Kindness

The king said, “Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God? . . . Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he said, “Here is your servant!” David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly.”  (2 Samuel 9:3, 6-7, NASB)

King David, after the deaths of King Saul and Saul’s son Jonathan, David’s best friend, wanted to show kindness to the house of Saul.  Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth was the recipient.  

King Saul and Jonathan were killed in battle with the Philistines.  Saul, knowing that David would succeed him as king, and not a member of his own family, had tried for many years to kill David.  It would have been easy for David to forget to show kindness.  After all, Saul had been his enemy.  But Jonathan was his best friend.  But David was magnanimous to Saul, often referring to him as “the Lord’s anointed.”  David grieved after Saul and Jonathan fell in battle.  

Mephibosheth kneels before David, circa 1240.  From the Maciejowski Bible, Leaf 40, author unknown.  Found at Wikipedia

King David’s descendant, Jesus of Nazareth, had something to say about how we should treat our enemies.  He said we should pray for them.  He said we should give them cold water to drink.  But most of all, we should not take vengeance on them, because that’s God’s job. 

In the end, King David restored all of Saul’s property to Mephibosheth.  He was a regular invitee to King David’s table.  This is how God wants us to behave.  Easier said than done!