DAVID AND MEPHIBOSHETH When man rests and settles down, he usually forgets the past with all its sufferings, and disregards the feelings of others. Yet, David, with his big heart, was more motivated by his success to seek the comfort of others. God had relieved him of all his enemies. And after 15 years of the death of Saul and Jonathan, he did not forget his covenant with Jonathan (1 Samuel 20: 14-17); So he started to ask if there was still anyone left of the house of Saul, that he might show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake. He heard about Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, who was lame in his feet. He sent for him to restore to him all the fields of Saul his grandfather; and to let him eat bread at his table continually, as one of his own family. 1- David sends for Mephibosheth 1-6 2- David restores all the lands of Saul to Mephibosheth 7-13 1- David sends for Mephibosheth: It was the custom in the old days, that the new king would kill all the descendants of the previous king, to spare himself any possibility that they might oppose him and claim the throne for themselves (2 Kings 11: 1). But David realized that he did not receive his throne from the hand of man, but from God Himself. And as he did not put his heart on the glories of the world, but on the glory of God, he did not worry about his throne, and did not seek to kill Saul’s descendants; but, on the contrary, as he settled down, he started to look for anyone who was left of the house of Saul, that he might show him kindness (2 Samuel 9: 1). He sent for ‘Ziba,’ a servant of the house of Saul, and his steward before his death, who told David that there was still a son of Jonathan, lame in his feet (2 Samuel 9: 3); and that he was in the house of a rich man named ‘Machir the son of Ammiel,’ in Lo Debar, in Gilead, east of the Jordan [‘Machir’ means (bought).] ‘Ziba’ is an Aramite name that means (a branch)1; He was a servant or a slave in Saul’s house; probably set free2 when the Philistines defeated Saul; and was the father of a big family, and acquired many slaves. 2- David restores all the land of Saul to Mephibosheth: David, the prophet and king, had been very noble in dealing with Mephibosheth, and generous in his giving: a- Although, he was a young lad, and lame in his feet, David talked to him as someone dignified and to be admired ..... His encounter with David was to him, of much more value than the lands he restored to him; as that encounter comforted and fulfilled his inner soul, something that all the world possessions could not give to man. That is what made the apostle Paul, ask us to offer our heart (love) to the needy, before offering them any material gift. He says: “Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing” (1Corinthians 13:3). b- It seems that Mephibosheth was afraid, that the king might have sent for him, to 1 The Westminster Dict. of the Bible, p. 1023. 2 Joseph Antiq. 7: 5: 5. 61 kill him; so David assured him, saying: “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake” (2 Samuel 9: 7). What Jonathan sowed, of pure love and faithfulness in his friendship with David, was what his son now reaping, many years after his father’s death c- David presented to the lad practical love; “I will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather” (2 Samuel 9: 7), and commanded Ziba, together with his sons and his servants, to work the land for him (It seems that Ziba was a greedy wicked man, having tried later on to take these possessions for himself). d- Finally he counted him as one of his own household, and said: ‘And you shall eat bread at my table continually” (2 Samuel 9: 7). Mephibosheth was so emotionally overwhelmed by that unexpected great generosity and love, that, though lame, “He bowed himself and said, ‘What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I” (2 Samuel 9: 8). In the past, David prostrated before Jonathan, then, the crown prince (1 Samuel 20: 41); and here, the son of Jonathan prostrates before David, the king. David, in his generosity, symbolizes the Lord Christ, who calls us to encounter Him as His beloved; takes away our fear; restores to us what we have lost (the good nature with which we were created); and grants us the honor to sit at His heavenly banquet, to have communion of His body and blood, given as a secret of enjoyment of the everlasting life.
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