I’m about to explain how Tziva and Mephibosheth’s relationship with King David points to Yeshua’s future relationship with His own people, the Jews, and with the eventual grafting in of the gentile church.
However, before we get into the meat of our discussion, let’s review just who Mephibosheth and Tziva are, starting with Mephibosheth.
So who was Mephibosheth?
He was the crippled grandson of King Saul.
He was also the son of David’s close friend Jonathan.
Mephibosheth was in hiding when David first took the throne.
It was common practice for kings when they assumed power to kill off all remaining members of their opponent’s family.
So Mephibosheth feared for his life.
But his fears were all for naught.
David had such reverence for Saul’s position as the first anointed King of Israel…
And such love for Jonathan (Mephibosheth’s father), who had shown him so much kindness to the point of even betraying his father (King Saul)...
That he made a vow to Jonathan that he would never kill off any of his lineage.
Hence, that’s why David took Mephibosheth in and treated him as a royal family member.
That’s Mephibosheth’s story in a nutshell.
So what about Tziva?
The first thing you need to know is that this sneaky homie wasn’t an Israelite.
This homie was a gentile.
But after King Saul, his sons, and almost his whole family were wiped out in battle against the Philistines, guess who got left in charge of Saul’s giant estate?
That’s right, folks!
Tziva did.
For a short period, Saul’s only surviving son, Ishbosheth, became king.
But then he got killed too.
That meant the Tribe of Benjamin had no one left to claim the throne.
So, literally overnight, Tziva went from a servant managing the estate to owning the whole darn thing!
He had literally just hit the jackpot!
Or so he thought.
When David brought Mephibosheth back from hiding, he handed him Saul’s old estate and told Tziva, “From now on, Mephibosheth will be your master.”
Well, I think you can imagine how that went over with Tziva.
He obviously wasn’t too happy with this new arrangement…
Especially after he thought he had just won the lottery.
So, instead of serving faithfully, he started scheming.
He wanted Mephibosheth pushed aside so he could enjoy the power and wealth he got a taste of after Ishbosheth’s death.
Then Absalom’s rebellion arrived.
This pushed David off the throne, and Tziva saw his chance to trample over Mephibosheth and seize back power for himself.
Recall the scene when David was walking up toward the Mount of Olives.
Do you remember who showed up with donkeys loaded with food and wine?
That’s right.
It was Tziva.
He wanted to demonstrate his loyalty to David by bearing gifts.
But it was all pretense.
David immediately asked him why Mephibosheth didn’t come out to pay his respects on such a sad occasion.
Tziva replied with an outright lie.
He told David that Mephiboshesh was in high spirits because he believed the throne would now be restored to his tribe of Benjamin
David was furious.
Insulted, he snapped and told Tziva, “Everything that used to belong to Mephibosheth is now yours.”
So that’s where we’re at in the story of Tziva and Mephibosheth.
Before moving on, I wanted to make sure we got all our facts straight.
Alrighty, since that was a mouthful, we’ll stop here.
But not before I leave you with today’s juicy takeaway.
So here’s the lesson I got for you.
The bottom line?
Don’t let pride and greed overtake your soul.
Tziva thought he had hit the jackpot.
But instead of being thankful for what he had…
This gentile homie schemed for more.
As we’re gonna see, that kind of heart always leads to trouble.
Remember, in this life, we never really own anything.
We simply lease all of our belongings until our death.
Then our estate gets passed on to the next dude.
So stop drooling over the world’s possessions as that gentile Tziva did.
Ya feel me?
Done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Therefore, do not be anxious, saying,
‘What shall we eat?’
or ‘What shall we drink?’
or ‘What shall we wear?’
For the Gentiles seek after all these things,
and your heavenly Father knows
that you need them all.
But seek first the kingdom of God
and his righteousness,
and all these things will be added to you.”
-Matthew 6:31-33
“Now this I say and testify in the Lord,
that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do,
in the futility of their minds.
They are darkened in their understanding,
alienated from the life of God
because of the ignorance that is in them,
due to their hardness of heart.
They have become callous and
have given themselves up to sensuality,
greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
But that is not the way you learned Messiah!
—assuming that you have heard about him
and were taught in him,
as the truth is in Yeshua,
to put off your old self,
which belongs to your former manner
of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
and to put on the new self,
created after the likeness of God
in true righteousness and holiness.”
-Ephesians 4:17-24
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