(I will be referring to the Scripture in
Part 1 throughout this entry.)
I ended Part 1 of my last entry with a question. My question is concerning King David & Mephibosheth found in 2 Samuel 9. Why did God begin the chapter in verse 3 & end with verse 13c-And Mephibosheth …; he was lame in both feet? Again, I find this interesting. Why did God want this to be the last thing to be itched in our minds? Why not leave it on a perfectly good note or portion of scripture in verse13a & b- And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table;…. This would have kept us at the fairy-tale ending, “And everyone lived happily ever after.”
One reason I think God chose not the fairy-tale ending was it was not a real life situation. We live in a sinful, fallen world, with disappointments, & struggles. Life is hard, & not fair. God never intended for our lives to be this way, but He knew from the beginning of time that Adam & Eve would choose to sin. So, “where one man brought sin into this world, many are now sinners”, well….
A second reason that comes to my mind is I need a reminder that I am a sinner. I am spiritually crippled in two feet. If Mehpibosheth was crippled in only one foot or an arm, he could probably easily compensate. I easily compensate with my easy way-outs sometimes. I start to trust in myself, & lean on my own understanding. Mehpibosheth & King David had a three day physical reminder, because Mehpibosheth ate at the king’s table the rest of his days.
Because of how Mephibosheth’s disability happen, he lived in hiding for fear of being killed. King David didn’t have a clue Mephibosheth existed until he inquired. We see this in 2 Samuel 9:1-King David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of King Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” Jonathan was King Saul’s son who David loved dearly with a brotherly love. Jonathan had made a covenant with David, & David wanted to not only honor Jonathan, but their covenant. This question was total GRACE! David didn’t owe this to Jonathan, & David especially didn’t owe anything to King Saul, who hated him! This is something he desired to do out of love.
After Mephibosheth came before David, David tells him not to fear. David begins to bless him by giving back all King Saul’s property, gives Mephibosheth King Saul’s servant & his servant’s family to take care of his property. David ends with the biggest blessing of all, wanting relationship with Mephibosheth by feasting at his table at every meal-crippled feet & all!!! Mephibosheth was treated as one of David’s sons. WOW!!!
A third reason might be, when you have crippled feet, you can’t really go anywhere by yourself. You are not independent. You are needy if you like it or not! You might have to stay planted a while until someone else moves you.
Fourthly, maybe because of his disability, Mephibosheth thought of himself as a dog as we see in verse 8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”
It’s time to see God’s grace:
In paragraph reason one, I ended with “where one man (Adam) brought sin into the world, many are now sinners….”; the rest of this sentence is “so by one Man’s (Jesus’) obedience, many will be righteous (be saved).” We don’t need a fairy-tale ending, because we have hope, & can have a changed life in Jesus.
Just like Mephibosheth, there is nothing I can do to be accepted more, or loved more by the Father. Jesus has done it all for me. I don’t need to compensate. Because of Jesus, I don’t have to fear, I can come boldly to the Father’s throne of GRACE!
The Father desires & waits for me to come to His banqueting table & rest, without a care in the world because I am casting all my cares on Him; be refreshed, nourished, & enjoy His fellowship-cripple feet & all!! The Father would love for me to choose to plant myself, & need only Him.
The HUGE difference between me/the Father, & David/Mephibosheth is the Father doesn’t even see my crippled feet. What GRACE!!! Why you might ask? Again, it is because of Jesus covering my sinful crippled feet with His blood, & the Father sees Jesus. I am free from the Father’s wrath once & for all, because the work of the cross was finished once & for all. Because of the cross, I don’t have to work for my salvation & I don’t have to work for my sanctification, (making me more like Jesus everyday)! Where Mephibosheth believed his worth was equal to a dog, the Father sees me as His dearly beloved child, His princess.
Finally, the Christmas Twist:
With all this said, you might ask, “Where does Christmas come into this story?” Without the grace of the manger, I would still be in my crippled state. Jesus had to leave His throne room of glory, to come to earth, humbly as a newborn baby, born of a virgin. He lived a perfect life, taking my punishment on the cross. Then, after three days He arose from the grave, & is now seated down at the right hand of the Father.
Jesus tells us in Mt 19:14-“Let the little children come to Me, & do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
I have three grand daughters; Audrey-2 1/2, Haven-4 1/2, & Lauren-6 1/2. I love each one dearly. Each one are at different stages in their lives & each one has different personalities. When I see each of them, they run up and give me a great big hug. Lauren stays in my arms a few seconds. Haven stays about 1-2 min. But Audrey, if Mama or Daddy aren’t around, those little arms are constantly going up, & she is glued to my hip. Naturally, I will never turn her away from reaching down, picking her up, & loving on her. I desire to hold her, no matter how heavy she might get. On my hip or not, we go everywhere together having fellowship.
God the Father desires this same thing. He desires for me to reach up to Him, to stay glued to, or to rest on His hip-“so to speak.” To spend moment by moment going everywhere with Him & having fellowship.
Please, don’t miss going to the manger this Christmas,
crippled feet & all!
Merry Christmas!
ann :)
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