When I read the New Testament in general and the epistles in particular, I often find statements that are made without examples to give us the feel of what is being said. As a result, these statements stick in my head rather than moving to my heart for understanding. I’ve found the Old Testament often can give me those examples and give the feel of the New Testament claims:
Eph 2:8-9 (ESV) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
If you’ve read this blog for a long time, you’ve seen at least three posts dedicated to grace, and I don’t think any of them describe it well. It’s not the sort of thing cold words can portray. Grace is much more a first person sort of thing. We need to experience it to understand it. This can be done through personal familiarity or example, story-telling. Hebrew is an excellent language for narratives, and we can better understand the principles laid out in the New Testament statements by looking at Old Testament stories.
In the New Testament, we are called joint heirs, brothers, children of God, etc. What that means is hard to fully explain as well. What I’d like to do is look at a story from the Old Testament that demonstrates these principles for us from 2 Samuel chapter 9:
9:1 (NASB) Then David said, “Is there yet anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David; and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” 3 And the king said, “Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet.” 4 So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lo-debar.” 5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. 6 And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he said, “Here is your servant!” 7 And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly.” 8 Again he prostrated himself and said, “What is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me?”
9 Then the king called Saul’s servant Ziba, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson. 10 “And you and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce so that your master’s grandson may have food; nevertheless Mephibosheth your master’s grandson shall eat at my table regularly.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant so your servant will do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table as one of the king’s sons. 12 And Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth. 13 So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate at the king’s table regularly. Now he was lame in both feet.
This passage takes place just after David has settled in as king. The fighting is pretty much over, and he can take the time to contemplate what to do next. The first thing he asks is the same as all new kings asked at that time: “Is there any family left of the previous king who might still have a claim on my throne?”
David didn’t ask this question because he wanted to kill the descendants of Saul but to reward them. David had made a promise to Jonathan not to harm his descendants:
1 Sam. 20:15 (NASB) “And you shall not cut off your lovingkindness from my house forever, not even when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”
So, to honor his promise, David sought out Jonathan’s descendents, and Mephibosheth was found. Now he was lame in both feet. This is mentioned twice in the passage. Kings didn’t have handicapped people in their entourage. It would make the king look weak. However, inclusion of a handicapped man only made David look gracious.
There are two main conversations in the passage: the conversation the King had with Ziba and the conversation he had with Mephibosheth. Note David is called “the king” when talking with Ziba but is called by his name when talking with Mephibosheth. I think this implies a familiarity, a “welcome to the family” attitude on David’s part.
Why is this important?
There are a lot of parallels with this story and the Christian’s relationship with our King. Mephibosheth had nothing to do with the event that brought him to David’s court. The deal had been made years earlier and far from David’s court. When I see Jesus, I think my reaction will be much like Mephibosheth’s, to lie prostrate asking what such a great King would have to do with me. According to Jude 24, He will rejoice at our being there.
Mephibosheth was flawed as are we. We are handicapped with sin, but the King doesn’t see that in His children, only His love for us. It is the grace we see in David’s treatment of Mephibosheth that points to the even greater grace with which God treats us.
A friend and I were talking generally about the countless sins of which God has forgiven us and about the trials He has guided us through and comforted us during. When trying to recall those specific sins and trials, few come to mind. What we remember is God’s grace, and His faithfulness in all things. Even the outcast, the infirm, the unworthy, can have a place at the King’s table forever.
Believers Armed and Dangerous 