Are you familiar with the four levels of Jewish Biblical exegesis?
They are:
Peshat (פְּשָׁט) – The simple, literal meaning.
Remez (רֶמֶז) – The hinted or allegorical meaning.
Derash (דְּרַשׁ) – The deeper, homiletical meaning derived through comparison and interpretation.
Sod (סוֹד) – The mystical or hidden meaning.
Let’s talk about the Sod level of interpretation for a second.
This level refers to the deep, secret, or mystical understanding of Scripture.
It often deals with spiritual truths, esoteric meanings, and hidden connections that go beyond the surface text.
Now here’s the thing.
This Sod level is NOT accessible to everyone.
In fact, Jewish tradition teaches that Sod should only be studied by those who are spiritually mature and well-grounded in the Torah.
The Apostle Paul also wrote about this using a milk and meat metaphor.
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers,
you need someone to teach you again
the basic principles of the oracles of God.
You need milk, not solid food,
for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled
in the word of righteousness,
since he is a child.
But solid food is for the mature,
for those who have their powers of discernment
trained by constant practice
to distinguish good from evil.”
-Hebrews 5:12-14
Unfortunately, most folks, including most gentile pastors, preachers, and teachers are still subsisting on milk and still unable to handle the nutritious meat of the Word.
Now why do I bring this up?
Because embedded within 2nd Samuel Chapter 9 is an incredible God-pattern and prophecy.
This has a DIRECT impact on you as a believer today!
But it can only be understood at the Sod level of interpretation.
See, on the surface, this chapter seems to be a simple story about how King David kept his covenant promise to Jonathan by caring for his crippled son Mephiboshesh.
However, beneath the surface lies a hidden warning that could only have been recognized after the Messiah’s coming and the birth of the church.
I believe the time is now ripe for this cautionary message to be revealed.
And to give credit where credit is due, I got this information from Tom Bradford’s Torah Class on the topic.
So let’s get our bearings.
First, King David asks Tziva (the one managing Saul’s estate) if any of Saul’s family is still alive.
Again, he’s inquiring because over 20 years ago, he made a promise before God to show kindness to Saul’s and Jonathan’s descendants once he became king.
However, the real implication behind David’s question is this:
“If someone from Saul’s family is still alive, why isn’t he running the estate instead of some gentile servant named Tziva?
I’ve already shared the shocking backstory about how most of Saul’s family was wiped out by the Gibeonites in a classic Middle Eastern revenge killing.
Even though David didn’t do the killing himself, he approved it.
But he made one rule:
Don’t touch Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son.
This was to preserve Saul’s family line.
Still, Mephibosheth knew the Gibeonites wouldn’t stop until he was dead—it was a matter of honor for them.
So, he fled and hid with the clan of Makhir in the tribe of Manasseh, across the Jordan, outside the Promised Land.
Now, when Tziva told David that Mephibosheth was alive and well, he was ordered to bring him to the City of David.
In response, Tziva pointed out that Mephibosheth was crippled.
Remember, back then, being crippled or blind was seen as a curse from God.
But King David didn’t care.
He made it clear that despite his condition, Mephiboshesh was welcome back in the Promised Land…
And that he would live in Jerusalem under his royal protection.
On top of that, control over Saul’s estate was gonna be turned over to Mephibosheth.
And in a twist of fate…
Tziva would now be his servant!
From now on, Tziva and his men would have to work the land to provide for Mephibosheth’s family and any remaining relatives of Saul.
Tziva said he had no problems with the new arrangements…
But then he had to add one other little thing:
“Mephibosheth has been eating at my table this whole time.”
Translation:
“As the guy in charge,
I’ve been taking care of Mephibosheth
and making sure he wasn’t left to struggle.”
What freakin’ arrogance!
Why?
Because he didn’t own Saul’s estate.
He only benefited from it by chance…
Not because he earned it…
And not because he had any legal claim to it.
The only reason Tziva was able to enjoy this royal Hebrew estate was because of David’s kindness.
The king of Israel allowed this gentile to enjoy what was an Israelite possession (owned by Saul’s family).
Now to be fair, Tziva had done a decent job taking care of the estate.
He wasn’t necessarily an evil guy…
Or an enemy to David.
But he had become a little too full of himself…
And to a degree, he did take advantage of what was a Hebrew inheritance.
So, even though David gave Mephibosheth back his rightful inheritance…
He didn’t punish Tziva.
Instead, he simply returned things to their proper divine order.
Mephibosheth, the true heir, became the rightful owner of the land…
And Tziva, the gentile, stayed on as a caretaker…
But no longer with the power or control he’d previously had.
Yesterday, I showed you how this was directly connected to Paul’s letter to the Romans (chapter 11)…
This connection was pretty clear to me…
But some folks accused me of pulling Scriptures out of context,
I even had one homie, apparently a professor at some Bible college out in Florida tell me…
“…you might put true Christianity in God/s perspective, and not yours using scriptures out of context to fit your own and please watch your attitude and language!”
I get it.
Not everybody’s gonna grasp this.
As I said, it has to be understood at the Sod level of interpretation.
Unfortunately for that disgruntled fellow who accused me of twisting the Apostle Paul’s words, things are about to get a lot worse.
Why?
Because I’m positive this is a prophecy and God pattern that shows the relationship between Hebrews and Gentiles (especially the gentile Christian Church).
It also gives us a glimpse of the Jews returning to their land inheritance after being exiled by the Romans.
So using the Sod method of interpretation…
Let me break down this prophecy embedded in 2 Samuel Chapter 9 for you in super easy-to-understand terms.
FIRST, David represents Messiah Yeshua.
SECOND, Mephibosheth represents the exiled Israelites (or the Jews living in the diaspora today).
THIRD, Tziva represents the Gentile Christian Church.
FOURTH, Mephibosheth returning from hiding in the Trans-Jordan to Jerusalem is equivalent to the Jews returning home to their Promised Land after being scattered and living under gentile rule.
What’s that?
“Preposterous!” you say?
Well, stay tuned.
The next time we meet, I’m gonna flesh this out big time…
It’s gonna be DEVASTATING.
If you in any way hold to this idea that the Christian church has somehow replaced Israel…
And read what I’m going to share tomorrow…
You may never, and I mean NEVER recover.
See ya all next time.
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