2 Samuel 9:1-13

          2Sa 9:1  And David said, Is there still any that is left from the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?
          2Sa 9:2  And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba.  And they called him to David, and the king said to him, Are you Ziba? And he said, Your servant.
          2Sa 9:3  And the king said, Is there not still any of the house of Saul, so that I may show the kindness of God to him? And Ziba said to the king, Jonathan still has a son, who is lame in his feet.
          2Sa 9:4  And 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 Lodebar.
          2Sa 9:5  And King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.
          2Sa 9:6  And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, and fell on his face and bowed to him.  And David said, Mephibosheth!  And he answered, Behold your servant!
            2Sa 9:7  And David said to him, Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake, and will restore you all the land of Saul your father. And you shall eat bread at my table forever.
          2Sa 9:8  And he bowed himself and said, What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?
          2Sa 9:9  Then the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, I have given to your master's son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house.
          2Sa 9:10  And you shall till the land for him, you and your sons and your servants.  And you shall bring in the fruits so that your master's son may have bread to eat.  But Mephibosheth, your master's son, shall eat bread always at my table. And Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
          2Sa 9:11  And Ziba said to the king, According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so shall your servant do.  And Mephibosheth was eating at my table like one of the king's sons.
          2Sa 9:12  And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micah. And all that lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth.
          2Sa 9:13  And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem. For he always sat at the king's table.  And he was lame in both his feet.

           I'd like to give you a little background on Mephiboseth.

          He was the son of Jonathan, grandson of king Saul.

          His name meant "out of my mouth proceeds reproach", basically "shameful".

          In 2 Samuel 4:4 it states that Mephiboseth was five years old when news came of the death of king Saul and Jonathan.  His nurse took him up and fled.  As she did so in haste, she dropped Mephiboseth and he became forever lame.

          From this tender age we see an innocent child already paying the a tremendous price for generational sins committed by his ancestors.  It is inferred in 2 Samuel 19:26 that he remained lame for his entire life.  Until the recount of this passage Mephiboseth lived in exile, stripped away from all that through his birth right should have been legally his.    He would live for years in fear of his life because of his direct connection to king Saul?  Knowing that all of my family was slain because of their connection to my grandfather would certainly have me worried.

          In verse 6 above we see Mephiboseth being brought to David and bowing down.  Unaware of what king David wanted with him he was rightfully frightened. 

          In verse 7 David says to him: "Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your father.  And you shall eat bread at my table forever."

          In verses 9-13 we see that total restoration was given to this heir and he was treated by David as one of his own sons for always.

          My brethren,

          How many of us have paid a tremendous price for not only generational sins but also sins of our own choosing?  Many of us have been left with noticeable scars for life.  Many of us have also been reproached by others because of this, leaving us to live in shame.

          Through choices either our ancestors or we ourselves made, we were stripped by satan of all our inheritance.  Why?  Because without Jesus living in our lives at that time we were under the authority of the ruler of this world.  Like all evil kings and dictators since his casting down from heaven, he stole from us what should have been rightfully ours.  (Just a note here: As Christians he no longer can
steal anything from us, yet we can and sometimes do give it up to him because the choices we sometimes make give him authority to do so.)

          Then Jesus came and chose to be nailed on that tree, nailing with Him all our sins, our shame, and the authority given to satan.  "It is finished!" said Jesus.  (John 19:30) 

          Through the gospel of Jesus Christ God the Father, like king David has called us back to His palace.  Many times we come in fear, dreading what He may do to us as Mephiboseth in verse 6. 

          Yet He replies "Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jesus' sake, and will restore you all that was rightfully yours. And you shall eat bread at my table forever."

          Like Mephiboseth we were shameful yet like David, God has shown us mercy and grace for Jesus' sake.  Everything the devil has stolen from you God wants to restore to you.  Through the sacrifice of Jesus God has granted us an audience with Him.  He has decided to accept us as one of His own and has declared that we shall for always eat at His table.

          But like Mephiboseth we need to choose to accept this audience & bow down at His mercy seat in humility and RECEIVE that which He has declared is rightfully ours.  After all, a gift is only a gift if the person chooses to receive it........

          Father, I want to take a moment to thank You for the audience You have granted me.  Here am I, ready, willing, and more than all available for all You want to restore to me and all that You would will me to do.  I thank You for the life, health, family you have restored to me.

          I thank You for the mercy You have bestowed upon such a dead dog as I.  I ask that You allow me to eat at Your table forever. Let me not depart from Your presence for in Your presence there is fullness of joy....

In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

        This one is a freebie............

         In 2 Samuel 19:26 it shows Mephiboseth remained lame for his entire life.  As is always the case, we have to live with the consequences of our sins and sometimes those of our ancestors.  As Christians we sometimes live them out for a lifetime; as non-believers we always live them out for eternity!

          The character in this story was named Mephiboseth which basically translated as shameful.  Later on in the Bible (1Chronicles 8:34,9:40)he was called Meribbaal which loosely translated is "he that resists Baal; rebellion".

          He went from being a shameful person to one that resisted the devil, in a sense.  May we all do the same.

God bless!

                                        Joe Acosta
                     Redeemed By His Blood Web Ministries