God's People: Mephibosheth

David asked, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and he was summoned to David. The king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “At your service!” The king said, “Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” Ziba said to the king, “There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” The king said to him, “Where is he?” Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David, and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, “Mephibosheth!” He answered, “I am your servant.” David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always.” ~ 2 Samuel 9:1-7

I have said this in other places, but it is true again here. The life of Mephibosheth plays out at first like something from Shakespeare.

 BUT...this is one of those stories from scripture that deviates from the expected Shakespearian ending.

 It this were a Shakespeare play, the prince, Mephibosheth (son of Jonathan, and grandson of Saul), would have been dead. In a good Shakespearian tragedy, the new king never lets the heir to the old king live!

 And Mephibosheth's nurse certainly thought that's where he was headed. As soon as she heard that Jonathan and Saul were dead, she fled with the boy, fearing David would kill him. And in her haste, she dropped him and left him crippled.

 So when David asked for the boy to be brought to him, there must have been all kinds of panic.

 Yet David instead did something completely unexpected. Not only did he let the former heir live, but he also set him up for life and returned his property to him.

 Was there drama later? Sure. But Mephobsheth seems to have made it out OK!

 For all David's failings - failings he generally owns up to - he has a wonderful capacity for friendship and for honoring promises. He truly is a different kind of king than Saul and is full of surprises. Indeed, he's a king after God's own heart.

 David's and Mephibosheth's story is one of surprise. Moving forward, time and time again, we will see that we certainly have a God of surprises, and I am guessing that like David, we can be also be capable of surprise. Surprising others, and surprising ourselves as well.

 And that probably makes us people after God's own heart as well!

 Prayer: God, thank you for surprising me with your endless capacity for love and friendship. Help me to surprise others with the same! Amen

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