Mephibosheth – the man with the almost unpronounceable name and the crippled feet. He was the only remaining direct descendant of Israel’s first king, Saul. He was a son of the oldest son, Jonathan, and in direct line for the throne – if God had not taken the throne away from Saul because of disobedience and instead given it to a young shepherd named David. [2 Samuel 9]
Unfortunately for Mephibosheth, the common practice of the time was for the king of the new dynasty to annihilate the descendants of the old dynasty–can’t leave relatives around that might try to regain the throne through subterfuge or violence.
When news of the deaths of Saul and Jonathan arrived, Mephibosheth’s nurse grabbed her young charge and, in her haste to flee dropped him. Mephibosheth never recovered from that drop; it left him with crippled feet. [2 Samuel 4:4]
After David fully assumed the throne, he remembered the promise he had made to Jonathan, a promise to be loyal to Jonathan’s family. David begins a search and finally learns that a son of Jonathan is in hiding in a remote part of Israel. He’s poor, exiled, and afraid.
Can you imagine Mephibosheth’s fear when David’s servants arrive at the house where he is staying and whisk him off for an audience before the king? I think he must have had what Hebrews describes as “…only a fearful expectation of judgment….” [Heb 10:27 NIV]
Instead, King David had a much different surprise in store for Mephibosheth. Tomorrow, the best part of the story.
