The Ripple Effect

“Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master’s son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master’s son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.” (2Sa 9:10 AV)

So, the question here is, will Mephibosheth eat at David’s table, or will he eat of the crops harvested by Ziba and his sons?  It appears as though there might be a contradiction.  The Bible has no errors or contradictions and in those that seem as such, there is often a great truth to be gleaned.  But a little context first.  Mephibosheth is the son of Jonathan and the grandson of Saul.  David and Jonathan made a vow one to the other in a day of deep friendship many years previous.  David swore to Jonathan that he would not destroy the house of Jonathan and would show those who descended from Jonathan kindness.  When David secured the kingdom, he sought to fulfill this promise he made to his best friend.  Enter Ziba.  Ziba was a servant to Saul.  If anyone would know if there were descendants of Jonathan, it would be Ziba.  Ziba reveals Jonathan had a son, Mephibosheth.  David brings crippled Mephibosheth to the palace and treats him as his own son.  From that day forward, he is fed from the king’s table.  Or, is he?

Ziba is commanded to farm the land of Saul which would all fall to Mephibosheth.  Ziba and his twelve sons would oversee the husbandry of the land bequeathed to Mephibosheth and in return, Ziba and his family would also enjoy the fruits of their labor.  But what of Mephibosheth?  Is he fed from the king’s table, or does he live off the crops his father’s servants reaped?  Which is it?  The answer is actually quite simple.  Mephibosheth had a son.  His name is revealed in verse twelve.  Micha was his name.  One might say that Micha was not Jonathan’s son, but rather, Mephibosheth’s.  That is true.  But in the word of God, there is often no distinction between son, grandson, great-grandson, etc.  A descendent of the one through whom an inheritance would come is referred to as a son regardless of how many generations there may be between the two.  Therefore, there is no contradiction here.  The son of Jonathan who would eat at David’s table is Mephibosheth.  The son who would be fed from the labor of Ziba’s family is the son of Mephibosheth, also the son of Jonathan, Micha.  So, what is the application?

The parallel of this relationship between David and Mephibosheth with the relationship the Father has with the saints never ceases to amaze me.  Because of the friendship Jonathan had with David, grace is shown to his descendants.  Because of the friendship between the Father and the Son, those whom the Son births by salvation are shown eternal kindness from the Father.  But what of Micha?  Grace has a rippling effect.  If only the world understood this.  Recently, there has been quite an uproar over what our nation’s leader did on Easter Sunday.  Although the offense felt by many is justified, the real tragedy is those who hate God are cutting off their nose to spite their face.  Saying no to God’s wonderful gift of grace is one thing.  They will suffer all of eternity for that choice.  But when they persecute the people of God, they are robbing themselves of the ripple effect of grace.  Pharoah learned this.  God blessed him for Joseph’s sake.  Artixerses learned this.  God blessed him for Esther’s sake.  There are many examples in the word of God when those who do not love God are blessed by the ripple effect of God’s grace on those who do.  At the very least, they should leave the people of God alone.  At the very least, they should not seek to destroy us.  What should our response be?  Certainly, we should be offended for God’s sake.  But we should also pity and pray for those who think it does them good to hate on God and His people.  Jonah said it best.  “Those who observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.”