2 Samuel 9:1
David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”
V 3
The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”
V 7
“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.” Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”
____________________________________________________________________________
1 Sam 18
After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
____________________________________________________________________________
1 Sam 18
23 … But David said, “Do you think it is a small matter to become the king’s son-in-law? I’m only a poor man and little known.”
…
28 When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, 29 Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days.
____________________________________________________________________________
1 Sam 20 – David is about 25
14 But show me unfailing kindness like the Lord’s kindness as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, 15 and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family—not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”
16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord call David’s enemies to account.” 17 And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.
____________________________________________________________________________
1 Sam 23
16 And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. 17 “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.” 18 The two of them made a covenant before the Lord. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.
____________________________________________________________________________
1 Sam 24
20 I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. 21 Now swear to me by the Lord that you will not kill off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.”
22 So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
____________________________________________________________________________
David made covenants with Jonathan and Saul
• Made Covenant with Jonathan – 1 Sam 20:14-15
• Made Covenant with Saul – 1 Sam 24:12
• Both promises involved not killing all of his family
• David was going to keep his word to his closest friend and King Saul
____________________________________________________________________________
2 Sam 4
4 (Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.)
____________________________________________________________________________
2 Sam 9
9 David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”
2 Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”
“At your service,” he replied.
3 The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”
Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.”
4 “Where is he?” the king asked.
Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”
5 So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.
6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.
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. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”
8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog 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 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.
12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth. 13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.”
____________________________________________________________________________
2 Sam 16
16 When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine.
2 The king asked Ziba, “Why have you brought these?”
Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”
3 The king then asked, “Where is your master’s grandson?”
Ziba said to him, “He is staying in Jerusalem, because he thinks, ‘Today the Israelites will restore to me my grandfather’s kingdom.’”
4 Then the king said to Ziba, “All that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.”
“I humbly bow,” Ziba said. “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.”
David took Ziba at his word and wasn’t aware that he was being lied to by Ziba so he gave all of the gifts that he had given to Mephibosheth to Ziba.
____________________________________________________________________________
2 Sam 19
24 Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, also went down to meet the king. He had not taken care of his feet or trimmed his mustache or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned safely. 25 When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him, “Why didn’t you go with me, Mephibosheth?”
26 He said, “My lord the king, since I your servant am lame, I said, ‘I will have my donkey saddled and will ride on it, so I can go with the king.’ But Ziba my servant betrayed me. 27 And he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. My lord the king is like an angel of God; so do whatever you wish. 28 All my grandfather’s descendants deserved nothing but death from my lord the king, but you gave your servant a place among those who eat at your table. So what right do I have to make any more appeals to the king?”
____________________________________________________________________________
29 The king said to him, “Why say more? I order you and Ziba to divide the land.”
30 Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him take everything, now that my lord the king has returned home safely.”
____________________________________________________________________________

Mephibosheth’s response to the King
Mephibosheth was crippled due the mistakes of someone else.
He lost his ability to care for himself and even though he was covered by the promise of David, he didn’t take advantage of that due to the fear that covered his life.
David searched for him in order to satisfy the promise that he made to Jonathan.
He offered him a place at the kings table to live as one of the king’s sons.
The kingdom was under attack and Mephibosheth was left to care for himself as someone that was unable to care for himself.
He spent all of the time that David was away mourning the lack of the kings presence.
When the king (David) returned all that he wanted to was to be with the King. He didn’t care about the lands that had been taken from him or the deception of his servant.
All of that meant nothing once David returned.
He understood that if David was really in charge of the Kingdom it didn’t matter what he owned. Everything that he needed would be provided by the king.
____________________________________________________________________________
What is our response today?
Rom 5:6-8
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
___________________________________________________________________________
Our Response
We are in a similar situation to Mephibosheth.
We have been crippled due the sin of his ancestors.
We are unable to take care of our own needs.
We do not have the ability to care for ourselves without the covering of the King.
Even though we are covered by the promise of the kindness of God, we often don’t take advantage of that due to the fear.
God searched us out in order to satisfy His Covenant.
He offers us a place at the kings table to live as one of the king’s sons.
God’s Kingdom is under attack and we are powerless to stop the attack without the King’s provision.
We have been betrayed and let down.
Do we spend any time mourning the lack of the kings presence?
Do we understood that if God is really in charge of the Kingdom it doesn’t matter what we own?
Everything that we need will be provided by the King.