1-2 Samuel Week Thirty-Seven: 2 Samuel 9:1-13

Then David said, “Is there yet anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” ² Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David; and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” ³ The king said, “Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet.” ⁴ So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lo-debar.” ⁵ Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. ⁶ Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he said, “Here is your servant!” ⁷ David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly.” ⁸ Again he prostrated himself and said, “What is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me?”

⁹ Then the king called Saul’s servant Ziba and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson. ¹⁰ You and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce so that your master’s grandson may have food; nevertheless Mephibosheth your master’s grandson shall eat at my table regularly.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. ¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant so your servant will do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table as one of the king’s sons. ¹² Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth. ¹³ So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate at the king’s table regularly. Now he was lame in both feet.

—2 Samuel 9:1-13

Sermon Outline

1. David His Covenant (MULTILINE)
2. David Mephibosheth (MULTILINE)
3.  David Restoration (MULTILINE)
4.  God’s is Life Changing (MULTILINE)

References

Weekly Study Guide

The question of who owns the land of Israel is one of the most hotly debated topics in the world today. This debate is not only a modern question but dates back all the way to when God gave Abraham and his offspring the land. Which begs the question: why is this particular plot of land so discussed and disputed? God did not choose this particular piece of real estate by accident. It was perfectly placed to be at the crossroads of the world. The three major population and commerce centers in the ancient world were: Egypt in the south, Mesopotamia in the east, and Europe in the west. There were very few roads that connected these three centers of power; and roads back then were the lifeblood of society. That’s one of the reasons Rome eventually became so powerful—because of its masterful road construction. The primary north-south road that connected Egypt with the rest of the world ran up the coast of Israel, called the Via Maris (the way of the sea). It connected with the east-west road in Damascus, running through the Jezreel Valley in north/central Israel. The commerce for the entire known world ran through Israel. This would set God’s people up in a perfect geographic situation to be the light on a hill they were called to be, as caravans continually journeyed through their land.

Throughout history, Israel was the staging ground for major world battles precisely because they occupied this crossroads. Alexander the Great once called the broad open plain in the Jezreel Valley the greatest natural battlefield in the world. Over 200 major historical battles took place in this valley. Every major empire in history recognized the strategic value of this land. Thus, Israel became highly sought-after territory. It was the buffer zone between the mighty Roman Empire and its nemesis, the Parthian Empire in the east.

Not only because of its strategic importance, but also because of its religious significance, Israel has grown to be the most disputed plot of land in history. All three major world religions lay claim to Jerusalem as a holy site. The Crusades that labored on throughout the Middle Ages centered around control of Jerusalem. Which brings us back to the point I mentioned back in book one—unending wars are being waged by those who passionately believe that Israel does not even have a right to exist, let alone a right to this land. God told Zechariah that He would make Jerusalem a cup of trembling for the nations, and indeed He has. Yet God also declared in Ezekiel 5:5 that He placed Jerusalem at the center of the nations. Israel exists not only at the crossroads of the world, but late lights are burning in every political center in the world grappling with what to do with Israel. And this is no accident.

For God worshippers, the issue of who owns the land should be a settled matter. God unequivocally and eternally ceded ownership of the land, from the River of Egypt all the way to the Euphrates, to Abraham and his offspring. That should absolutely close the case for every believer. However, many Christians today have been seduced by the narratives being manufactured in the media that claim that Israel should not have a right to the land. Much ink has been spilt in these study guides demonstrating that the Abrahamic Covenant is eternal and unconditional. God has spoken. If we have an issue with who owns the land, we need to take it up with God.

Yet, in our current historical situation, not only does Israel have a biblical and historic right to the land, but, unbeknownst to many, they also have a legal right to the land established through modern international law. This is not something you will ever see reported in the mainstream media, because they are all about promoting an anti-Israel, anti-Zionist, and anti-Semitic agenda. We will get into these details shortly. Even the terminology used by nearly everyone when discussing Israel today reveals that same anti-Semitic bent. You will hear the terms “occupied territory”, “West Bank”, and “Palestine” (referring to the Gaza Strip). Each of these terms presupposes the fact that Israel does not have a right to the land God gave them.

To understand the bias in these terms, we need to examine a bit of history. In 1948 Israel became a nation again. After many years of wrangling about territories and borders, the international community recognized Israel’s right to a national homeland. Hopefully, we will be able to get into some of this history in future weeks. We already mentioned that immediately following their declaration of independence on May 14^th, 1948, Israel was attacked from all sides by their Arab, Muslim enemies. But Israel prevailed. The defeated nations skulked away licking their wounds, but they never forgot and never gave up on their goal of eradicating Israel.

This brings us to 1967. These same nations were amassing armies on Israel’s borders in preparation for another attempt to drive Israel into the sea. But Israel caught them off-guard, and in a matter of hours, Israel destroyed Egypt’s entire air force, which was sitting on the ground preparing to deploy. This began what is known as “the 6-Day War”. In a mere six days, Israel defeated each of the enemies attacking them and gained significant territory that had been taken from them in the War of Independence back in 1948.

One of the areas Israel captured is what is popularly referred to as “the West Bank”—the area the Bible calls Judea and Samaria, the heartland of Israel. This land is located on the west side of the Jordan River north of Jerusalem, extending northward towards the Galilee. The popular narrative is that Israel refused to give this land back that was illegally annexed in 1967 and that Israel has no claim to this land. The so-called “Palestinians” claim this is their land, and every time Israel builds new neighborhoods in this region, the media calls them “illegal settlements”. In the 6-Day War, Israel also gained control of the old city section of Jerusalem. This was an occasion for weeping and rejoicing throughout Israel, because this was the first time since the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. that they were able to approach the temple mount and worship at their most holy site. Jordan had captured this area in 1948 and had prevented Jews and Christians from even entering the region.

One of the problems with this popular narrative is that the people who call themselves Palestinian never owned this area of land called the West Bank. It was taken from Israel by the nation of Jordan in the war in 1948. In 1967, when Jordan joined the conflict of the 6-Day War, Israel prevailed and pushed them back across the Jordan River and reclaimed this land originally given to them by the San Remo Accords. Thus, the territory Israel captured in 1967 was obtained in a justified war of self-defense. It had never belonged to a Palestinian nation (because, again, there has never been one). The section of land Israel recaptured was land that Jordan had taken from them previously in another war. And, even more significantly, the inhabitants of that region were Jordanians and had Jordanian passports; they were not Palestinians.

But who actually owned that land prior to Jordan capturing it in 1948? The Kingdom of Jordan’s authority over the area called the West Bank was never recognized by any international court of law or by any other nation. It was only theirs by conquest. So, who owned the land? If you know your history, you will recall that the Ottoman Empire controlled this entire area of the world. Following their defeat in WWI, it was necessary for the Western powers to divvy up these Ottoman Empire lands and draw new national boundaries for not only Europe, but also the areas of what is now Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel and that entire region. So, the international Allied powers gathered together in Paris in 1919 to work out the national boundaries in Europe. But the following year, they met in San Remo, Italy to establish the boundaries of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Kingdom of Transjordan (prior to this, some of these nations had not existed). They also met to decide on the borders for the land being set aside for Israel. Prior to these meetings, the British War Cabinet had met in 1917 and codified Israel’s right to reestablish a national homeland in what is known as the Balfour Declaration.

The San Remo Resolution declared, with the force of international law, that all of the land both east and west of the Jordan River was to be a national home for the Jewish people. This allotment was less than 1% of the Ottoman Empire. The Arabs were given the other 99%. The San Remo Resolution also established mandates, or mandatories—legally designated authorities—to France and to Britain to oversee or supervise these territories until the native peoples were able to govern themselves. Here is what the Jewish people were given under international law (click to view image).

Later, however, the British government felt compelled to divide this allotment, in order to pay off a war debt to King Faisal. Thus, they established the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan and gave everything east of the Jordan River to this newly created nation. Thus, Israel lost 77% of what international law had given them under the original mandate. This is what the new boundaries looked like (click to view image).

Even later, in 1947, the United Nations illegally divided the already reduced territory Israel was to be given. This directly contradicted previously established international law. The U.N. had no authority to do this. They simply pronounced a non-binding resolution—which was even rejected by the Arabs.

Thus, all of the land west of the Jordan River legally belongs to Israel under international law. It was stolen by Jordan in 1948, but regained in 1967. When you hear the term “illegal occupation”, or “the West Bank” being used in the press, know that you are hearing propaganda designed to craft and sway public opinion away from what both God had given Israel, and what modern international law had affirmed as Israel’s right to the land. Any attempts by the toothless and irrelevant U.N. to establish a Palestinian state is a violation of international law.

The question of who owns the land is clear. As long as the sun, moon, and stars are in the sky, Israel will remain before Me, says the Lord (Jer 31:35-37). This all serves as background for the Land Covenant, which we will continue to unpack next time.

(MULTILINE)

Discussion Questions

1. What is the most surprising gift you have ever received? (MULTILINE)
2. What is the first statement in this chapter? How would this idea, of blessing the house that had a rival claim to the throne, be absolutely unheard of? However, what promises had David made to others that would make sense of this statement? What would Mephibosheth have been thinking as he was being escorted to the palace? How would David’s actions here have affected those watching eyes around him? (MULTILINE)
3. How does this story reflect our own relationship with God? What does it mean for us to be co-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17)? What do we stand to inherit (1 Pet 1:4)? What do we learn about the gracious heart of God through this story? What do we deserve? What do we get instead? What do we learn about humility and restoration in this chapter? What characteristics of God are on display in the story of Mephibosheth? (MULTILINE)
4. How might the more cynical of David’s followers have taken David’s request to find any of Saul’s descendants? Why do you think it is so hard for those in the world to understand this kind of gracious act? Why are the motives of revenge and self-preservation so natural for people? Where in your life have you had to fight against these temptations? (MULTILINE)
5. In what ways is the grace of David shown toward Mephibosheth reflective of the grace of God shown toward us? How does this story exemplify the importance of showing unmerited favor toward the less fortunate around us? What is one way this week that you can follow David’s example and pass along to others the grace that has been shown to you? (MULTILINE)

Going Deeper

1. What was it about David that made Ziba feel safe in revealing the hiding place of Mephibosheth? From what you recall from our study of 1^st & 2^nd Samuel, what were some of the ways David showed the love he had for Jonathan? Out of the riches of blessing David had received, he asked the question, “What can I do for others?” How often does that question motivate your actions? What can we do to incorporate that question even more into our lives? (MULTILINE)
2. When Mephibosheth appeared before David, he fell on his face in humility. It is safe to assume he feared the worst. How does David remove those fears? What does David do for Mephibosheth? What are some of the blessings David bestows on him? How does this reflect one of the promises God makes to us (Luke 22:30)? It seems many of our fears are based on faulty assumptions. What can we do to combat those assumptions? (MULTILINE)

Transformational Activity

Bible Study

One of the most meaningful pictures we are given in this story is that of restoration. How David restores to Mephibosheth all that he had lost reflects what Christ does for us as well. Take some time this week to do a deep dive on the subject of restoration in scripture. What are some examples of lives and fortunes being restored? Where do you see the words restore and restoration being used? How is this idea reflected in God’s overarching theme of fixing what was broken in the Fall? Think through how God has been working restoration in your own life as well.