David: A Man After God’s Own Heart / Part 8

Part 8 – David And Mephibosheth

The story of David and Mephibosheth is one of the most beautiful stories in the Bible. It reveals that David really was a man after God’s own heart. Second Samuel 9 presents the gospel in a wonderful way, as well as showing us the gracious side of David’s character.

Mephibosheth – The Grandson Of King Saul
Mephibosheth was five years old when the news came that the Philistines had killed his father, Jonathan, and his grandfather, Saul, who was David’s bitter enemy (1 Sam. 31:2). According to the custom of the day, as the new king, David could put to death all contenders to the throne. The safe thing would have been for him to execute Mephibosheth, because by lineage he could claim the throne. To protect him from murder, his nurse took him and fled, and in the process of fleeing “he fell and became lame” in both his feet (2 Sam. 4:4).

Mephibosheth – A Type Of The Sinner
In seven ways, Mephibosheth’s life presents to us a picture of the sinner.

1. He was a helpless cripple. Just as a lame child cannot walk with his parents, so the sinner cannot walk with God. By nature all men are spiritually crippled in the sight of God. The spiritual helplessness of fallen man is continuously affirmed in the Scriptures. Joshua told God's chosen people, “You cannot serve the Lord, for He is a holy God” (Josh. 24:19). And Paul wrote, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:8). The sinner is completely “without strength” (Rom. 5:6) and can contribute nothing toward his salvation.
2. Because he was a cripple, Mephibosheth had to be carried into the king’s presence. Likewise, the sinner cannot come by his own strength to salvation; it is the Savior who seeks him out. “No man can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (Jn. 6:44).
3. Mephibosheth became a cripple through a fall (2 Sam. 4:4). The Bible is divinely accurate. In the beginning man was “very good” (Gen. 1:31), but he became spiritually crippled because of sin. When Adam disobeyed God by eating the fruit of the forbidden tree, he fell and all men fell with him (Rom. 5:12-19).
4. In Scripture the word “Mephibosheth” means “shame out of the mouth.” When he heard from David what kindness was prepared for him, Mephibosheth confessed with his mouth his own shame and nothingness: “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?” (2 Sam. 9:8). How accurately the definition “shame out of the mouth” describes the fallen human creature. Here’s how God’s Word describes us: “We are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6). All men are by birth and practice corrupt to the core. “There is none righteous ... there is none who seeks after God ... there is none that does good, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10-12).
5. Being a descendent of Saul, Mephibosheth should have been killed. According to the code of that day, David was justified in putting to death all the members of Saul’s household to prevent them from claiming the throne and threatening David. Here we have a picture of all men who are by nature “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph.2:1).
6. Mephibosheth was a fugitive from David. He and his nurse were anxious to keep out of David’s way lest he find the boy and execute him. So it is with the sinners; they are afraid of God, and seek to avoid Him (Ps. 51).
7. Mephibosheth lived in “Lo Debar” (2 Sam. 9:4), which means “the place of no pasture.” How aptly it portrays the world which provides no food for man’s soul. It is a world that does not know the Bread of Life. After the prodigal left his father’s house, he said, “I perish with hunger” (Lk. 15:17). No food is to be found in this world except husks for swine (Lk. 15:16).

David – A Type Of Christ
If Mephibosheth is a type of the sinner, then David is a type of Jesus, the Son of David (Mt. 1:1). Let’s look at seven similarities between David and Christ.

1. “David said, ‘Is there yet anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?’” (2 Sam. 9:1). And today God says, “Is there yet anyone who is left of the house of Adam, that I may show him kindness for Christ’s sake?” David extended kindness to Mephibosheth for Jonathan whom he loved and with whom he made a covenant. Likewise, God saves poor, crippled sinners for Christ’s sake. Of God’s chosen people, we read that He “saved them for His name’s sake” (Ps. 106:8). In the New Testament we also read that “God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven” us (Eph. 4:32).
2. “The king said, ‘Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?’” (2 Sam. 9:3). David desires to show “the kindness of God.” Paul wrote of “the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man” (Ti 3:4). In Christ, God shows great kindness to sinful men.
3. “King David sent and brought him ... from Lo Debar” (2 Sam. 9:5). The sinner does not seek God, but God seeks him. What a wonderful statement of God: “I was found by those who did not seek Me” (Isa. 65:1). And the Savior said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father ... draws him” (Jn. 6:44). The Holy Spirit is the One who convicts the sinner of his sin, melts his stony heart, opens his blind eyes, reverses his unwillingness and gives him faith. Thank God for drawing sinners to come to the saving knowledge of the Redeemer.
4. “Then David said, ‘Mephibosheth’” (2 Sam. 9:6). When David and Mephibosheth first met, David started the conversation. This shows in type how God always takes the initiative in connection with salvation. David addressed the poor cripple kindly and intimately. This reminds us of the good Shepherd who “calls His own sheep by name” (Jn. 10:3). Jesus called Zaccheus by name (Lk. 19:5), Mary Magdalene by name (Jn. 20:16), and Saul (Paul) by name (Acts 9:4). How wonderful that Christ knows every one of us by name.
5. The next words David spoke were yet more blessed: “Do not fear” (2 Sam. 9:7). This expression is repeated often in the Scriptures. God used it when He spoke with Abram (Gen. 15:1), Isaac (Gen. 26:24), Jacob (Gen. 46:3), Joseph (Gen.50:19), Joshua (Josh. 8:1), when Jesus spoke to His despondent disciples (Lk. 12:32), and when, as the risen Savior, He spoke to John who fell at His feet as dead (Rev. 1:17). With such an expression, David calmed Mephibosheth. The next words of David to Mephibosheth were, “For I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake” (2 Sam. 9:7). There were no conditions stipulated by David. He spoke graciously, like a king.
6. Not only did David utter the above words, but he also added, “and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather” (2 Sam. 9:7). Moreover, David said to Ziba, Saul’s servant, “I have given to your master’s son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house” (2 Sam. 9:9). Not only did David grant life to Mephibosheth who deserved death, but he also gave him a forfeited inheritance. Once more David is pictured as the One in whom “also we have obtained an inheritance” (Eph. 1:11). Here we have a picture that could never have been drawn by a human artist.

In what David said and did for Mephibosheth, we see unmerited favor and mercy – “the God of all grace” (1 Pet. 5:10). What words of grace came from David’s lips: “I will surely show you kindness” (2 Sam. 9:7). Here the kindness of God to the poor and needy sinner is pictured. He is lifted from his low place of shame to take a place at the King’s table as one of His sons. It is the kindness of God as seen in the gospel of His Son our Lord Jesus Christ. He takes us out of our shame and makes us His own sons.

David’s lifting up of Mephibosheth is a striking picture of the “exceeding riches” which divine grace imparts to those who have been “blessed ... with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph.1:3). Grace has been defined as “God’s unmerited favor as seen in the bestowment of eternal blessings upon those who are hell-deserving.” David refused to slay Mephibosheth when he was in power. This illustrates the abounding mercy of God to those who sinned and deserved nothing but unsparing judgment at His hands. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).

Have you found the eternal life which only Christ can bestow upon sinners? Have you opened your heart to receive Christ as your personal Savior and Lord? If not, I pray that you believe on Christ at this very moment, before the age of grace comes to an end.

Ziba – A Liar And Deceiver
In 2 Samuel 16:1-4, we learn that when David fled from the rebellion of his son Absalom, Mephibosheth’s servant Ziba brought food for his men. When David inquired where Mephibosheth was, Ziba said, “He is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me.’” This was a lie; Ziba wanted to put Mephibosheth in bad light in the hope that he might get something out of his estate. David, not having the opportunity to check the facts, believed Ziba and hastily put all that belonged to Mephibosheth into the servant’s hands.

In 2 Samuel 19:24-30, we read that Mephibosheth refused to join the defection to Absalom’s side. He met his king with undressed feet, untrimmed hair and unwashed clothes; he had been thus since David’s flight from the wrath of Absalom. He remained loyal to David, and during all the civil war he fasted and prayed for his king. Mephibosheth also acknowledged that Ziba, his servant, deceived him and slandered his name (2 Sam. 19:26-28).

When David told Mephibosheth and Ziba that they could divide the land, Mephibosheth’s answer was beautiful and sincere: “Let him take it all, inasmuch as my lord the king has come in peace to his own house” (2 Sam. 19:30). It showed Mephibosheth’s great joy for the safe return of his king and his restoration to the throne.

The story of David and Mephibosheth typically reveals “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24), and “the God of all grace” (1 Pet. 5:10). It shows how great David really was; he indeed was a man after God’s own heart.

By Maurice Bassali

Next month we’ll look at David and Absalom