Scripture

“Don’t be afraid!” David said. “I intend to show kindness to you because of my promise to your father, Jonathan. I will give you all the property that once belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will eat here with me at the king’s table!”

~2 Samuel 9:7, NLT

Quote

Saving faith is man’s response to God’s initiative.

~Jack Taylor

The best sermon that I have heard on Mephibosheth is by Ken Blackwood. I have asks him for the outline a dozen times but he cannot find it. He preached this message some twenty years ago at DBC. It was a moving message on the wonder of God’s amazing grace. Mephibosheth was saved by a covenant or a promise that David made to Jonathan before Jonathan’s untimely death. Mephibosheth was Jonathan’s cripple son. He lived in a secluded place east of the Jordan. It was an obscure village on the edge of a wilderness. Mephibosheth was an infant when his father was killed in battle. The family fled their home in fear of the enemy but they forgot Mephibosheth and so his nurse went back to get him but in her haste she fell down a flight of steps and the child was crippled for life. In the village of Lo Debar, Mephibosheth was being taken care of my a wealthy man by the name of Makir. Some scholars believe that Makir was related to Bathsheba. Jonathan had made a covenant with David that if he proceeded David in death that David would look out for his family. I don’t know what prompted David to think about this covenant but when he did, he began trying to locate Jonathans kin. When he found out about Mephibosheth, he sent for him. When Mephibosheth got to David, he bowed low and pledged his service.

Mephibosheth had nothing to offer the king. He had no bargaining chips. He was a helpless cripple who depended on others just to survive. David graciously restores Mephibosheth and gives him the family farm that had be previously owned by Saul. He invites Mephibosheth to eat at his table for the rest of his life. David  did all of this because of the covenant {Promise} with Jonathan his father. You talk about a picture of grace, here it is in living color. Mephibosheth had nothing, could do nothing and did nothing except receive David’s offer of kindness. Amazing grace in the Old Testament, wow!

There is another moral in this story; Makir who was taking care of Mephibosheth will later take care of King David when he flees from Absalom. Thank God for the Makir’s of this world. People who use their means to help others. People who are always ready to help the helpless. There may be a third truth here: we need to show grace because someday we may need others to show us grace. When David helped Mephibosheth he was at his pinnacle but after Bathsheba, it is all downhill. When Absalom rebelled, David was as low as you can go, and he was the one who desperately needed help. What goes round comes around. As the old proverb goes, “Help others on your way up so they will help you on your way down.”

Extra

I reckon my body has adjusted to the cold; these 50 degree days seem warm to me. I think the wind is the key factor. If the wind is not blowing and the sun is out, it is not that bad. It beats a heat wave or a draught. Most of our grandkids hang out at Holly’s. I carried them ten cases of drinks for Christmas yesterday and came home feeling good about myself then June said, “Those drinks will be gone in two days. They will not make it to Christmas.” I said, “Surely not!” She said, “You will see.”

Hope you have a great day and I will go ahead and wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS. I may do blogs the first of next week but then I will be going to the mountains with the kids and will not restart until January 2. Don’t be shocked if you don’t get another one this year.