Faithbase

Good afternoon, everybody. Hope everybody is having a wonderful day. It's good to see everybody back. Today, we're going to look at the book of 2 Samuel, chapter 9, 1 to 13. Samuel 9, verses 1 to 13. We're going to see a blessed story where we can see how kindness that was given to somebody is the same kindness that God is showing for us with the human race. You'll see what I'm talking about. And David said, is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Zibid. And then they had called him unto David. And the king said unto him, art thou Zibid? And he said, thy servant he is. Thy servant is he. The king said, is there not yet any of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of God unto him? And Zibid said unto the king, Jonathan has yet a son who is laying on his feet. And the king said unto him, where is he? And Zibid said unto the king, behold, he is in the house of Markar, the son of Amal in Lodabar. And the king, then king David sent and fetched him out of the house of Markar, the son of Amal from Lebanon. Now, when Meshepheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul was come unto David, he fell on his face and did reverence. And David said, Meshepheth. And he answered, behold thy servant. And David said unto him, fear not, but I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake. I will restore and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father. And thou shall eat bread at my table continually. And he bowed himself and said, what is thy servant that thou should look upon such as a dead dog as I am? Then the king called to Zevin, Saul's servant, and said unto him, I have given unto the master's son all that pertain to Saul until all his house. Thou therefore thy sons and thy servants shall till the land for him. And thou shall bring in the fruits that the master's son may have food to eat. But Meshepheth said, thy master's son shall eat bread always at my table. Now Zevin had 15 sons and 20 servants. Then said Zevin unto the king, according to all that my lord, the king hath commanded his servant, so shall the servant do. As for Meshepheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table as one of the king's son. And Meshepheth had a young son whose name was Micah. And all that dwelt in the house of Zevin were servants unto Meshepheth. And Meshepheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he did eat continually at the king's table and was lame on both his feet. So this is the story. Now, if we look at it, the chapter before it kind of, the chapter before gives, explains David. This is when David became, basically became the king when he had all, he was the king of the United Kingdom. He had conquered all the enemies and all the enemies around him. And he was basically now in his zine of royalty as a king. So as things were settled and now he was ruling and in the chapter before it talks about how he dealt wisely, he wanted to know, was there anybody left of the house of Saul where he can show kindness because of the friendship that he had with Jonathan, King Saul's son. And we remember, if you look at chapter, 2 Samuel chapter 20, and even in chapter 18, chapter 18 is the first one where it talks about how, well, a couple of chapters before it talked about the closeness that David and Jonathan had and how a covenant they made with one another and how they became really good friends. They were best friends. They were like brothers. Their friendship was tight. Jonathan had a love for David and vice versa. And this was a genuine friendship, love like brothers. And they had that close bond. It says, and thou shall not only will yet I live, show me kindness of the Lord that I die not, but also thou shall not cut off thy kindness from my house forever. Forever. No, not when the Lord has cut off the enemies of David, everyone from the face of the earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David saying, let the Lord even require it at the hand of David's enemies. So there was a friendship these two guys had. And it was so interesting about it. And this is where you're going to see God's love and God's, when we put our hands, our soul into the hands of God. Now we know Saul, unfortunately hated David and was trying to kill him. Literally, David was running as a fugitive because of the torture he was going through Saul. But yet when all that was going on, Jonathan, David's son, Jonathan, Saul's son, the oldest, always showed, had a friendship with David. And here's the thing that's real interesting. Jonathan was next in line to be the king because he was the oldest. So he technically should have been the one to go in after his father would die, would become the king. But yet Jonathan saw that the Lord, he realized that the Lord had established that David was supposed to be the king and there was no jealousy Jonathan had. And Jonathan said, God knows what he's doing and God is right. So he stepped aside so David could be the king, even despite his father's anger, even despite his father trying to kill David and saying is wrong. Jonathan was like, no, if God said David is supposed to be the king, then the monarchy is supposed to go to him. God knows what's best. That's a very unselfish act where you see how Jonathan was. And if you read the story of Jonathan, you see that Jonathan was a man that walked in the light of Lord and he showed it. And this is the aspect, even when King Saul was trying to kill David, his own father was trying to kill David. Jonathan did everything he could to help David, even to the point where his son, King Saul, when you read in chapter it was angry at his son and even tried to kill him. But yet Jonathan still said, you got to do what's right by God. So there was a bond they had that David always had with Jonathan. And David still respected Saul. He was heartbroken when Saul was trying to kill him. But the point is they had a close friendship and it was determined that no matter what, they were going to stay friends and look out for each other. And the sadness of when King Saul and his sons were killed, David still was looking to help his son. And that's where we read the part where he asked, is there anybody in Jonathan's house that he could still show that love and that kindness? And that's where the servant said that Jonathan had a son and his son was lame. And if you look at 2 Samuel 4, why he became lame, it says Jonathan's son, this is 2 Samuel 4, verse 4. And Jonathan's Saul's son had a son that was lame of his feet. And he was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezero. And his nurse took him and fled. And it came to pass as she had haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephistopheles. So this is when they found out when the news came, the terrible news came about the fight at Mount Gilboy where King Saul, Jonathan, and Jonathan's brothers were killed. And when the news came to them and the nurse was fleeing with Jonathan's young son who was five years old, he fell and he broke his feet, his legs. So he became crippled. So from five years old up, this is what happened to him. Outside of him losing his father, his grandfather, and his uncles. And he became lame at a young age. And then we could see he was basically living in destitute. He was in a position where, you know, he was hiding out. And he wasn't hiding out in a palace. He was at the bottom of the barrel. But yet David sought him out. And when he found him, you know, when a new monarchy, when a new monarchy comes into power, what they would usually do is kill out the old monarchy to make sure there's nobody else to take over, nobody can cause problems. And remember, there was a contention that Saul's house always had with David, even though David was never trying to reciprocate violence back. But there was always a contention that Saul's house had towards David, and it just kept going back and forth. But yet, in spite of that, David still wanted to do right by God and his friend. So, when he called, as we read in the chapter, when he found out, he sought out, basically, where was there anybody else, especially from John's linkage, that he could show the love and kindness to. And when he found out, just imagine how much of that was. Even though he was technically supposed to be a prince, he wasn't living like a prince. And he was crippled, too. And he came in, and as I said, he threw himself down, because he was only five years old when all this happened. So, unfortunately, he didn't know everything that went past, and he felt, you know, you've been called to the king. This is the same king your grandfather was trying to kill. This is the same king that now they're in charge. So, when he sees me, they're going to kill me. But David looked at him and said, no, that's the furthest thing from my mind. Your father and I, as we would say, we're close, and I'm going to make sure you're taken care of. You're not going to have to want to ever again. And that's why he didn't just do that. The property of his grandfather, it says he gave him King Saul's land back to him, and everything was taken from him. And not just that, he got to sit at the table where David would eat. And he was basically treated like David's sons. I can imagine he called David Uncle David, and David's sons were like his brothers. So, he was just, to see him go basically from a pauper, you know, I wouldn't say homeless, but he was in a very destitute situation because he was hiding out, and he wasn't hiding out in a good setting. He was poor and destitute in, you know, at the bottom of the barrel, and on top of that, handicapped. But yet, from there, he was brought into the palace, and he was taken care of for the rest of his life. And he was given a land, financial means, the servants were able to take care of him, and he had a son too. He was a young guy. He might have been in his early 20s, but just that love that God has, the kindness of God, I want to say, you know, that kindness that God put into David's heart, David showed it to his son, to his best friend's son. Now, when we look at that, we can see the same connection with salvation for us. We are lame, we're handicapped, paradise lost. When sin came on this world, this world was perfect, but sin destroyed it, and we lost out through sin, Adam and Eve, and it affected us. So, we're more than handicapped. We're sick. We're really at a, we're infected, and the infection has made us, as he would say, handicapped, crippled, and we're lost. We're living almost like, as my parents would say in their West Indian accent, they're living like vagabonds. We're just at the bottom of the barrel because of sin. But yet, God, just like David, is there any that is left in the house of Saul that I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake? All have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but yet, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that who should ever believe in him should not perish and have everlasting life. Jesus came looking for us just as Jonathan, David was looking for Jonathan's son, Jonathan's offspring. Jesus came looking for us as we were lost in sin, as we were handicapped, and Jesus, when he saw us, and we're shaking because we've sinned, we've turned our back on God, but yet, God looks at us in love and says, no, I have something for you. Remember, it says, I prepare a table before you. It says, in John, it says, where I've been, they mean me also. It's that old song, I'ma sit at the welcome table one of these days. God has a table where we're gonna actually sit at that table with him to eat. He's gonna restore, just like how David restored King Saul's land to his grandson, God is gonna restore this earth made new to us. Heaven is a real place. Salvation is a real thing. The earth made new is a real thing that's gonna happen. It's not no mythology. It's not a pie in the sky theory. It's not some fairy tale that we're just living. It's real, and God has that for us, and just like how David restored it for Mephistopheles, God is gonna restore it for us. That's why he so wants us to come back to him for salvation, because he has something for us, and he's telling us we're not gonna have to worry about anything, and the better thing is, Meshavotep, he's only gonna be healed when God comes, but when God comes, we will be healed. We won't be handicapped, literally and figuratively. We will be made new again, so as we get a new land, new property, new everything, we're gonna get a new body. We're gonna look beautiful. We're gonna be, some of us, what was it, Muhammad Ali used to say, not a mark on my face. Well, that's how we're gonna be. There's not gonna be a mark on our face. We're gonna be made beautiful, looking the way God intended us to look in terms of no sin. That's what I mean, in terms of no sin. We're gonna be made perfect in his sight. This is what God has for us, and when we look at this story, we see the plan of salvation, and we see the hope and the aspect of the glory that God has to give to us, that he's gonna share with us, that he has for us, and he's the one that looks for us to give this to us, and he's the one that could, just like David could have had him killed to make sure there's nobody else that's gonna bother him. God could have just said, look, you guys sin, so enough with it. I'm tired of dealing with y'all. Y'all don't listen, but God's like, no, I love you that much that I want you to be with me, the kindness of God, the love of God, and that's what God has for us, and when we see this story, we see the same thing, and it's not just for the future. Even in the time we live now, God has blessings for us. Even the struggles we go through now, God is still trying to bestow kindness and blessings to us. You know, when we look at this whole symbolic aspect, why would he do that? Why would he want to show this type of love for us when we've been deserted? But God has a love that goes beyond that human comprehension, and we see it when we look in the stories, and we look in our life, that how God, that love that he has for us, when we accept it, we show it to others. Like we said, David was in a position where now he's ruling. He's the monarchy, and it was a rough battle. I mean, Saul had him running around like an animal and literally trying to kill him. I mean, not to jump so much, but remember when David had came back after Saul had died, his first wife, Saul's daughter, had anger towards him. She didn't love him anymore, so there was a contention. But yet, prior to that, Jonathan, like I said, had that bond with him. Jonathan really showed what a Christian, we would say what a Christian should be, because the unselfish attitude, because it was nothing he was gaining from this, in the sense of doing something to better himself. He was doing it because he knew this was right, despite what was going on. He still, and he had hoping that his father would come around. But yet, when he saw it wasn't happening, he was like, I still got to look out for David, because what my dad is doing is wrong. And that's the love that you see when you put yourself in crisis. David had that bond with Jonathan. And that's why, even after, David was heartbroken when they died. And the song he wrote for them, he was, and it seemed like David never got over that loss. But his best friend, it was his best friend. His best friend was killed. But yet, David was determined to make sure that his family was taken care of. He was determined to make sure that whoever was connected with Jonathan would never have to mourn again. And that's the love that God has for us. Even though sin has taken us, God is determined that we'll never have to be lost. He's determined that we will be saved. He's determined that he wanted to make sure that we have another chance on earth made new. And that's the love we see that God has for humanity, that God is expressing to humanity. And when he does that, we will express that to others. We will show that same kindness to one another and try to help each other. And that's why I said, what he has for us in the future, in terms of a better day, a whole new world, he still will bless us in the presence in doing things to help better our lives as we deal with. But the point is there's a better, there's even a much more better thing coming for us. But even in the times that we live in now, God is still going to bestow those same type of kindness and blessings to us. And when he does it to us, we do it to others. We share it with others. This is what kindness, it says the kindness of God, the kindness of God, that is the kindness prompted by God, the kindness God constantly exercises towards the children of men. This is what God does. There's a kindness God still always does for us, regardless of what's going on. He's always reaching out for us. Like I said, David, when looking for, you know, he sent out to search, was there any relatives of Jonathan? And that's what God did for us because we didn't go searching for God. He's the one that goes searching for us. All of our sheep have gone astray, but the good shepherd is who goes looking for us. I stand at the door, I knock and he's knocking and he wants us. And when we open the door, he invites us in to be with him, to sit with him, to love, to be in his company. That's what he's doing, but we have to open the door. We run off and hide, but God is the one looking for us. And when he sees us, he's like, don't worry. I got something for you. You don't have to be afraid. You don't have to be ashamed. You know, you don't have to worry about that. I got something that's better for you. This is something that's going to be restored for you. I have a restoration for you that will make all things new for you, will change the dynamics of everything. You know, this is, you know, when you look at it, we see the plan of salvation. We see the love of God having for us. We see all the aspects of what God is trying to do to save humanity. Like you said, the cripple of our, like you said, like I was saying before, when you look at the fact that he was lame at such a young age, five years old, he fell. He didn't bring this on himself. He was just a child. Because of all the things that happened, this is what was resulting on him. And then when you're handicapped, you're, especially in those days, just like now too, but especially back then, you don't have no way to fend for yourself. That's what we read about later on in Jesus' day, how many of them were on the street begging because, you know, nobody was there to take care of them, no type of social security or any type of disability and stuff like that, the kindness of strangers. And it happened in the Old Testament too, clearly, you know. So, and we see it to this day nowadays, even with the advancement of medical and science and stuff, we still didn't live in a sinful world where the economic structure and all the aspects or the isms that affected economics, people are destitute. And if you're a handicapped on top of that, it makes it even more challenging for you. That's why you see so many homeless people and things of that nature, and you get caught up in different vices, it destroys your life even more. And we know that's what sin in the spiritual aspect has done to us and has destroyed us. And it's put us in a position where we're not, we've been infected, we've been destroyed, we're broken on every level. We don't walk properly. We don't stand properly. We don't think properly. We're just totally, totally inept. But yet, God comes to us in all of our brokenness and picks us up and says, look, I have something for you that's going to change all this. It's going to put you in a position where you're not going to have to worry about this ever again. And you can just imagine, like I said, when Ms. Jefferson fell on his face, worried that David was going to kill him. And David probably told him, look, man, I got something for you. You don't have to worry about it. Your pops and I, we're like brothers. So that makes you my son. And now you're going to live with my children. And you're going to have the aspects of what I gave to my family to you. And what belongs to you, I'm going to make sure is restored to you. So what belonged to your grandfather is going to be given to you. And I'm also going to make sure there's servants around to take care of you and everything. And you're not going to have to want ever again. You're going to be secure. You, your son, imagine his wife, your family, everybody's going to be secure. And we see when you read throughout the story that he had, Ms. Jefferson had a loyalty to David because he saw the kindness of God. He saw that the Bible said David was a man after God's own heart. So he saw it and he realized this is the friendship his father had with David. And that's the kindness of God. That's what God bestows upon us. And that's what God is doing for us. And he's going to do for us for when we are saved, but he's also doing for us right now in the situations that we're going through. He just wants us to hang in there because there's a belief that we have that is true. That's why I said, this is not no fairy tale. This is a real thing that God is doing for us. And he's going to bestow it upon us to help us to make sure that we are taken care of. When we look at these stories, we see how it works for us in this time and age. We see how God is still in control, how God really does love us. He's doing everything he can for us to be saved. We see how God in his infinite wisdom and infinite mercy and infinite love is reaching out for us, searching for us so we can have the access of eternal life. We see that God wants us to be saved. He wants us to be with him, to live with him in paradise. Paradise lost will be paradise gained because when he died on the cross and came on this earth, became infected by sin, became handicapped like us, became crippled like us, he did this so we could have a chance to be healed. Because when he rose, he rose completely healed, completely brand new in terms of conquering sin, which made us an outlet for us to be saved. So now when he comes again, we will be made brand new and we'll have this earth that we lost will be given back to us. And the whole aspect of talking about property, we're going to have acres and acres of it, as well as access to the table, access to the tree of life and access to the throne to be with God in terms of that, to sit at the table with him, to relish with him, to be with him always. As it says in the Bible, it says, so Meshachah dwelt in Jerusalem, but he did eat continually at the king's table. They say he ate continually at the king's table. And that's what God has for us when he comes, that we be with him continually, never again to be separated, never again to be worried and scared and somewhere when we have no hope. We're going to be with him continually as Meshachah was able to eat at the king's table always and never have to want again. This is a beautiful story where it shows God's love and it's a salvation for us. And these are the things that we should hang on to and cling on to, to help us. You know, we go through the different struggles in our life, but when we read these stories, it could give us that hope and that surety that God is still there for us and he has something that will save us. So I say that to you all in terms of hanging in there and be thankful that God has hope for the handicapped. And on that note, we'll pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for all your many blessings, your love and your kindness, and let us hang on there. So as you come to take us home, we'll be with you for paradise. This is our prayer in Jesus name. Amen.