NOTES for Sa2 9:1-13
1 And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan's sake? |
2 And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he. |
3 And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet. |
4 And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar. |
5 Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. |
6 Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant! |
7 And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. |
8 And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am? |
9 Then the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master's son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house. |
10 Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master's son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master's son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. |
11 Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king's sons. |
12 And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth. |
13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king's table; and was lame on both his feet. |
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We already know how dear Jonathan was to David. Yet David’s love for Jonathan is astonishing in its boundlessness. David had already shown noble regard for Saul’s family more than once, and when he became king he guaranteed Saul’s relatives safety and protection. But in memory of his closest friend, David is ready to show mercy again and again to people from the house of Saul.
The mercy shown to Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, is of course the mercy David would have wished to show Jonathan himself. But it is also mercy toward Saul’s entire family, for whom David retained respect throughout his life. In the fact that Mephibosheth ate at the king’s table with David’s sons, we can see not only care for the son of a close friend, but also David’s own humility. Every meal became for him a living reminder that the Lord had originally chosen another house to reign, and that its fall should become not a reason for self-exaltation, but a lesson for the future.
Yes, the Lord promised not to take His mercy away from the house of David. But He also warned that even the kings among David’s descendants would be strictly called to account for their unworthy deeds.
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