Continuing in our study of 1
Samuel, one of the clearest, most familiar pictures of sovereign
love of mercy and grace is found in 2 Samuel chapter 9, if you
would turn there with me first. That being the story of Mephibosheth. Everybody pretty much knows the
story of Mephibosheth. 2 Samuel chapter nine. Before getting into our text
in 1 Samuel chapter 20, let's briefly look at this passage
of scripture. I'll make a few comments. Here
King David shows covenant faithfulness. That's what we have in 1 Samuel
20 tonight. We see the covenant that Jonathan
and David made with one another. And here we see David being faithful
to that covenant promise. And he shows undeserved kindness
to Mephibosheth, the lame grandson of Saul. It's here that we see
a king seeking the unworthy. What a picture that is. The Lord
Jesus, the King of kings, seeks unworthy sinners that he might
be kind and merciful to them. It says in verse one, 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? Now, as we'll see again
tonight in 1 Samuel 20, Saul was a sworn enemy of David. He
sought to kill him. He hated him. Yet David says,
is there any left that I may show kindness to the house of
Saul? Why? For Jonathan's sake, for
Jonathan's sake. The Lord Jesus said, is there any yet the house
of Adam that I may show kindness to? God says that. And he says,
for Christ's sake, God seeks us not because of our
goodness. David's now reigning as king,
and he searches not for the deserving, but for someone in the house
of Saul to bless because of this covenant. What a covenant it
is. God doesn't seek us because of
our goodness, but for the sake of Christ. Grace is extending
to the undeserving. That's what grace means. Unmerited,
undeserved favor. Restoration is given to the broken. You and I are broken. Broke real
bad. Can't be fixed. Can't be improved
upon, we got to be given a new life, got to be made a new creation
in Christ. And for the sake of Jonathan,
Mephibosheth is given a seat at the king's table forever. I am Mephibosheth. You are Mephibosheth. And this is the heart of God.
He doesn't search for those who deserve grace. And we ought to
be thankful because no one does. None of us do. He seeks out the
lost, the broken, as I said, even his enemies and extends
to them kindness for the sake of another, that being Christ.
But God commended his love toward us in that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us." Who did Paul write that to? To
sinners. He said, of whom I am chief.
Secondly, the king finds a crippled enemy in hiding. I know it's not politically correct
anymore to call someone crippled, yet God's never been politically
correct. We're crippled. We're lame on
both our feet by a great fall. We fell in Adam and we died. We're not just a little lame,
we're totally lame. We're dead. Verse two, and there
was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when
they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, art thou
Ziba? And he said, thy servant is he.
And the king said, is there not yet any of the house of Saul
that I may show the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said
unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his
feet. And the king said unto him, where
is he? And Ziba said unto the king, behold, he's in the house
of Makar, the son of Amelia in Lodabar. Then King David sent
and fetched him, fetching grace, fetched him out of the house
of Makar, the son of Amelia from Lodabar. Mephibosheth, he's a
member of Saul's fallen house. And he's living in fear in Lodebach. Why is he living in fear? Because
usually when a king gave up the throne, his son took over. But
in this case, God anointed David as king. And in ancient times,
when the household of the king was changed, the king that is
no longer king is considered an enemy of the new king. And
so Mephibosheth is living in fear in Lodabar. Lame on his
feet. Lodabar means no pasture. A barren land. Is that not where
we were? He had nothing to offer the king
but weakness. What do we have to offer God,
friend? He had nothing to offer the king
but fear and shame. Mephibosheth, being of the royal
family of a former hostile king, is considered an enemy, and yet
David sins for him. That's mercy. That's grace. Not to punish him, but to bless
him. We are Mephibosheth. We're broken
by sin. We're lame on our feet from a
great fall. We live in Lodabar, meaning no
pasture, no word, no communication. A barren, desolate place of no
sustenance. Ashamed, afraid, and far, far
from the king. We don't go to God. He comes
to us. Weren't you glad he did? The
Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19, 10. Thirdly, we see
that grace calls chosen sinners by name. Verse six, now when
Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was coming to
David, he fell on his face and did reverence. They said, if
you're gonna come before God, that's the way you got to come.
And David said, Mephibosheth, And he answered, behold, thy
servant. And David said unto him, fear
not, for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's
sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father,
and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. When God calls us, it's effectual,
effective. And we answer as servants. God calls us by name. He shows
us mercy instead of wrath, and he restores to us more than what
we lost. That's kindness, isn't it? That's
covenant kindness. Nothing for us to fear. Thus
saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee,
O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called
thee by thy name. Thou art mine. I belong to him. He calleth his own sheep by name
and he leadeth them out. This is the gospel's assurance.
This is the promise from Christ's lips. And David removes fear
in Mephibosheth, and he replaces it with a promise. Sound familiar? He shows kindness, he gives restoration,
and he gives a permanent seat at his table. Is that not the gospel? God tells
His children not to fear. Why? Because Christ has bore
their judgment. Christ has bore their wrath.
What is there for us to fear? It's finished. And we're welcomed,
not condemned. There is therefore now no condemnation. How much? None. Not even a little
bit. No condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus. Now that's the key. That's where
we gotta be found, in Christ Jesus. There's horrific condemnation,
wrath, and judgment if you're not in Christ. But if you're
in Christ, none. Those who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit. Friends, walking in the flesh
is living like God doesn't matter. Walking in the Spirit is living
like Christ is everything. How are we living? The child
of God goes from a lame and crippled exile to royal guest in the house
of the king. Did they deserve it? No, it's
undeserved. It's unmerited. For Christ's
sake, we become sons and daughters of the king of kings. Oh, it
would be wonderful enough to be adopted by a king, but to
be adopted by the king of kings? We're adopted, we're restored,
and we're fully accepted in Christ, the beloved, nowhere else. And
then fourthly, we see Mephibosheth's response, and it's humble all
and total, complete reverence. Verse eight, and he bowed himself
and said, what is thy servant that thou shouldest look upon
such a dead dog as I am? The Phibosheth knows he's unworthy.
That's what God's gonna reveal that to you. If you're one of
his, God's gonna first and foremost reveal to you that you're unworthy.
You're living in the land of Lolabar. You're laying on both
of your feet. You've got nothing to offer God. True grace humbles us. It reveals
our unworthiness. It shows us God's immeasurable
love. Grace silences self-righteousness. It does. Grace stirs up deep
gratitude. True grace does. Now what people
call grace today doesn't, but God's grace does. Sovereign grace
does. And it is somewhat sad that we
have to distinguish God's grace by calling it sovereign because,
and we have to call it sovereign because what this world calls
grace is not grace at all. It's definitely not sovereign
grace. Grace to this religious world is you do something and
then God'll do something. If that's the case, none of us
ever be saved. Because we live in Lodabar, the
land of barrenness. This is not just a story of a
crippled man and a kind king. It's much, much more than that.
It's a portrait of the gospel. For Christ's sake, we shall eat
at the king's table always, continually. And that's our hope, and that's
our gospel. And God has brought us out of
hiding, and by his grace, we're brought into his presence. It's
fetching grace. He seated us at His eternal table. And this amazing story in 2 Samuel
chapter 9 can only be understood in the light of our text in 1
Samuel chapter 20. Please turn there with me. I'm
going to go through this whole chapter. I'm going to be reading
a lot of it, just making a few comments. This story, 1 Samuel chapter
20, is not just about friendship. We mentioned that in a previous
chapter. It's about love and it's about
sacrifice and it's about suffering. It's about future security. All that's a result of a covenant
that was made. And this mirrors the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us keep in mind once again
that Christ is the greater Jonathan and Christ is the greater David. He's the Lord Jesus, the true
anointed one. Verse one, 1 Samuel 20. And David fled from Naoth in
Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, what have I done? What
is mine iniquity? And what is my sin before thy
father that he seeketh my life? And he, Jonathan, said unto him,
God forbid thou shall not die. Behold, my father will do nothing,
either great or small, but that he will show it me. And why should
my father hide this thing from me? It's not so." And David swear
him over and said, thy father certainly knoweth that I found
grace in thine eyes. And he saith, let not Jonathan
know this. He's hiding this from you. lest
he be grieved, but truly as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth,
there is but a step between me and death. He's hiding this from
you, Jonathan. He's out to kill me. Verse four,
then said Jonathan unto David, whatsoever thy soul desireth,
I will even do it for thee. That's a covenant promise. Isn't that what the Lord Jesus
told His Father for us? Lord, whatever I, Father, whatever
I must do, that I'll do. I'll do it for them. Verse five,
and David said unto Jonathan, Behold, tomorrow is the new moon,
and I should not fail to sit with the king at me. But let
me go, that I may hide myself in the field until the third
day at even. If thy father at all miss me,
then say, David earnestly ask leave of me, that he might run
to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for
all the family. And if he say thus, it is well,
thy servant shall have peace, but if he be very wroth, then
be sure that evil is determined by him. If he's upset about me
not being here, that means he's upset because I'm not here for
him to kill. Verse eight, therefore, thou
shalt deal kindly with thy servant, for thou hast brought thy servant
into a covenant of the Lord with thee, notwithstanding that there
be in me iniquity, slay me thyself. For why shouldst thou bring me
to thy father? In other words, if I've done
anything wrong, you slay me, you kill me. And Jonathan said,
far be it from thee. For if I knew certainly that
evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would
not I tell it thee? And then said David to Jonathan,
who shall tell me, or what if my father answer thee roughly? In other words, Who's gonna let
me, who's gonna get this message to me? However Saul reacts. So the first thing we see here
in these verses is the rejected king. David is not yet king in
the eyes of the people, but he is in the eyes of God. He's already
been anointed by the prophet and he is the chosen king. In verse 1, David said, what
have I done? What is my guilt? He's the Lord's
anointing. But Saul wants him dead. He's
a king on the run. He's hunted. He's hated and he's
hopeless. That sounds a lot like our Lord
Jesus. And he's hated and hunted not
because he's done wrong, but because he's done right. Again,
what a picture. Jonathan, Saul's son, knows David's
innocent. He becomes David's intercessor
and defender here, just as the Lord now stands to intercede
for his people. Christ is the greater Jonathan,
and Christ is the greater David. David's fleeing for his life.
He's hated by Saul. without a cause. You remember
that phrase? Our Lord Jesus hated without
a cause. Jonathan was caught between the
loyalty of his father, who's king, and his covenant love for
David, who's the Lord's truly anointed. I want God's king. I don't want
man's king. The gospel is foreshadowed in
at least three ways in these verses. It's a picture of covenant
love. In verse four, Jonathan said
to David, whatever you say, I'll do for you. That's what Christ
said to his father on our behalf. Bound by covenant, Jonathan is
willing to lay aside his own royal rights for David's sake. Jonathan's
next in line for the throne. That's amazing. Boy, we live
in a world where folks not gonna share their glory with the Lord
or anyone else. But Jonathan's willing to lay
aside his own royal rights for one that he loves. Sound familiar? This pictures and typifies Christ,
who emptied Himself. Our Lord Jesus, who, being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God,
but made Himself of no reputation. He made Himself of no reputation.
And He took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in
the likeness of man. Even more importantly, The Lord
humbled himself and became obedient unto death. Paul goes on to tell
us there in Philippians 2, even, he condescended even more, even
to be obedient unto death, the death of the cross, the most
horrific way that a man could die. Something else we see in
this righteous one who's hunted and hated for no reason, David
being innocent and yet pursued unto death is a picture of Christ,
the righteous one whom the world rejected and hated freely. We've said many times that from
the time he was born, they sought to kill him. All his life, as
he went about doing good, they sought to kill him. They sought
to trick him, Catch him and hire witnesses against him in order
to condemn him. But our Lord was sinless. He
knew no sin. He fought no evil. He did no
sin. Now David's suffering, unjust
as it was, it points us to the Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered
not only man's hatred, but also the wrath of God in our place. And as I said last week or the
week before, every picture in the Old Testament is a, that's
not a perfect picture. I thank God for the pictures.
I've often said, you know, and I bet you do too, I've got pictures
of my children and grandchildren on my refrigerator. And I love
to stop and look at them, but not when they're at my house.
When they're in my house, I have something much better than a
picture. I got them. And it's the same with the Lord
Jesus. Thirdly, we see intercession
and mediation. In verses five through 10, Jonathan
becomes a mediator. He goes between David and Saul,
and he tests Saul's heart and intentions, and he stands in
the gap. That's what a mediator does. This prefigures Christ's
work as our mediator. For there is one God and one
mediator between God and man. Who is that? The man, Christ
Jesus. I love how it says the man there.
He's the God-man, yes. But he had to become a man in
order to die in our room and stay. The Lord Jesus is the one
mediator. You know what that means? There
isn't another one. There's just one. He's the only
one who can stand between God's just wrath against us, and His
wrath is just. You know, people say, you know,
that ain't fair, that ain't fair. Listen, it's just. You know what
fair is? For God to send all of us to
hell. Jonathan risked himself to protect
David. Christ fully gave himself to
secure our redemption. Christ not only risked, but rescued
us from death by being put to death in our
room instead. And at the cross, Christ took
our place, that's substitution. And now in heaven, Christ speaks
on our behalf, and that's mediation. Wherefore he, the Lord Jesus,
is able to save them to the uttermost, who, those that come unto God
by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. He's gonna see it through. He's
gonna see it through. The second thing we see in this
glorious chapter is a covenant of steadfast love. Look at verse
11. And Jonathan said unto David,
come and let us go out into the field. And they went out, both
of them, into the field. And Jonathan said unto David,
O Lord God of Israel, when I have surrounded my father about tomorrow,
any time, or the third day, and behold, if there be good toward
David, and I then sin not unto thee, and shew it thee, The Lord
do so and much more to Jonathan, but if it pleased my father to
do the evil, then I will show with thee and send thee away
that thou mayest go in peace and the Lord be with thee as
he had been with half men with my father. And thou shalt not
only wow Yet I live, show me the kindness of the Lord that
I die not. But also thou shalt not cut off
thy kindness from my house forever. No, not when the Lord hath cut
off the enemies of David and 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.
And Jonathan calls David to swear again, because he loved him,
for he loved him as he loved his own soul." As we've already
seen, Jonathan swears loyalty here to David, and it's a binding,
it's a gracious commitment But our Lord Jesus binds himself
to his people in what's called a better covenant. Secured not
by just mere oath or mere words, but by his own blood. He pledges
himself to his people forever. For he ever liveth to make intercession
for them, Hebrews 8, 6. But now hath he obtained a more
excellent ministry by how much also he is the mediator of a
better covenant, which was established upon better promises. Everything with Christ is better,
better, better, better. Jonathan is David's advocate
and intercedes for him. Christ goes before the Father
on the believer's behalf. If I want anybody pleading my
case and my cause, it's the Son of God who loved me and gave
himself for me. Jonathan asked David to show
him and his house kindness when he becomes king, verses 14 and
15. And this reflects the unfailing
love, mercy, and grace God shows you and I in Christ. Though we
deserve nothing but eternal wrath, condemnation, judgment, death,
Christ promises eternal kindness to all who trust in him. For
God so loved the world, his people in the world, that whosoever
believeth in him. He doesn't love those that don't
believe in him. And it's here that we see something of sacrificial
love. Verse 17, Jonathan loved David
as he loved his own soul. As the heir of Saul's throne,
Jonathan lays aside his royal rights, as I said, for David's
sake. And the Lord Jesus laid aside
his glory the glory of the only begotten of God, to give life
to His elect, even though it meant Him losing His own life. And I often say this, I wish
we could get it through our thick skulls. That don't offend you,
does it? We've got thick skulls. There's no love for us outside
of Christ. It's in Christ and in Him alone. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought
it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation,
took on the form of a servant, made in the likeness of men,
being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Jonathan
willingly binds himself to David, even if David's exaltation means
his own demise. He gives up his future crown
for the sake of the Lord's chosen king. We're going to have to give up
our throne. This throne of me, myself, and I, we've got to give
it up to bow at the Throne of the Lord
Jesus Christ. What a reflection this is of
the heart of God. The Lord Jesus laid aside His
rights as God. And He humbled Himself to become
a man. He humbled Himself in obedience to death. Even the
worst of deaths. The death of the cross. I nearly
grow tired hearing that. Never. It's the only way that
God could save us justly. See, God cannot save us apart
from His holy justice. Thirdly, we see a sacrificial
stand. To sacrifice means to give up
something valued. It's easy to give away something
that you don't care nothing about, but it's much harder to give
away something that's of some value to you. Verse 18, then
Jonathan said to David, tomorrow is the new moon and thou shalt
be missed because thy seat will be empty. And when thou hast
stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly and come
to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business
was in hand and shalt remain by the stone Ezzel. And I'll
shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at
a mark. And behold, I'll send a lad saying,
go find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad,
behold, the arrows are on this side of thee. Take them, then
come thou, for there is peace to thee, and no hurt is the Lord
livid. But if I say unto the young man,
behold, the eras are beyond thee, go thy way, for the Lord hath
sent thee away. And as touching the matter which
thou and I have spoken of, behold, the Lord be between thee and
me forever." Whatever the outcome is, however my father reacts,
you and I got a covenant. It's forever. So David hid himself
in the field, and when the new moon was come, the king sat down
to eat meat, and the king sat upon his seat, and as at other
times, even upon a seat by the wall. And Jonathan arose, and
Agner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty. Nevertheless,
Saul spake not anything that day, for he thought something
hath befallen him. Speaking of David, he's not clean. Surely he's not clean. And it
came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month,
that David's place was empty. And Saul said unto Jonathan his
son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to me? Neither yesterday
nor today. Where is your buddy? If I may paraphrase. And Jonathan
answered Saul. David earnestly asked leave of
me to go to Bethlehem. And he said, let me go, I pray
thee, for our family hath a sacrifice in the city, and my brother,
he hath commanded me to be there. And now, if I have found favor
in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not into
the king's table. Then Saul's anger was kindled
against Jonathan, And he said unto him, thou son of the perverse,
rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son
of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy
mother's nakedness? For as long as the son of Jesse
liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor
thy kingdom. Wherefore now sin and fetch him
unto me, for he shall surely die.' And Jonathan answered Saul
his father, and he said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? What hath he done? And Saul cast
a javelin at him to smite him, whereby Jonathan knew that it
was determined of his father to slay David. So Jonathan arose
from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second
day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his
father had done him shame." Jonathan here comes up with a plan to
protect David. And when Saul realized Jonathan's
on David's side, he erupts in rage and against his own son. And he hurls his spear to strike
Jonathan. And Jonathan risked his life
by siding with the anointed one. He stands between the wrath of
Saul and the life of David. And this illustrates beautifully
the substitutionary love that points to the cross. We see the
love of God no clearer than on the cross, when God, His love,
with love for His people, killed His only begotten Son in our
room instead. No greater love, greater love
hath no man than this, and a man lay down his life for his brethren,
for his friends. Jonathan endured his father's
wrath to protect David. That sound familiar? The Lord
Jesus bore his father's wrath, not because we were innocent,
but because we were guilty. Jonathan stood beside a righteous
man, and Christ stood in the place of the unrighteous. Then
lastly, we have a painful parting, but a promised future. Verse
35, and it came to pass in the morning that Jonathan went out
into the field at the time appointed with David and a little lad with
him. And he said unto his lad, run, find out now the arrows
which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an
arrow beyond him. And when the lad was come to
the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried
after the lad and said, is not the arrow beyond thee? And Jonathan
cried after the lad, make speed. Hey, stay not. And Jonathan's
lad gathered up the arrows and came to his master. But the lad
knew not anything. Only Jonathan and David knew
the matter. He was talking to David. Oh, there's so much we could
say there. Just don't have time to deal with it. We will another
time. Verse 40, and Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad. and said unto him, go, carry
them to the city. And as soon as the lad was gone,
David rose out of the place toward the south and fell on his face
to the ground and bowed himself three times. And they kissed
one another and wept one with another until David exceeded."
Which means simply that David wept the most. He wept more than
Jonathan. Why wouldn't he? Jonathan had
just done Shown great mercy and substitution
and mediation. Verse 42, And Jonathan said to
David, Go in peace. For as much as we have sworn
both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between
me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed forever, And he
arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city." There's
so much here you can read between the lines. We find great sorrow
here. We have separation. The best
I can see from Scripture, this is the final meeting of David
and Jonathan before Jonathan's death in battle. They'll see
each other no longer. But here we also have hope grounded
in a sacrificial covenant. The Lord shall be between me
and you and between my seed, offspring, and your seed forever. Here we see the reason for David's
actions with Mephibosheth. Remember why? Why it was? It
was for Jonathan's sake. for Jonathan's sake. David's
love for Jonathan wasn't temporary. Well, it extended beyond his
life. Jonathan's gone. But David still shows mercy to
his offspring. Covenant. Covenant love. So does Christ for us. David
showed mercy to Mephibosheth for Jonathan's sake. Why does
God show mercy to sinners like you and me? One reason only,
for Christ's sake. The love of Christ binds us into
an eternal covenant. It's sealed with the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ, not mere words. No, he shed his blood
to seal this covenant. And we were bought with a price.
What a prize, what a prize. Our Lord said so himself. He
said, this is the new covenant in my blood. He said, I give
unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. No better news for sinners than
that. Huh? Amen.