Unlikely

September 15, 2024

2 Samuel 9:1-11

When I was in college I studied Russian language. And I was able to study in Leningrad, Soviet Union for four months, with 35 other American students. We ate in the cafeteria. Leningrad is really far north. Vegetables & fruits were limited. You could count on a cucumber or beet salad. And there was a different soup each day.  It could be borscht: beet soup, or cabbage stew. One of the soup varieties was milk soup. When I first saw it, I decided I was NOT going to eat milk soup, ever. It sounded awful! But one day, I decided to try it. I never saw skim milk in Russia. It was all full fat milk. In milk soup there was also lots of butter. And then a grain: it could be rice, buckwheat, millet or wheat. So, Milk soup was really rich, and a comfort food. It was the most unlikely to be my favorite soup. But it became my favorite.

We’re talking today about what’s unlikely. There’s a story of man in the Old Testament named Mephibosheth. You may wonder if I’m making this guy up. But he’s real, and it’s a great story. You know, some of you may come to church and find yourself feeling a little insecure: you feel like maybe you don’t know Bible stories as well as the person next to you. But you know what? Today we’re all in the same boat! Because it’s unlikely you’ve heard of it, but it’s a beautiful story with a wonderful truth. I have a question for you: are there unlikely things that have happened to you? Raise your hand.  Yes, for most of us.

I think of Kevin, my husband. When I met his friends from high school, his friend, Chuck, said, “Man, Kevin, I thought you were the most unlikely person to become a minister!” I had to ask Kevin about that later!  But Kevin settled down and felt a call from God, became a minister, even if he was most unlikely to! Anybody can be a Christian. Our message today is, you’re not fallen and broken, you’re chosen and loved by God.

Mephibosheth’s story starts in 2 Samuel 4:4, it’s maybe 1000 years before Jesus. This is back when David was not king yet. Saul was king, and he had three sons. One son was Jonathan, and he and David were best friends! King Saul didn’t so much like David, he was jealous of him. While in battle against the Philistines, King Saul died, and so did his three sons, including Jonathan, and Saul’s men.

2 Samuel 4:4 says, “Jonathan, son of Saul, had a son who was lame in both feet.” He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.”

So, Saul is King of Israel. His son is Jonathan. Then we’ve got Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son and Saul’s grandson. That verse tells of a terrible tragedy: Mephibosheth’s life was altered at all once: his grandfather, King Saul dies, his father, Jonathan also dies, his nurse picks him up to run, to protect him: but she dropped him! He broke both legs and was crippled for the rest of his life. It’s a bad day for a 5-year-old, and for anybody.

Back then, when you were king or queen, you were always looking over your shoulder. Someone might come along and kill you to become king. So, Mephibosheth’s nurse grabbed him and ran, because she figured whoever the next king is, he doesn’t want any competition from King Saul’s grandson! He will want to kill him. David would likely become king. She thought he would try to kill Mephibosheth.

Mephibosheth probably thought, David was my dad’s friend! He won’t kill me! He’ll take care of me. But people around him were probably telling Mephibosheth, that’s not how things go. You’re an heir to the king, David will want to kill you!” Mephibosheth’s whole world is turned upside down.

And have you ever been there, where life is good, then in an instant, the worst thing happens? You felt healthy, then the next day you get a doctor’s report that is not what you expect. Or maybe it was a relationship you thought would last forever, but it fell apart. And just how you feel in a moment like that, you begin to understand how Mephibosheth felt.

We don’t hear anything about Mephibosheth until 5 chapters later. 2 Samuel 9:1 says, “David asked, ‘Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?’” And he’s told, there is a son of Jonathan, who is lame in both feet.

Why is David asking? Well, when Jonathan was living, in 1 Samuel 20:14 he asked David to show kindness to him and his family forever. David was supposed to be king after Saul, and Jonathan didn’t want himself or his family to be killed! David said sure!

This is now years after Jonathan had died, yet David is remembering his promise to Jonathan, and wondering, is there anybody in Saul’s family I can help? David asks for Mephibosheth to be brought to him. And Mephibosheth maybe has a hope that this is nice David, David who was great friends with his father Jonathan, and he will be kind to him. But he’s been told since he was small, stay away from King David, because he will likely kill you if he sees you! So, Mephibosheth is thinking, this is the day I die!

But then the story takes an unlikely turn. David’s response is quite different than what Mephibosheth is expecting. David says, ⁷“Don’t be afraid, for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.” He didn’t treat Mephibosheth like a threat to be eliminated, or a crippled person to be pitied. His attitude instead for him was, you’re not fallen and broken, you’re chosen and loved by God.

Mephibosheth is relieved and says, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”  Now that’s an awful thing to say about yourself! Mephibosheth is confused, trying to figure out why the king would let me live? Why would the king bless me?

We’re like that sometimes, wondering, “Why would God do anything good for me? I haven’t been doing what I know I should be doing for him. God must be mad at me; he’s going to get me!” You can carry guilt and think God is upset or angry. Just like David had an unlikely outcome for Mephibosheth, God’s desire for you is to bless you and to bring you a hope and a future. You’re not fallen and broken; you’re chosen and loved by God.

David then blesses him. And he doesn’t give Mephibosheth just a shack to live in. He gives him all of King Saul’s land, and everything that had belonged to Saul. He gets a vast amount of property!

2 Samuel 9:11 says, “Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons.” It’s a wonderful story, of unlikely love and grace. We love a story like that when somebody who didn’t deserve all the trouble they got, suddenly ends up being restored!

We love to see the underdog surprise everyone and win! Or when tragedy strikes a family, their home is destroyed in a flood, we love to see people pitch in and help them make it to the day they have a new home.

We love these stories. They are like the story of the little boy Mephibosheth who has his whole world collapse in one day, but one day has a beautiful ending of provision and love. All these stories are about God’s love and care.

It’s all our stories. How at one time or another we felt broken and useless, but God loved us and seated us at his table. We are chosen by God and invited to the feast!

The good news is, by your words and actions, you can be like David and bring the good news to someone who feels they are unlikely to be loved and chosen.

My challenge for you this week. Since all of us are fallen and broken, look at everyone, not from an earthly perspective, but the way God sees them, as his own, who he loves!

Unlikely things happen in life to all of us. The unlikely thing is that God loves us and wants relationship with us. He wants to bless us with peace and joy and adventure, and for us to spend time with him. He welcomes us with open arms! The good news is you are not fallen and broken, you are chosen and loved by God! Amen.