The Church Beyond The Church Walls Part II: Even Dead Dogs!
Love God...Love Family...Love The Brotherhood...Love Others!
We've been on a journey here at Resurrection for the past two months this being the ninth message in this series, Kindred United. The overarching idea is that we must, as a church body (the kindred, the family, the brethren or brotherhood) be melded or joined together (united) in our faith. In short, we as a church family needs to be on the same page!
Key in this thought is that if we truly love God (the first principle from the Scripture above) then all else will follow. We will love our families, and make Jesus Christ a priority in our lives. We will love the brotherhood because we are all brothers and sisters in Jesus, they are our church family and scripture in clear in 1 John 3 that the unsaved "will know we are Christians by our love". We look upward to God first as our God, we look around us to our family and our church family. However, we are called lastly, as part of the definition of "neighbors", to look outward to others--particularly those in need. But how do we reach people that are in need?-
Last week, we start a multi-part series of messages that will show how real ministry does not just happen on Sunday or just within the four walls of the church. Real ministry often happens beyond the church house, and where the church brethren go the other six days per week. Last week, we saw how God sent Elijah from Ahab’s palace to boot camp at the Brook Cherith, then after about a year of being cared for there to Zaraphath to a widow and her son. God took care of a single mom that was prepared to watch her son die of starvation while did as well. God provided an endless supply of flour and oil for all three of them and other family members as well.
This week, we will look again to the Old Testament, and we will see a picture of the grace of God through Jesus Christ in 2 Samuel 9. We will see how we are just like the crippled man--unworthy of salvation yet recipients of kindness and grace
Remembering The Kindness Of A Best Friend...And A Promise
Now David said, "Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" And he said, "At your service!" Then the king said, "Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?" And Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet." So the king said to him, "Where is he?" And Ziba said to the king, "Indeed he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar." 2 Samuel 9:1-4 (NKJV)
King David is known as a “man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22). The love that David had for God is well known, more so than his failures at times with Bathsheba and others. David is well known from the famous story of his battle with the Philistine giant Goliath, and how he defeated the huge pagan with a single stone launched from his sling. Further, David is known as a fierce warrior.
David is also known for the great love he had for his best friend, Jonathan--Saul’s son: When David had finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan committed himself to David, and loved him as much as he loved himself. (1 Samuel 18:1, HCSB). In fact, Jonathan protected David when his father King Saul was trying to kill him on different occasions. The deep brotherly love between these two best friends was so deep that they both entered into a covenant--a special promise--as seen in 1 Samuel 18 and 20. Part of that promise was that when David became kind and Jonathan would die, David would show kindness to his family. Saul and Jonathan both died, and David became king.
Later we catch up to David in 2 Samuel 9 above. David had settled in as king of Israel, and remembered his covenant with his best friend Jonathan: "Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?". Ziba, Saul’s servant was summoned and asked the same question, and answered "There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet."
What we see here is an example of God reaching out for us for the sake of another, Jesus Christ. Perhaps you have heard of the term “whipping boy”; this is a reference to a boy that was a good friend and companion of a prince that would endure the punishment--a whipping--on behalf of the prince. A prince could not be spanked or whipped by anyone other than his father the king, so in order to maintain order with the child their friend--to whom he was close--would be punished in his place. While David exercised kindness for Jonathan’s sake, God exercises kindness--grace, which is unmerited or unearned favor--to us for Jesus’s sake, and even punished Jesus on our behalf so that we would not be separated from Him forever.
The love that Jonathan and David had as best friends is exemplified in the love that Jesus had for us: Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13, ESV). Jesus loved us, and died for us even though we do not deserve it, and because of that love God shows us grace.
We’re All Dead Dogs
Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar. Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, "Mephibosheth?" And he answered, "Here is your servant!"
So David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually." Then he bowed himself, and said, "What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?" 2 Samuel 9:5-8 (NKJV)
Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan was living in Lo Debar. At first reading of this story, that might seem insignificant but it’s not. H. B. Charles, Jr, pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church, notes “The name LO-DEBAR means “no pasture.” We do not know much about Lo-debar. But scholars agree that its name was meant to indicate that it was a barren, unfruitful, terrible place. Mephibosheth was a crippled man from a fallen dynasty living in a horrible environment.” In short, Mephibosheth had gone from living in splendor to living in squalor; from royalty to ruin. What Jesus did for us was to take us--unsaved, unworthy, undeserving men, women and children and rescue us out of our “Lo Debar”, our place of “no pasture” spiritually, barren, unfruitful, and even terrible in the sight of the Lord--and bring us into favor and into the family of God. God the Father becomes God OUR Father; Jesus the Son of God becomes our Brother, and that at great cost.
I have had the opportunity to share the gospel--the Good News of Jesus Christ--with many people. Some receive the message with a smile and a “no thanks”, some with a happy and pleasant profession of faith and some even with tears of joy. However, there are those that find this grace--unmerited, undeserved favor from Jesus Christ to undeserving souls--unbelievable. Such is the case with Mephibosheth. Look at what David promised: "Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually." Because of the kindness--and deep brotherly love--of your father, you will receive all that your grandfather owned and you shall eat at my table. From the outhouse to the penthouse, excluded to included, loathed to loved.
It was beyond Mephibosheth’s comprehension as evidenced in his answer to King David: "What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?" To those that know me, you know I love my dogs Sadie and Hemi. They are great companions, each being different; Sadie is a drama queen but lovable, and Hemi is just a lovable, loyal, and mostly quiet dog. They are great companions to the three of us. That being said, when dogs are mentioned in the Bible, we are not talking about the sweet, lovable furry friends that normally come to mind, and it was the farthest thing from the mind of Mephibosheth. It was usual and customary for a new king in power in ancient times to kill off the entire family of the prior king; Mephibosheth thought he was “a dead dog”.
They Weren't "Nice Little Doggies" In Bible Times
Then he bowed himself, and said, "What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?" And the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, "I have given to your master's son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house. You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master's son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master's son shall eat bread at my table always." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then Ziba said to the king, "According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do." "As for Mephibosheth," said the king, "he shall eat at my table like one of the king's sons." 2 Sam 9:8-11
Dogs in the Bible have a bad reputation, and rightly so. Dogs were not the domesticated, lovable furry friends we have today, and they were certainly not “man’s best friend”. While some were domesticated and even used as sheep dogs to maintain sheep flocks, the majority of times the term dog is used in the Bible it is a derogatory term. Most dogs ran in packs, and would attack humans; many would eat the dead bodies of humans or garbage. Fausset's Bible Dictionary states that “dog, dead dog, dog's head, are terms of scorn or else self-abasement”. A dog, for the most part, was considered worthy of loathing and a dead dog was considered to be as low as a flea (1 Samuel 24:14). In short, Mephibosheth considered himself to be worthless, worth even less than a dead dog; this boy raised as royalty.
Mephibosheth was not born crippled or lame in both feet. We learn from 2 Samuel 4:4 that his nurse was carrying him, at age 5, while fleeing after learning of the death of Saul and Jonathan and dropped him, rendering Mephibosheth lame. That Mephibosheth had a life at Lo Debar was remarkable as most people that were lame were left to beg in the streets, and many were looked down upon. Even with the life at Lo Debar, life was miserable for Methibosheth; he was older at this point and could not fathom such kindness. All of Saul’s estate--land, belongings, and more--were given to him and Ziba and his family were put in charge of administering the affairs of that estate. Mephibosheth was unable to maintain the estate, so Ziba and thirty five others were put in charge; obviously a sizable property and fortune.
Not only was Mephibosheth favored in being blessed with the land and possessions of his grandfather, he was also to eat at the king’s table with the same standing as one of David’s own sons. What does that mean to you and me? When God adopts us into his family, we are granted all of the spiritual riches of God at that moment. You may not feel very rich spiritually, or may even say “I have very little spiritually”. However, you have those spiritual gifts, talents and spiritual riches in God as he not just adopted you but made you His child. You just have to find them, and that is found through close relationship with God.
The Moral Of The Story: Grace
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10
As we saw earlier, the term grace means unmerited favor. Grace is not earned, it is given only by God. It is not given by a church, by a preacher, by parents, by siblings, friends or anyone else. It is found only in the grace of God found in Jesus Christ.
The story of David and Mephibosheth has God's grace in Christ written all over it. Mephibosheth was blind to the promise that was made between David and Jonathan, so he could not ask for his father's estate. He was as lost to his grandfather's estate as someone that is unsaved is to Jesus Christ, yet the riches were huge compared to the squalor that he lived in.
Such is the case with our salvation. We often do not realize the great grace that is extended to us in Christ. It is not just a grace that is extended to us just the moment we are saved, it is extended to us each and every day. Grace has saved us from the wrath of God both at that moment of salvation and forever.
We learn from Luke in Acts that God is not "a respecter of persons", meaning he plays no favorites. In other words, God does not save a person because of their last name, because of their socioeconomic status, color of their skin or ethnic origins. God saves people for reasons beyond me, I only know that it is through Jesus Christ and him and His blood alone.
We often forget to whom we belong. This happened to Mephibosheth; he viewed himself as "a dead dog", not worthy of anything. However, he was a descendent of King Saul, was the son of Jonathan, and unknowingly was under the promise of David. David blessed him giving Him the estate of his grandfather, which he was due because of the promise, that covenant. Never forget whom you are in Jesus Christ, you are a child of the King.
Not only did Mephibosheth think he would be killed by the new king, but he also probably had a low opinion of himself due to his disability. I think it is reprehensible for people--especially professing Christians--to look down their noses at people that are disabled, or are somehow different than they are. We should be lifting them up and supporting them.
Last week, we talked about a single mom and her son, and how God provided for them. This week, we discussed a crippled, lame man who was surprised by the grace and love of a king. Next week, we will see a segment of people that also have the attention of a King.--
