KEEP YOUR PROMISES
One day David asked, “Is there anyone in Saul’s family still alive—anyone to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”
2 Samuel 9:1 (NLT)
2 Samuel 9 is one of my favorite stories in all of Scripture.
To fully grasp the impact, you have to understand the relationship between David, Saul and Jonathan. Check out 1 Samuel 18-20 if you’d like to dive deeper yourself, but I’ll summarize it for our purposes here. Saul was Israel’s first king, but he wasn’t a very good one. So, God appointed David to become the next king. This wasn’t yet public knowledge, and in the course of time, David came to serve in Saul’s court. There, he became close friends with Saul’s son Jonathan. Eventually, Saul grows jealous of David and, in time, tries to kill him. Jonathan ultimately helped David escape after swearing loyalty to each other and sealing a bond between them and their children forever.
Fast forward to 2 Samuel 9. David is king, and both Saul and Jonathan are dead. David remembers the promises that he and Jonathan made to one another to love each other’s families well. So, he inquires about any opportunities to make good on his promise. He learns about Mephibosheth, the crippled son of Jonathan, who has been living in exile. David summons Mephibosheth to court. It was a common practice of new kings at that time to completely eradicate the family of previous or rival rulers. This, in theory, would prevent future uprisings. Mephibosheth arrives expecting nothing good, but in 2 Samuel 9:7 David tells him to not be afraid, for he intends to show kindness because of the promise he made to Jonathan. Mephibosheth goes from exile to the table of the king—truly a beautiful story. And this all happened because of deep love and the honoring of a promise.
APPLICATION: David went out of his way to show great kindness to Mephibosheth. Who can you go out of your way to show great kindness? How can you demonstrate radical love for God through your love for others?
PRAYER: God, thank You for the deep and enduring compassion You have on us. Help me to show that same love, kindness and compassion for others. Show me who I can love well that You might receive glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?