2Samuel, chapter 9, comments

 

2Samuel 9:1 ¶  And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake? 2  And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he. 3  And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet. 4  And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar. 5  Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar. 6  Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant! 7  And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely 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. 8  And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?

 

David, secure in his kingdom and rule, wants to perform a kindness for any of the defeated house of Saul that he can. He finds one who is lame in his feet, named Mephibosheth.

 

2Samuel 4:4  And Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.

 

This, being Jonathan’s son, is precious to David and not only that but he had made a promise to his beloved friend. Jonathan had declared;

 

1Samuel 20:13  The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it please my father to do thee evil, then I will shew it thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and the LORD be with thee, as he hath been with my father. 14  And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of the LORD, that I die not: 15  But also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the LORD hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.

 

And David will show him mercy even when he is accused of betraying David, which we will see later.

 

2Samuel 9:9 ¶  Then the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master’s son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house. 10  Thou therefore, 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: but Mephibosheth thy master’s son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11  Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons. 12  And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth. 13  So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame on both his feet.

 

Considering what happens later I’m not so sure that Ziba, this servant of Saul, is pleased about being forced to serve Mephibosheth. The way he tries to undermine his new master later, even though David appears to forgive them both, perhaps to keep from doing an injustice to one of them, suggests Ziba is not loyal to Mephibosheth. We will see in 2Samuel 16 and in 19 how that plays out in a rather odd turn of events, odd especially in regard to David’s wise mercy on both.