Gods Challenged Champion For Christ Bible Blog 2
“Give The Boy A Hand”
In the 2 Samuel 9:8 David said “Mephibosheth
do not be afraid for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your
father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your
grandfather Saul and you will always eat at my table.”
What David did was “Give the boy a
hand.” I can’t tell you how many times I heard that phrase growing up as a boy
who had Cerebral Palsy. So many times if I were carrying something really heavy
or having to walk up a flight of stairs., people would sometimes ask or say
someone ”Give that boy a hand”. In fact, I still hear this offer for extended
help even today. As I was thinking about this aspect of my life it got me
thinking of favorite Bible story that teaches a valuable lesson about what
happens when we give people a helping hand. It takes place in 2nd Samuel 9. At this time David has become the
king over Israel and Judah and has defeated all his enemies. The Bible tells us
that David asked if there was anyone left of the house of Saul that he could
show kindness to for the sake of Jonathan. Asking this question I think might
have socked or surprised David advisers. After all surely they would have
remembered all that Saul done to David. At one time David had been Saul’s
friend, but then because of Saul’s jealousy David became his most hated enemy.
I’m sure his advisers wondered why David wanted to show kindness to the house
of Saul the first king of Israel after all that had happened between them.
However the Bible says that David wanted to show this act of Kindness for the
sake of Jonathan who was his best friend. David had become friends with
Jonathan, Saul’s son. Regardless
of the history, David wanted to show kindness to Jonathan’s son even though he
was the grandson of David’s biggest nemesis.
As it turns out there was one
person David could still show kindness too. His name was Mephibosheth. Although the Bible does not have much to say about his
background the Bible does contain one very important aspect about Mephibosheth
life - he was crippled in both
feet. I may be reading into this a bit but this very fact has always lead me to
believe that Mephibosheth had some kind of Cerebral Palsy like me. I think that
why I consider him one of my favorite characters in the Bible. So Mephibosheth comes
before David not knowing what is going to happen. He addressed David as if he
were David’s servant. However David reassures him that he is not in any danger.
In fact David tells Mephibosheth that he is going to restore all the land and
wealth that belonged to his grandfather Saul and that he will be welcomed into
his own family by always eating with David at the king’s table. Wow talk about an incredible offer. Here
is a man who comes before the king of all of Israel crippled and without any
hope and is given the greatest gift imaginable. I often wondered what gave King David the desire to do this
great act of kindness. Answer: I believe he did it out of the Love he had for Jonathan his best
friend. I’m sure David never forgot about the man he loved as much as his own
soul and I am sure he missed him very much. I have always felt that David was giving
“the boy a hand” by welcoming him
into his own family. He was saying,
Jonathan, do worry about your son
- I know he has special needs and I will take care of and watch over him.
In a way we all can relate to Mephibosheth.
You see we were all crippled at
some point in our lives. I don’t mean in a physical way but in a spiritual way.
Jonathan’s son becomes an example in that we were all crippled at some point in
life because of the sins we committed against God. David in this story becomes
an example of Jesus Christ. When we were crippled spiritually by sin and in
need of a Savior, God the king of the universe was able to provide us with a
helping hand that could meet our most important spiritual need - the need for
forgiveness of sins. He did this by sending his son into the world to die on a
cross and to be raised to life on the third day. Like David who showed this act of kindness to Jonathan’s son,
out of love God also sent his son into the world to die on a cross for our sins
because He loved us as well. Because of this audacious act of love all who believe in the name of Jesus
Christ have a place at the King’s table. Amazing isn’t it???? Mephibosheth goes
from a man who is crippled in both feet to a man who becomes a dear friend to
the king and sits at his table. So
do we!! At one time we were
crippled spiritually by sin, but because of what Jesus did for us on the cross
we now have a place at the table
of the King of Kings.
A challenge from the Challenged Champion.
David decided to give Mephibosheth a
helping hand because of the love he had for Jonathan. So who do you know that
needs a helping hand? Who is it in your life that could use some help in
meeting a need. Maybe it’s a simple act like carrying a package or letting
someone else go first. Maybe it’s
something much bigger. Take a
moment this week to “Give the boy a hand”. Helping others out of love is one of the ways we show the
world we a disciples of Jesus Christ.
“By this all men will know you are
my disciples if you love one another John 13 :34-35
