Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar. Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?” And he answered, “Here is your servant!” (vv.5-6)
In any transfer of power in the ancient world, a new monarch was often concerned about two things. First, he wanted to stabilize the kingdom by subduing all surrounding enemies. Second, he would often protect his throne by killing all relatives of the previous ruler. So Mephibosheth must have been terrified when messengers from David knocked at his door and demanded that he come with them to see the king. In the back of his mind, he anticipated the day when David would do as other kings did and massacre every potential rival to his throne.
Unlike other kings who would destroy all potential rebels, David sought to show kindness to Saul’s remaining descendants. He promised to restore Mephibosheth’s land and commissioned workers to tend the land in order to provide for Jonathan’s son. Furthermore, he promised that, “Mephibosheth would always eat at the king’s table.” What an example of grace. A crippled son of David’s enemy, who can offer nothing in return, was granted the honor of family fellowship with the king.
Here we see a beautiful parallel to the family fellowship we as Christians are granted through God’s Son, Jesus. Like Mephibosheth, we shall one day eat at The King’s table like one of His Sons.
The Truth: “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” (Galations 3:26)
