READ: 2 Samuel 9:1-7 & 13
MEMORY VERSE
[Mephibosheth] always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet. 2 Samuel 9:13
BACKGROUND
There’s a poignant scene near the end of Frederick Buechner’s historical novel Brendan. The character Gildas stands up to reveal one of his legs missing from the knee down. As he reaches for his walking stick, he loses his balance. Brendan leaps up and catches him.
“I’m as crippled as the dark world,” Gildas says. “If it comes to that, which one of us isn’t?” Brendan replies. “To lend each other a hand when we’re falling. Perhaps that’s the only work that matters in the end.”
In 2 Samuel 9, we find King David desiring to show kindness to anyone still living from the house of Saul (v. 1). There is one, Mephibosheth, “a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet” (v. 3).
Mephibosheth is ushered into the king’s presence, where he hears these words: “I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table” (v. 7). And he always did.
Scripture is full of unforgettable stories of David and giants and armies and kings and kingdoms—the stuff of movies. But the Bible also remembers this poignant kindness shown toward a person in need—the story of someone lending a hand to another.
After all the big, flashy scenes fade, it’s possible that kindness such as David extended to Mephibosheth is the work that matters most in the end. Lending a hand is the kind of work you and I can be about each and every day.
INSIGHT
Mephibosheth was five years old when his grandfather Saul and father, Jonathan, perished at Mount Gilboa (2 Samuel 4:4; see 1:5-6). When his nurse heard the news, she “picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled [lame in both feet]” (2 Samuel 4:4).
He was the last surviving member of the house of Saul (9:3). Even though David had been Saul’s bitter enemy, David and Jonathan had loved each other like brothers and were “one in spirit” (1 Samuel 18:1).
So, to honor his friend Jonathan, David showed great kindness to Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth. In response to the great kindness God has shown us (Titus 3:4-5), we, like David, in gratitude can show kindness to others.
Alyson Kieda
APPLICATION
Who is a Mephibosheth in your life? How can you lend a hand to that person?
PR’s (Pastor Richard) RE-EMPHASI (From Today’s Post)
“…in gratitude (to God) we can (and should) show kindness to others.”
PR’s TAKE
“It takes courage to be kind” Maya Angelou
“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Mark Twain
“There is no right way to perform an act of kindness. Just do IT.” (Adapted – Catherine Ryan Hyde) Pr
PRAYER
“Compassionate God, please show me the one in my life that I can lend a hand to.”
TODAY’S HYMN/WORSHIP/PRAISE/GOSPEL SONG
“KIND WORDS CAN NEVER DIE”
Kind words can never die,
Cherished and blest,
God knows how deep they lie,
Stored in the breast:
Like childhood’s simple rhymes,
Said o’er a thousand times,
Aye, in all years and climes,
Distant and near.
Kind words can never die,
Never die, never die;
Kind words can never die,
No, never die.
Sweet tho’ts can never die,
Tho’, like the flow’rs,
Their brightest hues may fly,
In wintry hours.
But when the gentle dew
Gives them their charms anew,
With many an added hue
They bloom again.
Sweet tho’ts can never die,
Never die, never die;
Sweet tho’ts can never die,
No, never die.
Our souls can never die,
Tho’ in the tomb
We all may have to lie,
Wrapped in its gloom.
What tho’ the flesh decay,
Souls pass in peace away,
Live thro’ eternal day
With Christ above.
Our souls can never die,
Never die, never die;
Our souls can never die,
No, never die.
