If you have not read last week’s post, Who’s Got Your Back, I encourage you to read about the details of the covenant making process and what it symbolizes because it ties directly into what you’re about to read. I’m jumping right into a pretty popular covenant that was made between David and Jonathan. Their story is mainly found in I Samuel 18-20 but sprinkled in other places as well.
While scripture doesn’t list out every step of the covenant making process in what we read in I Samuel concerning David and Jonathan, the implications are understood in the Hebrew culture to mean that a full-blown covenant was made. To paint a clear picture, Jonathan was the crown prince of Israel (son of King Saul), and David was the anointed future king of Israel. That could be a recipe for disaster, but David and Jonathan were more than best buddies. Scripture states that their souls were knit together (I Samuel 18:1). That’s a picture of them being one together.
Nothing in scripture is there on accident – everything has a purpose. I find it beautiful that Jonathan is the one who puts his coat on David, but it’s not mentioned that David puts his coat on Jonathan. Jonathan is the heir to the throne, but his actions show that he recognizes David is anointed by God to be king. He’s submitting to the authority of God’s will. This is huge considering how the rest of Jonathan’s royal family decided to behave.
Saul, Jonathan’s father, was everything that David was not. If God willed something one way, Saul decided to do it his way instead (cost him the kingdom). But David was a man after God’s own heart. This is why Saul came to hate David so much. He didn’t stop there with his hatred: he wanted everyone in his household – everyone in the palace – to believe the worst of David. Everyone in the palace believed that David would kill them if he got the chance. David definitely had multiple chances to kill King Saul, but instead refused to strike down the Lord’s anointed (I Samuel 24 & 26).
When it came about that Saul and his three sons (by his wife) were killed in battle (Jonathan, too), one of his other sons (through his concubine – Rizpah) decided he would accept the responsibility of being king. This reign lasted about 2 years. During those years, the remaining descendants of Saul probably felt a measure of protection. But not many stuck around after Saul and Jonathan were killed. Most fled in all directions, believing that if David caught them, they would be killed.
Picture it: the news comes in that the king and his sons are dead. All those who have been loyal servants to the throne are now thinking they’re going to be hunted down and killed. You’ve heard that he’s angry with you and that he’s going to do terrible things to you and everyone you love because you chose to serve the now dead king. You might do a little bit of panicking. This is what happened with the nurse of Mephibosheth (Jonathan’s son). She panicked, and in her haste, Mephibosheth (5 years old at the time) was injured and became lame from that point on (II Samuel 4:4).
David eventually becomes king over all of Israel, ousting the other guy, and sets to making some things right (plans for building the temple, and he defeats foe after foe after foe). Time goes by and David’s memories are stirred concerning his covenant with Jonathan. Maybe he sees the scar on his hand or wrist from cutting covenant years before and is reminded of his love for the other part of his soul (knit together remember?). He starts to ask questions about the heirs of Saul that he can show kindness to for Jonathan’s sake (II Samuel 9:1). They track down someone who had been a servant of Saul and find out that Jonathan’s son was crippled, but alive and living in Lo-debar (II Samuel 9:2-4).
David immediately sends for Jonathan’s son to be brought to him. Now I can imagine that, as the royal guard enters the city, Mephibosheth might be grabbing his crutches in fear. At the young age of 5, he was rushed out of the palace, permanently injured, and probably fed the lie that David would kill him if he’s found. It’s probably not much of a stretch to assume that he was expecting the worst.
He was living in Lo-debar, a place that literally means no pasture, no word, no communication. Sounds pretty desolate. He went from the luxury of the palace to living in a town of what I imagine as being equivalent to no hope. The home he was living in belonged to Machir, which means sold, price, or bartered. Hmm… I find that an interesting detail.
Jonathan’s son is escorted out of Lo-debar and brought before King David. The king calls him by name and then continues to speak to him:
So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.” II Samuel 9:7 NKJV
Wow! That’s quite an upgrade from thinking you’re going to be put to death, don’t you think? Mephibosheth responds by saying that he doesn’t deserve King David’s kindness – he’s nothing more than a dead dog (unclean and of no worth). But the King wasn’t showing kindness based on Mephibosheth, but rather based on Jonathan.
Like Mephibosheth, we were born into the family of Saul – perpetually opposing God and believing the lies of the enemy. What if we decide to trust God? If God ever get’s a hold of me, He might make something bad happen to me or someone I love. What if He decides we’re not worthy of His love or some of our sins are too big? It’s obvious that God is out to get us for all the ways we step out of line, even insurance companies have coverage for what they call acts of God. But we have a Jonathan. He was in the same family, but His soul was knit together as one with Someone else.
This covenant gives us His identity and name, we get His strength for the battles we face in this life, He’s given us His checkbook, and there’s nothing we did to earn it and we can’t lose it. Jesus submitted to the Father’s authority (Matthew 26:39) in the same way Jonathan submitted to David’s – His will is to save everyone, but we have to choose to accept Him. While we may not have a mark on our wrist, once we choose Him, we receive something even more powerful.
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:13-14 NKJV
So often we hear that the gospel is the good news, and that’s the actual definition of gospel – good news. But how many times do we hear it and neglect to recognized that news means that it’s already happened? Our sins have already been dealt with. Mephibosheth referred to himself as a dead dog after He was restored – how often do we do that when we make mistakes?
Reading on in II Samuel 9, David seems to ignore the dead dog comment. He goes on to instruct the servant of Saul (Ziba) to have his entire household (at least 35 people) work the land and serve Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was being treated as royalty. He had servants to wait on him, land to produce food and income, and he was given authority over them. All because of a covenant made.
He chose to accept his new identity and ate at the king’s table as a son. Might take some getting used to, but we have a new identity and have seats at the table. All because of a covenant.