33.179 it's David's fault that I'm out here in this 00:15:33.179 --> 00:15:36.879 desolate place. It's David's fault that I'm a 00:15:36.879 --> 00:15:40.580 fugitive. It's David's fault that my legs are 00:15:40.580 --> 00:15:45.379 broken. It's David's fault. And now, now David 00:15:45.379 --> 00:15:48.580 wants me dead. And I knew this day was coming. 00:15:48.779 --> 00:15:51.519 They've been telling me that this day has been 00:15:51.519 --> 00:15:55.139 coming for years and years. And now, today, the 00:15:55.139 --> 00:16:01.940 day has come. But this is where this story takes 00:16:01.940 --> 00:16:06.320 an unlikely turn. We see David's response to 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:09.409 be quite different. than what Mephibosheth had 00:16:09.409 --> 00:16:12.929 thought. Let me pick up here in verse 7 of the 00:16:12.929 --> 00:16:17.090 9th chapter of 2 Samuel, where the Bible says, 00:16:17.350 --> 00:16:22.110 don't be afraid, David says, because Mephibosheth 00:16:22.110 --> 00:16:23.710 at this point had been brought before him. He 00:16:23.710 --> 00:16:27.129 says, don't be afraid. I intend to show you kindness. 00:16:28.169 --> 00:16:30.230 Because of my promise to your father, Jonathan, 00:16:30.350 --> 00:16:33.490 I will give you all of the property that once 00:16:33.490 --> 00:16:35.850 belonged to your grandfather, Saul, and you, 00:16:35.970 --> 00:16:39.269 you will eat here with me at the king's table. 00:16:40.710 --> 00:16:43.710 Mephibosheth bowed respectably and exclaimed, 00:16:43.710 --> 00:16:47.549 Who is your servant that you should show such 00:16:47.549 --> 00:16:54.250 kindness to a dead dog like me? What a horrible 00:16:54.250 --> 00:16:58.350 thing to say about yourself, right? I'm a dead 00:16:58.350 --> 00:17:04.269 dog. Then we almost see why. Right here in the 00:17:04.269 --> 00:17:08.250 next verse, it says, all of these years of hiding 00:17:08.250 --> 00:17:12.410 had made Mephibosheth think of himself as worthless. 00:17:14.910 --> 00:17:18.390 Have you ever found yourself at a place where 00:17:18.390 --> 00:17:20.990 you kind of felt like you'd become worthless 00:17:20.990 --> 00:17:27.259 or maybe you weren't worth of anything? Maybe 00:17:27.259 --> 00:17:30.519 you felt inadequate for the task, whatever that 00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:33.220 task might be that's been put in front of you. 00:17:34.420 --> 00:17:37.440 You see, for Mephibosheth in this moment, as 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:40.420 he's receiving this blessing from King David, 00:17:40.559 --> 00:17:42.700 everything that he had believed and everything 00:17:42.700 --> 00:17:44.539 that he had known and everything that he had 00:17:44.539 --> 00:17:48.660 internalized about David had been wrong. He had 00:17:48.660 --> 00:17:51.720 been confused, trying to figure out what is going 00:17:51.720 --> 00:17:56.769 on. He had to be bowing, waiting, knowing, coming 00:17:56.769 --> 00:18:01.089 to the palace, waiting for that sword to come 00:18:01.089 --> 00:18:07.529 across his neck. But it didn't happen. Everything 00:18:07.529 --> 00:18:11.029 that he had thought, everything he assumed was 00:18:11.029 --> 00:18:14.750 about to happen, everything he knew David stood 00:18:14.750 --> 00:18:18.190 for, everything he knew David wanted to do to 00:18:18.190 --> 00:18:24.589 him was wrong. And in the same way, many of us 00:18:24.589 --> 00:18:27.630 find ourselves Pushing ourselves spiritually 00:18:27.630 --> 00:18:31.970 out to a place like Lodabar, a desolate place 00:18:31.970 --> 00:18:35.109 spiritually where we begin to believe and we 00:18:35.109 --> 00:18:38.890 internalize the things that we think about God. 00:18:39.089 --> 00:18:42.250 We think God's mad at me because I haven't been 00:18:42.250 --> 00:18:44.970 doing what I probably should be doing for Him. 00:18:45.049 --> 00:18:47.309 Or, you know what, He's mad at me and I know 00:18:47.309 --> 00:18:51.230 He's upset and God is just waiting to drop that 00:18:51.230 --> 00:18:56.380 hammer on my head. I know it's coming. Or maybe 00:18:56.380 --> 00:18:58.500 it's that you've carried guilt for years for 00:18:58.500 --> 00:19:01.279 something, for something, friend, that wasn't 00:19:01.279 --> 00:19:05.099 even your fault. But for some reason you carry 00:19:05.099 --> 00:19:08.039 that guilt and you think that God is upset with 00:19:08.039 --> 00:19:11.440 you or angry with you in some way. And I'm here 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:19.319 today to tell you that is just wrong. You see, 00:19:19.339 --> 00:19:23.380 in the same way, David had an unlikely in a different. 00:19:23.829 --> 00:19:27.390 outcome for Mephibosheth. God's desire for you 00:19:27.390 --> 00:19:31.069 is to bless you and to bring you a hope and to 00:19:31.069 --> 00:19:34.029 bring you a future. It's a twist in the story 00:19:34.029 --> 00:19:37.230 all of a sudden for our friend Mephibosheth. 00:19:37.930 --> 00:19:40.829 Now it's important to know at this point David 00:19:40.829 --> 00:19:44.509 says to Ziba, Ziba come here I'm going to give 00:19:44.509 --> 00:19:48.150 Mephibosheth your master's grandson all of his 00:19:48.150 --> 00:19:51.759 land. I'm going to I'm going to give him all 00:19:51.759 --> 00:19:55.059 of King Saul's former property. So think about 00:19:55.059 --> 00:19:58.420 this. He gives Mephibosheth all of King Saul's 00:19:58.420 --> 00:20:01.920 land. This isn't like some garden plot over in 00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:04.599 the corner. He gives him everything that had 00:20:04.599 --> 00:20:06.559 belonged to his grandfather. This would have 00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:10.200 been a vast amount of property. And then David 00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:12.980 says to Zibit, and you and your household, all 00:20:12.980 --> 00:20:16.019 35 of you and your servants, you're going to 00:20:16.019 --> 00:20:20.150 serve now Mephibosheth. And then I love this. 00:20:20.210 --> 00:20:24.309 In verse 11 of our chapter, the Bible says, And 00:20:24.309 --> 00:20:27.589 Mephibosheth ate regularly at the king's table 00:20:27.589 --> 00:20:31.990 like one of the king's own sons. How about that? 00:20:32.849 --> 00:20:36.670 This kid from five. Having all of that stuff 00:20:36.670 --> 00:20:38.910 happen to him, all of these terrible things, 00:20:39.009 --> 00:20:41.650 all of these years, all of a sudden it gets flipped 00:20:41.650 --> 00:20:45.589 on its end and like the beautiful story of restoration, 00:20:45.769 --> 00:20:50.690 David brings him to a place of honor and power. 00:20:51.869 --> 00:20:57.009 And we love the ending of this story. We love 00:20:57.009 --> 00:21:00.009 it when we see somebody who really didn't deserve 00:21:00.009 --> 00:21:04.200 whatever and they've gotten a dealt a hard deal 00:21:04.200 --> 00:21:06.599 and all of a sudden they end up being restored 00:21:06.599 --> 00:21:09.980 and they're vindicated. And we just want to stand 00:21:09.980 --> 00:21:13.220 up and shout and high five people. Why is that? 00:21:14.579 --> 00:21:17.559 We love seeing things like when somebody who 00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:19.819 never got the chance and, but then they had a 00:21:19.819 --> 00:21:22.359 great voice and they jump on a stage and they 00:21:22.359 --> 00:21:25.400 stand in front of a few judges. They get a couple 00:21:25.400 --> 00:21:27.779 of chair turns and the next thing you know, they're 00:21:27.779 --> 00:21:31.680 the next pop icon. And we step back and we high 00:21:31.680 --> 00:21:35.240 five each other and we think, yeah, did you see 00:21:35.240 --> 00:21:38.960 them, man? They were so good. And we love it. 00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:44.799 And we cheer them on because we love to see the 00:21:44.799 --> 00:21:49.990 underdog. Or like when maybe some tragedy strikes 00:21:49.990 --> 00:21:52.990 and we see a family lose a father and all of 00:21:52.990 --> 00:21:55.450 a sudden the mom's doing everything she can to 00:21:55.450 --> 00:21:57.509 keep things together and the house starts to 00:21:57.509 --> 00:21:59.589 fall down around them and it's in disrepair and 00:21:59.589 --> 00:22:01.990 they don't have the money and then people swoop 00:22:01.990 --> 00:22:04.730 in and they kind of take this broken down house 00:22:04.730 --> 00:22:07.789 and they create a castle out of this thing in 00:22:07.789 --> 00:22:10.829 one week. And then they stand in the street and 00:22:10.829 --> 00:22:13.710 they say, move that bus and people are crying 00:22:13.710 --> 00:22:19.250 in the street. Why? Because we love to see these 00:22:19.250 --> 00:22:22.289 stories of mercy and redemption. We love it. 00:22:22.750 --> 00:22:26.509 Because these types of stories, this story of 00:22:26.509 --> 00:22:29.569 Mephibosheth and this little boy who had this 00:22:29.569 --> 00:22:32.809 terrible beginning yet ends up with this beautiful 00:22:32.809 --> 00:22:37.049 ending, that type of story is etched in the very 00:22:37.049 --> 00:22:40.289 DNA of our souls. Because we've got to understand 00:22:40.289 --> 00:22:47.950 that we are Mephibosheth. See, the story of Mephibosheth 00:22:47.950 --> 00:22:50.789 is a true story from the Old Testament that is 00:22:50.789 --> 00:22:54.549 an allegory of what Jesus Christ has done for 00:22:54.549 --> 00:22:59.710 you and for me. You might be listening and think, 00:22:59.809 --> 00:23:03.730 well, what do you mean I'm Mephibosheth? How? 00:23:03.809 --> 00:23:07.130 How are you like Mephibosheth? Well, first of 00:23:07.130 --> 00:23:10.609 all, we're all fallen and broken. Now, you might 00:23:10.609 --> 00:23:14.140 not be fallen and broken. physically, but every 00:23:14.140 --> 00:23:16.880 single one of us are fallen and broken spiritually. 00:23:18.440 --> 00:23:20.759 And we read in the letter to the Romans in the 00:23:20.759 --> 00:23:23.259 third chapter, the 23rd verse, the Bible says 00:23:23.259 --> 00:23:26.960 we've all sinned and fallen short of God's standard 00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:29.720 in the same way that Mephibosheth had fallen 00:23:29.720 --> 00:23:33.619 and was broken. We too are fallen and broken. 00:23:34.160 --> 00:23:37.220 Another thing, the great thing about this story 00:23:37.220 --> 00:23:41.079 is that Mephibosheth wasn't just left there. 00:23:41.630 --> 00:23:45.490 And we too, like Mephibosheth, are pursued by 00:23:45.490 --> 00:23:49.569 the king. Just as Mephibosheth was pursued by 00:23:49.569 --> 00:23:52.910 King David, we're pursued by the king. Not a 00:23:52.910 --> 00:23:55.569 king that's here on earth that can grant us land 00:23:55.569 --> 00:23:58.390 or wealth, material possessions. We're pursued 00:23:58.390 --> 00:24:01.549 by the king of kings and the Lord of lords. We're 00:24:01.549 --> 00:24:06.029 pursued by Jesus Christ. The gospel according 00:24:06.029 --> 00:24:08.849 to John in the third chapter, the verse, the 00:24:08.849 --> 00:24:12.069 17th verse, the verse after the one that we all 00:24:12.069 --> 00:24:14.730 know if we've watched a football game. The Bible 00:24:14.730 --> 00:24:17.809 says, for God did not send his son into the world 00:24:17.809 --> 00:24:20.029 to condemn the world. In fact, he had something 00:24:20.029 --> 00:24:24.329 rather unlikely. He didn't send him, Jesus, to 00:24:24.329 --> 00:24:27.269 condemn the world as we would think, as we think 00:24:27.269 --> 00:24:30.430 we might deserve. He sent him so that the world 00:24:30.430 --> 00:24:34.430 could be saved through him. Like Mephibosheth, 00:24:34.450 --> 00:24:39.170 that's an unlikely twist to the story. And that 00:24:39.170 --> 00:24:44.289 is the same is true for all of us. So we're all 00:24:44.289 --> 00:24:46.910 fallen and we're broken and we're pursued by 00:24:46.910 --> 00:24:52.309 the king. And lastly, the king's table covers 00:24:52.309 --> 00:24:56.920 our sin. Remember verse 11 that I mentioned earlier. 00:24:57.099 --> 00:25:00.500 The Bible said he ate regularly at the king's 00:25:00.500 --> 00:25:04.819 table like one of the king's own sons. When he 00:25:04.819 --> 00:25:08.039 sat at the king's table, it's important for us 00:25:08.039 --> 00:25:10.740 to know that when he sat there, his crippled 00:25:10.740 --> 00:25:13.740 and broken condition in his legs was covered 00:25:13.740 --> 00:25:18.359 by the king's table. And when people looked on 00:25:18.359 --> 00:25:20.480 at Mephibosheth, they didn't see a broken young 00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:25.259 man. They saw someone who was of power. a position, 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:28.400 one who had been granted access to the king. 00:25:29.200 --> 00:25:31.980 They saw someone who sat there like one of the 00:25:31.980 --> 00:25:36.960 king's own sons. In the same way, the sacrifice 00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:40.059 of Jesus on the cross, his blood that was shed 00:25:40.059 --> 00:25:43.240 for us, covers our spiritual broken condition. 00:25:44.500 --> 00:25:47.019 And we're made whole and complete at the king's 00:25:47.019 --> 00:25:51.359 table because of the sacrifice of Jesus. Covering 00:25:51.359 --> 00:25:54.839 our sins in the same way that King David's table 00:25:54.839 --> 00:25:58.240 covered Mephibosheth's broken condition. You 00:25:58.240 --> 00:26:04.980 see, we're made whole. We're made complete. Underneath 00:26:04.980 --> 00:26:08.220 the power of Jesus' sacrifice, the forgiveness 00:26:08.220 --> 00:26:13.140 of our sins, we too are made one like the king's 00:26:13.140 --> 00:26:19.039 own sons. And friend, you may think that you're 00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:22.759 broken and useless, but God says that you're 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:26.000 chosen and that you're invited to the table. 00:26:28.039 --> 00:26:30.980 In the gospel, according to Luke in the 22nd 00:26:30.980 --> 00:26:34.299 chapter, Jesus said these words in verse 29, 00:26:34.599 --> 00:26:38.619 I now grant you the right to eat and drink at 00:26:38.619 --> 00:26:46.900 my table and in my kingdom. Verse 13 of our story 00:26:46.900 --> 00:26:50.099 in 2 Samuel chapter 9. And Mephibosheth, who 00:26:50.099 --> 00:26:53.559 was crippled in both feet, lived in Jerusalem 00:26:53.559 --> 00:26:59.599 and ate regularly at the king's table. We, knowing 00:26:59.599 --> 00:27:02.559 that we are Mephibosheth, right? You could just 00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:06.920 insert your name there. And you who were broken 00:27:06.920 --> 00:27:13.319 now eat regularly at the king's table. Because 00:27:13.319 --> 00:27:17.109 you see, We're all fallen and broken, but we 00:27:17.109 --> 00:27:20.690 were pursued by the king. And the king's table, 00:27:20.809 --> 00:27:25.490 friend, it covers our sin. And even though we 00:27:25.490 --> 00:27:27.990 may think that we're broken and useless, oh no. 00:27:28.829 --> 00:27:34.049 God says that we are chosen and invited. That's 00:27:34.049 --> 00:27:42.640 something to be thankful for. Well, there you 00:27:42.640 --> 00:27:45.259 have it, the story of Mephibosheth. I hope that 00:27:45.259 --> 00:27:48.660 that story was enlightening and educational to 00:27:48.660 --> 00:27:51.980 you as well as to me. Hey, listen, friend, if 00:27:51.980 --> 00:27:54.039 you enjoy what we're doing here at the Semi -Seminarian, 00:27:54.039 --> 00:27:56.099 I'd like for you to take just a few moments, 00:27:56.220 --> 00:27:59.200 however it is that you listen to your favorite 00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:01.480 podcast. First of all, I certainly would hope 00:28:01.480 --> 00:28:04.279 that you'd subscribe to our podcast. And if you 00:28:04.279 --> 00:28:07.720 could take the time to rate and review what we're 00:28:07.720 --> 00:28:09.519 doing here at the Semi -Seminarian, it helps 00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:12.680 get the word out to other people. I hope that 00:28:12.680 --> 00:28:15.819 for the coming week, you will be blessed and 00:28:15.819 --> 00:28:18.240 be a blessing. We'll see you next week.