The Mystery of Mephibosheth Worship

Mephibosheth.This seldom recognized character of the Old Testament is one who is easily dismissed as being one in a long list of bizarre names which many of us glance over as being an insignificant person in Scripture;however, his story speaks a powerful truth that needs to be present in the heart of a worshiper. His story, found in 2 Samuel 9:6-13 and 19:24-30, presents a man who has been the recipient of unfortunate circumstances more than once in his life. A tragic accident at five years old left Mephibosheth crippled for the rest of his life (2 Samuel 4:4). To make matters worse, by right, he was an potential heir to the throne of Israel which would have propelled him to a respectable life within the kingdom. Unfortunately, his grandfather Saul had destroyed that opportunity by losing the throne because of disobedience to the commands of the Lord. His father, Jonathan died when he was five and for several years he had to live in fear for his life not knowing what King David would do concerning the lineage of Saul. To his surprise, the King welcomed Mephibosheth into his family as one of his own sons (2 Samuel 9:6-1). Again, that was short lived as during the rebellion of Absalom, David fled Jerusalem, once again leaving Mephibosheth's fate uncertain.

During the time of David's absence from the palace, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, came against the reputation of his master and accused Mephibosheth of being a traitor against King David. Ziba's deceit allowed him to be granted all Mephibosheth's inheritance (2 Samuel 16:1-4). Once more, Mephibosheth's life was given the "short end of the stick." He had lost everything---identity, possessions, and reputation. If the story were to end here, we could see the many parallels to our own lives. Like Mephibosheth, we too were given the right to be an heir. But our grandfather, Adam, disobeyed God and we lost our inheritance. At a very young age, we too become crippled when we were met with the tragic fall of our sin and although the King has offered to make us as one of His sons, our enemy has taken away our identity to make us feel as unworthy servants of our Master.

The difference, however, was that Mephibosheth was not defeated. Although he had no possessions,no identity, or no worthwhile reputation, there was something in him that no man could ever take away: a heart to be in the presence of the King! Think about that for a moment. Can you really say that the single most important thing in your life is to simply be in the presence of Jesus? Mephibosheth could have been distraught over the loss of his earthly pursuits. For all he knew, his secure "position" of being an invited guest at the King's table was now over. Yet, we do not see Mephibosheth crying out against injustice nor do we see him begging for the blessings of the king; rather, Mephibosheth cries out from the depths of his heart to his king "I only want your favor and to be in your presence" (2 Samuel 19:4,30).

Worship for Mephibosheth was not based on conditions. It was based upon the desire to simply be with his king. Although the enemy was attacking him and trying to destroy his life, Mephibosheth still looked for his king. The palace may have seemed empty and the king appeared to not be seated on the throne, but Mephibosheth still saw that his king was the one who ruled and reigned. How was this possible? How was he able to do what most of us would have struggled greatly at? The answer was not because in what he saw David do for his life but it was because of who he knew David to be! Sparing his life was a great enough act to gain Mephibosheth's loyalty. His reaction to the king in saying "Why should you even consider a dead dog like me?" (2 Samuel 9:8), shows the gratitude that Mephibosheth had toward David. But in David, Mephibosheth saw a love like no other love he had ever known. He came to know the heart of the man that went beyond keeping his promises of simply taking care of Mephibosheth, but bestowed upon him the right to be called a son of the king!

This brings us to the point. We base our lives upon circumstances so much that we often allow those things to cloud our vision of who God truly is. Both positive and negative events in our lives make us walk around the palace without concern where our King is in the midst of our lives. We feel no concern when the King isn't upon the throne and an imposter has taken over our kingdom. We are simply content to enjoy the blessings of being a "son" in the palace and eating at the King's table. The mystery of Mephibosheth worship is one of posture. It never ceases to see the King upon the throne of life no matter what life will bring. It knows of a King that loves like no other and if all that the King has given was to be taken away in this life, a worshiper like Mephibosheth would be fully satisfied to bow at the feet of the King and remain forever in His presence.