2 SAMUEL 16, 19
CHARACTERS’ BACKGROUND
We now return to the time when David was forced to flee Jerusalem because of Absalom’s rebellion. (See Studies 7 and 8 for more information.) The entire nation of Israel was in chaos; people were fleeing in every direction, and the king was attempting to gather his household and his loyal followers while also trying to end the uprising peacefully. He was bearing a heavy load of grief over the fact that it was his own son who was rebelling against him.
In the midst of all this chaos, David suddenly found himself confronted by Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth. You will remember from Study 3 that Mephibosheth was Saul’s grandson, the son of Jonathan, and David had honored him because of his promise to Jonathan. Most kings would have put him to death in order to avoid any threat to their throne, but David had shown him mercy by letting him live—and had then gone beyond that with a standing invitation to dine at his own table every day. Mephibosheth had much to be grateful for.
But at this point, Ziba came to the king claiming that Mephibosheth had remained in Jerusalem in hopes of becoming king. Ziba presented himself to David as a loyal servant, bearing gifts and promising that his household would follow David wherever he went. Despite some obvious holes in Ziba’s story, in the heat of the moment, David did not have the ability to investigate, and he awarded Ziba Mephibosheth’s entire estate. It is not until later that Mephibosheth gets the chance to present his own side to the story, and his godly character will be vindicated.
READING 2 SAMUEL 16:1–4
ZIBA’S ACCUSATION: David has fled Jerusalem during Absalom’s revolt, and he is met by Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth’s household.
1. THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN: This passage opens as David was fleeing from Ab-salom’s rebellion. He was climbing the Mount of Olives to escape Jerusalem.
ZIBA THE SERVANT OF MEPHIBOSHETH: We met these two men in Study 3. Me-phibosheth was Jonathan’s son, Saul’s grandson and only remaining heir. He was lame in both feet, and Ziba was his employee, the steward of his estate.
A COUPLE OF SADDLED DONKEYS: Ziba met David as the king fled Jerusalem, bringing him a generous gift of food and provisions for David and his men. This was a way of publicly declaring his loyalty to David during the revolution, and on the surface it was a wise act. We will see, however, that Ziba’s motives were not pure.
3. WHERE IS YOUR MASTER’S SON: Ziba had been the steward of Saul’s properties when Saul was king. Both Saul and Jonathan died on the same day, and the estate went to Saul’s grandson Mephibosheth. David was immediately suspicious that Ziba was presenting the gifts without Mephibosheth being present—and this was evidently Ziba’s intention. It provided Ziba with the opportunity to betray his employer.
HE IS STAYING IN JERUSALEM: This much was true: Mephibosheth was lame and could not easily escape Jerusalem without help, which Ziba apparently refused to provide him.
ISRAEL WILL RESTORE THE KINGDOM OF MY FATHER TO ME: This accusation, however, was false. Ziba was telling David that Mephibosheth had taken advantage of Absalom’s revolt to attempt a coup of his own. As Saul’s only remaining heir, he might have thought that he could ascend the throne himself. We will see that he had no such designs.
4. ALL THAT BELONGS TO MEPHIBOSHETH IS YOURS: One can hardly fault David for making this rash judgment. The moment Absalom raised himself in rebellion, more than half the nation turned against David. The king found himself betrayed by many of his most loyal supporters. Ziba’s accusation also sounded plausible in the heat of the moment.
THAT I MAY FIND FAVOR IN YOUR SIGHT: This was a true statement on Ziba’s part.His entire motivation was to seize for himself the lands of Mephibosheth, and he was taking advantage of the rebellion for his own gain.
READING 2 SAMUEL 19:24–30
MEPHIBOSHETH’S REBUTTAL: David has returned to Jerusalem after the death of Absalom, and he is met this time by Mephibosheth—who has a different account of the affair.
24. MEPHIBOSHETH THE SON OF SAUL CAME DOWN TO MEET THE KING: We now move forward to the time following Absalom’s death, when David was returning to Jerusalem. Mephibosheth was actually Saul’s grandson, the son of Jonathan.
HE HAD NOT CARED FOR HIS FEET: Mephibosheth was an invalid, and may have required assistance in some of his personal care. But his disheveled appearance was about far more than having no servants to help him; he had deliberately neglected his outward appearance as a sign of his grief over David’s suffering.
25. WHY DID YOU NOT GO WITH ME: Those who had remained loyal to David had fled Jerusalem with him. Anyone who remained in the city was immediately suspected of disloyalty. David’s question was thus quite valid.
26. BECAUSE YOUR SERVANT IS LAME: Ziba’s lie began to be exposed. Mephibosheth had intended to ride to David on a donkey, but Ziba took advantage of his disability to ride out ahead of him, bearing the false report.
28. ALL MY FATHER’S HOUSE WERE BUT DEAD MEN: All of Saul’s family were dead except Mephibosheth, so this was certainly accurate on a literal level. But Mephibosheth was referring to the fact that, under any other king, his own life would have been forfeit. As we saw in Study 3, David had done something quite extraordinary in the world’s eyes when he honored the grandson of the previous king. Ordinarily, the king would put to death the heirs of his rival in order to guard against rebellion.
WHAT RIGHT HAVE I: Mephibosheth’s gratitude seems genuine. He recognized that he had received great grace from the king, and that he had no grounds for demanding anything further.
29. WHY DO YOU SPEAK ANYMORE OF YOUR MATTERS? : In other words, “I give up! This is too complicated for me to sort out right now.” David was overcome with grief over the death of Absalom, he was faced with reestablishing his throne after the rebellion, and he had countless people demanding his attention. He may also have seen that his previous decision to give the lands to Ziba was hasty, since he had not investigated the charges. With all that was going on, Mephibosheth’s estate must have seemed rather insignificant to David at that moment.
YOU AND ZIBA DIVIDE THE LAND: David did not have time to investigate the truth of these conflicting accusations, and he was probably concerned that he not overreact in either direction. It probably seemed more sensible under the circumstances to allow Mephibosheth and Ziba to resolve the dispute themselves. If Mephibosheth was telling the truth, however, the decision was unjust—Ziba should have been punished for his false accusation, and Mephibosheth should have remained in possession of what was rightfully his.
30. LET HIM TAKE IT ALL: At this point, the truth of Mephibosheth’s story became clear. He was not motivated by a desire for personal gain, as Ziba had been—in fact, he had little concern for his own possessions. His chief desire was to remain in the presence of the king, and he was content to forgive Ziba’s treachery and let him keep his heart’s desire. David’s son Solomon would later execute a very similar judgment in a dispute between two prostitutes who each claimed that a baby was her own. Solomon offered to cut the baby in two, and the true mother was so horrified at the prospect that she immediately volunteered to give the child to her rival (1 Kings 3:16–28).
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
1. If you had been in David’s position, how would you have responded to Ziba’s accusations against Mephibosheth?
2. If you had been in David’s position, how would you have responded to Mephibosheth’s claims upon returning to Jerusalem?
3. What evidence is there that Mephibosheth was telling the truth and Ziba was lying?
4. If you had been in Mephibosheth’s position, how would you have dealt with Ziba’s treachery?
SOME KEY PRINCIPLES
Do not be ungrateful.
Ziba had experienced much blessing in his life. He had been entrusted by King Saul to oversee all the king’s lands and possessions, a position that gave him great power and authority. It also gave him significant personal wealth, as his own household had grown to be quite large (2 Samuel 9:10). The death of Saul, however, could easily have ruined him—might even have put his own life in danger. But David’s generosity toward the house of Saul enabled him to retain his wealth and remain in his position of steward over Mephibosheth’s inheritance. Yet Ziba was an opportunist: rather than being grateful for these blessings, he sought to gain still more through treachery and guile.
Mephibosheth, in contrast, recognized that he was entitled only to death. The fact that he was Saul’s only remaining heir would have been a death sentence under any other king, yet David had gone beyond merely allowing him to live by inviting him to dine at the king’s table every day—a very high honor. Mephibosheth responded to David’s kindness with love and loyalty; his grief was quite genuine over David’s banishment from Jerusalem, and his joy was evident upon the king’s return.
Christians are in the same position as Mephibosheth. We are all sinners, entitled to nothing but the death sentence from a holy and just God. Yet God has gone far beyond merely forgiving us of our sins and commuting the death sentence—He has also made us children of God and heirs with Christ, inviting us to commune with Him freely, both now and through eternity. When we are tempted to think that life owes us more, it is time to take stock of all God has provided to us through His Son. A thankful spirit will protect us from a spirit of ingratitude.
We are commanded to forgive those who wrong us.
Ziba committed a gross act of treachery against his employer. He was an opportunist, and he saw a golden opportunity to advance himself in the eyes of the king while also increasing his own wealth and power. It didn’t matter to him that he had to slander the name of Mephibosheth in the process. In fact, he was effectively condemning Mephi-bosheth to death by his false accusation, since the king would have been within his rights to execute those who had joined in the rebellion.
Mephibosheth, however, did not try to get even with his accuser. Ziba had falsely accused him of a crime deserving death, and Mephibosheth would have been fully justified in demanding that Ziba be put to death instead. At the very least, he could have demanded that all his lands and possessions be returned to him, since they had been taken away by treachery. But Mephibosheth chose instead to forgive Ziba—indeed, he went beyond forgiveness by giving him all the possessions that Ziba had coveted in the first place.
These actions demonstrated that Mephibosheth’s highest priority was to be in fellowship with the king. His attitude was that he didn’t deserve those possessions in the first place, because he rightly deserved death—and that attitude made it easy for him to forgive another man who also deserved death. In this, Mephibosheth demonstrated the principle taught by Jesus: “If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14–15).
Don’t judge without all of the information.
David was fleeing Jerusalem with his life in danger. As king, he was directly responsible for the welfare of those who remained loyal to him, and he also had to be formulating plans on how to counteract Absalom’s rebellion. He was being assailed as he fled by many people with many concerns, and he had to make quick decisions to send some ahead, some back, some into enemy territory.
It is easy to understand that he made some decisions hastily, and certainly his decision concerning Mephibosheth’s lands is an example. But that decision proved to be unjust; it would have been far wiser for David to postpone a judgment until he had the leisure to look into the facts behind Ziba’s accusation. The results of this hasty decision could have been even worse, since Mephibosheth could have faced the death penalty for such treachery if Ziba’s claims had proven true.
Proverbs 18:17 says, “The first one to plead his case seems right, until his neighbor comes and examines him.” When a person presents his case to another, he always presents it in the most favorable way, so that the one listening is convinced. But usually when the other side of the case is heard, the truth comes to light. For this reason, it is always wiser to postpone decision making until we’ve had time to consult both sides of an issue, and to seek the Lord in prayer. Not only does God’s grace overcome our human frailties but He has also promised to give wisdom whenever we ask. As James reminds us,“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” ( James 1:5).
DIGGING DEEPER
5. Why did Mephibosheth give all his property to Ziba? What does this reveal about his priorities?
6. Why did Ziba tell this lie in the first place? What did he hope to gain? What does this reveal about his priorities?
7. What led David to make unjust decisions? How might he have handled this situation differently?
8. In what ways does Mephibosheth illustrate Christlike character? How do his actions serve as example for Christian gratitude?
TAKING IT PERSONALLY
9. What decisions in your life require wisdom at present? What steps will you take to ensure that you make a wise decision?
10. Make a list below of things you are grateful for; then spend time giving thanks to God for His love and generosity.