2 Samuel 9

“And Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet, lived in Jerusalem and ate regularly at the king’s table.” (2 Samuel 9:13, NLT)

David wanted to honor his friendship with Jonathan and keep his promise to be kind to his descendants (1 Samuel 20:14-15). He found Mephibosheth, who was lame, living in another person’s home, and possessing no family inheritance.

Imagine being Mephibosheth. It was common when a new king established a new dynasty to remove any potential threat to the throne by killing the descendants of the previous king. For all Mephibosheth knew, he was in David’s crosshairs. This is why he considered himself to be a “dead dog” (v. 8). Suddenly, he is brought before David not knowing what to expect.

“So David said to him, ‘Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.’” (2 Samuel 9:7, NKJV)

In an instant, everything changed. Mephibosheth became a wealthy man, and he would always eat at King David’s dinner table. He was still lame, but he went from a place of dishonor to being honored by the king.

Now let’s consider ourselves. Before we came to Christ, we were lame when it came to walking in God’s ways. We were doomed for destruction. We were poor with no inheritance of our own. Our only status was that we were sinners. But Christ saved us from being “dead dogs” and conferred upon us riches and honor. He gives us our daily bread and prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies (Psalm 23:5). And we have received something Mephibosheth never received: Christ has healed us and set us free so that we can walk with Him all our days.

Let’s spend some time today recalling our many blessings and thanking God for them.