AT THE KING’S TABLE

So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons. 2 Samuel 9:11

“He’ll live,” the vet announced, “but his leg will have to be amputated.” The stray mongrel my friend had brought in had been run over by a car. “Are you the owner?” There would be a hefty surgery bill, and the puppy would need care as it recovered. “I am now,” my friend replied. Her kindness has given that dog a future in a loving home.

Mephibosheth saw himself as a “dead dog,” unworthy of favor (2 Samuel 9:8). Being lame in both feet due to an accident, he was dependent on others to protect and provide for him (see 4:4). Furthermore, after the death of his grandfather, King Saul, he probably feared that David, the new king, would order all enemies and rivals to the throne killed, as was the common practice of the time.

Yet, out of love for his friend Jonathan, David ensured that Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth would always be safe and cared for as his own son (9:7). In the same way, we who were once God’s enemies, marked for death, have been saved by Jesus and given a place with Him in heaven forever. That’s what it means to eat at the banquet in the kingdom of God that Luke describes in his gospel (Luke 14:15). Here we are—the sons and daughters of a King! What extravagant, undeserved kindness we’ve received! Let’s draw near to God in gratitude and joy.

Read: 2 Samuel 9:6-13 (NIV)

6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.^l

David said, “Mephibosheth!”

“At your service,” he replied.

7 “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan.^m I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.ⁿ”

8 Mephibosheth^o bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog^p like me?”

9 Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10 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^q may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

11 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^a table like one of the king’s sons.^r

12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth.^s 13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.

INSIGHT

1. When are you likely to forget that God protects and cares for you?
2. How could 2 Samuel 9:6–13encourage you during such times?

David made a covenant with his best friend Jonathan (1 Samuel 20:12–17) that even after Jonathan’s death, David would treat his family with covenantal love and unfailing kindness (Hebrew hesed, v. 14). Second Samuel 9:6–13 records how David, having become king, now fulfills that promise to Jonathan. As the heir to Saul’s throne, Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son and Saul’s grandson, ought to have been killed under the new regime. Instead, David gave Mephibosheth all of Saul’s land and wealth and appointed servants to look after him. He even honored him as if he were a prince—one of David’s own sons.

PRAYER

Dear Jesus, thank You for saving me and giving me a place at Your table forever. Remind me that I’m Your dear child, and help me to always praise and trust You. Amen!!

Read: 2 Samuel 9:6-13 (NIV)  | Bible in a Year: Isaiah 37-38; Colossians 3