Tuesday, June 25, 2013

2 Samuel 19

2 Samuel 19:30
Mephibosheth said to the king, "Let him even take it all, since my lord the king has come safely to his own house."
Mephibosheth is a very interesting fellow.  He started the grandson of the king, but because of an accident as a baby was crippled.  He grows up lame, unable to walk, and then his entire family is killed in battle.  I'm not sure what the succession would be, but he could very well have been the legal heir.  However, he would never have been able to hold the throne in that time, unable to walk.  Yet David does not purge the house when he is given the kingdom.  Instead, he raises Mephibosheth up to be virtually a member of his family.

Then comes the flight from Jerusalem, and David learns that Mephibosheth has betrayed him.  He thinks Absalom will restore him to his former dignities.  One servant is still loyal, and brings David supplies along with the news, to which David rewards the man by giving all Mephibosheth's property to him.  But when the fight is over and David returns, he learns the servant may have been lying.  Now David doesn't seem to know who to believe, so he orders the property divided between the two.

I personally think Mephibosheth was telling the truth, for two reasons.  First, he was in mourning the entire time David was away.  He did not care for his feet, or hair, or clothes while David was gone.  Second, he is willing to let cede everything, since David is safe.  He valued David over his own property.  Sounds like a loyal guy to me.

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