2 SAMUEL 9
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
In David’s day, a king’s authority was always under the threat of a coup. It seems there was always someone who felt he had a right to the throne, whether by birth or by virtue of some accomplishment, and the king had to be constantly on guard lest the usurper murder him or raise a rebellion against him.
It was not uncommon, therefore, for a king to ferret out any potential competitors and have them put to death. This was especially the case when the king had recently taken the throne—and doubly so if he had himself taken over the throne of another king—as David had. Monarchies were passed on from father to son in the ancient world, and Saul’s throne would naturally have passed to his son Jonathan after his death. But God had rejected Saul as king and had anointed David in his place, so the proper heir to the throne was David rather than Saul’s descendants. Nevertheless, there were those who thought otherwise—as we have already seen in Study 1.
In light of all of this, it would have been quite natural for David to want to search for any descendants of Saul who might pose a threat to his authority, and have them put to death—especially since he had already faced such a threat. And David did, in fact, search for Saul’s descendants—but not to put them to death. He wanted to not only let them live but also to honor them and shower them with gifts.
In this chapter, we will discover how important it is to keep one’s promises—and we will also see both mercy and grace in action.
READING 2 SAMUEL 9:1–13
LOOKING FOR WAYS TO BLESS: David has established his throne, and now he searches out any descendants of Saul he can find—to bless them, not to gain revenge.
1. DAVID SAID: In this chapter, we have gone back in time from our previous study to an earlier day in David’s reign.
ANYONE WHO IS LEFT OF THE HOUSE OF SAUL: Saul, Israel’s first king, had died by his own hand during a battle against the Philistines. Most of his sons had also died in battle that day, including Jonathan, whom Saul assumed would be his heir.
THAT I MAY SHOW HIM KINDNESS: This phrase might have startled David’s listeners. Saul had tried repeatedly to murder David—even though David had always served him faithfully. Now that David had become king it would have been predictable for Saul’s heirs to attempt to take back the throne—as we saw in Study 1. It was common practice, therefore, for a new king to hunt down anyone who might challenge his authority and have him overthrown. A Canaanite king might have asked, “Is there anyone left of my former enemy’s household that I may put to death?” David’s desire to show kindness to the descendants of the man who tried to kill him is a stunning picture of his godliness.
FOR JONATHAN’S SAKE: Jonathan and David had been intimate friends. Jonathan had helped David escape from Saul when the angry king was trying to kill him, and the two had sworn an oath that David would show kindness to Jonathan and his family when he came to be king (1 Samuel 20:14–15).
ZIBA AND MEPHIBOSHETH: Saul’s grandson Mephibosheth became lame at the time of Saul’s death. He is now living far from David, and Saul’s steward is running his estate.
2. ZIBA: This man was evidently the chief steward of Saul’s estate. After the deaths of Saul and Jonathan, the estate went to Mephibosheth, who became Ziba’s employer.
3. THE KINDNESS OF GOD: It is significant that David considered his oath to Jonathan as a responsibility before God. He also saw it as a reflection of the kindness that God had so often shown to him. By keeping his oath and showing kindness to the house of Saul, David was imitating God.
LAME IN HIS FEET: Mephibosheth was a young boy when Saul and Jonathan died.When news of the deaths reached him, his nurse hastily grabbed him and fled for their lives. In the process, he fell and became lame in both his feet (2 Samuel 4:4). He was the son of Jonathan, grandson of Saul.
4. LO DEBAR: Located about ten miles south of the Sea of Galilee. It may have been deliberate that he was situated a safe distance from the City of David.
MERCY AND GRACE: David might have been expected to put Mephibosheth to death, but instead he grants him life—and much more.
7. RESTORE TO YOU ALL THE LAND: It was remarkable enough that King David would permit Mephibosheth to remain alive. As Saul’s grandson, he was a potential threat to David’s kingdom. But David went far beyond showing mercy—he showed him tremendous grace by restoring all the lands and possessions his family had lost when Saul died. It is possible that Saul’s lands had been usurped by Ziba himself, as later events will make it clear that something was not quite right in Mephibosheth’s household.
YOU SHALL EAT BREAD AT MY TABLE CONTINUALLY: David’s actions toward Me-phibosheth paint a picture of God’s grace toward sinners. It would have been more than enough if God had merely offered forgiveness for sins—but He went far beyond that by adopting us as His children and inviting us to share freely of His blessings, even to join Him regularly at His table in the Lord’s Supper, or communion service.
10. WORK THE LAND FOR HIM: It is possible that David spelled out these details for Ziba because Ziba was appropriating Mephibosheth’s property for his own gain.
FIFTEEN SONS AND TWENTY SERVANTS: Again we are given details on Ziba that suggest he was a man of wealth and power. This wealth would cause problems for both him and Mephibosheth in the future. We will consider these characters in more detail in Study 9.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
1. What motivated David to honor Mephibosheth? If you had been in David’s place, how would you have acted?
2. If you had been in Mephibosheth’s place, how would you have reacted upon being called to the king’s court? What would you have expected?
3. How would you have reacted if, like Mephibosheth, you were honored by dining with the king on a daily basis?
4. What was the difference between how the kings of pagan nations treated their potential rivals, and how David treated his?
SOME KEY PRINCIPLES
Fulfill your promises.
David and Jonathan loved one another like brothers, and either would willingly have laid down his life for the other. Jonathan, in fact, did risk his life by protecting David against Saul’s murderous plans, risking the wrath of both father and king. The two men swore an oath of friendship, and David promised Jonathan that he would always show kindness to him and his family.
But Jonathan died young, fighting bravely against overwhelming odds with the Philistines. David, on the other hand, became king and had battles of his own to deal with. From the world’s perspective, he would have been well within his kingly rights to put Mephibosheth to death, lest he prove a menace to his throne. It would have been more than gracious, in the world’s eyes, for David to ignore Mephibosheth and let him live. But David took his oath very seriously; it was not enough merely to let Mephibosheth live—he went beyond that and deliberately showed compassion to Jonathan’s son, simply because he had promised to do so.
David was imitating the character of God, who always keeps His promises. God’s people, too, should take care to fulfill their word, whether given as a solemn oath (as in marriage vows) or merely a simple promise. To not do so invites divine judgment. In fact, according to James, it is better to not give your word at all than to give it and not keep it: “But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath,” he wrote. Then, quoting Christ Himself (Matthew 5:37), he added, “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No,’ lest you fall into judgment” ( James 5:12).
Do not take revenge.
David had served King Saul both loyally and exceptionally. As a young man, he had boldly faced the giant Goliath when all of Saul’s army—and Saul himself—had been afraid to do so. He had later served at Saul’s court, calming the king’s strange moods with his songs.
Yet Saul had tried many times to murder David. He threw a spear at him in his own court, and he hunted him mercilessly for many years. David had demonstrated, even then, that he was loyal to Saul by not hurting him even when he had him completely at his mercy. Saul had wronged him significantly, and David had a considerable score to settle— yet he never took revenge into his own hands. Even when he was king and had the perfect right (in the world’s eyes) to exact vengeance against Saul’s heirs, he refrained— and went beyond, even to the point of showering gifts and honor upon Saul’s grandson.
It can be very hard to resist taking revenge on people who have hurt us in the past.
Our human nature sees it as simple justice to return evil for evil. But the Lord calls us to a higher standard, to act upon Christ’s nature rather than our fallen human nature. In fact, Jesus commands us to go beyond withholding vengeance by returning good for evil, blessing those who curse us and doing good to those who harm us. “You have heard,” said Jesus, “that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:43–45).
God shows us both mercy and grace.
Mercy is the act of withholding judgment upon a guilty person. A judge demonstrates mercy when he gives a criminal a second chance, or when he confers a judgment that is less than what the criminal deserves. Grace, however, goes beyond mercy, not merely withholding deserved judgment but also giving some undeserved gift.
Imagine if a criminal were found guilty of murder, and the judge determined for some reason to withhold the death penalty. That criminal would have received mercy, even if he still faced a stiff jail sentence. But now imagine if, further, that judge let the murderer go free from all judgment, and even gave him great wealth to start a new life.
That criminal would have then received both mercy and grace—although at the expense of doing justice to the victims of the crime.
God’s grace and mercy, however, are perfect. He did not ignore justice when He offered redemption to sinners—our sins brought the death penalty, and that penalty had to be paid. But God set us free from the penalty our sins deserved (mercy), made us heirs with His Son Jesus (grace), and paid for our sins (justice) Himself by giving His Son to die in our stead.
DIGGING DEEPER
5. How does David’s treatment of Mephibosheth demonstrate the character of God?
6. Why did David go to such lengths to fulfill his promise to Jonathan? What does this teach about the importance of keeping your word?
7. What is the difference between mercy and grace? How has God shown you mercy? How has He shown you grace?
8. When have you shown mercy or grace to someone else? Who is in need of your mercy at present?
TAKING IT PERSONALLY
9. Do you generally keep your word? What promises have you forgotten to fulfill?
10. How do you treat people who mistreat you? What relationships might the Lord want you to improve in this regard?