Show Notes
2 Samuel 9
Pastor Christopher Chelpka
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Episode Transcript
[00:00:07] The psalm begins and ends with a call to ourselves as well as to all the host in heaven and the whole world to bless the Lord. We bless him for his mighty works. We bless him for his wonderful grace to us. We bless him for revealing himself to us so that we might know him and follow him, love him and serve Him. Let's pray and ask that God would continue to reveal himself to us so that we might bless his name. Let's pray.
[00:00:37] Our Heavenly Father, thank you for shining your word into our world and into our lives that we might be changed by it and that we might serve you. We ask, Lord, that you would continue to reveal yourself to us as we come to your word in 2nd Samuel 9 help us to greater understand the promises of our king and his kingdom by thinking carefully about the ancient stories from long ago, the history of David's work and your work through him.
[00:01:13] Lord, we ask that as we hear your word that you would strengthen our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that you would strengthen our witness and that you would build us up as we build up one another in the truth of your word.
[00:01:27] Open our eyes so that we might see and we pray this in Jesus name. Amen.
[00:01:34] Let's remain standing and turn to second Samuel Chapter nine.
[00:02:06] Several chapters ago we heard about the fall of Saul's kingdom and when that happened one of his servants grabbed the son of Jonathan, which would be grands Saul's grandson, and then dropped him. His name was Mephibosheth, dropped him and hurt his feet in a way that he became crippled. And we didn't hear much more about Mephibosheth after that until today we hear about him again and how David treats this son of Jonathan and son of Saul as he is established in his new kingdom. So let's hear God's word. 2nd Samuel 9 and David said, is there still anyone left in the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?
[00:02:57] Now there was a servant in the house of Saul whose name was Ziba and they called him to David. And the king said to him, are you Ziba? He said, I am your servant.
[00:03:07] And the king said, is there not still someone of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of God to him?
[00:03:16] Ziba said to the king, there is still a son of Jonathan. He is crippled in his feet. The king said to him, where is he? And Ziba said to the king, he is in the house of Makir, the son of Ammiel at Lo Debar.
[00:03:31] Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Makir, the son of Ammiel at Lo Debar. And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage.
[00:03:44] And David said, mephibosheth. And he answered, behold, I am your servant.
[00:03:49] And David said to him, do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father, Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul, your father, and you shall eat at my table always.
[00:04:03] And he paid homage and said, what is your servant that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?
[00:04:11] Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, all that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson.
[00:04:21] And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce that your master's grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, shall always eat at my table.
[00:04:36] Now Ziba had 15 sons, 20 servants.
[00:04:40] Then Ziba said to the king, according to all that, my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.
[00:04:47] So Mephibosheth ate at David's table like one of kings, like one of the king's sons. And Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micah.
[00:04:59] And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants.
[00:05:04] So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king's table.
[00:05:09] Now he was lame in both his feet.
[00:05:13] May God bless his word to us. You may be seated.
[00:05:40] So last time we were in two Samuel, we were in the previous chapter, and we thought about how David's victories foreshadowed the victories of King Jesus, remembering, of course, that David is the great ancestor, the great, great, great, great, so many greats grandfather of Jesus. And this is really important because he's not just part of the family line, but there's a very important connection, a connection that God himself made when he promised to David that he would raise up a son of David who would sit on the throne and reign forever and ever.
[00:06:18] Not just to administer the rule of the great king, but to do so in a particular way.
[00:06:26] God had promised that through this king, the kingdom of God would be ruled in righteousness, justice in equity. It would reflect the kingdom, would reflect the reign of God. And we see that particularly in the power of God, right as God destroys his enemies, even as Jesus himself destroyed sin and death.
[00:06:52] And the devil Jesus we thought about last time, how he destroys these powers that bind us and hold us in such a way that he makes us free. He establishes a kingdom of protection in which he subdues our own hearts to him and makes us servants and subdues his enemies and our enemies, keeping us safe.
[00:07:16] Well, today we see how that kingdom and that kingship is expressed in mercy, in mercy.
[00:07:25] David's rule of justice and righteousness finds expression in this chapter, in this merciful act to Jonathan's son, a son who is crippled, a son who is exiled. Lo Debar is a place outside of Israel, on the east of the Jordan. He's away from the kingdom, he's away from the king.
[00:07:49] He is away from a place of honor. He is not a great prince, as he would have been under Saul, but he has been cast away because of the disobedience of his father, because of the rebellion of his father.
[00:08:08] And David, instead of putting him to death to further secure his kingdom, shows kindness to one who is a potential enemy. And he does this out of his kindness or covenant faithfulness or steadfast love that he had promised to Jonathan.
[00:08:29] And you know this story personally. If you've ever felt like you belonged outside of the kingdom of God, if you've ever felt like you didn't belong in a kingdom of righteousness, a kingdom of holiness, if you've ever felt like you belonged on the side of the enemy because of your sin, because of the sins of your fathers, because of your shame, because of your rebellion, this is really how we're all born, isn't it? As those who are born in Adam, we are all born as those who don't belong under the kingdom of God, who don't belong to. We don't have a right and don't have a great privilege of belonging to Jesus and a kingdom of righteousness and holiness, like Mike Mephibosheth, each of us are born into a kind of brokenness, a kind of shame, exile, separateness from God. The scriptures say that we are born as children of wrath, people that are at enmity with God, away from God, separate from God, but David's actions, or to be even more specific, God's actions through David reveal something to us about our Lord, his grace, the graciousness of God in not only reigning in victory over his enemies, but inviting his enemies and people who are descended from them to come and have a part in his kingdom.
[00:10:06] Just as David calls Mephibosheth to come and to receive the blessings of the kingdom, Jesus calls people all over the world to come and belong to him.
[00:10:18] So I want to think through a few reasons we should believe this and think about this.
[00:10:23] From this passage, give you four today. The first one is, we see how David's mercy shows God's proactive mercy toward enemies.
[00:10:35] So how do we see this? Well, as I mentioned already, Mephibosheth was one who was on the wrong side of things, right? He was one of the sons of Saul, a grandson in this case.
[00:10:47] He was part of those who were trying a part of Saul's house, which was against David and against what the Lord was doing.
[00:10:57] Many kings at this point in time would seek to go and destroy those kinds of children and grandchildren to make sure there's no future threats. What does David do, though?
[00:11:10] David doesn't avoid Mephibosheth, doesn't seek him out to kill him. He seeks him out to show him mercy.
[00:11:20] And God does this for us through his work, by his Son and Spirit. Romans 5:10 says this amazing thing which you should all memorize.
[00:11:30] While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God.
[00:11:36] While we were enemies, Christ died for us.
[00:11:39] He didn't wait until we had shown enough good service. He didn't wait until we got our lives all cleaned up and ready before he then said we were worthy enough to belong. He didn't wait for us to prove ourselves. He comes to us while we are still enemies. He seeks us out. He calls us in and he blesses us.
[00:12:03] We are Mephibosheth.
[00:12:06] We are those who are broken and fearful and hiding. And Jesus, like David, pursues us.
[00:12:14] He pursues us and he rescues us.
[00:12:17] This is a great, great thing.
[00:12:20] A second thing that we see in this story is how David's mercy transforms the future of Mephibosheth. Just like Jesus mercy transforms our future.
[00:12:33] What does David do?
[00:12:35] He doesn't just go to Mephibosheth and say, hey, don't worry, I'm not going to kill you.
[00:12:42] He invites him in. He gives him the land of Saul. He calls Ziba to work that land and all of Ziba's sons. 15. Wow. And 20 servants, expanding, likely future generations. And he says, you will work this land and will provide a form of Shath.
[00:13:04] Psalm 103 says that God knows our weakness. He knows our frame. He knows that for you, too.
[00:13:10] He knows where your bodies are weak. He knows where your souls are weak. He knows where you're struggling. He knows what you need, and he provides that for you.
[00:13:20] He does that here for Mephibosheth. He provides this man who is unable to work for himself, this man who is able, unable to do even common labors, to provide, to eat the basic necessities of life, being crippled in his feet.
[00:13:38] And he provides for him, and not just for a day or a week, but for his whole life.
[00:13:46] Isaiah 61:7 a prophetic word about the future of those who belong to the Lord says, instead of your shame, there shall be a double portion. Instead of dishonor, they shall rejoice in their lots. Therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion. They shall have everlasting joy.
[00:14:09] God, when he rescues us, he doesn't just give us the scraps, he provides for us a certain and a bountiful eternity with him.
[00:14:23] At every moment in your life where you wonder, is God going to provide?
[00:14:29] Do we have enough? Are we going to have enough?
[00:14:32] The answer is yes.
[00:14:35] God will give you your daily bread, and he will give you the bread of life as well. That leads to everlasting life.
[00:14:44] It doesn't mean there won't be difficulties and hardships. It doesn't mean that funds will run low, that bodies won't get tired. But we remember that these things are temporary.
[00:14:56] They're temporary and promises. God promises in the provisions of this life. He is anticipating the the future and eternal provisions which will never go away.
[00:15:08] Listen to this from Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
[00:15:18] Colossians 1:12 says that Paul gives thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son in in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins as those who belong to the Lord. We have the forgiveness of sins we have redemption.
[00:15:44] We belong to the kingdom of his beloved Son. Why? Because we have been qualified by God to share in this inheritance.
[00:15:55] We didn't qualify because we ran fast enough or did enough good works or cleaned up our lives. Those things I said before.
[00:16:02] God qualified us on the basis of Christ's sacrifice, on the basis of his work for us.
[00:16:10] Same with David and same with Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was rescued out of the house of Saul.
[00:16:18] He was rescued out of this state of sin and misery. He was rescued. And how did he do it? Not really by David.
[00:16:27] David was God's tool. But how did David come into this position of power? How did David come to be this anointed one? Because he was anointed by God. Because God brought David up. Because God established David on the throne. And because God was working through him, through David, then God qualifies Mephibosheth then to have a transformed future.
[00:16:55] And that looks like not only provision, but closeness. And that's the third thing David's mercy shows, God's desire for closeness, for intimacy.
[00:17:09] God through David, doesn't just provide for Mephibosheth a, you know, a basket of bread and vegetables, you know, once a month or something like that, which would have been great and helpful.
[00:17:22] Notice the overwhelming and abundant nature of God's provision for this man.
[00:17:28] He invites David, invites him to come and to eat at the king's table, belonging as part of one of the king's sons.
[00:17:42] What an amazing thing.
[00:17:44] Now it would really be impossible for David to do this for everyone in Israel, right? That'd be a very big table.
[00:17:51] It would be very difficult for David to have closeness and intimacy and fellowship with every single person. Unlike this. In the same way, Mephibosheth got a very special and unique honor, a very special privilege, remarkable given who he is and the nature of his birthday.
[00:18:13] But consider this in the way that this shows us God's mercy. It does foreshadow the work of Christ, who does have that kind of intimacy, not just with one or two or three special or important people, but with people all over the world. In fact, every single one of us who comes to Christ.
[00:18:36] Matthew 8:11 says, I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at the at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
[00:18:48] Many will come all over the world, east and West. Revelation 19:9 says, and the angel said to me, write this. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, these are the true words of God.
[00:19:04] If you have been invited to the marriage supper of the lamb, if you have been invited to come and know Jesus, and there is not a person who stands sort of at the periphery and kind of knows him and is kind of involved in some way. No. When the Lord blesses his saints, he gives each and every one of them a place of closeness, a place of intimacy, a place of protection and help.
[00:19:31] David's table was a foreshadow of what was to come. This greater table in which we eat, in which we share, in which we rejoice forever with the Lord.
[00:19:48] God's desire for us is not to rescue us and then hold us at arm's length.
[00:19:54] He's not just jumping through a hoop to mark a box that says, yeah, I'm merciful I guess he does this because he is merciful. And he showers this mercy on us in a way that, honestly, we don't fully believe, and in a way that Satan is constantly tempting us not to believe.
[00:20:13] I have no doubt this morning that some of us, perhaps many of us, have already had the thought occur to us, well, God isn't really that merciful, but I'm telling you he is.
[00:20:28] And I'm proving it. Not only from the example of Scriptures, but the prophecies of Scriptures and the testimony of Jesus and the work that he did.
[00:20:37] The work that Jesus did on the cross is so great and so sufficient, it pours out his mercy in abundant ways, more than we believe, more than we understand, more than we can imagine. There's examples of this, of course, in the New Testament to show this right ways in which Jesus not only invited people who were disabled to come and to be with him, but in ways in which he healed their limbs, forgives their sins, and takes meager things like a little bit of fish and a few loaves of bread and distributes them to thousands.
[00:21:16] So much so that everybody goes away full and there's leftovers left over.
[00:21:23] That's the grace of God. That's what the mercy of God looks like. That's what we're putting our faith in, beloved.
[00:21:30] We're putting our faith in the mercy of God who sees us, who knows us and invites us to draw close and says, whoever comes to me, I will give rest.
[00:21:42] And that brings me to my last point in that David's mercy shows us how God, God's mercy through Christ transforms not only our provisions, not only intimacy with him, but our identity.
[00:22:00] Christians live a very particular and unique way of life.
[00:22:06] They live and walk humbly, as we heard in Micah 6, 8.
[00:22:12] Because we know we don't belong at this table.
[00:22:15] We know that we are brought into this family by mercy. We know we didn't earn it. We know we kind of don't belong. But we do belong because we've been qualified by God. There is a humility in us that recognizes that everything that we receive or everything that we have, we have because we've received it.
[00:22:37] And yet because of the blessings that we've been given, because of the provisions, because of the victories, because of the closeness, we walk with this kind of freedom because we have closeness and connection with the King.
[00:22:54] We're not prideful because we didn't earn anything, but we're strong and we're zealous and we hold our heads up high because we know we're loved because we know we're taken care of.
[00:23:08] And that's how God's mercy transforms Mephibosheth's identity. He's no longer out in Lo Debar, he's no longer living far away. In fact, he eats so frequently at the king's table, he just moves to Jerusalem.
[00:23:23] It doesn't make sense to be traveling back and forth. He has a new home, a new place. He gathers he hears the words of his king.
[00:23:31] He is a part of his circle. He's a new person.
[00:23:36] He has a new way of thinking about himself. Instead of one who's separate, he's someone who's close and someone who's lack, he's someone lacks, he's someone who has.
[00:23:47] Instead of someone who is an enemy, he's someone who's friend.
[00:23:53] And so he says rightly to David, I am your servant.
[00:23:59] He humbles himself before the king. He pays homage to the king. And if that's due to David as a man who himself was not perfect, who struggled and fell in serious ways, how much more should we give our hearts, our bodies, our souls, our minds to Jesus who rescues us and brings us into this wonderful kingdom in which we can have transformed identities, transformed futures, transformed lives, all because of his mercy and his grace.
[00:24:36] We fear rejection. We fear and we're embarrassed by our shame and our sins.
[00:24:44] And so we sometimes foolishly cling to self effort or we hunker down into our holes to hide.
[00:24:56] We give up on the things and we give our on the things that once brought us hope. And we give ourselves over to things which would destroy us.
[00:25:10] Jesus offers another way.
[00:25:13] Jesus offers us a way of hope. He offers us a way of salvation. He offers us a way of protection, of transformation and of life everlasting to people who are his enemies.
[00:25:27] We see that here in this expression of God's kingdom, in this temporary way in 2 Samuel 9, we see it permanently and more clearly in the work of Jesus Christ.
[00:25:41] And so the invitation is for you, if you know yourself, to be sinful, if you know yourself to have shame, if you know yourself to have brokenness, then you are a Mephibosheth.
[00:25:55] And you are being invited and called by God to recline and to eat at his table.
[00:26:04] You are disqualified according to your own sin, but you are qualified perfectly according to his grace.
[00:26:12] Jesus didn't come for the worthy and the perfect. He came for those who were separated and afar and wounded.
[00:26:23] So come to the Lord Jesus.
[00:26:25] Rest in Him. Rest in his grace. Be. Be his servant and Follow him forever.
[00:26:32] Let him be your great and perfect king.
[00:26:35] Let's pray.
[00:26:37] Our Heavenly Father, we thank you that we can come to you because you carry us, because you lift us up out of our sin and misery, and promise to us newness of life. When we hear your words, help us not to harden our hearts and walk away sad.
[00:26:57] Instead. Lord, we ask that you would enlighten our hearts and you would put in us even the smallest seeds of faith that might grow into great and mighty trees.
[00:27:07] Lord, we ask that you would give us confidence and faith that is grounded in your word, grounded in your promises, and not in our doubts and in the lies of the evil one.
[00:27:22] We ask that you would spread before us a banquet of joy, a table in the midst of our enemies, a promise of salvation and mercy that is secured not by our competence, but by your covenant, by your promises and your covenant love, and your steadfast love, your character and your perfect eternal will to bless all those who come to you.
[00:27:50] Lord, we thank you for saving your people from before the beginning of time. We thank you that the work of Christ has perfectly and effectively saved all of your people.
[00:28:02] We ask, Lord, that you would help us to cling to these promises and to the wonders of your grace, that we might be encouraged, that we might be transformed, and that we might persevere in this life and not give up in the midst of hardship, not give up in the midst of difficulties, not give up in the midst of temptation and sin.
[00:28:24] Lord, we confess our many faults. We confess our sin and our sinfulness. And we ask for your forgiveness.
[00:28:32] We ask that you would shower your love upon us and open.
[00:28:36] Open our hearts to receive these things, that you would confirm them in us and. And cause us to rejoice as we fellowship with you. Even now, as we come to the symbol of these things in the Lord's Supper, we ask that you would give us hearts of faith, of repentance and of joy. We pray this in Jesus name, Amen.
