2 Samuel 9 Bible Study (David's Kindness to Mephibosheth) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

This bible study tonight is filled with good news, and I'm excited to see that with you in this chapter. So if you're not with us on a regular basis, we are in the book of second Samuel, and we have been studying it chapter by chapter, verse by verse. So tonight, we are actually in chapter which chapter? Eight and nine. Eight and nine.

So you're both kinda right. But let's start in chapter nine. Second Samuel chapter nine. This is a meaningful text for many reasons, but it is especially remarkable for the new covenant Christian. And the main reason for that is because, in my personal opinion, this is perhaps one of the most powerful old testament illustrations in the life of David that portrays the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ and its and and and its fullness.

Like, not just little hints here and there, but from beginning to end, you just see this consistent thread of the gospel of Jesus in this moment of David's life. And if you were to just have have a a quick read of the verses without meditation even, it would be very easy to discover, themes that you and I enjoy in our salvation in Christ. And you will see that as we read through this text. The the framework for that is David's interaction with a man by the name of what? Yes.

Mephibosheth. I'm gonna try to say that name because I'm gonna say it a lot without my tongue twisting, so please show mercy to me. That is a framework in which we're going to see the wonderful realizations of the gospel exhibited. But before we go there, you know that last week, we we came to second Samuel chapter eight, and we looked at David's summary of the campaigns that he had, in war. And we stopped at a particular point, and we're gonna revisit those verses because it will flow wonderfully into the main theme of the gospel of chapter nine.

And so before we start in one verse here, the first verse of chapter nine, let's go to verse 15 of chapter eight, and we're gonna read these verses, the final three verses of chapter eight, and, ask some important questions. Lord, we thank you tonight. We are deeply grateful for the family of Christ who is gathering here on this Friday evening when there are a thousand other things that we can do. And we know that there are 100 different temptations that pull people into so many different directions to gratify the desires of the flesh. But, oh god, we are grateful that these doors are open in your house, that we can drink deeply from your word because your word is our ultimate delight.

We are so grateful again for your majesty, your humility, and your provision that is in your word today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Second Samuel eight fifteen. So David reigned over all Israel, and David administered justice and equity to all his people.

Joab the son of Zuriah was over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilod was recorder, and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Sariah was secretary, And Benaiah the son of Johiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and David's sons were priests. Anything significant stands out here in this text? Because this is where we stopped last time, and the snapshot that we have here of David's team teaches us in in a very general sense that this man was not just a a warrior who defended God's people. He was a leader who nurtured and managed God's people well, and he did so by appointing eligible subordinates to his administration. He hand selected certain men who had skills that would be able to help him govern the nation.

And we can look at for the next fifteen, twenty minutes the value and the principles and the importance of order and different qualifications for the house of God today, but we're not gonna do that. Instead, just from, overview, look at some details that you think might be helpful in understanding the totality of God's word concerning God's character and his redemptive plan. Yeah, Joshua. Very good observation. Did you guys hear Joshua?

Did you notice the last few words of the last verse? David's sons were priests, and we will come to that in a moment. That's a very good observation, Joshua. Anything else? They want to kill Saul?

They want to kill David. Okay. Is there anybody in particular that stands out to you? I think Joab was always David's, man to go, but go ahead. You might be confusing him with somebody else, which is okay because when it comes to biblical names, it's kinda difficult to track one or the other.

But if you are into something, try to find that name and and let me know if if that is the case. Anything else? Look at verse 16. Rather, verse 17. And Zadok, the son of Ahitab, and Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar were priests.

Why is that interesting? They were not just ordinary priests. They were chief priests. They actually, in a joint fashion, occupied the high priestly role. And so why should that interest us?

Come on, Old Testament students, you should know this. Why is that interesting? Why is it concerning? How many people can become high priests? One.

How many people did we just read? Okay. Something's off here. We have two people named who are occupying the same role. Now why is that the case?

Does anybody have an idea? Sure. But when we go to Chronicles, we realize that they do actually occupy those priestly roles, the chief priestly roles, and there is a reason for that. Okay. You're onto something.

If you really want to look at the text that explains what I'm about to say, you go to first Chronicles 16 verse 39. Actually, you could backtrack to verse 37 to 39. I'm not gonna turn there. You can reference that later. But the reason why we have two people here who are joined together in some sense sharing the responsibility of one high priest is because we are in an interesting predicament concerning the house of worship.

When David brought the ark to Jerusalem, did he bring the whole tabernacle? No. He just brought the ark, and David pitched a unique tent for that ark while the remaining furnishing resided in Gibeon. And so what you have here is David strategically allowing one priest to supervise the ark while you had another priest who is administrating the Levitical duties back where the rest of the furnishings were. This is not speculation.

You know, you guys are looking at me like I'm saying something that's not true. So let's go to first Chronicles 16. Because I know it sounds stunning, but put your seat belts on. It's gonna get crazier as we go on. So if you're at first Chronicles 16 verse 37, we have a parallel passage, and notice what we are told here.

So David left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister regularly before the ark as each day required. You see that? Now come to verse 39. And he left Zadok and the priests and his brothers the priests before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place that was at Gibeon, to offer burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of the burnt offering, regularly morning and evening to do all that is written in the law of the Lord that he commanded Israel. So you have one priest in Jerusalem, you have another priest in Gibeon.

That's why this is happening. And so there's some there's some grace here to extend, but perhaps we have never thought about this before. This predicament here, this occurrence is somewhat of a unique parallel to the ministry and life of Jesus. Any idea how? Think about the priestly situation during or right before Jesus's public ministry was announced.

What was the clergy like among the Jews? Was it in order? Okay. So Luke chapter three, go to verse two, and then you're gonna see somewhat of a foreshadowing here in second Samuel eight. It's just a little nudge, but I I'll take all that I can get about anything in the old testament that might point to Jesus.

In in Luke chapter three verse two, after giving us a description of the political scene in Jesus' day, we get a description of the spiritual leadership of Jesus' day. And what do we read in verse two of Luke three? During the high priesthood, I'm expecting to read one name. During the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. How many people are supposed to occupy the high priestly role?

How many did you just read? Interesting. Now this is gonna be solved once Solomon becomes king and he succeeds his father because we see here that Ahimelech is actually gonna be exiled because he's gonna try to help Adonijah occupy the throne when they belong to Solomon. So that's gonna be solved, but David allows it to happen at this point. And I just find it so interesting that during the life of Jesus, the son of David, he also not only had to deal with a very corrupt political realm, he also had to deal with a very contorted spiritual leadership that had all kinds of things going on and that he confronted boldly.

Now if we think that is interesting, we come down to what Joshua mentioned in verse 18. David's sons were priests. Who here has a translation other than the ESV? Just lift your hand. I'm curious.

One, two, three, four. Okay. Maybe like six, seven people. Does your translation say priests? Yes.

Which translation do you have? It says priest. Which translation says chief rulers? Anybody have chief rulers? And the King James will say chief rulers.

Yeah. NASB. Anybody have the NASB? So what you have I'm I'm I'm I'm actually surprised that the New King James has priests because some of those New King James translations actually have chief rulers or chief ministers. Right?

First Chronicles eighteen seventeen. Right? Yes. Yeah. We'll get to that in a moment.

Why is it fascinating for us that the ESV would use the word priest to describe David's sons? The sons were from the tribe of what? And that is a prerogative. The priesthood is a prerogative that solely belonged to the sons of who? Right.

Aaron, who was a Levite. And when you look at this, I think to myself, is there a mistake here? And if we thought that David having two high priests was irregular, it's only gonna get more interesting when we look at what we see before us. Do you know why the ESV uses the word priest? It's because when you go to the original Hebrew word, it's actually in its primary definition and its common usage throughout the Old Testament, the word for priests.

And I I'm under the persuasion that translators, when they came to this text, were a little bit confused maybe or startled. And in order to avoid controversy, found liberty to broaden the definition a little bit to try to fix the apparent issue here that David was walking in blatant defiance to the Levitical code about the priesthood. And so that's why in some of these translations, you see chief rulers, chief ministers. And our brother just pointed out, well, hold on. Here's an objection.

When you go to the parallel passage in first Chronicles eighteen seventeen, what you're gonna find is something that will confirm what those translations say when they chose to use chief rulers, chief ministers. We just heard it. In first Chronicles eighteen seventeen, it tells us, and David's sons were chief officials in the service of the king. In the King James, they'll say chiefs. Now that may end the argument, but it actually makes it more complicated, And I'll tell you why.

Because when you do a little digging into the Hebrew of the chief and the chiefs here in first Chronicles eighteen seventeen, it's a different word than the Hebrew word for priests in second Samuel eight. The word for chiefs in first Chronicles eighteen seventeen simply means primary. Right? It speaks of of of being first. That's not what the Hebrew word here is for priest in second Samuel eight.

I believe that those who translated it this way and accepted the controversy to preserve the purest definition of the word did the right thing, and I'm glad they did. I'm glad they did. No translation is absolutely perfect, but in this case, I applaud the word priest being used because this really isn't controversial. It isn't controversial for the student of the Old Testament who understands that the spirit of God has foretold of a coming priesthood, namely one after who? Melchizedek.

When you see with that lens, then you understand this is something powerful. David had a revelation. We touched on this in second Samuel six. In Psalms one ten, he had a revelation that one of his descendants would not only be a king, he would be his lord. Jesus used that.

Jesus used that against the Pharisees when he said, how can David's son also be his lord? So there's a divine element to his descendant. But more than that, when you go to verse four of Psalm one ten, what do you see? You see this prophecy. You are priests forever after the order of Melchizedek.

So he's not just lord over David. He's not just going to be a king occupying the seat and the throne of David. He's actually going to be what was so foreign to the law of Moses, this hybrid of priest and king. Priest and king. That David had that insight by the spirit of God.

David, we're told, was not just a psalmist. He was a prophet. New testament tells us that. So as a prophet, he he receives this insight, and I wonder if David in this moment, because he had that revelation, initiated and delegated to his sons a unique role simply because he was responding to that revelation and wanted to in some way prepare for this seed of his who would be both king and priest. In other words, he he's not doing this to try to obstruct the functioning of the Levitical priesthood.

And I don't even think David's sons here were attempting to minister in the way that only the Levites could. I believe David is just trying his best here to respond to what he was told about his seed. One of your sons, he's gonna be a king, but he's also going to be a priest. And what comforts me with that is that though arguments from silence are not the best, David has already done quite a few things that are very priest like, and God didn't rebuke him. God didn't send a prophet to correct him.

God doesn't discipline him. God is silent about it even up to this point here. So what did David's sons do as priests? I'm not too sure. One thing I know is that he feared God enough not to allow his sons to enter into the tabernacle and assume Levitical duties.

So I don't know what it looks like. All I know is this is a wonderful, wonderful proof that David really believed that his son would be a king and a priest. And so be encouraged by that. This is not a contradiction in your Bible. This is not something that the original writers got wrong.

I believe they knew exactly what they were doing when they chose the word priest here because that's what really happened. Now let's continue with the theme of Jesus. Jesus is going to dominate chapter nine. We come now to chapter nine, and we realize that David, after so much success, everything being established, has another thing set on his heart. At at one point, he wanted to build something for God, and now he wants to do something for another person's house.

Verse one. And David said, is there still anyone left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? This is what blows me away about that one verse. The fact that David has to inquire about any survivors from the house of Saul indicates clearly of the the extent of the blow that Saul received from God for his sin. It almost brought him to near extinction.

His dynasty was almost over at an accelerating rate. So much so that David actually had to send out a search team to try to figure out if there are any sons of Saul left. And here is the lesson for us. You and I must look at this and comprehend the absolute severity of sin. Sin in our lives is not interested in merely making you feel shameful for a moment or just slightly harming you.

It wants to devour you. It wants to corrupt everything good in our lives down to the core like a pool of piranhas. You put anything in there, it will chew it down to the bone. I don't care what it is. It it will it sin will do that to your body.

Sin will do that to your money. Sin will do that to your marriage. Sin will do it to society as a whole. It will bring it down to the point where all you have left is crumbs. And sometimes sin is so vicious and selfish, it will take the crumbs as well.

We see here that whatever you give unrestrained access to, whatever you allow sin and whatever permission you give it into your life, it will do what it did here with Saul. It will absolutely erode what it is to the point where it will be almost unrecognizable. If we really believe that, we would be scared of it, and we should be scared of sin. But on a positive note, you know what David does here? We see something of his mercy and compassion that shines throughout this chapter.

Notice what he says there, that I may show him what? Kindness. K. I know we didn't do what we usually do, and that's read through the chapter before we discuss it. But the word kindness shows up a total of three times in this chapter.

That verse we just read, now come down to verse three. And the king said, is there not still someone of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of God to him? I wanna show the kindness of God to him. And when you scroll down, what you'll realize is that he says it another time. He says it here in verse verse seven.

Correct. He says, and David said to them, do not fear for I will show you kindness. Three times, kindness, kindness, kindness. But did you notice verse three? It's a particular kind of kindness.

Which kind of kindness? Kindness of God. This is not just some moment, of just sentimental affection that he wants to act upon. There's a deep kindness that he wants to extend to the house of Saul. And so he's moved to do this.

I believe this was in David's heart for for many, many years ever since he made a covenant with Jonathan. Now is the time where I can extend kindness. And this timing is so important because what David is doing here is the exact opposite of what a king would do in that time. When a king would arise and obtain power, one of his strategies would be to totally eradicate any competitors or potential threats from the preceding dynasty so that there would be no future rebellion against his throne and authority. David is literally doing what you would not want to do if you were an eastern king of his day, which is astounding.

And the kindness of God here is is really the theme of the chapter. And here's what's so good. Because what David is ready to plan and execute for Saul's house is what you and I understand and is magnified concerning Jesus, not just towards one family, but towards the family of Adam, the whole human race. And so when you and I look at the features here and the details here and the acts of mercy here, look at it in the lens of Jesus, the son of David, and what he's willing to extend and what he's willing to offer to the most undeserving. And so that's really what's gonna dominate this bible study.

And so as you and I come here, we realize that kindness is the theme. Kindness is actually a word that the Holy Spirit uses when it talks about Jesus. When the Holy Spirit speaks about Jesus, he testifies of his kindness. And there's many verses. One of the ones that I memorized early on that I hold close to my heart is Titus three four.

Because of the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared. The loving kindness. There's love behind that kindness. There's a heartbeat behind that kindness. It's not just, mere duty.

There's actual affection behind that kindness. And the kindness, though Titus speaks about it in the past tense, it has appeared on the cross. It's not limited to this life. That kindness is only going to, be realized in measures that you and I cannot comprehend for all of eternity. So let me read this to you in Ephesians two seven.

This is glorious. So that in the coming ages this is what Paul says. In the coming ages, beyond this age, in the coming ages that we're anticipating, he might show immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. You know what that tells me? The kindness of Jesus Christ will require an eternity to experience.

If we thought that the cross was enough, and it is, the experience of that kindness is going to shower over us. And after we drink of it for a thousand years, another ten thousand years will come and you and I will just go to higher levels of enjoying the kindness of God. So we think we're going up to heaven, and and and the Lord is gonna stand there on his throne by his throne and sit on his throne with his arms crossed. Okay. Now for all of eternity, show me your appreciate your appreciation.

Okay. Go. No. No. In heaven, not only are we going to cast our crowns at his feet, but God is going to continue to overshadow us with his kindness in an experiential way.

So we're not we're not heaven is not this neutral thing, and it's foggy and hazy, and we hear angels, and and we're gonna sing with them from time to time. And after three hundred years, we're gonna think, is this it? Is this is there nothing else here? No. You will be spellbound as you realize that once you've come to a measure of kindness that you never knew was possible, you're only gonna be met with a greater measure of it.

Over and over and over and over and over. And this is why I argue for one of the reasons for a resurrected body, not just so that Jesus can claim victory over the whole man. That's why we believe your body, your body, your actual body will be resurrected. You're not gonna get a new one while the other one rots in the ground. That one that is rotting in the ground will be called upon, and it will be transformed so that Jesus can claim victory over sin even over your flesh.

But it's not just for that. I believe that he's gonna wire us in a certain way so that we can we can at least enjoy the kindness and not be destroyed by it, if I can use that word. So that we can be vessels that receive that kindness and actually be able to be put together still. We can stop here and worship. Now we come to this text, and what do we realize?

The kindness of David, which is really the kindness of God. Tell me what things stand out to you just from verse one. Just from verse one, what can you tell me about the kindness of God? What can you tell me here as you view it and apply it to Jesus Christ? Is there anyone left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?

He initiated the research of people. So that's he initiates it. His kindness is the is a type of kindness that is initiated by him. We'll get to that in a few verses, but wonderful point. Any other observations?

Well, think about it this way. I just mentioned it before. Yes, brother. What's the inspiration and the reason for David to show kindness to Saul? For Jonathan's sake.

Do do you do you hear that ring? Great. Yes. Yes. Covenant.

Yes. Exactly. And so we have David here honoring a covenant that he made with Jonathan that he is now going to extend to his his house. You you're there. Yes.

Let's backtrack, and let's go to a basic premise of the gospel. Is the house of Saul deserving of the kindness of David? Answer, no. The most undeserving, actually. The the the candidate that is least expected to receive any kindness from David.

You heard one reason why, and I think that suffices as a reason. But when you come here and you realize it, you think to yourself, this is scandalous. This is actually scandalous. This is foreign. This you don't do this as a king.

This isn't wise. This isn't fair. This isn't strategy, but that's what grace is. It doesn't make sense. It actually offends, the bible says.

The gospel is a gospel of offense. It just doesn't make sense to human reasoning to a certain degree that him doing all that for me, though I did all that to him, I must do something. That's where the offense comes in. I must do something to contribute to this, and that's where that's where people don't get saved. But we see here that David is willing to come and reach out to the house of Saul, though Saul is the most undeserving.

And that's you and I as sinners. There's nothing about Saul that moves David in in in the sense that any good that he's done to say, you know, I think I should do something for you in return, unmerited. And then we heard it because the real inspiration here is his willingness is because of a covenant that he made with one of, check this word out, the representatives of the house of Saul. Was there anybody apart from Jonathan that was worthy to receive mercy? Saul?

No. Ishbosheth? He he was a headache for seven years. Michal even. She was another added headache.

Headaches everywhere from the house of Saul. But there was one man in that house whom God honored, whom David honored. And they shared a special bond. They shared a special friendship, and that friendship was so wonderful, so great, so promising that that David was willing just because of him to be able to reach out to those who are related to him that did not deserve. They were unworthy members of tasting the mercy of this king.

You understand it. Right? Here's Christ. He becomes our brother in the flesh, Hebrews tells us. And because he identifies with our humanity, he is now able to be our representative.

But at the same time, just like Jonathan, he holds a special and unique relationship with God. And because of that that wonderful status that Christ held, being man, yes, but being truly God, he now can act as our representative, but also as our mediator. And so in the same way that David can only reach Saul's house through Jonathan, so it is with God. Through Jesus and Jesus alone are the unworthy members, worthy now to receive the grace that apart from Jonathan, apart from Jesus would not be possible. If Jonathan is not on the scene, kindness is not on the scene.

If Christ didn't step into our world and walk our in our world and obey on our behalf and die on our behalf, kindness would not be realized, only wrath. And so we see here clearly that there's a gospel picture of the mediating work of Jesus Christ. Now we come and we realize something else in verse two. And and trust me, what we're gonna do in this bible study does not do this chapter justice. Maybe we'll visit another time to excavate more treasures of truth.

Verse two. 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. 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. And the king said to him, where is he? And Ziba said to the king, he is in the house of Mahir the son of Amiel at Lo Debar. Just pause, take a breath, look at those two verses.

Anything that stand out, but keep your glasses on, the glasses of the gospel, and look at it in light of that. He sends a search party out. They find a man by the name of Ziba. Ziba comes before the throne, and the king asks about any potential remnants, and he is told of one who is Jonathan's son. What are we told about Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth?

He's crippled. Interesting insight. Is it not? We are told about his physical condition. What else are we told?

His physical location. His physical condition, his physical location, both things point to spiritual truths that pertain to us in light of the gospel theme that we are trying to study tonight. Does anybody remember how Mephibosheth was crippled? He fell. Right?

He fell. His disability here, because we are told that he was lame in his feet, reminds us of our weakness in the flesh before we were summoned by Jesus. You and I before Christ, we're unable to walk in holiness. We're unable to keep in step with the spirit. We're unable to satisfy the demands of God.

In fact, the scriptures tells us that while we were weak while we were weak, God in his perfect timing sends Christ to die on our behalf. So Mephibosheth's crippled state here is an illustration that, you and I could not walk out in the way that God called us and designed us to walk out, leaving us all guilty, leaving us smeared with transgression. And that's what we see here, a man who is unable, a man who could not, in his own strength, in his own wisdom, because of the corruption of his flesh, could not meet the demands of a holy God. And now when we look back, and if you're here in second Samuel, go to chapter four. Because we touched on it quickly and we purposely put it aside so that when we come to this, we can dig it up in greater detail.

When you look at the history of this man's condition, you you discover even more truths about the gospel. In second Samuel four four, Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Draziel. 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.

This man was crippled as a result of a fall, but it's a very specific fall. He was dropped by someone else who would experience, and he would experience because of that mistake, the consequence and would be forever altered. You and I, in a sense, were dropped. What we what happened in the garden with our first parents is called the fall of man, and that's where humanity fell. And when they fell, we fell also, and we are currently suffering with a with a fractured human nature.

And that will be true for the rest of this age until the Lord regenerates not just us completely, but the world as we know it. And so we see here that Mephibosheth is crippled as a result of the cause of somebody else's failure. That is true for you and I and Adam and Eve. That is true with our ancestors. That is true with our first parents.

But what I find interesting too is that it happened to him at a young age. In other words, the consequences of the fall appeared very early. When does sin tend to surface in life? When you're 40? No.

When you're four. That's not a theological age. I just want to sound clever. When you're very young when you're very young, the imaginations and fascinations of evil manifest early in life. Just like in a sense, Mephibosheth's crippleness here, his his lameness here appeared in his youth.

And we're all convinced here that the evidence of our inability to walk in the ways of God does not take much time. It manifests quite early. It manifests quite early. That's the physical condition. What about the physical location?

Remember, he was told he's in the house of Mahir, the son of Amiel, at Lo Debar. K. That's why sometimes maps help, because they're in the back of your Bible for a reason if you have them, and now you don't even have to go to the back of your Bible. You can just study a bit longer and and examine, and you can realize where things are. Lo Debar is found at the East Of The Jordan.

That's where the border is into the promised land. Lo Debar is distant from where David is. He's not close. He's distant. Second to that, Lo Debar, you know what it means?

Nothing. Without pasture. It's a desolate land. It's a fruitless land. It's a land that lacks harvest.

And so put that together, we have this man where he is in a distant and desolate place, and he is the son of royalty. Is he not? He is the son his grandpa was Saul. His father was Jonathan. Is he living is he living in one of Saul's homes?

No. Where is he? He's in a he's in the house of a a man named Meher, the son of Abiel. I believe that Mephibosheth was was very poor. Very poor.

Now put all those descriptions together. You have a man who is bankrupt. You have a man who is living in a remote land. You have a man who is living in a barren land. A clear picture of the sinner's condition.

Empty, fruitless, barren. Let me add wandering. Just wandering. Isolated, far from the king, far from his table, far from his kindness. And even the physical location here points to spiritual reality for all of those who are outside of Jesus Christ.

And sure, in the physical sense, you might be in this place tonight and you don't know Jesus Christ or you think you do, and you know some level of emotional ease. You are surrounded by family and friends. You you have more than what you need in life. You're abundantly provided for. I'm not talking about the physical things.

I'm talking about how these things point to a destitution of the soul, and the hollowness in your soul as I speak testifies to that. Because my words, I'm sure, are speaking, and they are bouncing around because there is no substance in you. And I hope that would change even at a Bible study. So what we see here about his physical condition and his physical location is just a wonderful portrait of the sinner who is so lost without the king. What does David do?

Verse five. Then king David sent and brought him from the house of Mahir, the son of Amiel, at Lo Debar. Our brother mentioned it. Who initiated this? David.

Go get him. Go get him. I don't I don't think David went himself, because we find out that when he comes, Mephibosheth comes, he falls before David. He sent out his agents. He sent out he sent out the necessary representatives on for him to go out and get Mephibosheth.

It's kinda like today. Jesus is on his throne, and he's sending you and I to go out to people in desolate places, distant places, poor places spiritually to bring them to the throne of grace. And so he sends them, and he initiates it. This is the kindness of God throughout the bible, throughout history. Even from the beginning, Adam and Eve fell.

They realized their nakedness. They clothed themselves with fig leaves. And what do they do after that? What do they do? They hide.

They hide. And as they're sheltering from the presence of God, we read that the Lord walked in the cool of the garden, cool of the day, and he calls for Adam. Where are you? He looks for them. He searches for them.

You and I are saved tonight because at one point, you were drawn. The gospel came to you. You were convicted. It spoke to you, and it called you to God, and you responded to that. And so he first love us, that's why we can love him.

He entered into our world. He put on flesh. He died a gruesome death when none of us asked him to do it. Mephibosheth didn't write a letter to David and have one of his men send it to David so that he can he can maybe work out a deal so that he's not he's not completely cut off. No.

It's David who goes out. That this is David's plan. And so while you and I are living in in in just destitution and poverty spiritually, he comes into that place and he brings us out of it. He pulls us out of it. He pulls him out of it, and he comes.

And what I wanna do for the rest of this time is simply look because there's so much to say, and I almost feel like I'm doing an injustice to these verses. But what I'm gonna do for the rest of this time, you and I together, are gonna look at the consequences of the kindness of God in Mephibosheth's life. Meaning, what changed? What changed from Mephibosheth after he comes before David and he says yes to what David is willing? How could he not say yes?

And they're really categorized in three familiar words to us as Christians, peace, fellowship, help. Peace, fellowship, help. Let's read it together. Verse six. And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage.

And David said, Mephibosheth. What do you think that sounded like? I wonder what it sounded like. I wonder what the tone was. I wonder what the delivery was.

The first thing that David says was his name, Mephibosheth. And he answered, behold, I am your servant. So while his face is on the ground, he's after he hears his name, he goes, I'm your servant. And look what David says in verse seven. David said to him, three important words, do not fear.

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. Peace. When you and I experience the kindness in Jesus Christ, that is the moment that redefines our standing before God. And you and I have no reason to ever fear God in the sense of, yes, we revere him as the Bible commands us to, but never in a way do we relate to him where we are questioning whether or not he will judge us like the unredeemed.

That is expelled from the child of God when they really know the kindness of God because the words of David are trustworthy, how much more the words of the son of David who is the Christ? So trustworthy. He's not one to lie. He's not one to change his mind. So whatever he says will come to pass.

I can take it to heart that whatever I have here is going to be true a hundred years from now and when I stand before the throne of God. So what you see here is this promise of peace. You are secure, Mephibosheth. You don't have to worry about anything. Because of Jonathan, I will be perpetually good to you.

I will not change. I will not flip my mind. It's a sealed deal. It's done. And you and I know that security in Christ.

And here's the thing, Mephibosheth was so grateful for this. It's so obvious. You're gonna realize that later on when David is kicked out of his own kingdom, who comes on the scene to just express his loyalty to him. Hint, Mephibosheth. But I can imagine how much more grateful he was when just in a few chapters, God is going to heap up even more judgment on the house of Saul.

Saul did something with the Gibeonites. He broke a very, very important covenant that was made back in the book of Joshua. And because he broke that promise, many, many years later, divine judgment was gonna come upon his house for it. We'll study that in great length when we come to that chapter. But there's something that happens when David realizes there's a famine in the land.

He seeks God. God says there has to be retribution. Saul's descendants have to pay a price for what they did to the Gibeonites. And then there's this verse. You have to turn there in second Samuel.

We're still in the same book, and go to chapter 21. That's where the judgment takes place, but look at verse seven. As judgment was gonna come on some of the descendants of Saul, second Samuel twenty one seven reads, but the king spared who? Mephibosheth. The king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul's Jonathan, Saul's son Jonathan because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan, the son of Saul.

I wonder what happened to Mephibosheth's heart when he realized that if he had not experienced the kindness of David, if Jonathan had not made that oath with David, he would have very likely been among those who were slain. You know, I look at some Christians, and I know they love the Lord. And I don't wanna be judgmental. I know they love the Lord. But when you tell them the good news, it sounds to them, it sounds like old news because the way they react to or speak about it, it feels like old news.

I assure you I assure you that when divine judgment comes, you're gonna, in that moment, be really, really happy you're saved. Then you're gonna be able to really, really, really sing and really rejoice. Then, your personality that seems to be restrictive to your worship is not gonna really matter when you understand the significance of the covenant that Christ has made with us. Mephibosheth appreciated David in this moment, but, oh, I would love to see his face when certain descendants of Saul were numbered to be hung, and they skipped over Mephibosheth. That's gonna happen to you if you're in Christ.

Judgment is gonna come. It's gonna come. I know it's not popular. It's coming. That's the message, actually, of the book of acts.

We're told that they were told to preach about the coming judge. Acts 10. Judgment is coming, but you and I in Christ are protected. We're protected now. We will be protected then.

I mean, you and I should enjoy that security day by day. Go back to the chapter we're studying. Look at verse 11, and look what we're told about Mephibosheth. In verse 11, we see here that David treated him as one of the king's sons, as one of the king's sons. Verse 11.

So Mephibosheth ate at David's table like one of the king's sons. That's how he would be treated. Can you imagine the picture? Here's I don't know if they had a long table where all of David's sons were sitting with all the wives that he had, And here they are eating at this this royal feast, and there's one out of all of them who has broken legs, the most unlikely guest at the king's table. I can't imagine the the spectacle it surely was.

And you and I, I believe, according to the scriptures, we are a spectacle in the sight of heavenly creatures, and even angels who know who we are, who know what we've done, who know what we deserve, and yet we are right there fellowshipping with the Lord. Not that not only that, we are considered the bride of Christ. First Peter tells us that this salvation is something that angels long to look into. They're confounded by it. That how can it be that you would treat this family, the family of Adam, as one of your sons?

And so we see here that there's a peace that Mephibosheth enjoyed, not just a peace. The second prominent change is found in four verses, verse seven, verse 10, verse 11, verse 13. I'm not gonna read it, but I'll just tell you. In those four verses, we are told repeatedly that David had Mephibosheth eat at his table. It's almost as though that's what the Holy Spirit really wants to communicate.

Hey. Realize that Mephibosheth has a seat at the table. He's actually he's actually right there, and this meant so much to the reader of this time because you and I, eating is not really significant. We do it on the go. We barely have family dinners anymore.

But at this time, biblically speaking, when you would sit at a table with somebody and eat, it denote it denoted close fellowship, intimacy. Jesus, when he spoke to the lukewarm church, he said, if anyone would answer as I knock on this door, I will come in with him and do what? Eat with him. Revelation three twenty. I will eat with you.

I will sit recline at table and actually commune with you. What we see here is that in the gospel, we are not just saved from wrath, we have a seat at the table with Jesus. That's the picture here. That you and I enter not just into the safety from the wrath of God, but intimacy with the son of God. And we enjoy him, and we love him, and we relate to him, and we speak to him, and we pour out to him, and he interacts with us.

He answers us. He heals us. He's he he leads us. There's something now that was never known before. We're no longer at a distance anymore.

We're no longer in a destitute place. We are now in the very presence of Christ, just like Mephibosheth always. Always. That is what we have access to in the gospel. Unfortunately, many professing believers don't experience it, but it's something that you and I can walk in now.

Christ can be the closest person to you in this world. I assure you of that. He can be the most real, ever present person that you know in this life. And I'm not satisfied in those moments where he he's distant. I know sometimes he does clothe himself in darkness, as scripture says, to test our faith.

But my heart knows him. Your heart should know him. The gospel purchased that. If Jesus is just a person that you study, you're missing it. He's to be known.

He's to be relished. He's to be experienced. You know, this is a side note. Bear with me. Because when you discover things, you're like, ah, it doesn't fit, but I'm just gonna throw it out in there anyway.

Yeah. I really like Mephibosheth. It's a you know, for me, a lot of the names that I love in the bible, are with characters that have very complicated names. Mephibosheth is one of those guys. Mephibosheth had his son himself.

I think this is important for somebody to hear, so pay attention. Wake up. Okay? Pay attention. Lean in.

What's his son's name? Anybody know? Yeah. Micah. In verse 12, Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micha.

Micha. Am I saying it right, Pastor Daniel? Micha. I know a little bit of Hebrew too. Micha.

Do you happen to know what that name means? Yes. You're onto it. Micha means who is like God. Who is like God?

You know what impresses me about that? That makes total sense for you to name your son who is like God after you experienced the kindness of David. But he didn't name his son Micha after he sat at the table. He named his son Micha long before that. Doesn't that tell you about this man's faith?

Here's this man who was dropped as a child to be a cripple forever. Here's a man who had his father, his grandfather, his uncles slaughtered in war. Here's a man who couldn't even afford his own house, but had some dungy room in a desolate, destitute place across the Jordan, and yet he had a faith and trust in God where he can name his son, and every time he called him for his rations for dinner, he would be reminded who is like God. Who is like God? You know, we get a little poked in life as Christians, and we wonder if there is a god.

Is there a god? Is there a god? I I didn't get the promotion that I thought I wanted. I didn't get to go to I didn't get the Tesla model that I wanted. Is there a god?

Here is a man who has been smashed in life, and yet he could say, who is like God as an act of worship. And every time he would relate to his son, it would be a moment of worship, I believe. And this is before mercy came his way. This is before he was promoted and elevated to such a degree. That says something.

That says something. Peace, fellowship, help. What do I mean by help? Those things might be obvious, the things that we already covered. They're just so strong with gospel truth, but this one might not be immediately perceived, and this is where I'm gonna end.

Look at verse nine with me. 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. 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 15 sons and 20 servants.

Keep your gospel glasses on. Here's what's happening here. As a result of David's kindness, he looks at Ziba, he calls him over. He says, Ziba, from this moment on, you're gonna relate differently to Mephibosheth. And here is your new responsibility in your relationship to Mephibosheth.

You and your sons, because I'm giving him all this property, you're gonna till the land, till the soil, and you're gonna produce the crops so that he can profit from it. Ziba, from now on, you will be a personal and ever present help to Mephibosheth. Sound familiar? Mephibosheth, here's your inheritance. All that Saul lost, all that was just kinda left in oblivion, I'm bringing it to you now.

It's yours. Your name is on it. Here's your deed. But Mephibosheth has a problem, doesn't he? What's his problem?

Yeah. He he can't walk. In his own strength, he cannot experience the fullness of his inheritance. Therefore, the king calls upon a servant to come to Mephibosheth's aid in order to know all that the king purchased for him. And so what you have here in this close context is Ziba being a very strong reflection of the inheritance of the Holy Spirit in the Christian's life.

You cannot know what the king wants you to know if you're left to your natural condition. Just like Mephibosheth who could not walk, it would be just as pathetic to try to live in all the spiritual blessings that have been purchased in Christ without the aid of the advocate in the Holy Spirit who comes to help us. And so in the same way that the zebah figure here is now an aid to Mephibosheth, we have the same thing in the Holy Spirit. He is there to do what we cannot do in our own strength. He is there to empower because we lack that power.

And so you and I now can reach greater heights. You and I can do what we could never do before this moment. We can walk in holiness. We can enjoy fruit. We can profit.

We can escape spiritual poverty and actually grow in spiritual riches because of the servant that has been commissioned by the king. Oh, that excites me. That excites me. Because even when you read the number of sons and servants that Ziba had, I believe that's to that's to communicate the great resource, the overwhelming resource that now Mephibosheth had at his disposal. All these servants, all these sons now are for you, Mephibosheth.

Here's the thing. The Holy Spirit is not just some idea. He is rivers of living water flowing through us. Rivers of living water flowing through us. And what we can know about that is that there is a distinct, obvious, tangible realization of his presence in our lives.

Mephibosheth's life is never gonna be the same because of Ziba. It's never gonna be the same. He doesn't have to crawl to the fridge anymore. He doesn't have to go and dig with his hands in the fields. From this moment on, Ziba is going to do everything that he cannot do on his own.

So here's the thing. You're called to holiness. You're called to joy. You're called to prayer without ceasing. You're called to be a bold witness.

You can't do that on your own. Neither can I? Leave me to myself, I will fail. I will go back to sin. I will disappoint my savior.

I will not boldly stand for Christ. My spirit will look just like Mephibosheth in the physical sense. I will just be laying there useless. But because the servant has been sent, You and I can actually know something that we never thought we can enjoy. And here's my charge to you.

Because of the reality of the presence of the Holy Spirit, people should be able to look at us to some degree and say, how is it that you're able to do what you're doing knowing that you are a flesh like me? Knowing that you're a son of Adam just like me. Knowing that you have the same nature and you're dealing with the same temptations as me. And you and I can testify of the glorious inheritance in Christ because he sent a helper, and that helper makes all of this possible. I remember sitting in office with a man that I met once, and I never saw him again after this.

He was brought by a mutual friend. We sat down. This was years ago. And he was telling me about his life, and it was a polluted life. It was a filthy life.

It was just degradation. It was just vile. And then he looked at me. He was a very open and very colorful individual. And he looked at me, and he he leaned in, and he goes, you you do these things, don't you?

And I thought to myself, how am I gonna say this without sounding arrogant? How am I gonna communicate what Jesus actually can do for you without sounding like I'm advocating sinless perfectionism? And I leaned over and I said, brother, to be honest, no. No. Yeah.

Before the age of 20 when I when I was encountered by Christ, probably. I can I can attest to what you're saying? But something happened when Jesus changed me. And he looked at me with utter disbelief. He goes, what?

You can't tell me that you're actually you're serious? And he looked at the mutual friend. He goes, no. No. No.

You're not telling the truth. I'm like, what benefit do I have lying to you? I don't know you. I'm not asking anything from you. I'm telling you what Christ can do in a life.

He did it in my life. No. No. No. You're telling me and he started naming these different sins.

You're telling me you don't do these things. You're the same age as me. You have the same hormones as me. You have the same temptations as me. You're telling me that you don't give yourself over these I said, look, man.

This is getting very uncomfortable. I don't know how many more times I gotta tell you. No. Because that's what the Holy Spirit does. And in that moment, this man, as though he met an alien.

Are you from Mars? I said, no. I'm I'm a Christian. He didn't say the Mars thing, but he looked at me as though I was from a different planet. Said, no.

This is this is the beauty of being a follower of Jesus Christ. It's not just a ticket to get out of hell. He brings the Holy Spirit into you, and things change. And you're empowered, and you walk different, you see different, you have access to different things. Mephibosheth would now have Ziba in his shadow for the rest of his life.

Well, unfortunately, the example and the illustration of the Holy Spirit and Ziba is not gonna last too long. Let me conclude here. So much to discover. I encourage you go through this chapter yourself, and with the new covenant boundaries, look at this text and try to discover things. But look at the response of of this man in verse six.

And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. David said, Mephibosheth, and he answered, behold, I am your servant. That is the appropriate response to the kindness of the king. When he calls your name and you realize that the tone of your name being declared is a tone of mercy, compassion, and love, The reaction must be what we see here. I'm your servant.

If you're calling me the way you're calling me, if you're calling me into what you're calling me into, then even though these legs are broken, I will serve you to the capacity in which I can serve you. And I will give to you what you ask of me, and I will do whatever you call me to do. And so your life and mine being totally devoted to God in service is not what we do to to tap into the kindness of God. It's what we do because we've tasted it. It's what we do because we've tasted it.

And I hope that your energy in serving the Lord is not because you think that his kindness fluctuates, but because it is so concrete and secure and so reliable that you cannot help but just throw yourself at his feet and say, oh, my king. I'm your servant. How can I how can I reserve my service to you? I'm yours. I'm yours.

Let's pray. Lord, we are overwhelmed by the portrait of this text that from corner to corner with every detail conveys the gospel. May it never sound like old news to us. May we realize the peace, the hope, the help, the fellowship that we have because the king has decided to execute kindness to the most undeserving race, Adam's race. And, Lord, we just pray that even if there's one person in this house who does not realize what Christ has done on their behalf, that today it would change, and they would gladly fall before your throne knowing what Jesus has done on their behalf, trusting that you are more than willing to invite them to your table and provide them that which nothing in this world can offer.

Oh, Lord. We just pray that as we sing to you, we would sing with the revelation of how you have preserved us from wrath and how you have provided for us, not just in this age, but in the coming ages. The immeasurable grace and kindness that is toward us in Christ Jesus. We bless you in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen.