2 Samuel 9:2-4 Kindness of God

 ”And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” He said, “At your service!” Then the king said, “Is there not still someone 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 lame in his feet.” So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar.”“ ‭‭II Samuel‬ ‭9‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Ziba: David could only learn that there was a descendant of Saul still living and could only learn where he was through this servant named Ziba. This meant that Mephibosheth was in hiding.

b. The kindness of God: This phrase is key to understanding David’s motivation in this chapter. David wanted to show someone else the same kindness God had shown to him.

c. There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet: We first learned of Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel 4:4. It tells us that this son of Jonathan was made lame in his feet from an accident when the household heard that his father Jonathan and his grandfather Saul died in battle.

i. We should remember why Mephibosheth’s nurse gathered the boy and fled in haste at the news of Saul and Jonathan’s death. She rightly feared that the leader of a new royal dynasty would execute every potential heir of the former dynasty (2 Samuel 4:4).

d. A son of Jonathan: This means that according to the prior dynasty of Saul, Mephibosheth had the right to the throne. He was a son of the first-born son of the king, and other potential heirs were dead. In a political sense, David could have seen Mephibosheth as a rival or a threat.

i. Later in 2 Samuel 16:5-8 we see a man named Shimei who was a partisan for the house of Saul against David. There were at least a few in Israel who felt that the house of Saul should still reign over the nation and that David shouldn’t be king. Mephibosheth might draw upon these partisans and develop a rival following.

ii. Ishbosheth was Mephibosheth’s uncle, and he waged a bloody war against David for the throne of Israel. There was at least an outside chance that Mephibosheth might do the same.

e. He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel: This speaks of Mephibosheth’s low station in life. He didn’t even have his own house. Instead, he lived in the house of another man.

i. Machir the son of Ammiel later showed he was intensely loyal to David. When David’s son Absalom led a rebellion against David, Machir supported and helped David at great danger to himself (2 Samuel 17:27-29). (Guzik)

Kindness of God

Years ago when taking chaplain certification courses we were asked what Bible verse(s) best describes our reasons for wanting to become a chaplain.

This is what I picked and it fits today’s devotional, “Kindness of God”!

”Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.“ ‭‭II Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Have you comforted anyone lately who was in trouble and struggling with the kindness of God?

Blessings