Introduction:

A rejected family

1 Samuel 15:23
“. . .Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.”

A fallen child.

2 Samuel 4:4
Now Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the report of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened that in her hurry to flee, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.

2 Samuel 9
Then David said, “Is there yet anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David; and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” 3 The king said, “Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet.” 4 So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lo-debar.”

Living in nothingness.

5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. 6 Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he said, “Here is your servant!” 7 David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly.” 8 Again he prostrated himself and said, “What is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me?”

9 Then the king called Saul’s servant Ziba and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson. 10 You and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce so that your master’s grandson may have food; nevertheless Mephibosheth your master’s grandson shall eat at my table regularly.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant so your servant will do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table as one of the king’s sons. 12 Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth. 13 So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate at the king’s table regularly. Now he was lame in both feet.

Mephibosheth Then . . .

Orphaned

Helpless

Obscure

Mephibosheth Now . . .

Adopted

Rich

Position

Why study the Old Testament?

Ephesians 2:1-2
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins . . . sons of disobedience.

Ephesians 2:3
. . . were by nature children of wrath

Ephesians 2:4-6
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

You have a seat at God’s table.

This message is for those in Lo-debar and the forgetful in Jerusalem.

Discussion Questions
Everybody Qualifies
Mephibosheth
July 6th & July 9th, 2023

Prayer Requests:

Group Discussion: What is your most vivid memory from childhood?

Read aloud: 2 Samuel 9

#1. At the age of 5 Mephibosheth faces both the trauma of being orphaned and lame. Both circumstances were out of his control. Do you think life is fair? How do we keep from blaming God when life isn’t fair? How does childhood trauma change us as adults? v.7 “. . . and will RESTORE to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly.” What has restoration looked like for you?

#2. David made a promise to Jonathan that he would show his “lovingkindness” to Jonathan’s family once he was in power. (1 Sam. 20:12-17) David fulfills that commitment by SEEKING out any of Jonathan’s family. David keeps his word. Do you seek out ways to keep your word or just do it when it becomes convenient? I don’t always SEEK out ways to keep my word, and here we see a type of Christ in David. Just like David seeks out Mephibosheth, Jesus leaves the 99 sheep to seek out the 1. Are there any people in your life that you can seek out to show kindness to?

#3. Mephibosheth calls himself a dead dog (v8). Which means he feels useless and believes his life to be meaningless. Have you been there? Isaiah 64:6 “And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.” In a spiritual sense we are all lame, helpless, and outcasts. We will never be able to earn eternal life. Why does God want us totally dependent on him for salvation? How does God welcome us into His kingdom? What does it mean to sit with Him in heavenly places? (Eph. 2:6)

#4 For some of us we struggle with the sin of forgetfulness. We began to feel entitled to the kingdom of God or pride sets in and we think better of ourselves than we ought to. How do we keep from forgetting that we were all once Mephibosheth? Is gratitude a spiritual discipline?

Family Time: Have one of your children be helpless for the night. Everybody has to do something to help them. Clean their room, do their chores, and help them walk around. Ask the child that was being helped how it made them feel. Then share about how we are spiritually lame without Jesus.