Fruit From the Name David Gat

“And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet.” (2Sa 9:3 AV)

 

To give this a little context, Ziba is servant to the last surviving male descendant of Saul, his father-in-law, and nemesis.  David has rest from all his enemies and wished to bless any descendant of Saul and Miphiboseth was the only one left.  When asked the question regarding the existence of, and whereabouts of, any remaining descendant of Saul, Ziba could have lied.  In fact, seeing as how the house of David warred with the house of Saul, Ziba may have been inclined to lie.  David was a warrior first.  David had no more battles to fight and perhaps he is looking for one.  Any reigning monarch would feel threatened by an existing potential enemy.  We don’t know exactly what motivated Ziba to tell the truth.  It could have been he was envious of his master (which we will find out later) and wanted him dead.  It could be the fear that if he lied, David would kill him.  Or, it could be that Ziba trusted David to do the right thing and that he indeed did want to show kindness to Miphibosheth.  I think it is the latter.  This principle harkens back to yesterday’s devotion.  The getting of a name.  Reputation is something that determines how others interact with us.  Ziba knew David well enough to trust him with the truth even though there might be the slightest chance he was not honest.  Ziba chose to trust the name David got and make himself and his master vulnerable.  He took David at his word because his reputation preceded him.

Having many brothers and sisters, there was no surprise at the reputation of future teachers.  They would come home from school and share with their siblings what a particular teacher was like.  He or she was too strict or really cool.  The teacher gave out too much homework.  Or the teacher had a sense of humor.  The teacher talked over the heads of the students, or he or she was able to bring it down to their level.  This reputation preceded them.  If my older sibling would warn us about this teacher, we would be biased on the first day of class.  The entire atmosphere of the class would have been set before the teacher ever opened his or her mouth.  Most of the time, the evaluation of our siblings was correct.  However, sometimes it was skewed to favor the student.  If a reputation gave an excuse for the student to be less than he or she should be, it was justified in the mind of the sibling.  However, a teacher’s reputation will dictate the personality and atmosphere of the classroom long before the desks are filled.

The same is true with our reputation.  It necessarily affects interaction with others.  This is something we can change.  If others cannot approach as they wish to, the fault may lie with us.  Perhaps we have not been what we should have been in the past so that in the present, those who have business with us come with an idea of who and what we are long before they make their appearance.  Reputations can change.  They can change in an instant.  Ziba was comfortable with David because David carried himself wisely and compassionately with others.  Ziba was able to trust David because David gat him a name.  How others are around us will tell you quickly how they perceive you.  Our wish is that we can be approachable so that we can minister the love of Christ to them.