An undeserved seat at the table

If you study Scripture long enough, you’ll begin to see that patterns emerge.  Themes about God are repeated at various moments in history.  Prophecies are fulfilled, but sometimes more than once and within different generations.  Oftentimes, God’s actions and stories from others people’s lives in the Old Testament are a foreshadowing of something yet to come.  I was introduced to one recently that I want to share.

King Saul had decided to kill David, whom God had already chosen to be Israel’s next king.  Saul’s son Jonathan was David’s best friend, despite knowing that he – the expected heir to the throne – was being passed over.  At one of their last face-to-face meetings, Jonathan and David affirmed their friendship and that it would continue throughout the generations of each other’s families. 

The Bible never explicitly says how long David would be on the run from Saul, but many commentators estimate that it was between 4 and 8 years.  Eventually, Saul and Jonathan died in a battle against the Philistines, and we learn this about Jonathan’s family:

2 Samuel 4:4
Saul’s son Jonathan had a son whose feet were crippled.  He was five years old when the report about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel.  His nanny picked him up and fled, but as she was hurrying to flee, he fell and became lame.  His name was Mephibosheth.

As time passed, David became king, took control of the nation, recovered the Ark of the Covenant, and subdued Israel’s enemies.  However, he had not forgotten his promise to Jonathan.

2 Samuel 9:1-5
David asked, “Is there anyone remaining from the family of Saul I can show kindness to for Jonathan’s sake?”  There was a servant of Saul’s family named Ziba.  They summoned him to David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”

“I am your servant,” he replied.

So the king asked, “Is there anyone left of Saul’s family that I can show the kindness of God to?”

Ziba said to the king, “There is still Jonathan’s son who was injured in both feet.”

The king asked him, “Where is he?”

Ziba answered the king, “You’ll find him in Lo-debar at the house of Machir son of Ammiel.”  So King David had him brought from the house of Machir son of Ammiel in Lo-debar.

It was normal practice for the new incoming king to kill off all descendants of the previous king, in order to assure there were no challengers to the new king’s throne.  So it’s no surprise that Mephibosheth (I’ll call him ‘Shef’) was living his life in secret in a place like Lo-debar.  The name debar translates to either “pasture” or “thing”.  Given that the term “lo” is a negative, Shef was hiding in the last place that anyone would look – a place with “No pasture” and “Nothing” to offer. 

Much to Shef’s horror, I’m sure, he was still found out and summoned to the new king’s palace.  It is unlikely that he was alive the last time his father and David spoke.  It’s entirely possible that he did not know what kind of friendship they had.  Although David had told Ziba that he planned to show kindness to him, could he be really sure that was the case?  How much anxiety did he have as he made the journey to Jerusalem?  I can easily imagine him being a sweaty bundle of nerves by the time he arrived in the king’s palace.

2 Samuel 9:6-8,11-13
Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David, fell facedown, and paid homage.  David said, “Mephibosheth!”

“I am your servant,” he replied.

“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “since I intend to show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan.  I will restore to you all your grandfather Saul’s fields, and you will always eat meals at my table.”

Mephibosheth paid homage and said, “What is your servant that you take an interest in a dead dog like me?”…So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table just like one of the king’s sons.  Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica.  All those living in Ziba’s house were Mephibosheth’s servants.  However, Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem because he always ate at the king’s table.  His feet had been injured.

Shef received unmerited favor from the King.  By the law of the land, King David was not expected to allow Shef to live, let alone give him property, servants, and a place at the king’s table!  Shef had moved from Podunk to the Palace, from mud pit to marble, from nothing to being treated the same as one of the King’s sons.  Shef didn’t deserve this.  He couldn’t have earned his way up to it, either.  Even though he remained physically crippled, he was still welcome.

The parallel I was recently shown is that this is how Jesus treats us.  We’re crippled in our sin-soaked state.  We don’t deserve His favor.  We can’t earn His forgiveness.  And yet…Jesus still offers eternal life to anyone who believes in Him for it.  Once we accept that gift…His unmerited favor…we, too, have a seat at the Father’s table.  We are treated as a child of God, with all the access and privileges for those of that status.

But, just like Shef…we’re still physically broken.  Our bodies are flawed.  The older we get, the more we become aware of that fact.  David couldn’t fix Shef, but one day, God promises that we will have resurrection bodies. 

If you have believed in Jesus for eternal life, take a moment and thank Him for your seat at the table.  Then be on the lookout for opportunities to invite others to join us.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

This is THE OFFER of a lifetime

This could be my favorite verse out of everything we’ve looked at in Revelation…and quite possibly my favorite in the entire Bible. 

Revelation 22:17
Both the Spirit and the bride say “Come!”  Let anyone who hears, say, “Come!”  Let the one who is thirsty come.  Let the one who desires take the water of life freely.

A three-fold invitation is being offered here:

The Spirit – He is the third person of the Trinity.  He is the Counselor Jesus promised would come.  His mission since Pentecost has been to convict the world about sin and righteousness and judgment to come (John 16:7-11).  The Holy Spirit is also within each believer as a promise, a seal of their coming redemption and position in the family of God (Ephesians 1:13-14).

The bride – This is church. It is comprised of those who, since Jesus death on the cross, believe in Jesus for eternal life.

Anyone who hears – This goes back to one of Jesus’ favorite sayings in both Revelation and the gospel accounts – “Let anyone who has ears to hear, listen”.  This phrase always implies that the one who hears Jesus’ command will also be the one to do His command; thus being one who “properly hears” what Jesus desires.

Notice that all three have the same welcoming invitation…to come, to join.  But do you see who the invitation is toward?

the one who is thirsty…the one who desires…

The invitation to join God in eternity future is open to whoever, to anyone…and the invitation is given

by God Himself
by the church as a whole
by individuals in the church who hear and do what Jesus commands

let the one who desires take the water of life freely

In Revelation 22:1, we saw that the river of life originates and flows from the throne of God.  That is why it is a free gift…it comes from God, we can do nothing to earn it, nor do we have to maintain it.

Do you, Christian, hear Jesus?  Make the invitation.  If they recognize their thirst for life and accept God’s free gift…they will be eternally grateful – just as we are eternally grateful to that someone who took the time to offer the gift to us.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Receiving personal instruction

In one of my year-long college courses, I was fortunate enough that the professor who taught the class had also written the text book.  This might not seem like a big deal from the outside looking in, but it made a huge difference in how we learned from him.  We knew that what he taught us in the morning was going to be reiterated in the same style and with the same emphasis as we read the text in the evening. 

Prof could easily explain how the different sections fit together and even cross-referenced chapters as we were being taught.  He knew the exact layout and intention of each part of the text because he was the one who had put it all together.  There was never any conflict between the teaching and the text – they were from the same man.  Not only was the text well-written for the subject matter, but the class became almost like a personal tutoring session with the author.

We get the same dynamic as we go through the Scriptures.  Although it took hundreds of years and many different authors to complete the text, God superintended the process such that it all hangs together as one, and communicates truth directly from the Creator of Everything to each of us individually.

The author of Psalm 119 did more than just acknowledged this reality of Scripture – he enjoyed it thoroughly.  Take a look through this section and note the role God’s Word plays in the author’s relationship with God.

Psalm 119:97-104
How I love Your teaching!  It is my meditation all day long.
Your command makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me.
I have more insight than all my teachers because Your decrees are my meditation.
I understand more than the elders because I obey Your precepts.
I have kept my feet from every evil path to follow Your word.
I have not turned from Your judgments, for You Yourself have instructed me.
How sweet Your word is to my taste – sweeter than honey to my mouth.
I gain understanding from Your precepts; therefore I hate every false way.

The psalmist doesn’t distinguish between communicating with God and reading the Scriptures, they are interactions with the same person.  The psalmist gives the reason why he follows what God has taught him when he says for You Yourself have instructed me.  He trusted God’s teaching because it was coming from God Himself.  Nothing was second-hand, there was no need for an interpreter or any guess-work.

And just look at the results of this personal instruction from the Lord – success over enemies, gaining insight and wisdom, the ability to avoid every evil path, gaining understanding, and he can also recognize every false way.  The psalmist has become fully mature because his instruction has been taken directly from the Lord.

The Lord will mature and develop us as well.  He’s ready to give each of us personal, one-on-one instruction.  The teacher and the text are from the same person.  As much as the teaching or writing of others can sometimes help, there is nothing like direct communication and instruction from the Author of Life.  He knows how it all works and why it all works.  

We have an open invitation to be instructed by God Himself.  Will you accept the invitation and meet Him in the Scriptures?

Keep Pressing,
Ken