2 Samuel 19:24–30

Now Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. And he had not cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he returned in peace. So it was, when he had come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?”

And he answered, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me. For your servant said, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself, that I may ride on it and go to the king,’ because your servant is lame. And he has slandered your servant to my lord the king, but my lord the king is like the angel of God. Therefore do what is good in your eyes. For all my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king. Yet you set your servant among those who eat at your own table. Therefore what right have I still to cry out anymore to the king?”

So the king said to him, “Why do you speak any more of your matters? I have said, ‘You and Ziba divide the land.’ ”

Then Mephibosheth said to the king, “Rather, let him take it all, inasmuch as my lord the king has come back in peace to his own house.”

The instant David lays eyes on Mephibosheth, he knows something’s wrong. He’s a wreck. Was Ziba lying when he said that Mephibosheth chose to stay in Jerusalem?

Then the king said, “And where is your master’s son?”
And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me.’ ” — 2 Samuel 16:3

Mephibosheth’s condition proves that he’s been mourning, rather than anticipating coronation. You can’t fake having not shaved for months.

Still, David is willing to let Ziba keep half of Mephibosheth’s land, and Mephibosheth is happy to let him have it all. He doesn’t need it anyway; he’ll be eating at the king’s table.

The spirit of pardon is catching.

Mephibosheth’s response is amazingly mature. There’s nothing Mephibosheth can actually do with his land. His ownership only provides some form of financial security.

But he doesn’t need financial security; he has it in David. Thus, he doesn’t care about his land.

It’s hard to let go of a valuable possession, even if you know you can’t use it. We just can’t seem to think clearly about these things.

Mephibosheth’s rational attitude towards material possessions is an example for us all.

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These weekday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. Saturdays' by Matt Richardson. Subscribe here: https://www.ailbe.org/resources/community

The weekly study guides, which include questions for discussion or meditation, are here: https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.