2 Samuel 9
In the line of Saul, Mephibosheth is the rightful heir to the throne following the death of his father, Johnathan, and grandfather in battle. In 2 Samuel 4:4, fearing an imminent execution from that of whoever fills the power vacuum over Israel (which is David), we see the nurse fleeing with Mephibosheth when he is just 5 years old. He gets into an accident though, and becomes crippled. Instead of fulfilling the fears of those protecting the line of Saul still, David seeks to show kindness to Mephibosheth, which serves to distinguish the encroaching fear of execution as a rival to the throne.
For the sake of my sanity, and possibly yours alike, I am not going to spell out Mephibosheth this whole time. Instead, we will refer to him as ‘Mish’. Before we move on though, there is a message in Mish’s name itself alluding to the gravity of what is to come in David’s actions towards him. His name is most likely derived from two roots; the noun paw-aw’ which describes shattering or dashing something to pieces, and bo’-sheth which means something shameful. Mish’s posture when called before David describes the conjoining of these two phrases perfectly, and sadly replies to David’s kindness. “Mephibosheth bowed down and said, ‘What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?’” He is crippled, living at someone else’s house, with no hope for his life. His low status, and ties to the enemies of a powerful king left him to regard himself as what a dead dog is often associated with: useless.
Against every account David could have drawn on to end the life of Mish, he instead remembers his covenant with Johnathan and shows kindness his son, subsequently fulfilling his oath to Saul as well. David does this in two ways. First, by giving him all the land of Saul back as well as servants who were loyal to Saul before to help farm it and meet the needs of Mish. Secondly, David gives Mish a seat at his table and was treated “like one of the King’s sons” (v.11). If I were to say an act from you towards me was kind, someone else might have thought you held the door for me though I was your stranger. Yet David replenishes his inheritance, and gives him status beyond his ability to even pursue. This kind of kindness is more than just a nice gesture or act towards others. Its the drawing on of power to elevated another who otherwise was hopeless.
The foreshadowing gap between king David’s acts and Jesus’s is so small here, we might not even need a bridge to cross it. Titus 3:4-6 illustrates the connection of what Jesus’s kindness towards us looks like now. “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior…” Though we were dead in our transgressions, completely guilty for rebellion against the judge Himself, He looks down on us from the cross with kindness. Restoring us to what we can not by any means attain on our own, a place in the kingdom of Heaven, and a seat at the table with our heavenly Father. Meditate on Jesus’s kindness towards us and what that looks like for our lives now.
