And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God to him? And Ziba said to the king, Jonathan has yet a son, who is lame on [his] feet.
David has just won the throne, and his first concern is the family of Saul — the king who hunted him. Ziba answers that one crippled man is left, and commentators read the exchange as a picture of how God treats people who have no claim on Him.
The words David chooses are striking because of who he is speaking about. He is not describing his own generosity but naming a higher pattern.
Hardly had David taken his seat on the throne, when he spoke those memorably gracious words, "Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?" "The house of Saul!" "The kindness of God!" What words! Saul had been his most determined enemy; yet, being now on the throne, the brilliance of his position and the fullness of divine grace enabled him to bury the acts of the past, and to show, not merely the kindness of David, but the kindness of God.
The search itself carries the point. A king with power in his hands looks for survivors of the losing house — and everything depends on why.
Ziba was a servant of the house of Saul, and he could give useful evidence in the case before us. The king says, "Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?" (v. 3). That is a remarkable phrase, "the kindness of God." A beautiful phrase! David looks around him and says, "My heart is full of goodwill. Is there anyone left of the house of my enemy? Is any descendant left of the man who hunted me, who sought to kill me, and who three times threw javelins at me? Is anyone left that — I may take my revenge on him? Ah! no — that I may show the kindness of God to him."
David's phrase raises a question. What does the kindness of God actually amount to?
The real kindness and love of God come out in the giving of His own blessed Son. That Son died on the tree — the just for the unjust. The kindness of God! Do you know it? Have you tasted it?
David acts on a promise he made to Jonathan. Nothing in the man he seeks earns it.
When David asked whether anyone was left of the house of Saul, so that he could show kindness for Jonathan's sake (2 Sam. 9:1, 3), he was illustrating the kindness that God shows to those who are, by nature, at enmity with Him. The covenant that David had made with Jonathan (1 Sam. 20:14-15) was the reason for his words and action: but guilty sinners had no claim on the kindness of God. In His sovereign love, God has taken up guilty sinners like Saul of Tarsus, and like you and me. He has given us the blessings of sonship and heirship together with His own Son. In this way He shows the universe what His kindness is.
Ziba's reply gives two details: the man's condition and where he lives. Commentators read both as a picture of our own condition.
Ziba knew of one son of Jonathan, lame on both his feet (v. 3). We have read of him before in 2 Samuel 4:4, which tells us that he was crippled through a fall. This is spiritually true of all mankind. Because of Adam's fall, all his children have inherited his crippled, sinful condition. The man, Mephibosheth, was living at Lo Debar (v. 4), a name that means "no pasture." It was a place of desolation — a picture of having no food for the soul.
One writer applies the man's lameness directly to the reader.
A man with one lame leg is badly off. He cannot walk straight, and must take a crooked path. But a man with two lame legs is worse off still; he cannot walk at all. Mephibosheth was "lame on both his feet," and so are you, if unconverted. You are a moral cripple — spiritually lame, and unable to walk the straight and narrow way that leads to life and God.
Because the man cannot walk, the movement has to come from the throne. That detail carries weight for commentators.
Now, this fetching is very beautiful. It tells out a grace entirely of God. Man shows kindness to those who, as he thinks, deserve it. Or he expects to get something worth the kindness in return — not so with God. Mephibosheth had not done one thing to earn the kindness. He did not have to do his part first, as some say. No! grace went to fetch him from Lo-debar, the very place where he was.
Mephibosheth's name has a meaning, and his own words match it.
Mephibosheth means "shame out of the mouth." When he heard from David's lips what kindness David had prepared for him, he confessed with his mouth his own shame and nothingness. "What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I am?" And what words of grace came from David's lips! Surely the kindness of God is here fully made known. He is lifted from his low place of shame to take a place at the king's table "as one of the king's sons."
- Kindness named. David has his enemy's family in his power, and he asks for them so that he can show them the kindness of God.
- Kindness sourced. It rests on a covenant made with Jonathan, not on merit in the man found — those receiving it had no claim to it.
- Kindness aimed. It reaches a man crippled by a fall and living in a place whose name means "no pasture."
- Kindness sent. The lame man cannot come, so the king fetches him from the very place where he is.
- Kindness seated. The man who calls himself a dead dog ends up at the king's table as one of the king's sons.
And the king said to him, Where is he? And Ziba said to the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.
Ziba's answer points the king far from Jerusalem — across the Jordan, to a house in a town called Lo-debar. The verse is only an address. Yet commentators find in it the whole condition of the man David wanted to bless: hidden, helpless, and living under someone else's roof.
David learns that Jonathan has a son, and only then asks where he is. One writer finds the same order in the way a sinner is brought to God:
The man who is really a Christian has been brought to see that he is a sinner — a ruined, lost, undone sinner. Then, weighed down by the sense of his distance, he hears and believes the gospel. The Word of God brings him to deal with God, just as you will see Mephibosheth here brought to David. David learns of his existence, and of his condition. He next asks, "Where is he?" ... That was a long way off. Mephibosheth lived scores of miles away from Jerusalem.
One writer joins the name of the town to Mephibosheth's lameness:
Mephibosheth was the representative and heir of a great enemy and wrongdoer, and he was lame on both his feet. His condition is the exact picture of every man's moral condition by nature. Now observe his position. He was living in "Lo-Debar," which means "no pasture." The world is a real Lo-debar for us all. Absolutely nothing in it can satisfy our highest needs.
Another writer writes that name over every place where people hunt for satisfaction apart from God:
Men and women seek satisfaction where it can never be found — in the world, away from God. ... Others, with a show of wisdom, hope to find it in religious forms and ceremonies. But over the door of every temple where Christ is not held up, faith's eyes, given sight from heaven, can see written in letters black as night: "Lo-debar" — no pasture.
Mephibosheth was not just living somewhere remote. He was hiding, and one writer explains why:
I suppose he thought that David was against him. He very likely thought that if David found him, the king would hang him from the nearest tree, kill him with the sword, or throw him into prison. Was not Saul, his grandfather, David's enemy nearly all his life? Had he not for years cheated David of the throne of Israel? So he hid himself away in Machir's house, in Lo-debar.
Machir appears again later, when David himself is the one in trouble:
Machir was the son of Ammiel of Lo-debar. He was, we may assume, a man of note and standing in the half tribe of Manasseh beyond the Jordan. In earlier days he had taken into his house the lame child of Jonathan — that worthy son of Israel, the son of king Saul. He had been a comfort to him in the day of national trouble, when the house of Saul and his father Jonathan was sinking. And so, when David is sinking, and suffering the heavy punishment of his terrible sin, the same right mind appears again in this true man of God. He joins in comforting David too.
David does not summon Mephibosheth to prove himself first. He sends to the exact spot Ziba named.
Mephibosheth had not done one thing to earn the kindness. He did not have to do his part first, as some say. No! Grace went to fetch him from Lo-debar, the very place where he was. And did not the Son of God come to poor sinners, just where they were? He came to fetch them, and He found them dead in trespasses and sins.
Commentators differ over the name. The writers above read Lo-debar as "no pasture". Another reads the three names in the verse as a chain that leads to blessing:
He is found in the house of Machir, which means "one who recollects" — and so he really comes to himself. Machir is the son of Ammiel, "of the people of God," and he lives in Lodebar, where "the word is his" — it applies itself, and comes home to him. Brought into David's presence, he hears the word of restoring grace that enriches him, and bows his heart in gratitude.
- Found. David hears of a survivor and at once asks where he is. The search starts with the king, not with the man in hiding.
- Far. Lo-debar lay beyond the Jordan, scores of miles from Jerusalem. The distance pictures how far the sinner lives from God.
- Fruitless. Most read the name as "no pasture". Such a place feeds no one, whether the search there is for pleasure, for learning, or for religion without Christ.
- Fearful. Mephibosheth was the grandson of David's old enemy. He hid because he thought the king wanted his life.
- Fetched. David sent to the very address Ziba named. Grace goes to where the person is, before the person has done anything at all.
And king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.
David had asked whether anyone was left of Saul's house, and here he acts on the answer. Everything turns on who moves first, where this man was living, and why a king would bother with him.
Both verbs in this verse belong to David. He did not wait to be asked. (Older translations read "fetched him"; the ESV has "sent and brought him.")
Now, this fetching is very beautiful. It shows a grace that is entirely of God. Man shows kindness to those who, as he thinks, deserve it. Or he expects to get something worth the kindness in return — not so with God. Mephibosheth had not done one thing to merit the kindness. He did not have to do his part first, as some say. No! Grace went to fetch him from Lo-debar, the very place where he was.
The address matters. Writers read the name Lo-debar as a description of the man's circumstances, not just a dot on a map.
He lived in "Lo-Debar," which means "no pasture." The world is a real Lo-Debar for us all. It holds nothing at all that can satisfy our highest needs.
Commentators differ on how to read the names. Another reading takes the whole address — Machir, Ammiel, Lo-debar — as a picture of a man coming to himself.
He is found in the house of Machir, which means "one who recollects" (and so he truly comes to himself), the son of Ammiel, "of the people of God," in Lo-debar, where "the word is his" — the word applies itself, and comes home to him. Brought into David's presence, he hears the word of restoring grace that enriches him, and he bows his heart in gratitude. From then on his place is at the king's table, as one of his sons.
Mephibosheth had a claim he could have pressed — his father's name, and the covenant David had made with Jonathan. He never pressed it, and one writer sees in that the way every soul is blessed.
Mephibosheth might well have gone to David and pleaded Jonathan's name before him. The King would certainly have honoured his covenant with the one who had died, and shown favour to his son. But Mephibosheth did not take the first step. In the same way, it is not man who takes the first great step towards the soul's blessing. The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost; and now it is the Holy Spirit who speaks the first word in the soul, the word that leads to reconciliation with God. If God waited for man to act on his own, God and man would stay estranged for ever, because the heart's hostility to everything divine runs so deep. Once Mephibosheth stood in David's presence, he learned that he was being blessed for another's sake. That put everything on sure ground, as far as his own merit was concerned.
A summons from the king was not good news for a survivor of Saul's house. The one thing that drew David's eye was the very thing that made the journey terrifying.
There was no reason for the king's interest to turn toward the house of Saul. That house had always made war against David, and in its present state only its misery could attract the king's attention. But misery is exactly what attracts grace... His feet were lame because in the past he had fled from the one whose only thought was to bless him. The king sends for him... and this lame man presents himself before David. What emotions must have stirred in the heart of this poor cripple! With what anguish he must have pictured the fate awaiting him!
David is not simply being warm-hearted. What he set out to show was "the kindness of God," and the man brought from Lo-debar is where it is put on display.
David does not express a desire just to show his own personal feelings toward Mephibosheth. Rather, he wants to show "the kindness of God" towards him who is the only one left of the house of Saul... What a change Mephibosheth goes through! He is brought from the deepest misery — a lame man from the house of the king's enemies — into the king's favour. He becomes the trophy of that victory of kindness, and the object toward which this kindness expresses itself, shining in all its brightness.
- Fetched. David does not send help to Lo-debar. He sends for the man, and grace reaches him at the very place where he was.
- Nothing. Lo-debar means "no pasture" — a place that holds nothing able to meet the deepest need. Other writers read the names as a word that comes home to a man who has come to himself.
- Another's name. Mephibosheth never pleaded Jonathan's name. He was blessed for another's sake, and that settles the question of his own merit.
- Misery. His misery — lame, from the house of the king's enemies — is the one thing that drew the king's attention, and the thing that made the journey frightening.
- Trophy. The journey ends at the king's table, as one of his sons — a trophy for the kindness of God to shine on.
And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, and fell on his face and did obeisance. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he said, Behold thy servant!
Mephibosheth enters the palace of the king his grandfather Saul had hunted, and he drops face down on the floor. Will the next word from the throne be a death sentence or kindness, and what can such a man say for himself?
He does not arrive under his own power. One writer finds the whole character of grace in that fetching from Lo-debar.
This fetching is very beautiful. It tells out a grace so entirely of God. Man shows kindness to those who, as he thinks, deserve it. Or he expects to get something worth the kindness in return — not so with God. Mephibosheth had not done one thing to deserve the kindness. He did not have to do his part first, as some say. No! Grace went to fetch him from Lo-debar, the very place where he was. And did the Son of God not come to poor sinners, just where they were? He came to fetch them, and He found them dead in trespasses and sins.
The same writer ties the fetching to the man's crippled feet.
Mephibosheth was too lame to do his part first. He had to be fetched.
The posture is not ceremony. It is terror, and the reason is his family name.
"And now, when Mephibosheth came to David, he fell on his face." What a picture of dread and fear. As the son of Saul, the hunter of the life of David, what had he to expect? The next moment the voice of stern justice might demand his life. There he lies — a picture of a trembling sinner, brought before God under the fearful load of guilt and sin. He does not know God. He does not know what to expect.
Another writer measures the danger by what a king's anger meant.
What can those who belong to the house of Saul expect from the king but death? "A king's wrath is a messenger of death" (Prov. 16:14). Mephibosheth cannot claim anything. He can only submit to the king and accept his decision.
David's first word is not a charge or a title. It is the man's own name.
"And David said, Mephibosheth!" He calls him by name, the name that no one had pronounced in his presence. David knows me then; does he remember me? the poor man must be thinking. And Mephibosheth, bowed at the king's feet, says: "Behold, I am your servant!"
His reply offers the only currency he thinks he has. One commentator treats that offer as the instinct of every human heart.
"Behold, I am your servant," is the trembling reply. How little did he expect the unconditional grace that was about to be shown him. "Behold, I am your servant" is the highest thought of fallen man. He ventures to offer himself as a servant to God, and hopes to be saved at last for his serving. This is the religion of every human heart.
Two verses later he speaks again, and the words have changed.
He calls himself a servant in verse 6. In verse 8 we see his response to the unexpected and surprising grace he met from David. He now judges himself even more deeply in the light of this mercy. He no longer says only, "Behold, I am your servant," as in verse 6. Now he says, "What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I am?"
Nothing about the man on the floor explains the king's kindness. One writer shows where the ground for it lay, and why it could not shift.
For Jonathan your father's sake — that was the ground, and an unchanging ground, because Jonathan was dead. If he had still been alive, he might perhaps have forfeited the king's favour by some act. Since he was dead, that was impossible. So Mephibosheth could count on David's kindness, if only he would receive it.
The grace does not repair his feet. The chapter closes by naming his condition again.
Notice that this glorious new relationship changed nothing about Mephibosheth's condition. The chapter ends with the words: "And he was lame on both his feet." In the eyes of others and in his own eyes he is just the same. … In David's eyes it is quite otherwise. He is clothed in all the dignity of a son of the king. … To exalt His grace, God gives people who are lame in both feet the right to enjoy His presence in glory.
- Fetched. He did not travel to the king; the king's grace came to Lo-debar and got him. A man lame in both feet has no first move to make.
- Feared. His face on the floor was dread, not etiquette. Saul's family could expect nothing from the throne but death.
- Named. The king's opening word was his own name — a name no one had spoken in his presence — and it came before any verdict.
- Answered. "Behold, I am your servant" was the best he could offer: service in the hope of being saved. Two verses later, in the light of mercy, he called himself a dead dog instead.
- Kept. The reason was Jonathan, not Mephibosheth. That ground could never be lost, because Jonathan was dead. David's favour clothes him with a son's dignity, and he is still lame.
And David said to him, Fear not; for I will certainly 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.
David has the throne. Before him is a lame survivor of the house he replaced, with every reason to expect a death sentence. What he hears instead is a promise of three things he never asked for and could not earn.
These writers quote an older translation. It reads "Fear not," "I will surely show you kindness," and "eat at my table continually." The ESV has "Do not fear," "I will show you kindness," and "always." Mephibosheth's fear was reasonable, and he later said what he had expected.
David knows that the lame man from the house of Saul is afraid. He fears he will get the exact opposite of what David has in mind for him. He tells David later what was in his heart at this moment: "All my father's house were but dead men before my lord the king; yet you set your servant among those who ate at your own table" (2 Samuel 19:28). What can those who belong to the house of Saul expect from the king but death? "A king's wrath is a messenger of death" (Proverbs 16:14). Mephibosheth cannot make any claims. He can only submit to the king and accept his decision.
Notice which word comes first.
David's first words to Mephibosheth are "Fear not." Love's first work is to take fear away, because until the fear is gone there is no readiness to listen to anything else.
David does not just promise kindness. He says he will surely show it. That certainty comes from outside the man receiving it.
David underlines the certainty of his goodness: "I will surely show you kindness." He also makes clear why it is so assured. It is not because Mephibosheth is so humble and submissive, nor because he could win the king over by faithful service. What service could a lame man do for the king? No, this goodness was so sure because it was to be shown for the sake of another person altogether — Jonathan. How good it is for the believer to know not only that he is forgiven, but why that forgiveness is so certain.
The man's own record never comes into it.
David did not ask whether anyone was worthy of his kindness. Their character was nothing. It was for Jonathan's sake alone that he was showing kindness. And this is why God saves the sinner. It is for Jesus' sake. We are not accepted for any goodness in ourselves.
Read the sentence again and notice what is missing from it — there is no "if."
This is like God — no conditions, no bargaining. It is not, If you will do this, or if you will not do that. No, it is all pure grace! The kindness of God! "I will surely show you kindness," and that entirely for another's sake.
The promise has a clear shape, and each part has its match in what God gives now.
Three things are here — the kindness, the inheritance, and the fellowship. All of these have their counterpart in the present day of God's abounding grace. We stand in divine favour (Romans 5:2; Ephesians 1:6). We have an inheritance (Ephesians 1, 2). And we have our fellowship (1 John 1:3).
Of the three, the seat at the table is what David keeps coming back to.
To look at him, this man must have been misery itself. This poor cripple could not move about on his own and had to be carried to the king's table. But to David he is a son, set in the highest place the king could give him. Is this not what we find in Ephesians 2:6-7? God "seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." David acts the same way toward Mephibosheth. Being seated as a son at his table was a thousand times more precious in the king's mind than being an heir. So he repeats these words to him three times (verses 7, 10, 13).
The one word that turns a meal into a standing position.
Mephibosheth's portion cannot be taken away from him. He will "eat at my table continually" (verses 7, 10); "he ate always at the king's table" (verse 13). "You shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever" (1 Samuel 20:15). He lived in Jerusalem, the very place the king had chosen for his own dwelling. We have these same privileges. The same set of favours that belonged to Mephibosheth is our portion now and in the future.
- Fear. He belonged to the losing house and expected execution. The king's first word takes that fear away, because until it goes he can hear nothing else.
- Sake. The kindness is certain because its reason sits outside the man. David acts for Jonathan's sake, as God saves for Jesus' sake.
- Free. David attaches no conditions and strikes no bargain. The promise is pure grace from start to finish.
- Three. Kindness, inheritance, fellowship. Of the three, the seat at the table matters most to the king. He repeats it three times.
- Continually. The king feeds the lame man as a son, in his own city, with a portion no one can take away.
And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?
Mephibosheth was the crippled grandson of Saul, the king who had hunted David for years. He came to the palace expecting a death sentence, and heard instead a promise of kindness and a permanent seat at the king's table.
"Dog" was a harsh insult, and "dead dog" was worse. One writer explains both halves of the phrase, then points back to David's own past:
In David's presence he calls himself a dog — unclean and despicable, the very picture of defilement. A dead dog: a foul and repulsive thing, worth only a kick out of the way. By speaking this way he took the place David himself had once taken before Saul, Mephibosheth's own grandfather: "After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog?" The powerful king in front of him had once stood where he now stood. In the days of his own suffering David had learned what defilement, death and rejection mean. This was the kind of savior Mephibosheth was dealing with.
His name means what his mouth has just confessed.
Mephibosheth means "shame out of the mouth". When he hears from David's lips what kindness David has prepared for him, he confesses with his mouth his own shame and nothingness. And what words of grace came from David's lips! This truly makes the kindness of God fully known. He is lifted out of his low place of shame to take a place at the King's table "as one of the King's sons." This is the kindness of God made known in the gospel of His Son our Lord Jesus Christ. He takes us out of our shame and makes us one of His sons.
Two verses earlier he had already called himself David's servant. Mercy, not threat, drove him lower.
In verse 6 he calls himself a servant. In verse 8 we see how he answers the unexpected grace he met from David. This mercy makes him judge himself more deeply still. In verse 6 he said only, "Here is your servant." Now he says, "What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?"
Many think a person must feel sorry enough before God will welcome him. One writer answers that with a picture of a fire.
As soon as the stream of free grace poured into the trembling heart of Mephibosheth, he bowed down and said, "What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?" This is how the goodness of God leads to repentance. God brings the sinner into the presence of infinite grace, and infinite holiness too. God reveals His true character to him in Christ Jesus... The effect of all this is to bow self to the dust, feeling this overwhelming grace. This is the change of mind called repentance. But shall I tell you, my reader, that you must repent like this before you come to Christ? No — I would as soon ask you to feel warm first before you come to the fire, if I saw you dying in the cold and the storm.
We learn what we are in one place only:
It is in the presence of God that we learn ourselves... A repentant man has nothing good to say about himself. A living dog is bad enough, but Mephibosheth calls himself a dead one.
The confession fits the gift. Grace leaves no room for pride, and no room for proving yourself either.
Anyone who receives grace feels his own unworthiness. That sets elation aside, and boasting in self even more. So taking a place at the table as a son fits the pure grace of the king. It would seem natural and right for Mephibosheth to show by his conduct that he had proved himself a loyal and obedient subject. But that would belong to law-keeping, not to grace — and grace brings a person into nearness and fullest confidence.
- Fetched. Grace moved first. David's kindness reached him before he said a word about himself.
- Named. A dead dog is unclean and repulsive. His own name, "shame out of the mouth", came true in his confession.
- Deepened. Kindness, not fear, pushed him lower. In verse 6 he is a servant; in verse 8 he is a dead dog.
- Shared. David had once called himself a dead dog before Saul. The king who welcomed him had known defilement, death and rejection too.
- Seated. His low place cost him nothing of the gift. Earning the seat by loyal service would have been law-keeping, not grace.
Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, I have given to thy master's son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house.
David calls in Ziba, who served Saul's household. He hands the whole family estate to Jonathan's crippled son. David speaks of the gift as already given. Saul's old servant must now work that land for Saul's grandson. Why would a king hand a dead king's whole estate to the last of his house?
David gives far more than Mephibosheth could have hoped for. One writer notes who decides the size of the gift.
What had his position been? Dependent, perhaps in some measure, on Machir's kindness. Now see how wealthy he had become. "I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always." Who among men but David would have thought of this? Nothing less would satisfy his heart. The inheritance, the favour, was not measured by Mephibosheth's deserts, nor by his desires, but only by those of the king himself.
The land is only half of the gift.
I notice one more thing before closing. Mephibosheth gets two things — a portion and a place. "Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, 'All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's son'" (v. 9). That is his portion. But there was more. David brought him into the royal palace "as one of the king's sons." "As for Mephibosheth," said the king, "he shall eat at my table, like one of the king's sons." There you have his place.
Of the two, the seat at the table is the one David keeps repeating.
In the king's mind, seating him as a son at his table was a thousand times more precious than making him an heir. So he repeats these words to him three times (vv. 7, 10, 13).
David names Mephibosheth by his old family line, not by his new place. (Where the ESV reads "grandson," older translations read "your master's son," the wording the writers below follow.)
David speaks about the inheritance, and about those who are to serve Mephibosheth in taking care of it. In this connection he says: "Mephibosheth, your master's son." From now on, when he sits at the king's table, Mephibosheth will keep his background in mind. That will make him wonder even more at the greatness of this grace, as the overwhelming wonder of it dawns on his soul.
The gift comes with people attached, and one writer counts them.
It just shows how grace delights to contribute to the blessing of its object, and nothing is too much to devote to it. Here was David saying to Ziba, "You and all your family must serve Mephibosheth; he is the object of my grace." And that is what God does. He saves and blesses a man through and through. He brings him to know Himself, and puts everything at his disposal. Everything is to contribute to his blessing. God loves us, and delights to bless us, and will turn everything to our advantage. The fifteen sons and twenty servants tell us that there is no limit to God's lavish supply to those whom His grace has blessed.
Ziba answers the king with a pledge to obey. Mephibosheth answers nothing. One writer draws a lesson from the difference.
Now notice the contrast between these two men — Ziba the servant and Mephibosheth the son. David calls Ziba and gives him commands, all of which he agrees to keep. "According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do." Israel made the same foolish promise at Sinai. Thousands are making it in our day, people who have given up Christianity and gone back to Judaism.
The land and the table change nothing about his feet.
The grace of God blesses us with countless blessings. Even so, not all our health problems will disappear. Paul learned this when he prayed for relief from his "thorn in the flesh"… The lame feet also show that the flesh remains in us while we live on earth. However, someone has well observed that when Mephibosheth ate at David's table, his feet would be out of sight under the table. So long as we are honestly enjoying communion with the Lord Jesus, the flesh will not show itself.
- Given — the wealth arrives as an announcement, not a bargain. The king's heart sets its size, not what Mephibosheth deserved or even wanted.
- Portion — everything that belonged to Saul's house becomes his inheritance. A man who lived on someone else's kindness is suddenly rich.
- Place — the seat at the table outranks the estate. David says it three times: a son's place is worth more than an heir's portion.
- Reach — Ziba, his sons and his servants all serve one man's good. Grace sets no limit on what it spends on the person it chooses.
- Response — Ziba pledges performance; Mephibosheth only receives. Still lame, he keeps his feet out of sight under the king's table.
And thou, 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. And Mephibosheth thy master's son shall eat bread at my table continually. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
David has just given Saul's whole estate to Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan. Now he puts Ziba's household to work farming that land, so the harvest reaches its new owner. Then comes the turn that gives the verse its force. The land will keep Mephibosheth fed, yet he himself will eat somewhere else — at the king's own table.
The last line counts Ziba's household: thirty-five people in all.
I confess, when reading this, I often wondered why the Spirit of God should record that Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. It was a long time before I saw the point. It just shows how grace delights to contribute to the blessing of its object, and nothing is too much to devote to it. Here was David saying to Ziba, You and all your family must serve Mephibosheth; he is the object of my grace. And that is what God does. He saves and blesses a man out and out. He brings him to know Himself, and puts everything at his disposal… The fifteen sons and twenty servants simply tell us that there is no limit to God's lavish supply to those whom His grace has blessed.
David arranged the land so that the man who had nothing would never lack bread. But the verse does not stop at food.
The man who had almost nothing is given abundant riches… Ziba in fact had 20 servants of his own, so that all would be well cared for, and the fruit of the land would reach Mephibosheth at the right time. But his needs were not all: he was to have the privilege of eating continually at David's table. The Lord Jesus does not only supply what is necessary for us: He desires our company in fellowship with Him. He is not only kind to us: He loves us.
David could have given the estate and left it there. The table was worth more to him than the title deeds.
To look at him, this man must have been misery itself. This poor lame man could not move about by himself and had to be carried to the king's table. But to David he is a son, set in the highest place he could give him… David acts in the same way toward Mephibosheth. In the king's mind, seating him as a son at his table was a thousand times more precious than making him an heir. That is why he repeats these words to him three times.
What he owns and where he sits are two different gifts. Christians receive both, but many take in only the first.
Christians have a portion. They have forgiveness of sins, justification from all things, and countless spiritual blessings. But they also have a place. And oh, what a place it is! It is a place in the Father's house as sons… The place is even better than the portion, blessed as the Christian's portion is… Too many settle for being saved, and enjoy their place as "sons of God" only weakly, if at all. They know their portion, but hardly grasp their place.
Twice David names him by his family, not by his name. It keeps Saul's house in view.
From now on, when he sits at the king's table, Mephibosheth will keep his background in mind. That will make him wonder even more at the greatness of this grace, as its overwhelming wonder dawns on his soul… Ephesians shows us our high position in Christ, and there we are also asked to remember our past in the flesh. Will this rob us of our joy as we sit there at His table? Not at all. It will only make His goodness and mercy look greater to us, and a deeper understanding of this will increase our joy.
Ziba receives orders; Mephibosheth receives a seat. Notice how differently the king speaks to each.
Not one word of grace to the servant, and not one command to the son. The one is the service of legal bondage, the other the service of the heart's deepest affection.
The word David keeps repeating is the one that settles the matter.
Mephibosheth's portion cannot be taken away from him: He will "always eat at my table"… He dwelt at Jerusalem, the same place that the king had chosen for his dwelling. We have these same privileges… The inheritance is ours, and we will take possession of it. We dwell in the Father's house and we will dwell there forever. He has seated us at His table; we will be there forever.
- Restored — David hands back Saul's whole estate and sets thirty-five people to work on it. Grace holds nothing back from the one it blesses.
- Supplied — the land meets his needs, but met needs are not the goal. The Lord wants our company.
- Summoned — "but Mephibosheth" is the pivot; he eats at the king's table, not off his own farm.
- Seated — he has a portion and a place. The place is the greater gift, and many settle for knowing they are saved.
- Secured — "always" is the key word. The seat is not a trial, and what the king gave he never took back.
And Ziba said to the king, According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will thy servant do. And Mephibosheth [said David] shall eat at my table, as one of the king's sons.
Two men appear in this one verse. Ziba promises to carry out every order, and Mephibosheth eats at the king's table. What does it mean to sit there like one of the king's sons?
Ziba answers first, and one writer sets his answer beside Mephibosheth's place at the table.
Now notice the contrast between these two men — Ziba the servant, and Mephibosheth the son. David calls Ziba and gives him commands, all of which he agrees to keep. "According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do." Israel undertook that very thing at Sinai, and it was foolish. Thousands are undertaking it in our own day... I fear nine out of every ten who read this paper will belong to the religion of the servant, instead of the son.
The older translation says he ate "as one of the king's sons." One writer weighs that little word as.
Unworthy, of course, he was "to eat bread at the king's table as one of the king's sons." This was favour unmerited, unsought, and unthought of by the one who received it. Did he quibble about it? No, he accepted it. David could do much; but our God has done more. All the land of Saul his father was the measure of Mephibosheth's inheritance; heaven and earth is the measure of ours. He could be as one of the king's sons; but that little word as told its tale of David's grace and David's powerlessness... We are His children, His sons and daughters.
In the older translation David speaks again here, adding that Mephibosheth will eat as one of the king's sons. One writer asks why he presses the point.
It is the king's will that Mephibosheth should sit there conscious of being one of his sons. If he sat there thinking only that he belonged to Saul's house, that would weigh him down. His heart would not be free in the king's presence... he wants Mephibosheth there not as a stranger, not as someone who would feel shy and reserved in such company, but as "one of the king's sons." It seems the king was eager to press this home to Mephibosheth's heart and mind.
Why does the verse compare Mephibosheth to the king's sons? One writer finds the answer in who could come near.
It may seem strange, but the description of the king's sons as chief rulers in 2 Samuel 8:17 could also be translated "priests." The main idea of being a priest is the privilege of coming near the Lord. The king's sons had this privilege of drawing near to the king at any time, and this is probably why the expression is used here. But the law said, "No one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long" (Leviticus 21:18). Even though Mephibosheth could not draw near to offer the bread of his God, he could eat the bread of his God, both the most holy and the holy.
The chapter never says his legs were healed. One writer sets that fact beside his new standing.
Being brought into this glorious relationship changed nothing about Mephibosheth's condition. The chapter ends with the words: "And he was lame on both his feet." In the eyes of others, and in his own eyes, he is just the same... In David's eyes it is quite otherwise; he is clothed in all the dignity of a son of the king. So we Christians... ought to consider what God has made of us. He no longer sees us in our misery.
The next verse names Mephibosheth's young son. One writer looks at what both names mean.
The name Mephibosheth means "exterminator of idols"... The kindness of God had so captivated his heart that there was no place for idols. His son's name means "Who is like Jehovah" — a name that is almost a challenge, in view of all those idols that try to attract the human heart. Here is the cure for being drawn to idols: being fully satisfied at the king's table and in the king's company... Mephibosheth is a satisfied man, abundantly satisfied by the generous provision on the king's table. When many men went after Absalom, he was still devoted to David.
- Servant or son. Ziba answers the king with a promise to perform. Mephibosheth answers with nothing and receives everything. One writer fears that most readers belong to the servant's religion rather than the son's.
- Unearned seat. The place at the table was "unmerited, unsought, and unthought of." Mephibosheth did not argue about it; he accepted it. Saul's land measured his inheritance; heaven and earth measure ours.
- Repeated promise. David says it again so Mephibosheth's heart would be free in his presence — a son, not a shy stranger.
- Nearness. A son's seat meant the right to come close at any time — and under the law his lameness would have shut him out.
- Still lame, still a son. He never stopped being lame on both feet, yet in David's eyes he wore a son's dignity. Full satisfaction at that table left him no room for idols, and he stayed loyal to David when others followed Absalom.
And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth.
Two quiet details close the account of David's kindness: a child, and a whole household of servants. Neither looks necessary. Yet commentators find in them how far the king's grace reached, and what it produced.
The mention of a son shows how many years stood between Jonathan's death and this scene. Those years had not changed the king's heart.
Time did not erase the memory of the bond between Jonathan and David. Years had indeed gone by since Jonathan's death, for the child who was five years old on that terrible day (2 Sam. 4:4) had grown to manhood and was himself a father (2 Sam. 9:12). But Jonathan still lived in the king's heart.
Mica is the one thing verse 12 tells us about the boy. Both his name and his father's name point away from idols.
The name Mephibosheth means "exterminator of idols." In 1 Chronicles 8:34 he is called Merib-baal, which means "one who contends against Baal." The kindness of God had so captured his heart that there was no room for idols. His son's name means "Who is like Jehovah?" That name is more like a challenge, set against all the idols that try to attract the human heart. Here is the antidote to the pull of idols: full satisfaction at the king's table and in the king's company.
The child himself is fruit. His name asks a question, and one writer answers it.
Precious fruit from this display of the kindness of God — for Mica means "who is like God?" We answer: He is supreme! His love and kindness have no equal.
Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Verse 12 says every one of them now served Mephibosheth.
I confess that I often wondered why the Spirit of God should record that Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. It was a long time before I saw the point. It is very simple, however. It just shows how grace delights to add to the blessing of the one it rests on, and nothing is too much to give to that person. Here was David saying to Ziba, You and all your family must serve Mephibosheth; he is the object of my grace. And that is what God does. He saves and blesses a man completely. He brings him to know Himself, and puts everything at his disposal. Everything is there to add to his blessing... The fifteen sons and twenty servants tell us this: God's lavish supply to those whom His grace has blessed has no limit.
Land, servants and a son are real gifts. Yet the account keeps coming back to the table, not the estate.
In the king's mind, this man's seat as a son at his table was a thousand times more precious than his being an heir. So he repeats these words to him three times (vv. 7, 10, 13).
The chapter never reports a cure. Verse 13 repeats both the table and the crippled feet.
Verse 13 reminds us again that Mephibosheth ate at the king's table continually. This is something that should hold our special attention. It also mentions again that he was lame in both feet. The grace of God blesses us with countless blessings, but that does not mean all our health problems will disappear... The lame feet also picture the fact that our sinful nature stays with us while we live on earth. However, someone has well observed that when Mephibosheth ate at David's table, his feet would be out of sight under the table. As long as we are honestly enjoying communion with the Lord Jesus, that nature will not show itself.
- Remembered. Years had passed, and Jonathan's son was now a father himself. David's kindness flowed from a friendship he had never let go.
- Given. The king gave more than relief. He gave a place — a seat as a son at his table, worth far more in David's mind than the inheritance.
- Reaching. Grace did not stop with one man. Ziba's fifteen sons and twenty servants all served him. God's supply to the one He blesses has no limit.
- Confessed. The fruit of that kindness is a boy named Mica — "Who is like Jehovah?" His father's heart had no room left for idols.
- Unchanged. He was still lame on both feet. Grace does not erase every weakness; it seats the weak at the table, where the feet are out of sight.
So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem; for he did eat continually at the king's table. And he was lame on both his feet.
The chapter ends with two facts side by side: Mephibosheth eats at the king's table every day, and he still cannot walk. Why does the story of David's kindness close with a reminder of his crippled feet?
One writer reads the whole scene through the phrase "the kindness of God," and notes what the man's own name confesses.
Mephibosheth means "shame out of the mouth." When he heard from David's lips what kindness David had prepared for him, he confessed with his mouth his own shame and nothingness. "What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I am?" And what words of grace came from David's lips! Surely the kindness of God is fully made known here. He is lifted from his low place of shame to take a place at the King's table "as one of the King's sons."
The verse names the lameness one last time. One writer weighs what two lame feet mean, and then turns it on the reader.
A man with one lame leg is badly off. He cannot walk straight, and must make a crooked path. But a man with two lame legs is worse off still; he cannot walk at all. Mephibosheth was "lame on both his feet," and so are you, if unconverted. You are a moral cripple — spiritually lame, and unable to walk the straight and narrow way that leads to life and God.
The verse never says his feet were healed. One writer separates the man from his place, and then says what does change.
He dwelt in the place of royal grace, and how did he fare there? Like a king's son... If you had gone to the table of David, whom would you have seen there at every meal? Mephibosheth! He was quite at home, quite at ease; grace had won his heart... And yet he "was lame on both his feet." He was not altered in himself; his position was altered... And if we come to Christ, are we altered? No. We are not changed in ourselves, nor improved in our old nature, but we have a new life, with new joys, and a new object, Christ Himself.
Many people fear that grace brings you in, but your own walk keeps you there. One writer meets that fear head on.
Many people admit that it is all grace that brings a poor, lame, lost sinner to Christ. Yet they still imagine that once he is brought, his continuing and final salvation somehow depend on his own walk and obedience. This is a most bewildering and tormenting mistake. If it were true, who could be saved? ... But now what do we get in this divinely inspired picture of the kindness of God? "He ate continually at the king's table, and he was lame on both his feet." Precious grace!
The same writer has advice for anyone whose failures make them doubt they belong.
You never can get peace by looking at your lame feet. Put them under the table, and look at what God, in His infinite grace, has spread the table with.
Older translations say he ate "continually" at the king's table, where the ESV says "always." One writer explains what that word does and does not mean.
"He ate continually at the king's table," 2 Sam. 9:13. He did not sit there continually, but he was one of the company who had the privilege of sitting there. It was his position in the kingdom.
The verse also says where he lived. One writer notes that Mephibosheth shared the king's own city, and carries the picture forward.
Mephibosheth's portion cannot be taken away from him... He dwelt at Jerusalem, the same place that the king had chosen for his dwelling. We have these same privileges... We dwell in the Father's house and we will dwell there forever. He has seated us at His table; we will be there forever. And when we sit at that feast one day, the love that humbled itself to save us will be willing to serve our joy forever!
- Condition. Lame on both feet means he could not walk at all — a picture of someone with no strength to reach God on their own.
- Kindness. Grace lifts him from shame to a seat as one of the king's sons. That is the kindness of God, made known.
- Table. "Continually" does not mean endless sitting. It means a standing right: his position in the kingdom.
- Unchanged. His feet stayed lame; only his position changed. Peace comes from looking at what fills the table, not at your own feet.
- Forever. Nothing can take the portion back — the same welcome, the same house, the same table, without end.