Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - A Story of God's Grace | David in 22 | 2 Samuel 9

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. And I'm Patrick Miller. Right now, we're working through the story of David's life in First and Second Samuel. It's possible whether or not you follow baseball, you know a guy named Cal Ripkin Jr. If you follow baseball, then you for sure know him. He used the Hall of Fame shortstop, played 21 years for the Baltimore Orioles. And what he is mainly known for is his street.

Starting point is 00:00:34 of most consecutive games played. Cal Ripkin went year after year after year after year in which he started and played every single game of the season. He never missed because of injury. He never missed because he needed a day off. He never missed for any reason whatsoever. And so he's one of the most famous, like I said, Hall of Fame baseball players.

Starting point is 00:00:55 If you go back to his rookie baseball card, you find that on that card are two other people. Jeff Schneider and Bob Bonner. Even if you are a rabid baseball fan, you have no idea who Jeff Schneider and Bob Bonner are. So let me give you a picture of this card. It's got three rookies on it. And each has their own kind of up and coming. These are exciting players to watch this year kind of deal. Bob Bonner, Jeff Schneider, Cal Ripkin Jr. That card sells for $1,200. Why? Why? How in the world did Jeff Schneider and Bob Bonner get on a card that's worth that much money? Well, it's not because of anything they did. Their careers were nothing.

Starting point is 00:01:40 The only way they could get into the Hall of Fame is if they bought a ticket like you and me. Now, they are on a baseball card that's worth $1,200 because they're attached to Cal Ripkin, Jr. Today we're going to talk about that grace through the life of a person who has a name that is incredibly difficult for me to pronounce. It's Maphishath. I know I'm going to mess that up. If you're having a kid soon, I would commend the name Maphibishath for you to consider. Maybe you want to have a little Maphibishath running around your house. But let's take one step back before we dive in to what we can learn from his life.

Starting point is 00:02:21 One of the reasons I love the Old Testament is that it teaches us theological concepts through stories, stories that are powerful and beautiful and they draw us in. and we're going to have one of those stories in 2 Samuel 9. It's a story that I think makes grace come alive. And it's all done with this guy with a hard to say name, Maphibisheth. After Saul's death and the end of his kingship, David is the new king. And as expected, he consolidates his power. Now, in the ancient Near East, a new king consolidating his power, that is often a bloody process.

Starting point is 00:02:58 You know, the old king is out and the new king is brought in, and oftentimes the new king gets rid of the whole family of the old king so that they can never pose a threat to him. So the first verse of chapter 9 comes as a surprise. You'd expect David to ask if there's anyone left in Saul's house that he needs to deal with, you don't get rid of. But instead, David asks if there's anyone left in the house of Saul that he can show kind to for Jonathan's sake. Now, the English word kindness doesn't quite do justice to this story. It might be better to think of it as loving kindness or loyalty or grace. In this story, it means

Starting point is 00:03:44 more than just being kind of nice to someone. And it's important to note that in the first verse we learned that David wants to show kindness to someone in the house of Saul for the sake of Jonathan. Quick reminder that Jonathan was the son of King Saul and David's best friend. It's always awkward when your dad, the king, is trying to kill your best friend, but that's the weird world that Jonathan lived in. And all the way back in 1 Samuel 15, David and Jonathan had made a covenant with each other, and David had agreed to show kindness to Jonathan's family when he became king. So now David's king, he's consolidated his power, and he and he, tends to keep that promise that he made. So he says, is there anyone in the house of Saul I can show

Starting point is 00:04:32 kindness to? And this is where Mapheth enters the story. He's one of Jonathan's sons, and we learned that he can't walk. See, earlier in 2nd Samuel, we read that Jonathan and Saul had, when they had died, the nanny who took care of Mephibishath had accidentally dropped him while trying to get him to a safe place, and that fall led to this disability that led to this disability that led to him. left him unable to walk. So we start to get a picture here that David is showing unexpected kindness to someone who can't do anything for him. Now, if you're Maphibibchath and you're a part of the family of the old king that's gone and the new king summons you to come into the court and see him, you're thinking this is really bad news. This is not going to go well for me. But David quickly

Starting point is 00:05:21 puts Maphibishe fears to rest by telling him to not be afraid because David has brought him here, to harm him, but to bless him. And the first thing he does is he gives all of Saul's land to Maphibibishath and says then that he will always eat. Mephishath will always eat at the king's table. In other words, he's going to treat Maphishath as if he's one of his own sons, as if he's adopted into the king's family. And Mapheth asks, what is your servant that you should notice a dead dog like me. Now, we already know the answer to that question, right? David is showing kindness to Maphibishath because of the promise he made to his friend Jonathan. Do you see the picture of God's undeserved kindness of his grace, of his loyalty, of his love? This is a story that highlights the grace

Starting point is 00:06:19 that we receive from God. We receive grace because we are accepted in Jesus. Jesus, we are like Bob Bonner and Jeff Schneider and Mephibishef. God is kind to us because we are connected to Jesus. This story is a beautiful picture of the gospel. First, we see that God seeks us out. Just like David saw it out in Maphibibishath to bless him, so God seeks us out. We would have never have found God on our own. To be honest, we weren't even looking for him. The Bible is clear that we only love God because he first loved us. Two, God saves us because he loves us, not because he needs us. King David did not need Mephivishath. This story makes that clear. Mapheth is a man who can't walk. He's not going to be of use to King David. He has no political power. He has no economic power. He is poor. The only reason he has anything is because

Starting point is 00:07:27 David has been kind and blessed him with land from his family. Maphibishev can offer nothing to David. God blesses us, not because we are good, but because he is kind and good and generous. Three, when we believe the good news of God's grace, we are adopted into his family. Maphibishev was forever seated at the king's table. God loves us like he loves his own son. For God has blessed us in Jesus. Mapheth became rich, not because of anything he'd done, but because of David's kindness.

Starting point is 00:08:11 Reminds me this story that I heard about an old English preacher named Roland Hill. And Roland Hill received 100 pounds from a very generous donor in his community, but it wasn't for Roland Hill. It was for Roland Hill to pass on to a poor minister, a guy who was ministering very faithfully in a small church that didn't have many resources. And so this donor gave the money to Roland Hill that he could pass it on to this poor minister, but Roland Hill thought, a hundred pounds, that's too much to give all at one time. And so what he did is he would give the poor minister five pounds at a time. And each time he gave him five pounds, there would be a note on it that said,

Starting point is 00:08:54 more to follow. Five pounds, more to follow. Next week, five pounds, more to follow. Next week, more to follow. And the poor preacher that was receiving all this became so encouraged and filled with joy because he had something to look forward to that this money was going to keep coming. and he need it so badly. That's a picture of God's grace to us.

Starting point is 00:09:21 There's always more to follow. But unlike the story, God never runs out of grace. See, in the story, eventually the 100 pounds was going to be transferred from the donor, through Roland Hill, to the poor preacher, and it was going to be over. But God's grace is inexhaustible. It never runs out. There is always more to follow. Five, all of this is because of Jesus.

Starting point is 00:09:50 David did not bless Maphibibchath because he's a good guy. Not because he could do anything for him. No, he only blessed him because he'd made a promise to Jonathan. All the grace and mercy that comes to us in our life is not because we're good people who are our act together and who work hard and who make good choices. No, that's crazy. It's only because God sees us as being in, his son, Jesus. All God's favor toward us comes to us because God loves his son and is promised to

Starting point is 00:10:24 forgive and restore and bless all those who believe in him. The gospel is the good news that in Jesus we've been forgiven. In Jesus, we are adopted into God's family. In Jesus, we are loved. In Jesus, we are blessed. God shows His grace to us not because of who we are, but because of who Jesus is. And the best thing about God's grace is that it is endless and eternal. It never runs out. It's inexhaustible. There's always more to follow. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating. That helps others find this podcast more easily. Also ask yourself who you could share this podcast with. Texting an episode to a friend or family member, is a great way to help them grow spiritually.

Starting point is 00:11:16 If you want to go deeper, check out our show notes for book recommendations.

Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - A Story of God's Grace | David in 22 | 2 Samuel 9

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