In His Face

2 Samuel 9: 6-13 "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? [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."

The Psalmist wrote "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?{Psalms 8:4}".  What is man, and why did God care so much for him that He would give everything for him? Why does God have this great love for us?

The story begins long before what you read now, begins with the sin of Saul and God's calling of David to be King. Saul was chosen to be King over Israel, but this calling was conditioned on his obedience to the One who called him. Saul moved away from God in his heart, and because of this God had the prophet Samuel anoint a little shepherd to be King in Saul's place.

While bringing food to his brothers one day, this shepherd is suddenly thrust into the limelight when he makes the amazing, preposterous statement that he will fight the strongest of the Philistines. Not fight him, because he is stronger than Goliath, but fight him because his heart is dedicated to the Lord. David knew, he just knew, that he could destroy this unbeliever as long as he fought in the power of God. The Philistine came out in full armor, the young David with five smooth stones and a sling. David loaded, took aim, and shot - and the Philistine laid dead!

Our God reigns, people. Never forget, our God reigns. I believe God drew Israel into battle with the Philistines, and controlled events, in order to bring David into Saul's household. You can believe this or not, but the fact remains that the newly anointed boy, by this great and miraculous victory, was brought into the household of Saul. David was placed just where he needed to be in order to fulfill God's greater purpose - to eventually place David on the throne.

When David was brought to Saul, separated from his family, I can imagine the loneliness that he felt. Saul brought him into his household to use him: had not David just won a great battle for Israel? What a wonderful thing to have this great warrior as head over your armies! Saul perhaps reasoned that, by bringing David in, some of David's fame would rub off on him. Perhaps, perhaps not. But even so, David was still a wonderful musician, and Saul knew that, if nothing else, he could use him for entertainment.

Saul's son Jonathan saw David after he was brought into the household, and in David Jonathan saw a kindred spirit. Here was someone he could be friends with, a warrior like himself yet his own age. A young man of valor, and courage. The Bible tells us that when Jonathan saw David he "loved him as his own soul" {1 Samuel 18.1}, so much so that he stripped off his princely clothes, even his weapons of war, and gave them to the shepherd boy. Their hearts were bound together in covenant that day, a covenant that passed even beyond the grave, a covenant to love one another no matter what. This covenant of love and friendship caused Jonathan to refuse to surrender David to Saul when Saul unjustly demanded his life. Jonathan's love for David in spite of his father caused David to care for him all the more.

Psalms 47:7-8 "For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. [8]  God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness."

Though we may not like to think so, though the heathen may think they are the master of their fates, our God reigns. Though you may not clearly see his reigning hand in your life, there will come a time when you, just as I have, will look back and say "surely God reigns". God used the Philistines to bring David into the spotlight, to thrust David into Saul's household so that one day he would be in a position to be King. God also used the Philistines to kill Saul so that David could ascend to that throne reserved for him.

Saul and his sons were fighting the Philistines at Mount Gilboa, and were fighting a losing battle. Finally the Philistine archers hit Saul, along with Jonathan and his brothers, and Saul knew he was finished. To avoid torture he fell on his own sword, killing himself. The Saul and David's best friend Jonathan were dead. With these deaths the throne of Judah passed to King David - though he would have had Jonathan live, and remain outside the courtyard. David cried when he heard of Jonathan's death, and said:

2 Samuel 1:25-27 "How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. [26]  I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. [27]  How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!"

David came to the throne when God's people were divided between those who were loyal to him, and those loyal to the household of Saul. David eventually reunited the whole nation under one throne, though every day that he worked to end strife in his nation he missed Jonathan. Once Israel was reunited, the Ark of the Covenant was returned to Jerusalem, and the enemies of God's chosen were put under foot David looked around and decided to still that hurt in his heart. He asked:

2 Samuel 9:1  "... is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan's sake?"

David knew that he would never look on Jonathan again, but he wanted to help someone from Saul's surviving family in honor of his old friend. David was told that Jonathan had a crippled son named Mephibosheth. There was nothing in this child that was beautiful.

His name was ugly: Mephibosheth was originally named Meribaal, a name that was honoring to the Canaanite god Baal {"from the mouth of the lord Baal"}, and because of this his name was changed to "Mephibosheth", meaning "from the mouth of shame".

Mephibosheth was a cripple. When he was five years old, Saul and Jonathan fell at Mount Gilboa. When his nursemaid heard this, she grabbed the child and tried to run away with him. It was common practice for the new King to kill the entire family of the old King, and the nurse, out of love, perhaps sought to spare the child this terrible death. As she ran, good hearted as she was, she stumbled and fell on Mephibosheth, breaking both his legs and feet. The injuries were not properly cared for, so the boy grew up crippled, unable to work, a pauper.

Yet David asked to see the boy, and Mephibosheth was brought before him. I can imagine Mephibosheth's terror. As I said before, it was common for the new King to kill the entire family of the past King, and Mephibosheth was the last of Saul's line. When he was brought before David:

2 Samuel 9: 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! "

I'm sure that he "fell on his face" out of fear, for he thought, "surely I'm going to die". By the Law of the Land this was justice. Whoever heard of a King allowing the past King's grandchildren to live! They might rise up themselves, and one day try to re-take the throne. Death was justice. But David didn't give Mephibosheth justice. He gave him mercy. This puzzled Mephibosheth, who said:

2 Samuel 9: 8 "... What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?"

Mephibosheth had no prestige, no power, no wealth, no good looks. He knew that he was little better than a "dead dog", unfit to be in such surroundings as the King's court. To Mephibosheth, he was of little value, a dead dog, a piece of trash.

But when David looked at Mephibosheth he didn't see the withered limbs, nor did he regard the pitiful name "from the mouth of shame". David looked at Mephibosheth and saw the face of his beloved friend Jonathan, the friend that risked everything for David's sake. He saw the Beloved in him, and gave Mephibosheth the grace that he could never deserve nor earn.

Mephibosheth was honored because of the sacrifice of his father Jonathan. He who was dishonorable was honored. He who was ugly was made beautiful, all because of the work of another.

The Psalmist wrote "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?{Psalms 8:4}".  What is man, and why did God care so much for him that He would give everything for him? In the Garden man was created in the Image of God. We are told in Genesis:

Genesis 1:27  "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

Yet man fell from Grace, fell into sin in the Garden. That image was marred, twisted, and broken, and we were lamed and ugly. We are no great ornaments to God's table, nothing is in us that is worthy of Heaven. We deserve death by justice, not mercy by Grace. Yet God gives us life - if He can see Jesus in us.

The Father loves His Only Begotten with an eternal love, much like David loved Jonathan. We have no beauty in ourselves, but if we accept the Son as our own, as our Saviour, as our Blessed Hope, then the Father sees the Son in us. For the Son's sake our crippled feet are overlooked, our deformities do not rob us of the privileges of Heaven. When the Father sees in our souls the likeness of His Son we move from justice to Grace, from cursing to blessing.

Listen, dear friends:

Romans 3:23  "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God"

Do not think yourself to be something when you are not. God sees your twisted feet, your corrupted souls. We are all like Mephibosheth, unlovable in ourselves. Recognize this fact. This is fact, not something that I or God wants to hold over you to shame you, but to make you see reality. We are all Mephibosheth, "from the mouth of shame". There is nothing lovely in us, unless we let something lovely come into us. Jesus said,

John 11:25  " .. I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live"

Without Jesus you are dead, crippled, as Mephibosheth said, a "dead dog". You might be rich, and famous, but without Jesus you matter little to the One who matters most, the Creator of all. But if you have accepted Jesus as your Saviour, you are passed from death the life, from a pauper status and become an inheritor of the riches of Heaven.

What will you do? Which life will you have? Accept Jesus by faith  .. not later, but now!

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