Jonathan's son Mephibosheth eating at David's table: a picture of you and I in Christ today.

Believers, remember those two disciples (Cleopas and his companion) on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24? They were sad because they felt all hope was lost since Jesus had been crucified. They did not recognize our Lord Jesus on the way. Here's what our Saviour did on the way:

"27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures."

There was no New Testament at this time. Christ taught them about Himself from the Old Testament. And the result? See verse 32: "They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

Believers, the Old Testament is filled with faith pictures of our Saviour Jesus Christ and our salvation in Him. For every demand made of us by the Law, He is the Supply. He overpaid it all.

See our Salvation (Jesus Christ) brought out of the shadows in the story of David (a picture of God the Father) who cut a covenant with his beloved Jonathan (a picture of Jesus Christ who came to save the world as the Son of Man.)

Remember in the Book of Genesis God cut a covenant with Abraham. But He put Abraham to sleep when the time came to seal the pact as Abraham would never have been able to uphold his end of the covenant. Christ took Abraham's (and our) place and died the death that we all should die.

Back to David's covenant with Jonathan. See 1 Samuel 20:42:

"At last Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn loyalty to each other in the Lord’s name. The Lord is the witness of a bond between us and our children forever.” Then David left, and Jonathan returned to the town."

This "forever" covenant between David and Jonathan is a picture of the "forever" covenant that we have with God our heavenly Father through Jesus Christ. Just as Jonathan's son Mephibosheth was a beneficiary of the covenant blessings only through Jonathan and not by anything that he did, we who are in Christ are beneficiaries of God's covenant blessings only through Christ Jesus our Saviour.

Saul (a picture of Adam and all mankind) and his son Jonathan died. Jonathan left a son behind- Mephibosheth (a picture of the world that God so loved.) When Saul's house heard that Saul was dead, they feared for their lives. Was this not David that their father Saul had tried to kill several times? They had no idea about the sorrow in David's heart at the news of the death of Saul and his beloved Jonathan. They thought David was coming to unleash his wrath on them. So they fled. This is a picture of many who profess Christ today thinking that God is still angry with them and wants to punish them for their sins and those of their fathers when all He wants to do is pour out His love and save.

With sycophants going around killing Saul's family members in the name of David and against David's wishes, even Joab, David's army captain, who murdered Abner of the house of Saul for his own personal vendetta (see 2 Samuel 3,) Saul's family members were certain that David wanted to kill them. How wrong they were.

Joab misrepresented David to the house of Saul with his killing of Abner, the same way many preachers today wrongly present God as a hard, angry Taskmaster who is just waiting to catch you in sin and whose desire is to rain punishment on the sinner. David's heart was to bless Saul's house just as God's heart is to bless mankind. He does not want any to perish but He wants us to have everlasting life. He gave His own Son to die for us because He loved us so. 

But because of the preaching of a mixed message that is neither law nor grace (neither cold nor hot) by false preachers in many churches today, many churchgoers are oblivious of God's love for them and His desire to save the world from a well-deserved judgment in that He gave His own Son to die for us. Such preachers wield the letter that kills (law) and throw accusations like Satan the Accuser right from the pulpit, killing their congregation softly with the law that they tell them to "obey, or else...." and threats of God's wrath for failure to obey. Such never point you to Christ as Saviour from sins. They tell you to save yourself from your sins, or else. These killers are those who condemn the sinner that God loves and sent His Son to save, even salvation from sins.

But David (a picture of God the Father) killed all those who came to give him the "good news" that Saul (mankind) was dead or to tell him that they had a hand in the death of Saul and his sons. See his response to two such men who killed one of Saul's sons in his sleep in 2 Samuel 4:9-11.

"9 David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, 10 when someone told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news! 11 How much more—when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed—should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!”12 So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them."

It is not God's wish for mankind, even the wicked, to perish but for all to have everlasting life in Christ. God does not delight in judgment. He delights in mercy.

Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth (a picture of the world that God so loved) was dropped by his nurse as they were fleeing from David that was not even in pursuit and the boy became lame in both feet. This is a picture of trying to escape God's punishment by our own efforts aka trying to obey the law to be godly, the various "fast and deliverance sessions" and good works done to escape punishment and to get right with God. This is being under law. It has dire consequences. Romans 7:5 says having this old nature, being under law and not under grace, leads to producing "a harvest of sinful deeds that result in death." The letter kills.

So Mephibosheth became lame in both feet: a picture of our sins and imperfections and their consequences. Remember he became lame because he was trying to escape the wrath of a David (a picture of God) that was not even in pursuit. This is a picture of believers trying to obey the law in order to be godly and doing all sorts in order to escape God's wrath or get His blessings. Romans 5:9 tells us-

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

Also Romans 8:32- "He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"

Mephibosheth the lame forgot or had no idea about the covenant that his father Jonathan (a picture of Christ) had with David (a picture of God the Father.) Likewise, many churchgoers are unaware of how God sees the body of Christ as righteous because of His sacrifice for us; how, because of His sacrifice, we will never experience the wrath of God and how with Christ, God gives us all things FREELY.

Mephibosheth was lame in both feet. Imagine him hearing that the one he fled from (David) hates the blind and the lame, a rumour that started when David and his men attacked the Jebusites to conquer Jerusalem. See 2 Samuel 5-

6 "David then led his men to Jerusalem to fight against the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the land who were living there. The Jebusites taunted David, saying, “You’ll never get in here! Even the blind and lame could keep you out!” For the Jebusites thought they were safe. 7 But David captured the fortress of Zion, which is now called the City of David. 8 On the day of the attack, David said to his troops, “I hate those ‘lame’ and ‘blind’ Jebusites. Whoever attacks them should strike by going into the city through the water tunnel.” That is the origin of the saying, “The blind and the lame may not enter the house.”"

David only used the words "blind" and "lame" in a sarcastic manner because the Jebusites taunted him with those exact words, but people started peddling the false rumour that he hated the blind and the lame to the extent that “The blind and the lame may not enter the house” became a saying in Israel.

For us today, the blind and the lame in David's story represents sinners/imperfect people - aka all mankind: see Romans 3:23 - "23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, "

Today, right inside the church, the descendants of those false rumour-mongers ignore verse 24 above and are still saying that “The blind and the lame may not enter the house” aka you cannot come to freely receive from God through Jesus Christ His Son because of your sins and imperfections. Like the chief priests and scribes, such say that God (typified by David in his story) hates the world/sinners because of their many sins and imperfections. Such contradict the most popular Bible verse: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." John 3:16.

Lame Mephibosheth (here, a picture of the sinner) the son of Jonathan (a picture of Christ) knew that twice over, there was no hope for him with David (a picture of God the Father.) He was of the house of Saul (just as Adam's sin made all of his descendants sinners - see Romans 5:19) and he was lame in both feet, not even just one foot (imperfect- all have sinned.) The message he heard was that David's wrath will fall on him if he does not do something to save himself, much like what we hear in many of our churches today. Many in the church today think that God is out to condemn and punish the sinner for his sins. But we see the truth about our God in Matthew 1:21- He sent His own beloved Son to save us from our sins because He so loved us:

She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21.

See what is written of the Root and Offspring of David concerning the blind and the lame in Matthew 21:14 -

"The blind and the lame came to Him in the Temple, and He healed them. 15 The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.”

Like David whose heart was to bless Jonathan, God's heart is to heal the lame and the blind (save His people from their sins) and He sent Jesus Christ the Son of David to do just that. But false preachers teach that His heart is to punish the sinner for his sins. Like lame Mephibosheth who thought David hated the lame, many are being led to believe that God wants nothing to do with them because of their sins and imperfections. No friend! God gave His own Son to save us from our sins and imperfections! He knows we cannot obey the law or overcome sins by human effort! Those who think they can "at least try" to not commit some simple sins have no idea that the reason why we are not committing particular sins is because we have not been tempted beyond what we can bear in those areas.

Recall that Mephibosheth became lame as he was trying to escape punishment from David whose heart was to bless the house of Saul. Carried by his nurse (a picture of preachers who preach escaping God's wrath by human effort at doing things,) he was made lame and cut off from David. This is what happens when one is trying to obey the law in order to be godly and so escape God's wrath:

"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace." Galatians 5:4.

Because of the wrong opinion that lame Mephibosheth had about David, he was cut off from David and dwelt in a place called "Lo Debar" meaning "no word/pasture" or "not having."

But see our Abba Father's heart for the world that He so loved: David (a picture of God the Father) remembered his covenant with Jonathan (a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ who died for our sins.) God always remembers the covenant He cut with Christ on our behalf. The New Covenant that makes we who are in Christ a new creation. In 2 Samuel 9:9 David asked,

“Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

Many of us do not yet realise that our invitation to eat at the Lord's table is ONLY because of the covenant that we have with God through our Saviour Jesus Christ. It is for Christ's sake ONLY that God saves us and shows us kindness, not because of our filthy rags righteousnesses from keeping the law and our carnal (fleshly/human) efforts at pleasing Him or avoiding His wrath, which will only cause lameness (remember Mephibosheth fell while trying to escape David's wrath) and death! See Romans 7:5.

Remember at the time of David's remembrance, Mephibosheth was dwelling in Lo Debar, meaning "not having" or "no pasture." Remember Psalms 23's first few lines- "He makes me lie down in green pastures"? Mephibosheth "lacked" when he should not have lacked and had no pasture to lie down in talk less of "green pastures" because he was not made aware of or he forgot the covenant that David had with his father, Jonathan. He was under a constant cloud of fear that David would visit punishment on him for being a grandson of Saul and for being lame, much like how many Christians today are more conscious of God's anger and their sins than they are about the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Mephibosheth thought David was out to punish him but his enjoyment of David's grace was not based on what he did. It was based on Jonathan's relationship David. Believers, this is a shadow and type of the covenant that we (today's Mephibosheths, borne of Adam and having sinned) have with our Lord God through our Saviour Jesus Christ. In Christ, we are a new creation. The Lord is our Shepherd. We sheep can do nothing without Him. Please beware of such who teach that your salvation, including the Rapture, is in your own hands, based on what you do and not what Christ has done. If it was up to us, no one will make it. God cannot lie. The arm of flesh will fail.

The account of the meeting between David and Mephibosheth is in 2 Samuel 9. See verse 7-8-

“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “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.” 8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?"

This is a picture of God's grace - undeserved, unmerited favour through Christ and Christ alone. After David gave him all that he promised,

13 "And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet."

But wait. Shouldn't verse 13 read the reverse? Shouldn't it be: "Mephibosheth always ate at the king's table because he lived in Jerusalem?" How can always eating at the king’s table cause him to live in Jerusalem?

Living in Jerusalem is a picture of our salvation in Christ, our holiness and our living a righteous life. Many believers think we must first be holy and live right by our own efforts in order to eat at the Lord's table. Not so! Eating at the Lord's table, being conscious of His presence and love for us, is what causes us to live right. When you continue to eat at His table, even with your lameness (sins, addictions, oppression) you will be made whole! This is the story of all who received from Him when He walked the earth. From Zacchaeus the thieving tax collector to the woman with the issue of blood.

Again, 13 "And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet."

Mephibosheth who was lame in both feet ate at the king's table because of Jonathan; likewise we who believe in Jesus Christ have been made right with God by Christ's sacrifice, even with our many imperfections and sins:

"And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins." Romans 5:16.

But with God's free gift of righteousness through Christ, we never remain the same. The very next verse (17) of the same Romans 5 says:

17 "For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ."

We don't get good to get Christ; we get Christ to get good, His kind of good! This is Grace- undeserved, unmerited favour. He saves from sin and death.

So many more faith pictured of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Old Testament: see God's love revealed in His sacrifice of His own Son for us in the story of Abraham and Isaac; the church as the bride of Christ in the story of Boaz and Ruth the Moabitess, a woman from a cursed people; our Lord God's abundance of grace to Zerubbabel and His gift to righteousness to Joshua the high priest that enabled them complete the Temple of God - the very same gifts that we have in Christ through whom we reign in life; and the Ark of the Covenant, Christ Himself! Christ (the real Ark of God) dwells in us today. In Christ, we are the Temple of God!

The Holy Spirit will teach you all things.

Believe Right and you will Live Right.