House of Glory: Kings Story.

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I simply want to introduce you to Mephibosheth. So, who or what is a Mephibosheth? He's an Old Testament character from the time of King David. He doesn't get talked about a great deal.

Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathon and grandson of Saul the king. When he was a youngster he was crippled. When a king was killed it was the custom to kill off all his family and friends so that there were no heirs left to the throne to rise up and seek revenge. Perhaps not the most civilized of customs but very a very practical way to head off future problems. When King Saul and Jonathon were killed in battle, news quickly reached his household. It is at that point we meet Mephibosheth. We are introduced to him in the Old Testament book of Second Samuel : Now Saul's son Jonathan had a son who was crippled in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan arrived from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but in her haste to get away, he fell and was injured. Mephibosheth was his name. (2 Samuel 4:4-5 NET)

While Saul was a bitter enemy of David and repeatedly tried to kill him and have him killed, David and Saul's son Jonathon were friends. David owed his life to Jonathon and despite the animosity between them David went out of his way not to kill King Saul. In due course the warring was over and David was the new king of Jerusalem. Although both Jonathon and Saul were killed David did not have a hand in their killing.

When his throne was established David did something very unusual. We'll pick up Mephibosheth's story on 2 Samuel 9:1-13

David asked, "Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake?"
Now there was a servant of Saul's household named Ziba. They called him to appear before David, and the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?"
"Your servant," he replied.
The king asked, "Is there no one still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show God's kindness?"
Ziba answered the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in both feet."
"Where is he?" the king asked.
Ziba answered, "He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar."
So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.
When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.
David said, "Mephibosheth!"
"Your servant," he replied.
"Don't be afraid," David said to him, "for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table."
Mephibosheth bowed down and said, "What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?"
Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, "I have given your master's grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master's grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table." (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)
Then Ziba said to the king, "Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do." So Mephibosheth ate at David's table like one of the king's sons.
Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica, and all the members of Ziba's household were servants of Mephibosheth. And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king's table, and he was crippled in both feet.

that's a touching story about David's mercy but few of us think through the application between the young man with disabilities and our own lives.

You see, we're no different than Mephibosheth. We might not be the heir to the throne of Jerusalem and we might not be crippled in both feet but we're a lot alike. Given the custom of the day, David should have killed the boy. He was a potential threat to David, if not directly because of his disabilities at least indirectly through his children. Despite that David chose to spare him.

Mephibosheth was crippled and likely needed to be carried everywhere. People with visible disabilities we not welcome at the table of royalty. If they were permitted to live they stayed clear of the king and his court eking out a living as beggars.To sit at the table with the king for the rest of his life was to be an affront to the customs of the day. It was David declaring that no matter what others had to say Mephibosheth was welcome to stay with him.

Do you see the similarity yet to your own life? Let me explain it so there is no misunderstanding. God is our king. Our sin is rebellion against God and we are deserving of death because of it. Our death at the hand of God would be the just reward for our treachery. We're crippled. Perhaps not physically, although maybe even physically in some ways, but we're damaged goods. We sinners living in a sin filled world. We're scarred and banged up emotionally and spiritually by our sin and the sins of others.

Yet for the sake of Jesus, God says that we are welcome at His table no matter what the rest of the world thinks. We have no right to claim a seat at the table of the King. We should have no expectation of spending time with Him, yet out of His mercy and His grace it is possible for us to avoid scurrying out of his way when he approaches.

We are saved alone by God's grace alone in the shed blood of Jesus Christ alone. Okay perhaps we recognize that, but ...here's the big question ... "SO WHAT?"

So it's time to drop any arrogance that we have acquired about being Christians. We didn't get saved because we deserved it. We got saved because the King had mercy on His little crippled children. We need to humbly live lives that are in keeping with the unmerited grace we have received. We need to be thankful for God's grace and we need to show it to others.

King David didn't just let Mephibosheth live, he gave him the lands that were forfeit by Saul's death and he allowed him to sit at the king's table. God didn't just forgive your sins. He gave you a seat in eternity with Him and blessings in this life and beyond.

Until next time rejoice that you and I are not only permitted into the presence of the King of Kings, but we are welcome at His table.