2Sa 9:6 Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant!
This chapter may be one of my favorite chapters in the OT. We can see so many NT truths and graces foreshadowed in the kindness David shows to this crippled man Mephibosheth. When you read the chapter it won't be hard to recognize where we fit into the the story. We are like the poor cripple man. Mephiboseth was the descendant of the fallen lineage of Saul and he was crippled from that fall literally. 2 Samuel 4:4 tells us that when Mephibosheths nurse received news of Saul and Jonathan's death that she dropped Mephibosheth in her haste to escape, resulting in his lameness. Then we wonder what this ex-royal is doing in Lo-debar [House of no Bread]. They say that Lo-debar was a horrible place to live, so terrible that enemies never minded trying to raid or overtake it, it was a place that no one cared for. I believe that Mephibosheth was in hiding there, during this period you did not want to belong to the family that used to rule, common practice was to wrangle up the old Kings family and have them executed, which is why his nurse ran at the news of her master's deaths, and most likely why Mephibosheth was hiding out in Lo-debar.
Then we see the goodness and grace of God in King David. He is so gracious that he foreshadows our Lord in this chapter. Not looking to harm his enemies, Saul's house, but in verse one he actively seeks out someone to show the grace of God to, " Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" He was willing to show this kindness because of his covenant with Jonathan, Saul's son, David's best friend. They had covenanted together that there would be peace one day between the house of Saul and the House of David, that was their heart's desire for the war to be over and for all Israel to be united under one King, God's King. For the sake of this covenant, David is actively searching out men to bestow the blessings of this covenant on and even going so far as to send a man by the name of Ziba down to Lo-Debar to fetch out this fearful, hiding, cripple man.
Then our two main characters meet and our verse today is a wonderful picture of what happens when fearful, fallen, disabled men meet an all-powerful, all-good, gracious King. Let's look at Mephibosheth's reaction and answer first. "He fell on his face, and he did reverence." When you read these verses it becomes clear that Mephibosheth is exceedingly fearful. He is falling on his face, trembling, and even asking King David "What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?" From his words and reaction, it is easy to see what he is feeling and thinking. Now he stands before the man he has been hiding from his whole life, the man whom his family hated and warned him about, except for one. He is assuming that this King has ill will in his heart for him and judgment day has come, he is about to pay for his sins and the sins of his fathers. After all King David, had he so willed could have had his head removed with the sound of his voice. This is the mindset of men running and hiding from God.
Then we see King David, He is not any of the things that Mephiboseth suspects him to be. He does not have ill will nor hatred in his heart for this man. He is not thinking about all the times Saul chunked spears at him, nor all the misery he passed through because of Mephibosheths family. He is thinking of His Best friend Jonathan and the covenant of peace, he wants to restore this boy to his former glories, he wants to give him a seat at the table he would have set at before his family fell, He wants to treat him as one of the King's sons and even restore unto him all the land of Saul. Their two mindsets couldn't be further apart, one can see nothing but sin and its condemnation and the other can't see anything but peace and love and forgiveness through the lens of a covenant he has made and will keep. Then there is the climax of this story, this verse is where the relationship ensues and Mephibosheth finds out that King David loves him. Their relationship ensues with just a five-word conversation, that goes like this, David: "Mephibosheth?" Mephibosheth: "Behold thy Servant!" David: "Fear Not."
Men are just like Mephibosheth, we are fallen, fearful, and disabled when it comes to God. What could we offer him? We don't have the ability to work our way into his good graces, we don't have a pedigree that would impress him and so we run in fear as far away from him as possible. Some men run to the ends of the earth, to the bottom of bottles, to drugs, anywhere far away from God to hide. Despite our best efforts to hide, like Mephibosheth, they are found. We hear a King is looking for us, some servant comes to where we are with the Gospel message that ushers us before the judgment seat, and there we sit captivated by the majesty of the God we have never wanted to meet. With lumps in our throats, and sweat falling from our brow we are awaiting our sentencing. Then thunders a voice from the throne, "Caleb"[Insert your name]. What do we do? We must appeal to his mercy, we must surrender we must cry "Behold thy Servant!" That very moment there is another response from the throne, "Fear not." Just like that, all our fears are turned to peace, all the ill will is now perceived for what it is, grace. We who were enemies in our minds by wicked works have become sons of the King and restore to our former glories and all our disabilities and sins can't stop us from sitting at the seat he has given us.
Does this sound familiar to you? I sure hope so. 25 years ago I sat in a pew with my heart beating, a lump in my throat afraid of the God who knew everything I had ever done. Then I heard a voice louder than audible, a voice from the shepherd calling me by name, in that moment I surrendered to the gospel and was saved and the loudest fear not a man could hear was breathed into my soul, not a voice but a reality of fear not. Perhaps you are doing your best to hide from him, but this presentation of the Gospel has found you despite your best efforts. Dear reader, Jesus Loves you, it is not his will that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. If he is calling today why don't you reply from your heart "Behold thy servant!" Fear will give way to peace, poverty will give way to provision, and despite all your sins and disabilities to serve him, he will set you at his table, not for your sake but for the sake of the covenant he made. Like the King in our verses today, King Jesus is still seeking those to show the goodness of God unto, he is still sending messages and messengers to call you before his throne for forgiveness, He is still saving and seating crippled men and women at his table, won't you respond to the Call to today?
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