2 Samuel 9:7
“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”
Good morning. I don’t think this is going to work like that. How’s everyone doing this morning? Um, like Mike said, I am pastor Jared. Um, I am the youth pastor here and I love getting the teach to adults. Um, it’s a, uh, it’s a good change up. Don’t get me wrong. I love teaching to high school and even middle school.
Um, but there’s something about teaching adults. You know, kids are hard to teach too, because as soon as you start boring them, it’s like a quick, like, get out your phone, you know, start talking to your neighbor. Adults have mastered this skill of even when they’re not listening though. Pretend they’re listening.
So I thank you for that. The story,
um, this morning, we’re going to be talking about being in a position you don’t deserve to be in. Um, and that’s my question for you this morning is have you ever been in a position you don’t deserve to be in. I played soccer all my life. I grew up playing. Um, that was the sport in my household. That’s what we played.
I don’t think I had a choice in that, but my senior season of high school, I was at the Kings Christian school. And I know you guys are already impressed private school soccer. Right. Really, really impressive. But we had a really, really good season that year. We went 17 and zero. We had an undefeated season.
It was my senior year. Um, and I, I was super pumped and everyone knows at the end of the season, there’s a game that comes up and it’s called the all-star game. And, you know, as, as a senior, you’re hoping like, ah, I think this is my year. I think this is my year that, you know, I’m going to be all star. I’m going to, I’m going to play in the all-star game.
Like here we go. Like I’ve had a really good season. I’ve played well. So towards the end of the season, My coach pulls me aside. Um, he puts his arm around my shoulder and I’m like, this is the top. You know, this is it. Let’s sit. And he said, Jerry, do you know, you’re not even playing well, this season you’ve been a leader on the field on and off the field.
You’ve helped us win games. You’ve encouraged people, but unfortunately you’re not an all-star this year. Um, and as he listed the three people that were all stars from our team, I said, you know, a coach. I think that makes a lot of sense. You know, I, I think they deserve to be the all-star. Some of you know, those all-stars in that game.
One of them was Josh Myers. Um, out another one you might know is Ryan Anderson, right? He, he leads our junior high ministry here and something really gracious happened to me. Ryan had a Academy soccer game. He had to be at. That was happened to be on the same day as the all-star game. So he said, you know what, I’ve done this three years already.
I’ve already been in the all star game already. Coach, why don’t you give it to the fourth string? Okay. Why don’t, why don’t you give it to the fourth person? So I graciously was able to attend the all star game. I went in as the sub. Um, I actually ended up scoring in the all-star game and I’m, I’m having a great time.
My team won, but the whole time I’m like, I’m putting on the t-shirt and in the game and I just can’t help. But think I’m not supposed to be here. I don’t deserve to be here. I wasn’t on the list. Right? I wasn’t in the top three. So why here am I playing in the all-star game this morning? We are going to be looking at a story about a man who gets something he does not believe he deserves.
Please turn your Bibles to second Samuel chapter nine. Or swipe your Bibles. If you’re using new version this morning,
if you’re using a Pew Bible in front of you, the page should be two 43. I could be absolutely wrong on that, but it should be that give you a couple seconds through to get there. We’re going to be reading the whole chapter this morning. Second Samuel chapter nine,
let’s read this morning. And David said, is there still anyone left of the house of Saul that I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake? Now there was a servant of the house of Saul, whose name was Zeba and they called him to David and the King said, I’m are you Ziva? And he said, I am your servant. And the King said, is there not still someone of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of God to him?
Seba said to the King, there’s still a son of Jonathan. He is crippled in his feet. The King said to him, where is he? And Ziva said to the King, he is in the house of Makir the son of Ammiel at lo Debar. Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Makir the son of Ammiel at load bar and the Phibbah chef, the son of Jonathan son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage.
And David said, Mephibosheth’s, he answered behold, I’m your servant. And David said to him, do not fear for, I will show you kindness for the sake of your father, Jonathan and I will restore to you all the land of your soul, your father, and you shall eat at my table always. And he paid homage and said, what is your servant that you should show regard for a dead dog, such as I.
Then the King called Zeba Saul seven said to him, all that belonged to Saul and to all his house I’ve given to your master’s grandson and you and your sons and your servants. Y’all till the land for him and shall bring in the produce that your masters grants on may have bread to eat. But my favorite chef, your fat masters grants shall always eat at my table.
Now zebra had 15 sons and 27 sins. Eva said to the King, according to all that, my Lord, the King commands his servants. So will your servant do some of the feathers shifts ate at David’s table? Like one of his, the King sons and the fish chef had a young son whose name was Micah and all who lives. Eva’s house became a food chef servants.
Some, a Fibber chef lived in Jerusalem for, he always ate at the King’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet. Let’s pray this morning,
Lord. I thank you so much for bringing us here this morning. God. Thank you so much that we are able to meet in the open God. Um, we know that our brothers and sisters overseas are getting persecuted for speaking your name God. And we get to come here on a Sunday morning and praise you and sing loud and worship you.
God, Lord, I pray that your word and your Holy spirit would be viewed loudest things in this room this morning, Lord, that it would not be anything clever I come up with or any words I have to speak, but it would that be your word? Speaking through me, Lord, I pray that you would prepare our hearts for your spirit this morning in Jesus name.
Amen. Before we really jump into this scripture and kind of just start dissecting it. I want to walk us through some context. Um, I want to take, take a look back at a couple of chapters before. Um, the previous chapters we see David is kind of just overwhelmed with blessings from the Lord chapter seven.
We see God make a covenant with Dave David. We know this covenant would be establishing his kingdom forever. We know this covenant would be that the line that Jesus would come through establishing his kingship forever being fulfilled in Christ chapter eight. We see David recount his many victories over his enemies that God delivered him from.
Then we come to chapter nine and David is just so overwhelmed with gratitude. So overwhelmed with blessings from the Lord that he’s, he’s actively looking. Who can I show kindness to? He’s just so filled that he just wants to find someone that he can bless, find someone he can show kindness to. And he seeks out.
I’m a famous chef. Now, maybe you’re wondering who is my favorite chef and why is his name so hard to pronounce? Um, I’m wondering the same thing this morning. Uh, we’re going to break down here. Ma fib, uh, chef. Okay. Say it with me here. Ma uh, chef. Okay. So now that you have grace on me, if I say the name wrong, here we go.
Who is the food? The chef. He was a son of Jonathan, right? We know that was David’s beloved friend, Jonathan and David had a close friendship. And this is Jonathan son. He was crippled. If we read second Samuel chapter four, if you flip back a couple chapters. Second Samuel chapter four, verse four, it says this Jonathan, the son of Saul had a son who was crippled in his feet.
He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel and his nurse took him, pick him, picked him up and fled. And Ashley fled in her haste. He fell and became lame and his name was muffled. The chef. She also won the award for worst nurse of the year, that year.
Right? So after my fibia, chef heard this news of his not only his father and his grandfather dying, his nurse drops him and he’s crippled. He was also Saul’s grandson. We know this from this as well. He was the last descendant of Saul who would have the rights to the throne if he was not crippled and knows these, the custom was to kill the previous King’s family line.
David does not do this. He also would be considered an enemy of David because he was in the line of solve. Those family ties were at war. At that time, they were on edge with one another. He lived in a place called lo Debar, which literally means no pasture. I don’t think that would be a nice place to live in.
We also know he did not own his own house. He lived in the house of Makir, right. He was crashing on someone’s couch. And we also know that the fibs Sheth was in hiding verse four. David asks, where is he? The reason David asks, where is he? Because he would actually be in hiding because his family ties made him an enemy to the throne, made him an enemy to King David.
So he was actually hiding from the King. Now I want to walk through the passage with you, right? We know David is overwhelmed with blessings and he’s actively looking to show someone kindness. He asked if there’s anyone left of the house of Saul. Again, he does not know because the house of David in the house of Saul would be at odds.
David asks where he is because he would be in hiding. And then we come on this visual of Mephibosheth’s coming in to the King’s presence. We know he’s lame in both his feet, likely he was on some kind of crutches or could have been carried in. And he doesn’t kneel before the King because he’s crippled in both his feet.
No, he, he falls on his face before the King. This was not a normal bowel. This is not a, a normal thing that someone do. He, he falls flat on his face. He’s crippled before the King.
I imagine he’s just going in behold. I’m your servant. Imagine your enemy to the throne, your enemy, to the King. And now the King is so many new to his presence. I can’t imagine what was going through his head. David actually tells him do not afraid. He probably was very afraid for his life. Maybe he thought, this is the moment.
This is where King David will kill me off. Or this is the moment. This is where I’ll be imprisoned or, or made to work as a servant for him. But David says, do not be afraid. David says he will show kindness to him, not because of what an amphibious chef had had done or our accomplish, but because of his father, Jonathan David awards him with all the land that belonged to Saul a seat at his table where he’d not just get a seat at the King’s table.
He got all the land that was promised. To his grandfather and servants to work that land, this, he was set up for the rest of his life. He no longer had to crash at someone’s house. He no longer had to sleep at someone’s house. He, he owned his own land now and also his own. And I want to point out this. It says always, he always see the table.
We see it three different times, verse seven. It says this. I will restore to you. The land of saw your father. Shall I eat at my table? Always verse 10. It says it again, but Mephibosheth your master’s grandson shout. Always eat at my table and at verse 13 again, so I’m a famous chef, lived in Jerusalem for eight, always.
At the King’s table, David promised him a seat. And this becomes very important towards the later in, in second champion where we see in chapter 21, the enemies of saw someone who, who saw persecuted, went to war against. They come to David and they’re angry. And they’re saying, David, you owe us this. You have to wipe out the line of salt.
You have to kill these people. And that would have included the fibia Sheth. See this in second Samuel chapter 21, verse seven, but the King space, Mephibosheth the son of Saul’s son, Jonathan, because of the oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan, the son of Saul, this oath all the way back to when David made an oath to show minus to all of Jonathon’s descendants.
This was, it’s not a promise that David just Willy nilly just said, Oh, here you go. Yeah, you can eat at my table. No, this was always and forever. You will have a place. This was a unheard of kindness. Back then. We don’t even understand what that would look like now. And we see Mephibosheth’s kind of respond to that kindness.
He goes in verse eight, he says this, what is your servant that you should show regard for a dead dog? Such as I, we see a similar response to a King in the new Testament with John, the Baptist, Matthew three, verse 11. He says this, but after me comes one who is more powerful than I, who sandals, I am not worthy to carry.
We know John, the Baptist, he was preparing the way for Jesus to come. He was, he was baptizing people preaching a message of repentance. The Lord is to come soon. And as he talks about Jesus, he says, there’s someone coming who sandals? I am not even worry worthy to carry. This is how the Fibber chef felt completely and utterly unworthy before King David.
I don’t deserve this. He falls on his safe. I am a dead dog before you. I am better off dead. And yet you’re showing me this kindness. This minus David shows us declaring Mephibosheth’s as one of his own to have a seat at the King’s table would be so exclusive that it would be for his, his family or his highest ranking officials.
This was a huge honor to be invited to the King’s table. He was provided the best meals, the best food, the best service verse 11 says. And yet David calls him his son and sits him at his table. He regarded him as one of his own. Someone who was supposed to be an enemy to his throne. Someone who could have been a threat to his kingship, he calls his own.
He calls him his son. We see Jesus give a similar promise to his disciples. After they are arguing amongst themselves, Luke 22 verse 28 says this, you are those who have stayed with me in my trials. And I assigned you as my father assigned me a kingdom that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.
And sit on the Thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. Jesus liked David has called his followers to have a seat at his table. He offered him this, this table, that that was that he was supposed to be dead. Right. He was in hiding yet. David went after him. He pursued him, show him the kindness, overwhelmed with blessings.
Now, if you’re sitting here this morning and you’re like, this is all awesome story, Jared. I just don’t really know why you’re telling it why. Right? So what, why are we studying this? Why are we reading this this morning? Well, I think there’s three lessons we can learn from this passage. I think the first one is we need to learn from David’s kindness.
David had reached out to the poor, uh, needy, let his pride get in his way. We know the former King of Israel was a guy named Saul, right? The best man for the job. He was tall and he was handsome and he was prideful and he let his pride get in the way. But David, we see doesn’t let his pride get in the way David truly extended love.
He even loved his enemies. Love someone that could have been a threat to him. David extended the kindness he had received from the Lord. To everyone around him. This is right after David had many victories and future blessings from the Lord. I want to put this in perspective cause Mafibisha, wasn’t just right.
Uh, enemy to David. He was also crippled back then him being crippled, him being lame in his feet practically made him useless, right? He wasn’t able to provide for him or his family. He wasn’t able to work. He was looked down upon in society, but David extends his love to him, extends kindness and grace to him.
This is what we’re called to do as Christians, right? This is our call of kindness. This is our call of love to be so filled up with blessings and grace and love from the Lord to just anyone we’ve run into it would be an overflow, right. And a spill over on them. This is our call as Christians to show kindness, not just to the people who are kind to us or our coworkers who are easy to deal with, but the ones who curse us, the ones who are, do everything they can to go against us.
The driver on two 95, who cuts you off
our job as Christians to show that kindness. Secondly, Mafibisha was a beneficiary of his father. Jonathan a Google describes a beneficiary as a person who derives the advantage from something especially a trust will or life insurance policy, many of you know what this means, right. But if you don’t, it would be, if you are a child, right.
And your parents put in their will, that you inherit the right to their house. Right? And if your parents end up dying, that you would inherit that, that you would inherit that, that will, that trust that you would gain advantage to that. Right? This is what Jonathan was to his son. It wasn’t, that Mitsubishi fit anything special.
It wasn’t that he was a good warrior or, or really wise or intelligent. No, he gained advantage of something because of his father. Jesus is our benefactor and we received his life insurance policy of eternal life because of what Jesus has done for us. We can now enter into his fellowship with God, because Jesus represents us just like Jonathan represent his son.
Mephibosheth. It is not about what we make or how good we look or what we can accomplish for the Lord. No, the Lord looks at us and he sees our representation are represented or Jesus Christ.
Thirdly, David bringing the fibia chef to his table. It was a beautiful representation of God’s grace to us. We are just like the phobia chef, dead dogs that are deserving of death. We were stuck in our ways. We, we were, some of us were in hiding. Some of us are still in hiding. We associate ourselves with past sins, past handicaps, past crippled.
We, we feel like we can’t get over these things. We were not so clean when Jesus came to us.
Right. And I, I want to challenge a thought process. This morning that I think a lot of us have. Um, cause I know I get caught in it and I know, I know have it, but, but God is not waiting for you to get your act together. God is not waiting for you to clean yourself up that he can extend his loving grace to you.
He’s not waiting for you to stop sinning or to be smarter or a better person or a better Christian or more attractive or more useful to him. He’s not waiting for that. He’s waiting for you to go like Mephibosheth’s falling on your face and say, God, I’m here a dead dog before you behold, here’s your servant.
God, I know I’m crippled and capable, but you are all I need. You are enough for me. We no longer have to be in hiding. We can sit at his table. You can be called. His son or his daughter,
we try to understand what God’s love is, and we can’t help, but associate what we do as Christians or what we do as humans. Right? In order to be loved, we have to try to earn something. We have to try to earn someone’s respect or trust or acceptance. So we try to do some things and we carry this over to our relationship with God.
I often find myself talking to myself in my head and saying, God, I’ll come out. I’ll come back out of hiding. I’ll come to you. But I got to get a good weekend. Me first, I got to, I got to start following your commands again. Before I come forward, I have to start being more obedient to you before I can come before you.
But this isn’t it. That’s not how God works. That’s not how his grace works. He’s actively waiting for you to call on his name. He’s not waiting for you to stop being disobedient. He’s not waiting for you to get your act together. He’s waiting for you to call on his name coming before him broken sinful disobedient, lonely, depressed, worried, afraid, scared, feeling hopeless.
We know this is a promise. Romans 10 13 says this for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Doesn’t say everyone who calls on the name of the Lord that reads their Bible every day will be saved. No it’s for those for desiring, for the Lord coming before him broken, empty and ashamed.
God wants us all. God wants a saw. We’re going to close, um, with the time of song and I want to invite the worship team up. Um, and they’re gonna, they’re gonna sing a song for us in, but I just want to kind of introduce it. It’s a song called carriage to the table. Um, it is, uh, by the band Leland. Um, and I just wanna read the lyrics to this song because this song was actually written, um, from the story of my fibia chef.
And I just want to read the lyrics to you this morning, wounded and forsaken. I was shattered by the fall, broken and forgotten, feeling lost and all alone, summoned by the King and to the masters courts lifted by the savior and cradled in his arms. I was carried to the table seated where I don’t belong, carried to the table, swept away by his love.
And I don’t see my brokenness anymore when I’m seated at the table of the Lord. I’m carried to the table, the table of the Lord fighting thoughts of fear and wondering why he called my name. Am I good enough to share this cup? This world has left me lame, even in my weakness, the savior called my name in his Holy presence.