2 Samuel 9:1-13: Extravagant Kindness

2 Samuel 9:1-13: Extravagant Kindness

We’ve been working our way passage by passage through the book of 2 Samuel, and today the next passage we come to is 2 Samuel 9:1-13. Hear now the words of the Living and True God: 

¹ And David said, “Is there still 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 And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” ⁴ The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” ⁵ Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. ⁶ 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.” ⁷ 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.” ⁸ And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?” ⁹ Then the king called Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson. ¹⁰ And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall 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.” 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 will your servant do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons. ¹² And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants. ¹³ So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.  

May God bless the reading of his Word.

Let’s pray: Father, we read in Psalm 19 that your law is perfect, reviving the soul. Your testimony is sure, making wise the simple. Your precepts are right, giving joy to the heart. And your commandments are pure, enlightening the eyes. So, please, as we dig into your Word this morning, revive our souls, give wisdom to our minds, impart joy to our hearts, and enlighten our eyes. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

For the past 2,000 years, the virtues of mercy, kindness, and compassion have often been associated with Christianity. Although Christians obviously haven’t been the only ones to demonstrate these virtues, they have been responsible for an enormous amount of the mercy, kindness, and compassion demonstrated throughout the world.

Just to give one example, hospitals arose from Christian physicians caring for the sick. In a book published by Johns Hopkins University Press, historian Gary Ferngren writes, “The hospital was, in origin and conception, a distinctively Christian institution, rooted in Christian concepts of charity and philanthropy. There were no pre-Christian institutions in the ancient world that served the purpose that Christian hospitals were created to serve.”

Another writer named Mike Aquilina explains, “The ancient world had all the material ingredients needed for [hospitals]. It had medical professionals, and it had sick people. It had a centuries-old tradition of medical science and technology. And yet it could not bring all that together to make a hospital. There was no way to make such a venture profitable, so there was no compelling motive to keep such a venture running during an epidemic. What they had instead were individual freelance practitioners, who moved from place to place like traveling salesmen…. They passed down their knowledge, as trade secrets, within their family and never risked public disclosure. The pagans [therefore] had medicine. What they lacked was charity….It was Christians who invented the hospital.”

And the catalysts for Christians doing this were epidemics. Back in ancient times, epidemics were exponentially more terrible than they are today since there was no way to stop them. Antibiotics and other modern medicines wouldn’t be invented until centuries later. So, when a plague began to become widespread in a city, physicians were often among the first to recognize the symptoms of the plague and leave before they themselves could be infected. And hordes of others would flee the city as well. Yet time and time again, Christians would stay behind in the cities in order to care for the sick. And under the care of these Christians, some of the sick were able to get well.

Then, over time, these sites of care and hospitality became gathering points where Christian medical professionals could compare notes, share experiences, and even conduct research. And it was in this way that hospitals came into existence. To quote Gary Ferngren once again, he writes, “The only care of the sick and dying during the epidemic of 312-13 [for example] was provided by Christian churches….No charitable care of any kind, public or private, existed apart from Christian…care because there was no religious, philosophical, or social basis for it.”

And Christians continued being at the very forefront of hospital ventures throughout the subsequent centuries and into modern times. For example, an astonishing number of the highest-ranked hospitals in America today were started by Christians. Massachusetts General Hospital—associated with Harvard University—was established through the efforts of a pastor named John Bartlett. Mayo Clinic was established through the ministry of a nun named Mother Moes. And the list goes on and on.

And that’s just one arena in which Christians have historically led the way in demonstrating kindness to others. Moreover, as you might expect, these acts of Christian kindness have their roots in the Bible. And one of the most notable instances of kindness in the Bible is today’s main passage of 2 Samuel 9:1-13. In this passage, David shows extravagant kindness to Mephibosheth. That’s the main idea of this passage. David shows extravagant kindness to Mephibosheth.

So, let’s take a look at the kindness David displays, beginning with verse 1: And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” Now, to remind you of the background, David is king of Israel, but the king before him was Saul. And even though Saul repeatedly tried to kill David, Saul’s son Jonathan was basically David’s best friend and recognized that God was with David and that God had chosen David to be the next king.

In light of this, Jonathan said to David in 1 Samuel 20:13-16, ¹³ …May the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father. ¹⁴ If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die; ¹⁵ and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” ¹⁶ And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David….

So, David agreed to make this covenant with Jonathan not to wipe out his descendants. You see, typically, in ancient times, whenever a new king gained power who wasn’t in the previous king’s dynasty, the new king would execute everyone in the previous king’s family so that none of them could start a rebellion in an attempt to retake the throne. Yet David instead makes a covenant with Jonathan to show “steadfast love” to Jonathan’s descendants.

And the Hebrew word translated as “steadfast love” in 1 Samuel 20 is the same word that’s translated as “kindness” in our main passage. So, here in verse 1, when David asks, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”, that’s what he’s talking about.

We then read in verses 2-3, 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 And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.”

Now, Mephibosheth isn’t yet named in these verses, but we were already told about him and the story behind his disability back in 2 Samuel 4:4. It states, “Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled 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 as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.” So, that’s who Ziba’s talking about in our main passage.

And I love how David asks Ziba, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Notice that phrase: “the kindness of God.” In his desire to show kindness to Saul’s descendants, David was consciously imitating the kindness of God himself. David had read about God’s kindness in the scriptures and had personally experienced God’s kindness in countless instances throughout his life and now wanted to show others the same kindness God had shown him.

This is a great reminder for us that kindness—like all other virtues—begins with God’s own nature and us knowing God for who he is. The theologian A. W. Tozer famously stated that, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and…no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God.”

You see, the simple reality is that we become like whatever—or whoever—we admire. Just think of the way children and teenagers tend to imitate various social media influencers. They’ll talk like them, dress like them, and even act like them in certain ways. And although some of this imitation might be intentional, I imagine they often don’t even realize they’re doing it. So, it’s natural for us to imitate those we admire.

This is why it’s so important for us to first know God for who he is and then admire him and make it our highest ambition in life to behold his glory. The more we do that, the more like God we’ll become.

Then, moving forward in our main passage, after Ziba tells David about a descendant of Saul still being alive, we read in verses 4-6, ⁴ The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” ⁵ Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. ⁶ 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.”

Now, as I mentioned a few moments ago, whenever there was a change in royal dynasties, it was very common for the new king to kill all the relatives of the previous king. This was because there were still probably plenty of people around who liked the previous king and were sympathetic to his dynasty. So, any relatives of the previous king could easily present themselves as that king’s rightful successor and mount a rebellion against the new king. Therefore, pragmatically speaking, the new king had every reason to kill all of the previous king’s relatives. And everybody was aware of this.

So, you can imagine how fearful Mephibosheth must have been when David summoned him. He must have been scared out of his mind. And that’s why Mephibosheth behaves as he does before David—falling on his face, paying homage, and telling David, “I am your servant.” Mephibosheth undoubtedly thought David was about to kill him. Like, “This is it. I’m done for.”

However, he’s in for quite the pleasant surprise—as we see in verses 7-8: ⁷ 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.” ⁸ And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?”

Obviously, this is nothing short of extraordinary. Mephibosheth has every reason to expect David to execute him, yet David instead shows him astonishing kindness. Not only does David spare Mephibosheth’s life, he restores to him the lands that Saul had personally owned and even invites Mephibosheth to eat at his table—which was one of the highest honors there was.

Understandably, Mephibosheth can hardly believe his ears. And he responds in amazement, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?” Keep in mind that, back in ancient times, dogs were viewed very negatively. Instead of being beloved pets, they were scavengers that fed upon dead animals or even dead people. So, let’s just say that nobody in ancient Jerusalem had a bumper sticker that said, “Dog mom.” Therefore, when Mephibosheth refers to himself as “a dead dog,” a good modern paraphrase might be “a dead rat.” Mephibosheth understands how unworthy he is to receive the extravagant kindness David’s showing him.

After that, verses 9-10 record David making arrangements with Ziba to be Mephibosheth’s servant. Verses 11-12 then tell us, ¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons. ¹² And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants.

One notable detail we see here is that Mephibosheth had a son. So, lest we think that David was only being kind to Mephibosheth because Mephibosheth was lame and therefore not a threat to David, we see that that wasn’t the case at all. David was enabling the line of Saul to survive—including at least one individual who could eventually pose a significant threat to David. This highlights even more how extraordinary David’s kindness was. 

In fact, David’s kindness to Mephibosheth was so remarkable that it’s very appropriate, I believe, to view it as something that foreshadows God’s kindness to us in the gospel. Remember that David himself stated that he wanted to show “the kindness of God.” And God’s kindness is indeed something to marvel at—especially as we see it displayed in the gospel message of Jesus.

You see, our natural condition is even worse than that of Mephibosheth. Although Mephibosheth was physically disabled, we have a spiritual disability that runs far deeper. In fact, we’re not just disabled spiritually—the Bible says in Ephesians 2:1 that we’re dead in our sins. Our sins have rendered us spiritually destitute, alienated from God, and deserving of God’s righteous wrath for all eternity. Mephibosheth might have been the grandson of a rebellious king, but we ourselves have been rebellious against God. We’ve committed nothing less than cosmic treason against the King of the universe.

Yet, even in our sinful and wretched condition, God showed us astonishing kindness. God the Father sent his own Son Jesus to come to this earth in order to rescue us from our sins. Jesus did that by becoming a man, living a perfectly sinless life, and eventually allowing himself to be crucified to pay for our sins. God’s justice requires that sin be punished, but Jesus suffered that punishment in our place. He was then raised from the dead with the result that everyone who puts their trust in him can be forgiven of their sins and have a place at the King’s table for all eternity.

You know, in verse 1 of our main passage, David says he wants to show kindness to Saul’s descendants “for Jonathan’s sake.” That’s the exact phrase—“for Jonathan’s sake.” Likewise, God shows kindness to us for the sake of Jesus. Jesus is our Jonathan. It’s through his righteousness, his merit, and his standing with the Father that we’re accepted by God and given a place at God’s table.

So, that’s the foundational reason why God shows us such extravagant kindness. Yet it’s also true that kindness is simply in God’s nature. God’s natural disposition is to show kindness. Now, that’s not at all to downplay the fact that God’s holy and just and absolutely committed to punishing sin. However, I think we have good biblical basis to say that God’s desire to show kindness surpasses his desire to inflict punishment.

And I have to give credit to Dane Ortlund in his book Gentle and Lowly for helping me see this. Take Lamentations 3 as an example. As the title suggests, Lamentations is dedicated to lamenting the destruction God brought to the city of Jerusalem because of their continual rebellion. Yet, right in the middle of the book, in Lamentations 3:31-33, we find this statement: ³¹ For the Lord will not cast off forever, ³² but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; ³³ for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men. Isn’t that last verse interesting? “[F]or he does not afflict from his heart.”

So, God is indeed the one who afflicts. The destruction of Jerusalem is indeed his doing. Yet, God doesn’t bring this judgment “from his heart.” Instead, there’s a certain reluctance within God to inflict judgment. Something within him laments the necessity of judging people.

Yet, not so with his kindness and goodness and mercy. Instead, God longs to show these things. As the Puritan Thomas Goodwin writes, “My brethren, though God is just, …his mercy may in some respect [be] said to be more natural to him than all acts of justice itself that God does show…In these acts of justice…there is a kind of violence done to himself in it…there is something in it that is contrary to him.”

Goodwin then quotes God’s statement in Ezekiel 33:11, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” So, according to this statement, God has “no pleasure in the death of the wicked.” Notice that Scripture nowhere makes that kind of statement with regard to God’s mercy. Nowhere do we find God saying, “I take no pleasure in showing mercy toward sinners.” Instead, over and over, we see God taking great pleasure in the display of his mercy.

So, speaking carefully now to avoid any implication that there’s some sort of contradiction in God’s nature, God’s certainly committed to upholding justice and pouring out judgment. However, that’s not his heart. His heart—his deepest desire—is to show mercy. He’s reluctant to inflict judgment yet longs to show mercy. And that’s true for you today as well. This is God’s heart toward you. He’s not out to get you. He’s not up there just waiting for you to slip up so he can bring the hammer down on you. Instead, he longs to show you mercy and kindness and love.

You might compare it to the way a loving father feels about his children. From time to time, it’s necessary for me to discipline my children—yet I don’t at all delight in administering that discipline. Rather, it pains me. So, any time I discipline my kids, I have to overcome my own aversion to doing so. However, the exact opposite is true of showing kindness to my kids. As a father, I love making my kids happy. It brings me delight to do things that bring them delight. And that’s the way God is toward us. He takes no pleasure in pouring out judgment but immense pleasure in displaying kindness.

And as we consider the kindness David shows to Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel 9, I believe there are seven ways God’s kindness to us is similar to David’s kindness to Mephibosheth. First, God initiates kindness by seeking us out. Verse 1 records David asking, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” He then has his people track down Mephibosheth. So, Mephibosheth didn’t seek out David. David sought out Mephibosheth. Likewise, Romans 3:11-12 states that “no one seeks for God” but instead that “all have turned aside.” However, in his kindness, Jesus came, as Luke 19:10 says, “to seek and to save the lost.”

After that, a second similarity is that God shows kindness on the basis of his covenant. As we’ve seen, David showed kindness to Mephibosheth because of the covenant he had made with Jonathan. Likewise, in Luke 22:20, Jesus speaks of his death on the cross as a core component a “new covenant” between God and his people. And this “new covenant” is the basis of God showing his kindness to us.

Then a third similarity is that God shows us kindness even when we should expect the opposite. Mephibosheth was undoubtedly expecting David to kill him in order to strengthen his own position as king, yet David did the opposite and showed him extravagant kindness. Likewise, we should expect God to punish us for our sins forever in hell—which, unlike Mephibosheth with David, is exactly what we deserved. Yet instead of giving us the punishment our sins deserved, God showed us extraordinary kindness. As Romans 6:23 says so well, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Moreover, a fourth similarity is that we can’t even begin to repay God for his kindness to us. Mephibosheth was in a position where he couldn’t really do anything to repay David. Because he was lame, he couldn’t even work in David’s fields or sweep the floors of David’s palace or anything. Similarly, we’re in no position to repay God either. Anything we try to do to repay God for his grace only uses more of his grace—since it’s his grace that enables every good thing we do.

Then, number five, God’s kindness is extravagant. David doesn’t do the bare minimum of what his covenant with Jonathan requires. Instead, David not only spares Mephibosheth’s life but also restores to him his grandfather’s land and even allows Mephibosheth to eat at the king’s own table. Similarly, God is lavish in his generosity toward us. Ephesians 1 says that he’s blessed us with “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” and then speaks of “the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us.”

Then, growing out of that, a sixth similarity is that God’s kindness involves adoption into his own family. Verse 11 of our main passage states that “Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons.” Likewise, God’s not only forgiven us but has actually adopted us as his very own sons and daughters. Instead of being outcasts—as Mephibosheth originally was—we’re deeply loved and completely accepted children of the Most High God.

And finally, a seventh similarity between David’s kindness to Mephibosheth and God’s kindness to us is that God’s kindness restores all that was lost. Verse 7 records David restoring to Mephibosheth all the land of his grandfather Saul. Likewise, God restores what was lost at the fall—when humanity initially rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden. Everything that was lost through Adam either has been restored or will be restored through Jesus.

So, as you can see, God’s kindness is absolutely breathtaking. Yet that’s not all. God’s kindness to us should lead us to show kindness to others—and to do so even in extravagant ways. Perhaps the closest modern parallel to the kindness David exhibits in 2 Samuel 9 is adoption. David basically adopts a special-needs teenager in this passage. We’ve also already discussed how God adopts us into his own family. And that’s inspired countless Christians to demonstrate extravagant kindness through adoption.

I heard the story of one Christian couple that was on the verge of adopting a child but discovered that the child was going to be born with spina bifida. This meant that the child was going to have pretty severe challenges in life and require significant long-term care. The adoption agency even told the couple that they’d certainly understand if the couple wanted to back out of adopting that particular child. And by the way, it wouldn’t have been wrong for the couple to do that. Many couples just aren’t in a place where they’re able to commit to something like that.

However, the wife was very conflicted about it and had a dream one night in which she was in a huge stadium filled with people. And one after another, a number of beautiful and healthy children were brought up on stage. And each time, the presenter would call out to the crowd, “Who wants this one?”—and, without any delay, various people in the crowd would volunteer to take that child.

However, after this had happened a number of times, a child was brought up on stage who was obviously disfigured. And this time, when the familiar voice called out, “Who wants this one?”, the enormous crowd immediately became silent. No one said a word. Finally, though, a man in the crowd stood up and, “I’ll take this one.” The woman then reports that, in her dream, she looked at the man’s face, and it was Jesus. Jesus then walked to the stage and loving took that child into his arms.

Now, that’s powerful enough, but the story’s not over yet. The woman reports that, in her dream, when Jesus walked to the stage to get the baby, she got a glimpse of that baby’s face. Remember, this baby was terribly disfigured. And when she looked at the baby’s face, she discovered it was her own face. She then said—to put it in her own words, “I know the truth is that Jesus adopted me when I was disfigured and wrecked by sin, and I know he now wants us to take in this child as he took in us.” So, maybe God’s calling you do demonstrate extravagant kindness by literally adopting a child. What a wonderful picture of the gospel! Although that’s not God’s calling for every Christian couple, perhaps it’s your calling.

Or maybe God would have you demonstrate kindness in some other way that isn’t quite as dramatic but is nevertheless meaningful. Maybe he’d have you volunteer with our church’s nursing home ministry, give someone a ride to church on a regular basis, bring a meal to someone who’s going through a difficult time, invite someone over for dinner who’s culturally very different than you, give a generous financial gift, or volunteer to help someone move even if you don’t know them very well. The possibilities are nearly endless. When it comes to acts of kindness, as the saying goes, “Do for the one what you wish you could do for the many.”

And as we seek to live that way, we can expect our acts of kindness to make a tremendous gospel impact and make even people who are somewhat suspicious of Christianity much more open to the message of Jesus. In verse 4 of our main passage, when the king asks Ziba where the crippled grandson of Saul is located, Ziba replies, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.”

So, Mephibosheth was staying in the house of a man named Machir. And since Machir was going to such great lengths to provide for Mephibosheth, I think we can safely assume that Machir had a high regard for Saul and was probably still loyal to Saul’s dynasty. However, 2 Samuel 17:27 records that, when David is on the run from his son Absalom in the future and is in desperate need, this same Machir—“the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar”—would risk his life in order to bring food and other supplies to David and his men.

Now, I don’t want to speculate too much here, but it seems very likely that David’s kindness to Mephibosheth made an impact on Machir and caused Machir to change his mind about David and be much more sympathetic to David’s rule.

Likewise, our acts of kindness as Christians can soften even the hardest of hearts and make people much more open to the things we share with them about Jesus. So, how can you show kindness to others just as God has shown kindness to you?