2 Samuel 9
David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth
1 Then David said, “Is there yet [a]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 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 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 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 [b]land of your [c]grandfather Saul; and you shall [d]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 [e]grandson. 10 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 [f]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 [g]David’s table as one of the king’s sons. 12 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.
The power of grace in this section of scripture is so magnified. We have Mephibosheth falling down before David twice once he was brought into David’s presence. I believe the two prostrations come from two different motives. When Mephibosheth first sees David he falls down in fear because David tells him to “fear not.” Again, Mephibosheth had been in hiding for many years obviously not believing the covenant was for him, that somehow he didn’t deserve the blessing, and that somehow David was a threat to him. In response, David not only tells him to not be afraid, but he also declares to him that the blessing had nothing to do with whether or not he deserved it. David wanted to bless him for Jonathan’s sake. Jonathan had earned it, and all Mephibosheth had to do was receive it. David also told him that he was going to restore his inheritance that had been taken from him. In response to such redemptive grace and favor Mephibosheth prostrated himself again, but this time I believe as an act of worship and total surrender. People worry that if you teach Grace, people will take advantage of it and just sin all they want to, knowing they will always encounter God’s unconditional love, so you need to add a little Law to keep people in check. This is no real encounter with grace at all. If you’ve ever, in light of the truth of His remarkable holiness and power, encounter His mercy and grace, it causes you to fall down and worship Him, desiring to give back to Him all that you are and have as an expression of love an affection. Grace makes you not want to sin, because His great love is capturing your heart for Him. I’ll pick this up tomorrow, but let me leave you with this, you can get away with far less under grace than you ever can under law. Have a great day In Christ.