As
David is now king over Israel, he must have been reminiscing about all the good
times he had with his friend Jonathan. “Is there still anyone left of the house
of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”(2 Samuel 9.1). What
usually happened when a new king would take the throne, his first order of
business was to kill all the family of the previous king so that no one could
make a claim to the throne. David must have thought they were all gone, until
one servant brought up a man; the servant Ziba had taken one of the sons of
Jonathan and fled from the palace. In the process of fleeing, he dropped the
young boy causing him to become lame (2 Samuel 4.4). His name was Mephibosheth.
David has him brought immediately to him and has him eat at his table and
promises to restore all the land that Saul had possessed to him. He must have
told him stories of how he and Jonathan had been friends and the promise he had
made to him before he fled. Upon David’s restoring Mephibosheth to his place,
he fell on his face and said, “What is your servant, that you should show
regard for a dead dog such as I?” (2 Samuel 9.8). How Sad! How sad that this young
man saw himself as nothing more than a dead dog. What happened to this man as a
boy was certainly unfortunate, but it could only define who he was, if he
allowed it. Just think for a moment: it was feasible for him to have been in
line for the throne. Even if he wasn’t, he was destined to live out the rest of
his life in the luxury of the palace of the king, until his unfortunate event.
Now, due to the grace and generosity of David, Mephibosheth will once again
live out his days in the king’s palace. Truly one small act of kindness can
change a person’s whole outlook on life. So, whose outlook are you going to
change today?
PRAYER
REQUESTS____________________________________________________