2 Samuel 9:3-5 - And the king said , Is there not
yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And
Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet. And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba
said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in
Lodebar. Then king David sent , and fetched
him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.
Maybe it was as simple reflective moment for David…when he
remembered how very much he missed his best friend…but as he walked his grounds
one day…he thought of him and the promise he had made to be kind to any of
Jonathan’s family when he was gone. David did not just wait for an opportunity
to present itself…he searched out a servant that he knew to be one of the kings...and
inquired of him if any of Saul’s family remained. Then he called for the son of
Jonathan…and restored to Mephibosheth the land of his grandfather…and invited
him to live in the palace. He even
reassigned enough of his own servants to Mephibosheth…so that someone could
care for the land he had given back to Jonathan’s son.
Kindness….most likely brought about from his deep love of
the best friend he ever had…was shown to the family of Saul. His favor to Mephibosheth
would have brought him political favor as well…strengthening the union of all
of the tribes from the split while Saul’s son Ishbosheth ruled the majority of
Israel. The kindness of David showed the people his true heart…and gave to
David a comfort of sorts from his grief.
He must have missed Jonathan so very much…and wanted to be near his son…so
he asked him to live in the palace with him.
David’s act of kindness is a good model for us…he wanted to
show Jonathan’s son the same love that God had showed to him. We should all strive to love with the same impartiality.
God loved us so much that his kindness overflowed into giving his son to die
for our sins…I sure can’t match that act of kindness….but I can follow the
directives of many other saints like Paul…who wrote in Ephesians 4:32… “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Our motivation becomes
the promise we made to God when we asked him to control our lives…just like
David who had promised his friend Jonathan.
Father…thank you for the new day to practice your command to
love each other. Help me to be kind to
all that I meet and not pick and choose the ones it is easiest. Help me to love everyone…especially the ones
who have hurt me…and the ones who don’t dress or believe the same as I do. Give me a tender heart to feel the compassion
you had for the world…that compelled you to send your son to be a sacrifice for
my many sins. Show me how to be like you…and sacrifice my time and resources to
do your work here on Earth….so more people can learn about your love. Amen
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