-April 26, 2023-
Good morning, happy Wednesday,
“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 will eat bread at my table continually.’ Then he bowed himself, and said, ‘What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?’”
(2 Samuel 9:7-8).
David was a great king with many sons to sit at his table and enjoy his bounties and blessings. All of the them were robust, healthy warriors. They enjoyed all the privileges of sonship. David had made a covenant with his best friend Jonathan and he desired to honor it. Jonathan had said to him in 1 Samuel 20:14-16, “‘And you shall not only show me the kindness of the Lord while I still live, that I may not die; but you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever, no, not when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.’ So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, ‘Let the Lord require it at the hand of David’s enemies.’”
David made a vow and he meant to keep it. Once he was king over all Israel, he fulfilled it. He made an inquiry if there were any still left of the house of Saul that he could show kindness to for Jonathan’s sake. There was found one named Mephibosheth, a son of Jonathan, who was lame in his feet. We would call him disabled today. When news came of the tragic death of Saul and Jonathan on Mount Gilboa in a battle with the Philistines, his nurse picked up the five year old boy, and in her haste to flee she dropped him and he became lame.
David called for him and promised that he would sit at his table and eat bread continually. What a privilege! What a blessing! But he was so humble, and sensed his own unworthiness before King David. In fact, he describes himself as “a dead dog.” Dogs weren’t considered of much value, much less a dead dog! What a picture of us as sinners saved by grace sitting at the table of fellowship with our Lord. We are so unworthy. We are Gentiles, outside the commonwealth of Israel. We have been saved by grace through faith and are now sons of God. He has adopted us into His family and we have all the rights and privileges of sonship. We like wild olive branches have been grafted into spiritual Israel. We are one body in Christ.
We often call the breaking of bread the communion service. There is the Lord’s table with the symbols of the bread and wine before us. One day in heaven, we will sit and feast at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. We are so blessed now and our future in His presence will be glorious. We will sit at His table continually. We are liked dead dogs but now we are the precious sheep of His pasture. Mephibosheth is mentioned fifteen times in the Bible, all in 2 Samuel. His name is long with twelve letters and is very hard to pronounce. But his story, is our story. We can relate to him very well.
Have a blessed day rejoicing in the presence of the Lord—sitting at His table, feasting on the riches of His grace forever. We are the children of the King. Stay safe and healthy.
Sitting at His table is my place, sharing the blessings of His grace,
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 