A Place At The Table: The Gospel According to... Mephibosheth?!?

Week 18, Day 2…. Love this beautiful picture of the gospel in the story of Mephibosheth…

“And David said to him, ‘Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.’ And [Mephibosheth] paid homage and said, ‘What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?’ … So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.” (2 Sam. 9:7-8, 13)

The story of Mephibosheth begins back in 2 Samuel 4:4: “Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who as crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled, and as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.”

The name literally meant “dispeller of shame,” and it carried within it the idea of a breath of air blowing away shame and humiliation, specifically as it related to idol worship. In 1 Chronicles 8:34, his name is recorded as Merib-baal, meaning “grapples with or struggles against Baal,” a pagan deity that was commonly worshipped in that region. Both names suggest that idol worship had brought shame and humiliation to Israel, and maybe Jonathan had hoped that his heritage would be to one day put an end to that shame and restore Israel to the pure worship of God again. Whatever the reason, Mephibosheth’s very name invoked hope for the future.

That day in the nursery when he was five, all hope must have seemed lost. One minute, he is the son of a prince, the grandson of the King, in the line to assume the throne. The future seemed bright and certain. The next a messenger from Jezreel is announcing that his father and grandfather have been killed in battle. His nurse knows the chaos that will come in the wake of this news: there will be a mad scramble for power. Death and bloodshed in a desperate grab for power by relatives and kinsmen. And there is David. The sworn enemy of Saul. Rumor has it that God has chosen him to be king over Israel. Surely, he will come and put to death any that stand in his way.

In fear, the nurse snatches little Mephibosheth up, hurriedly packs a few things she will need in hiding, and runs from the nursery. What happens next is a blur; all she knows is she is falling. Hard. Mephibosheth is injured. Both feet are crippled by the accident. He will never walk again. In a culture where the strength of a man to work his field and tend his flock is everything, Mephibosheth’s bright future, all the hopes and dreams of his father for him, crumble into ashes.

Mephibosheth. Dispeller of Shame. His own name must have become a cruel joke to him, and it probably felt like gravel in his mouth whenever he spoke it. How many times he must have heard it on the lips of others and thought, “Dispeller of Shame? Ha! Dispeller of Hope, is more like it.” So for years, Mephibosheth lives in humiliation, depending on the pity and charity of others, unable to contribute to the work, hding out, living in constant fear that his identity as a Saul’s grandson might be discovered and he be put to death. Maybe it would be better that way, he might have thought. After all, I am already as good as dead. A dead dog in the street. No one will even miss me, except those to whom I have become a burden, and they will probably be relieved.

You can imagine what he must have felt the day the messengers from King David showed up at his house, asking for him – by name! He must have thought, This is it. I’m dead. The day I have dreaded for so long has finally come. He can hardly believe his ears when he hears why they have come. David doesn’t want to kill him; David wants to show him kindness for the sake of his father.

His head must have been spinning when David called his name: “Mephibosheth!” Dispeller of the Shame of Israel. Bringer of Hope. Somehow it didn’t sound like a cruel joke anymore when he said it. “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan…” Because of a sacred promise, a covenant between David and Mephibosheth’s father, the King wants to take all the love and kindness he had for Jonathan and give it to him! He had nothing to offer David. And David certainly didn’t owe him anything. By all rights, David should have had him slain as the blood relative of his bitter enemy and rival to the throne. Ha! The throne! Sure, as long as I can get somebody to carry me up and sit me on it!

David continued,”… and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father…” Could this really be happening? All that was lost is being restored to him, even though he no longer has any rightful claim to it, much less the power to make such a claim. And here is David simply handing it to him. And for no other reason that because it pleased him to do it!

But David wasn’t finished. “…and you shall eat at my table always.” This last bit must have been almost too much for Mephibosheth to bear. King David had already been extravagantly generous in honoring his covenant with his father Jonathan as if it had been with him directly, in giving back to him all the land that was lost to their family, in letting him live! It would have been more than Mephibosheth could have ever dreamed possible if David had sent him away with all of that and had never seen or spoken to him again. But instead, David gives him a place with him, a seat of honor, at his table, beside him, always!

I don’t want to rush past this and miss this, because this is, I believe, where the gospel shines most clearly in this story. David wanted Mephibosheth to be with him always.  He wanted to get to know him, to dwell with him, for him to be like one of his own sons. For the first time since that horrible accident all those years ago, Mephibosheth must have felt wanted!

It must have undone him completely. Scripture records his response to this overwhelming of David: “And [Mephibosheth] paid homage” – in the original Hebrew it literally means to prostrate, to fall down on your face in submission before someone – “and said, ‘What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?’ “ All those years of living in fear and hiding who he really was, of feeling the weight of shame and humiliation, of having no hope for his future, and of feeling like a burden to a family to whom he didn’t belong, all that just melted away like waking up from a bad dream. Almost in echo of the day his future was suddenly snatched away from him and he was plunged into a nightmare, he found himself suddenly living in the King’s palace, eating at his table, accepted as a friend and member of his own family. It’s called grace. Undeserved favor. Unconditional love and kindness. For no other reason that because it pleases the King to do so.

This is one of my favorite stories in scripture because it my story, too – Our story.We are Mephibosheth. Helpless. Hopeless. “strangers to the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” (Eph. 4:12) But like Mephibosheth, we are the recipients of astonishing grace, based on a blood covenant made long ago, before we were born. Not for our own sake, but for the sake of Jesus Christ and His blood shed for us, we are welcomed into the family of the King, and given a place at His table – always!

Paul describes our part in this story well: “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Eph.2:1-9)

Our sin had alienated us. We were enemies of the King, living in rebellion. Our selfishness had crippled us, made us unable to walk in the way we were meant to. We had no power to save ourselves. No future to give us hope. We were “dead dogs” for all intents and purposes. “But God” – two of the sweetest words in scripture – showed us unfathomable grace for Jesus’ sake. And here is the part I love most: “so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.”

In the coming ages. Though we may feel like Mephibosheth today, there is a new King in town, and His Kingdom is coming even now. In that Kingdom we have been given a seat at the table. “Because of the great love with which He loved us.” Take that to heart today, friend. Trust in the kindness of Jesus. He wants you to be with Him so bad, not even death could stop him. Let the truth of that sink in today and truly be a Dispeller of Shame.

What Do You Want From a King?

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Week 14, Day 3 of the Grand Story...
"But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us' ... when the Lord your God was your king. And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the Lord has set a king over you." (1 Sam. 10:19; 12:12-13)

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” -- CS Lewis, The Weight of Glory

I used to think I knew what I really wanted. I would do anything to get it, sacrifice important stuff to have what I wanted. I would even pray and ask God to let me have what I wanted. Only to find out it wasn't all that I thought it would be. Turns out it wasn't what I really wanted after all.

What I really wanted was Him. I just didn't know it at the time. The desires I had were really only ever going to be satisfied by the love of Christ. My vision was too small. I was aiming too low. I was asking for a stale saltine when God wanted to give me prime rib. But he would let me munch on that cracker until it was all gone, and I was still hungry. Then I would be ready for what He had in store all along.

Basically, it all comes down to who you want to be your king. What do you want out of him? Peace? Prosperity? Safety? Security? “A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage”? What we are willing to give up to get what we want says everything about who we really are. We learn that every four years, when we elect a new president. We listen to all the promises and the pretty speeches. Ultimately, we elect as a country the guy who promises us the most stuff, knowing full well he hasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of delivering on half of it. 

Why? Because we aren’t looking for a King – capital K– someone that demands our loyalty and unwavering submission to his authority for the good of the kingdom even at the cost of personal comfort and safety. We want a king – little k – to give us the good life right now. We would sign over every bit of freedom we have for a nice house, nice car, and free cable.  Who are we kidding, we would sell our own children -- and we have done exactly that -- for more stuff now. We have rejected God as rightful King over our lives and replaced him with a smaller, scaled-down, easier-to-control version. We have cashed in holiness in exchange for immediate happiness, and the result is that we enjoy neither one!*

Here’s the kicker: We want to be like “all the other nations around us.” We don’t want to be different. We don’t want to stand out. We don’t want to be holy. Because to be holy is to paint a target on your back, to risk it all on the chance that God is faithful and will do everything He promised, if we would trust Him. But God makes us wait. He makes us endure suffering. He makes us work… hard! Why go to all that trouble when there is an easier way? Blend in. Disappear. Become invisible. That way you are free to do what you want, when you want, the way you want, and no one notices or calls you out. No one calls you to something higher or deeper or more meaningful.

O Father in Heaven! Save us from ourselves! Call us to something more! Stir in our hearts revival fires. Wake up your sleeping Bride! Bring glory to the earth through a holy people – Your Church! In the power and authority of the True King, I pray! Amen!

*I use the pronoun "we" to refer to the overall attitude of Americans in general, and the American Church in particular. I include my own propensity for short-sighted selfishness in this assessment.

Week 11 of the Grand Story... the plot thickens!

“They have made me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.” (Deut. 32:21)

One of the very last instructions God gave Moses was to write a song and teach it to the people of Israel. This song was to be a witness against them when – not if, but when – they abandoned Him and went after the false gods of the pagan nations around them. Tucked away in this song is a lyrical couplet that contains an important prophecy, a sneak peek into His future plans to redeem all of humanity out from under the curse of sin and restore them to Himself.

God says, “I am going to stir up in you a desire for me by extending My grace to Gentiles. You will see the beauty of my love and mercy toward them and it will actually make you jealous for that kind of relationship with Me.”

He further unfolds this plan through the prophet Hosea: “And I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they will say, ‘You are my God!’” (Hos. 2:23, NASB) He speaks through Isaiah, “I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by my name.” (Isa. 65:1) In Romans 11:11, Paul confirms that “salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.” God’s plan all along has been to redeem all of humanity, not just Israel. He chose them to be the people He would reveal Himself to and through so that “all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.” (Gen. 22:18)

Even now, God is always only ever about one thing: His Kingdom, the comprehensive rule of God over everything and everyone in all places at all times. That is Plan A and there is no Plan B. That is where history is headed and nothing can stop it. Right now God continues to draw men, women, boys, and girls from every tribe, tongue, nation, and people to Himself through Jesus Christ. And the primary way He chooses to extend that invitation is through the changed lives of ordinary, messed-up, broken people like you and me. Bit-by-bit, day-by-day, we are being transformed by His love into the image of His Son that we were originally created to bear.

Scripture records another song, one that we will sing someday – Jews and Gentiles together – when Christ returns: “Worthy are You… for You were slain, and by Your blood You ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” (Rev. 5: 9-10)

Come quickly, Jesus!

This is a toughie today...

Week 10, Day 1 of the Grand Story … a clash of worldviews challenges our modern sensibilities…

“They warred against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and killed every male… And the people of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones, and they took as plunder all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods. All their cities in the places where they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire…”  (Numbers 31:7-10)

Imagine that you built your kids a big, beautiful house on a gorgeous piece of land -- rolling pastures, horses, a rustic red barn, and a winding creek that meanders through it. The plan is to give it to them when they are older, when they graduate college or get married.

But before you could give it to them, squatters move in and take it over. They destroy its beauty with their carelessness and turn it into a place where evil things happen. It becomes a crack house, a brothel, a place where children are neglected, abused, and exploited in horrible ways. They are vicious, brutal, and hateful to each other. Not only that, but they hate you and your children. They hire hit men to kill them.

This has to stop. They have no right to be there, and you have every right to drive them out. So you gather your family and call the authorities. You confront them. It gets ugly. Shots are fired. Most of them are killed in the conflict. The rest are taken away. Justice has been served, their crimes have been punished, and their life of corruption and destruction has been put to an end. You and your family breathe a sigh of relief.

Now imagine the next day you open the newspaper and read this headline: “INNOCENT CITIZENS DRIVEN FROM THEIR HOME BY TERRORISTS!” Imagine the anger and outrage you would feel at being cast as the villain when you are in reality the victim. It wasn’t their home! They had no right to be there in the first place! And they were anything BUT innocent! They tried to kill my family, for crying out loud!

This is the scenario we find in Numbers 31. We tend to read it like the spin doctors of a cable news network: “Those poor people were just minding their own business and along comes Israel and just slaughters them all and burns their cities! And God told them to!” But the reality is a very different story.

We have to be careful to remember that God is the one who has been wronged in this passage. He created the world expressly for His people to occupy. His plan all along was that it would belong to those who loved Him and desired His Kingdom. The whole earth – and every person who dwells in it – belongs to Him and He can do whatever He pleases with it. (Psalm 24:1; Daniel 4:35) No man can stand before God and demand anything, or claim any rights before Him, especially not those who hate Him and oppose His rule.

These are not good people. They were violent, barbaric, war-like. They invaded, murdered, raped, pillaged, exploited children and women. They were haters of God and His people, opposing them, harassing them, and seeking their destruction. So when God dispossesses them, He is exercising His rightful authority.

How we react to passages like these are an indicator of what we understand about God’s holiness. If we read a story like this and inside we recoil in horror against a God who could do this kind of thing, it reveals how little we grasp who He is, and who we truly are. It reveals that we think we are more than we are, and that we think far less of Him than we ought.

If we were created to worship – if our souls were shaped expressly for intimate communion with Him at the deepest level of existence – then the highest aspiration a human can attain to is loving God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. Conversely, the greatest failure a human is capable of is to fail to worship, or worse, to offer himself in worship to another, lesser god. It’s precisely because we don’t truly believe that that we are offended when we read a passage like Numbers 31 and think that God is somehow in the wrong. When push comes to shove, in a world that is becoming increasingly hostile towards the gospel of Christ, this is the place we will either stand or fall – for all eternity.

"You want me to do WHAT, God?!"

Continuing through Genesis the past few mornings... came across this yesterday:
"And God said to Abraham, 'As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations... You shall be circumcised... it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.' " (Gen. 17:9, 11)

Because of the differences in cultures, customs, and worldview, we don't get the whole circumcision thing. Paul gives us a lot of insight on what was really going on there in Romans 2 & 4: "Circumcision is a matter of the heart, not outward and physical." (2:28-29), and it was given as a sign and a seal that God had already counted Abraham's faith as righteousness and set him apart as holy (4:10-12)

A few words help me understand this seemingly strange requirement of God to Abraham:

• Permanent - There's no undoing circumcision. No going back. You are all in. And it would remain a constant reminder of the unique covenant relationship God's people enjoyed.
• Personal - It was a 1:1 ratio. Every man had to bear his own part in the ongoing, unfolding redemptive narrative of God's plan. You couldn't be circumcised for someone else! "So then each of us will give an account of himself to God." (Rom. 14:12)
• Painful - Remember, Abraham and his men were adults at this time. Like Henry Blackaby says in Experiencing God, "Obedience is costly." The question is "Is it worth the cost?" That's why we call it worship; we are declaring what something is worth by what we are willing to sacrifice (see Gen. 22:12)
• Possession - God wants to set His people apart as His unique and holy treasure. "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9) Shepherds mark their flocks by cutting a notch or making a unique mark on their sheep so they will be easily identifiable as belonging to their master, even from a distance.

What sets me apart? Can anyone tell a difference? Do they see that I belong to Christ, or do I blend in with the surroundings as indistinguishable? A matter of the heart indeed!