The Scriptures tell the inspiring story of a man who suffered a great loss in his youth. His name was Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan and grandson of King Saul.
At just five years old, tragedy struck. His nurse heard that Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle. Fearing for the child’s life, she panicked and fled with him:
“But Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel; and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.”
2 Samuel 4:4
In the years that followed, Mephibosheth became a forgotten man of a fallen royal family. Disabled and living in obscurity, he had little reason to hope for a bright future. Yet King David remembered the covenant he had made with Jonathan:
“Now David said, ‘Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?’”
2 Samuel 9:1
When Mephibosheth was found and brought before David, he expected judgment. Instead, he received mercy:
“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 shall eat bread at my table continually.’”
2 Samuel 9:7
David restored his inheritance and gave him a permanent place at the king’s table:
“Therefore Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons.”
2 Samuel 9:11
Here we see a beautiful picture of God’s amazing grace.
Like Mephibosheth, humanity was crippled by a fall—not a fall from the arms of a panicked nurse, but the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. In Adam, we all fell:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:23
Just as there was nothing Mephibosheth could do to earn the king’s favor, there is nothing we can do to earn God’s. Many people think religious works will secure them a place in Heaven, but the Scriptures say otherwise:
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us…”
Titus 3:5
The good news is that God sought us out in Christ:
“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Luke 19:10
Mephibosheth was accepted into the king’s house because of Jonathan. Likewise, believers are accepted because of Jesus:
“To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”
Ephesians 1:6
How thrilled Mephibosheth must have been when he heard the glad tidings that he had been given a place at the king’s table. Yet there is something else worth noticing. As he sat at that royal table, he was still lame in his feet.
As heirs of God’s royal inheritance, we, too, sit at the King’s table. It is interesting that Scripture makes special mention of our feet:
“And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!’”
Romans 10:15
May God help us run with those glad tidings—that the gift of God is everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord—and carry that message to a dying world.
