Eating at the King's Table
Download MP3If you have a bible, I invite you to turn to 2nd Samuel chapter 9. It's also there in your worship guide. As you're turning there, I want to tell you about one of the biggest hindrances I have, in my Christian walk is that I, I consider myself to be spiritually middle class. That's how I often relate to God as as being spiritually middle class. You see I'm gen x.
Jeffrey Heine:I was raised middle class. I am middle class. And, if if you're you are middle class, it means that you tend to think of you are where you are in life because you worked really hard for it. And you tend to really kind of disdain anyone who, gets a free pass and doesn't have to suffer like you suffer to get where you went in life. It's why, you know, after finally paying through all the college, you know, when they announce the, the student forgiveness loan program, you're like, I'm not getting political here.
Jeffrey Heine:I'm just saying your initial gut instinct is like, you know, you just finished paying it all off, and now you're gonna offer this. Or I mean, I remember when I was at Georgia and I was paying my way all through school, and it was the year I finished that they began the Hope scholarship, which pays all your tuition. And I remember just, you know, I wasn't rejoicing like, yay, I'm so happy for y'all behind me. It was, that's not fair. No one should be able to get that.
Jeffrey Heine:It had nothing to do with me being angry at the lottery. I just wanted everyone to suffer behind me. That's how middle class people often think. We like to pat ourselves on the back. Think we are who we are because we deserve to be there and we worked hard to get there.
Jeffrey Heine:The problem is that that bleeds into our spiritual life, and we absolutely cannot relate to God this way. We're saved by grace. Grace alone. No one's on a pedestal before another. No one has worked harder, than the people around them, and that's why they get in.
Jeffrey Heine:And I know that you guys believe that. I know we hear all the time, you know, we're saved by grace. But in the back of our mind, we're still thinking, yeah. I know technically we're saved by grace. But you gotta admit, I'm better than that guy.
Jeffrey Heine:Or you you gotta admit, I'm a little more moral. I work a little harder than that guy. And we still try to jockey for position based on our work, and this is detrimental to how we can actually relate to God and how we can receive His goodness and His grace. Which is why I'm thankful for the stories like the one we're about to read. It's the story between 2 men, but really, it's a story about all of us and how we should relate to God.
Jeffrey Heine:So second Samuel chapter 9. We'll begin reading at the start of the chapter verse 1. And David said, is there anyone left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? 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?
Jeffrey Heine:He said, I am your servant. And the king said, is there still or is there not still someone of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of God to him? Ziba said, said to the king, there is still a son of Jonathan. He is crippled in his feet. The king said to him, where is he?
Jeffrey Heine:And Ziba said to the king, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel at Loedibar. Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir, the son of Amiel at Loedibar, And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, behold, I am your servant. And David said to him, do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father, Jonathan.
Jeffrey Heine:And I will restore to you all the land of Saul, your father, and you shall eat at my table always. And he paid homage and said, what is your servant that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I? Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, all that belonged to Saul and to his house, I have given to your master's grandson. And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring him bring in the produce that your master's grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, shall always eat at my table.
Jeffrey Heine:Now Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants. Then Ziba said to the king, according to all my lord, the king commanded his servant, so will your servant do. So Mephibosheth ate at David's table like one of the king's sons. And Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micah, and all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king's table.
Jeffrey Heine:Now he was lame in both his feet. This is the word of the lord. It is to your heart. Will you pray with me? Father, I pray that in this moment, you would give us new eyes to just see and to relish in the goodness that you have towards us.
Jeffrey Heine:What I pray that we would come into a greater understanding of who we are and who you are and of your relentless pursuit of us. I pray that my words would fall to the ground and blow away and not be remembered anymore. But, Lord, may your words remain, and may they change us. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus. Amen.
Jeffrey Heine:When David came into power, he began systematically taking out all of the enemies that surrounded his borders. And so he he took on the Philistines, the Moabites, the Syrians, the Edomites. And he, he defeated them all. And now, there's only one possible enemy left for him to fight. But it's not outside of the borders of His kingdom.
Jeffrey Heine:This potential enemy is inside His borders. There might perhaps be a descendant of Saul. An heir to the throne and someone might come and make claim to His throne. And so this chapter begins with David trying to find any remaining descendant of King Saul. But he's not doing it to kill an enemy.
Jeffrey Heine:This is the turn in the story. David actually wants to find a descendant of Saul so he could show kindness. Kindness for the sake of his friend Jonathan. Remember Jonathan from from way back when he was David's best friend and they met in a field one time and they made a covenant with one another. And David had promised Jonathan that if he ever if he ever got to be king over Israel, and if Jonathan ever had any children, he would make sure to take care of Jonathan's children forever.
Jeffrey Heine:Now, that was 30 years ago. 30 years. That's a long time. It's something that could easily be forgotten. I mean, do you remember anything from your life 30 years?
Jeffrey Heine:Some of you aren't even 30 years old. 30 years ago, Bill Clinton was just taking power. He was becoming president. You had I was in college. Eggs were $1 a dozen 30 years ago.
Jeffrey Heine:It'd be easy to forget a conversation like that, especially one that was private. There there was no one else who heard that conversation. No one else to hold David accountable. It could've easily been forgotten. But but David remembers.
Jeffrey Heine:He remembers those words and he wants to honor them. He actually goes above and beyond his promise here, because He'd only promised to take care of Jonathan's sons. But now He extends that to take care of any of the sons of Saul. Is there anyone left in the house of Saul that I may show kindness to? Is there anyone?
Jeffrey Heine:David doesn't discriminate here. It it doesn't matter what type of person this is. It doesn't matter if they're rich, if they're poor, educated, high school dropout. Doesn't matter what their politics are, republican, democrat. It doesn't matter their morality, if they're a moral or an immoral person.
Jeffrey Heine:David doesn't discriminate. Is there anyone, anyone out there that I can show kindness to because of my friendship with Jonathan? This wasn't going to be an easy task to try to find someone from the house of Saul. Because they were certainly, if there were any were alive, they'd all be in hiding because they believed they were gonna be hunted down. And sure enough, David has to look far and wide and he can't find anyone.
Jeffrey Heine:Not from the house of Saul, but they do find one of his old servants. A man named Ziba. And so David questions him. In verse 3, he asks him, is there not still someone of the house of Saul that may show the kindness of God to him? You can almost hear like David pleading.
Jeffrey Heine:Is there not someone? There's got to be someone. And then notice the two words that he adds this time. It's 2 crucial words. He doesn't say to show kindness.
Jeffrey Heine:He says, to show the kindness of God to this person. He wants to show the kindness of God. Here we get the that all important Hebrew word, hesed. Actually, it needs to sound like coughing up a loogie. It says hesed, which is kinda easy to do that, when it's January this time of year.
Jeffrey Heine:Hesed is the covenant faithfulness. It's the steadfast love of God. David here doesn't just wanna show kindness. He wants to show this unwavering, relentless, there is nothing you can do to stop this kindness of God to any of, Saul's descendants, even a potential rival to the throne. Now there's a world of difference between just kindness and the kindness of God.
Jeffrey Heine:Kindness, well, it's usually, it's kinda the cultural air we breathe here in the south. Kindness is saying, yes, sirs, no, ma'am. It's, it's going to Chick Fil A. It's, it's holding up the the door for the person who's walking behind you. That's kindness.
Jeffrey Heine:But but the kindness of God is a whole different category. The kindness, you know, that we typically exercise, that we do, is is one based off of convenience. We're kind to the people who are just immediately around us. You know, we hold the door to the person who's behind us. If somebody approaches us and asks for directions, we patiently give it to them.
Jeffrey Heine:But the kindness of God isn't a kindness of convenience, it's a kindness that seeks people out. Seeks people who are hiding and it will find them in order to show kindness to them. The kindness of God will pursue people to the other ends of the earth in order to find a way to love them. This is the kindness of God that I have seen many of you demonstrate. It's why a number of you, you know, you volunteer and you tutor kids, in elementary schools.
Jeffrey Heine:You you volunteer at Empower Next Door and teach ESL classes. It's why some of you have gotten on planes and flown to Haiti or to Peru to help build boys homes. It's what's caused even some of you to, you know, get on a plane and go and to find an orphan that no one wanted and to adopt them, love them, show the kindness of God to them and bring them home and make them part of your family. That is a radical kindness of God. When Ziba hears that this is the type of kindness, is this type of kindness that King David wants to show onto one of Saul's descendants.
Jeffrey Heine:Well, it jogs his memory and he says, I do know of someone. A son of Jonathan. A crippled man. He doesn't even know the person's name. He only knows him by his identity.
Jeffrey Heine:He doesn't say Mephibosheth, which we come to find out later. He just says there is a there is a son. He's crippled in both His feet. Now we know His name is Mephibosheth. Last week, it was Melchizedek.
Jeffrey Heine:This week, Mephibosheth. I mean, at some point, God's gotta give me a reprieve on these long names. But but this one is a little easier of a person to understand than Melchizedek. Mephibosheth had a he had a tough life. He lost the use of both his legs when he was just 5 years old.
Jeffrey Heine:You can actually read about that story in 2nd Samuel 4. There was a battle in which he lost his father Jonathan. And he also lost his grandfather Saul. And when news of their deaths reached, his home, the nurse who was taking care of him thought, we're gonna be targeted next. And so in a panic, she's trying to pull everything together.
Jeffrey Heine:She picks up Mephibosheth and she begins running. And she trips and falls and crushes both of Mephibosheth's feet. He is crippled from that point on. I mean, in a blink of an eye, his entire world is thrown upside down. I mean, he he goes from being a privileged prince to now, well, he's an outcast, on the run, orphan, crippled.
Jeffrey Heine:Just like that, his entire life changed. He went from being a somebody to a complete and total nobody. Mephibosheth's name is significant. It means one who scatters shame. The picture here is, you know, wherever Mephibosheth seemed to go, shame just fell off him.
Jeffrey Heine:Shame just dripped off him wherever he went. Now this most certainly was not his birth name. I can't imagine Jonathan naming his child the one who scatters shame. So it was a nickname, which almost makes it worse. Here comes Mephibosheth.
Jeffrey Heine:Better better stay clear of him. Don't let any of his shame drip all over you. Don't let Mephibosheth into here. He's the one who always puts an end to any party, closes out any good time. Mephibosheth, the one who scatters shame.
Jeffrey Heine:And now he lives in a place called Lodebar. The name Lodebar is also important. It means barrenness, nowhere, nothingness. So Mephibosheth, he didn't live in a gated community. You don't have to worry about bumping into Mephibosheth down and when you're shopping at the summit.
Jeffrey Heine:Or maybe, getting coffee at Mountain Brook Village. You're not gonna bump into him, you know, if you're at Chaifon Fon enjoying their burger. He's not gonna be at the the table next to you. Mephibosheth, he he didn't dwell in places like that. He lived in Lodebar.
Jeffrey Heine:The one who dripped shame lived in a no place. Have you ever been to Lodibar? Perhaps you've seen Lodebar when you've, you've driven down to the beach. You're driving down to the beach. You're in the middle of absolute nowhere, and you're you're passing through.
Jeffrey Heine:It's not really even a town. It's one of those just podunk places. Alright? I'm not talking about the, you know, the cheap look or the, not cheap, the the little southern towns with a square that, like, you just they're endearing and and you think for like 5 minutes, well, I wonder if I can move here. Not not those places.
Jeffrey Heine:I'm talking about like, you're driving, and it's just closed down gas station after closed down gas station. It's dilapidated trailers. It's junk in everyone's yard. It's loadie bar. And often, you know, there could be a a First Baptist loadie bar there.
Jeffrey Heine:Usually, it usually it goes by, you know, like the the Church of Holiness Fire Apostolic Movement of Healing Hands, or something like that. I mean, it's a it's a really long name, but but whenever we go by by a church like that, my my kids, they typically ask, hey, dad. What would it take for you to pastor here? And I say, well, yeah, I would do it if I heard the audible voice of God And He'd have to repeat himself several times. But but but I would do it.
Jeffrey Heine:But no one wants to go to Lodibar. No one wants to live there. That that's where dreams go to die. Lodebar. Have you ever been to the place where people aren't trying to live anymore, they're just trying to survive day to day?
Jeffrey Heine:And you don't have to be poor to live in Lodebar. You don't have to be old to live in Lodebar. I have seen Lodebar exist in some of the junior highs of, of the schools here in Birmingham. Lodeybars exist in some of the most privileged universities, across this country. Loady bars can exist any place where loneliness and shame dwell.
Jeffrey Heine:Lodibar. Lodibar exists when you look around and everyone around you seems to have their life together put together, but not you. You just drip shame. You ever been to that place where you have a job that you hate? All to pay the rent of a place you don't like?
Jeffrey Heine:Where every relationship you have is just so hard. You find yourself whining about those relationships all the time, but, of course, nobody listens to you because nobody really cares. And you're wondering how you got to live in Lodibar. How did you get to be in a place like that? Because it used to be a person who had such potential.
Jeffrey Heine:I mean, it used to be a somebody. When you walked into a room, people noticed you. I mean, you were young, full of life, potential. Maybe good looking. People would, you know, they'd give you the fist bumps.
Jeffrey Heine:If they were across the cafe, they wave at you. Now you go in and just nobody even notices you. And and if you have one of those awkward moments where you look across and you lock eyes, or maybe somebody went to school with a long time ago, they quickly just turn away. Sometimes the loneliest places are in the most crowded rooms. I've noticed often in Lodebar, people just stare at their phones trying to act busy, trying to numb the pain.
Jeffrey Heine:Have you ever been to Lodebar? Some of you I know have lost some people dear to you recently. Some of you have recently buried a parent or parents. You're in Lodebar. I mean, the Feels like somebody just kicked you in the gut and that you're crippled.
Jeffrey Heine:You you can't move forward in life. Everyone else is moving moving. They're they're getting on with their life and like, you you can't even get up. You're in Lodebar. Have you ever been to the the place where you are so consumed with shame, you don't wanna go and be around people, you you avoid going to church, You avoid being with your home group.
Jeffrey Heine:You avoid being with your friends because you just committed the same sin for the thousandth time. And so what you wanna do is have a little pity party in your apartment of Lodibar. Do you know what I'm talking about? Do you know this place that's being described here? It's a place where dreams die.
Jeffrey Heine:There's no potential. There's no hope for happiness. There's no lower place in Lodebar. If that's you, if you've been there, if that's where you currently live, I want you to hear this. Someone is coming after you.
Jeffrey Heine:I know you're hiding. You feel like you can't ever get out, but I want you to know that there is someone relentlessly pursuing you at this moment. Passionately, who will move heaven and earth to find you and to bring you to himself. You can't hide forever. Jesus is coming for you.
Jeffrey Heine:David sends his servants out to to look for the one who scatters shame. To look for the crippled one. To look for Mephibosheth. And they find him in Lodebar and they bring him to David. He just falls on his face.
Jeffrey Heine:I mean, that's awkward. He's crippled. I mean, the crippled guys, he's he's coming forth and he falls on his face. I mean, like, it's it's awkward. Do people help him?
Jeffrey Heine:Did they not? It it was probably painful for him. I mean this isn't a pleasant scene that we see here as he he falls before David, but he falls out of fear. He is terrified of David. He's probably also really bitter towards him.
Jeffrey Heine:Because the only reason he finds himself living as a cripple in Lodibar is because of that man. I mean, if his dad had still been the prince. If his grandfather had still been in power. None of these things would have happened to him. So he's probably bitter at David, angry at him, but most of all he fears him.
Jeffrey Heine:And so he awkwardly pays homage. It's how a lot of us approach God in worship. In all honesty, we're kinda angry at him at times for a lot in life. Thinks he should have done better. We blame him for the conditions that we're in, but we fear him more than we blame him because we know he holds all the cards and the power and so we pay homage to him.
Jeffrey Heine:David here, he he quickly he he says, don't fear. He goes, I am for you. Actually, the the commandment he gives here is the most repeated command in all of scripture. Do not fear. Do not you have nothing to fear.
Jeffrey Heine:I am for you. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to bless you. And then look carefully at the words He says to Mephibosheth in verse 7. They're beautiful words.
Jeffrey Heine:Every word's important. And David said to him, do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father, Jonathan. And I will restore to you all the land of Saul, your father. And you shall eat at my table always. Church, these are gospel words.
Jeffrey Heine:Once again, I know this is a story between 2 men, but but but these 2 men are gonna act as a lens in which we're to see all of our life. To see the macro story of redemption and how we are all to relate to God. David promises Mephibosheth 3 things here. The first thing he promises him is that he wants to show the kindness of God to him for the sake of his father, Jonathan. So the kindness that David is about to shower on Mephibosheth is not due to Mephibosheth.
Jeffrey Heine:His relationship with Mephibosheth, is based on his relationship with another person. David's kindness to Mephibosheth is completely based on the merits of Jonathan. Not on the merits of the person standing before him. It's based on a covenant that was made a long time ago. A matter of fact, it was made before Mephibosheth was even born.
Jeffrey Heine:Think of that. David had chosen to show kindness to this man before he was even born based on David's relationship with another. This is the kind of love that Paul talks about in Galatians chapter one when he praises the God who set him apart before he was even born and who called him by grace. The God who loves us not based on our merits, but on the merits of Christ. This is a beautiful picture of the gospel here.
Jeffrey Heine:Next, David promises Mephibosheth a glorious inheritance. Once again, this this inheritance isn't based on anything from Mephibosheth. It it it doesn't matter if Mephibosheth is a good person, a bad person, or anything about him because it's not based on his merits. But I'm gonna give you an inheritance now, and it is a massive inheritance. He restores to him all the land of his grandfather, Saul.
Jeffrey Heine:Now, his grandfather Saul was the king. That's a lot of land. It isn't huge. This is a royal inheritance here. If David just wanted to show Mephibosheth kindness, you you buy him a house.
Jeffrey Heine:I mean, do something like that. Some kind of grand gesture like that. And Mephibosheth would have been so happy with that. Thanks for the house, for the car. Great.
Jeffrey Heine:But this, this is the kindness of God. Mephibosheth instantly, he goes from poverty to extraordinary riches. Just like before where a blink of an eye had changed his entire life and had all fallen apart, now in the blink of an eye, everything's reversed. He he's he's now given these extraordinary riches. This land is so large that David has to immediately commission Zebah and his 15 sons and his 20 servants to go help manage it.
Jeffrey Heine:It's an extraordinary inheritance. It's the inheritance we just read about in Ephesians 1. Now we come to the final kindness on David's part. Mephibosheth will eat at David's table always. Such a big deal.
Jeffrey Heine:It's like the author has a he he thinks, you're not gonna believe this. So he repeats it to you 4 times. It's like this is so unbelievable. I know you're gonna struggle with this so I'm just gonna have to repeat it to you 4 times. Verse 7.
Jeffrey Heine:And you shall eat at my table always. Then in verse 9 and 10, David tells Ziba, Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, shall always eat at my table. Then at the end of verse 11, so Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons. Then finally, in verse 13, so Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king's table. The reason this was such a big deal is because this king's table is for members only.
Jeffrey Heine:You know, not just anybody could come and sit at the king's table. You had to be a son. The king's sons ate at this table. So when Mephibosheth is invited to this table, this is the language of adoption. He is taking Mephibosheth, a possible enemy, but now he is making him a son.
Jeffrey Heine:And Mephibosheth will have just as much access to David as any child of his. What a beautiful picture given here of our relationship with Christ. Look at all we see in this story. I mean, we see the love and the grace of a king lavished on a crippled man. This love was lavished before he was even born.
Jeffrey Heine:A glorious inheritance is now given and this person is adopted and placed into the king's family. This is everything we just read about when we opened our service in Ephesians 1. Let me remind you of some of those words. Blessed be the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, That we should be holy and blameless before him.
Jeffrey Heine:In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ. We then we read according to the riches of His grace which He lavished upon us and and then we read how we have obtained an inheritance. This is the gospel that we see here through David's love for Mephibosheth. Now let's look at how the author decides to end this story because it's a little unusual. After painting this beautiful picture for us, in verse 13, we read, so Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem for he ate always at the king's table, and you would think there's a period there, But, no, he ends with this.
Jeffrey Heine:Now he was lame in both his feet. It's an unusual ending to end such a glorious story with a reminder of Mephibosheth's fallenness. Strange. The reason I I think that's here is because God wants to hammer in this final point here. And that's that the the king's table here isn't for those who have gotten their lives together or who have changed.
Jeffrey Heine:But by God's grace, fallen nobody's now are granted access at the king's table. People like Mephibosheth are welcomed at this table every night. I mean picture the scene. Every night, as as David's sons would come and they would gather around and they would get to feast with the king. It was a large table.
Jeffrey Heine:We we don't know exactly how many sons David had. I think we're given the names of 18 or 19 of them. And they would come and they would eat with David each night. And picture that scene. I mean, you'd have you'd have Amnon, that regal first born walking in, and he would take his seat of prominence up there.
Jeffrey Heine:And then there would come Daniel and then Absalom with his luscious locks. I mean, we we we read that later. I'm not just making that up. Absalom, he's described as a man with beautiful long hair. And so he would sit down.
Jeffrey Heine:He could almost like picture him just like, just as all the servants are looking at him. And he just kinda takes his place. Then comes Adonijah, who was the warrior, who's also later described as a very handsome man. And he sits down. Then there's Etherem and then there's Shemaiah and there's Shepholet and Shoab.
Jeffrey Heine:And then there's Nathan coming with Solomon, who we know is gonna go on to become the wisest and the wealthiest of all the kings. And I'm I'm sure he already had that kinda air about him. Then you get the 3 Eli brothers. You get the Eliphalet. You get the Elishama and the Eliab.
Jeffrey Heine:And they come in together. Then you get Nefeg and Nogar. And they all come and they're sitting down at the king's table there but there's one remaining seat. And if you listen, you can hear the shuffling of feet coming down that hallway as Mephibosheth makes his way forward. And they all wait for him to come and sit down before they feast.
Jeffrey Heine:What a gorgeous picture we're given of our status before God and how he welcomes us to his table. We're no more hiding. There's no more of us living in Lodebar. We've been welcome to feast with the king every night for we are now family. There's an invitation here.
Jeffrey Heine:It's an invitation to all of us. But it's actually greater than the picture you see here. This is just it's just a dim pointing dim pointer for it because what we have in Christ is so much greater. Because Jesus didn't leave us crippled. And we weren't just crippled in our sins.
Jeffrey Heine:We were actually dead in our sins, and Christ has resurrected. He has changed us. He has given us a new heart, and he has brought us in from that low place, and he has seated us as as one of his children, seated at the king's table. This is what is available to all of us who live in Lodebar. Once again, your spiritual middle classness is what keeps you from this table.
Jeffrey Heine:Because you want to make yourself deserve you're not deserving. None of us are deserving. We come with shuffling feet, but we are welcomed as children. Have you come to the King's table? Let's pray to him.
Jeffrey Heine:Lord, when we come to your table, we don't come with shuffling feet. We come dancing with a restored life, with a new heart. Sins forgiven. Lord, may we never get over the wonders of the gospel. Lord, you don't want anyone here to live in Lodibar.
Jeffrey Heine:You don't want any of us to dwell there. And for all those who are there in this moment, may they know you're coming. You relentlessly, passionately, fervently, you will not rest until you find them. You're coming. Would you draw them close to yourself?
Jeffrey Heine:We pray this all in the strong name of Jesus. Amen.
