In our continuing saga of King David, Mephibosheth, and the gentile servant Tziva…
Let’s take a quick look at an excerpt from 2nd Samuel Chapter 16.
Here’s some context.
The situation is that David’s son Avshalom has rebelled against David and tried to take over the throne of Israel.
I’m talking about a coup here, folks.
To a degree, Avshalom has succeeded, and David is now on the run.
So with that context in mind, let’s read 2nd Samuel 16:1-4:
“When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Tziva, the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs, and a skin of wine.
The king asked Tziva, “Why have you brought these?”
Tziva answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”
The king then asked, “Where is your master’s grandson?”
Tziva said to him, “He is staying in Jerusalem, because he thinks, ‘Today the Israelites will restore to me my grandfather’s kingdom.’”
Then the king said to Tziva, “All that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.”
“I humbly bow,” Tziva said. “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.”
Hmm…this is interesting.
The same cast of characters reappears.
Tziva, the gentile servant (now serving Mephibosheth in a complete role reversal) comes to David bearing gifts and supplies.
He informs David that Mephibosheth chose not to come, implying that the king was betrayed.
Instead of supporting the king when he needed it most, Mephibosheth decided not to honor David.
But Tziva?
Well, this gentile homie seemed to have stepped up…
And in a show of good faith, he visited David bearing gifts.
Infuriated, King David announces to Tziva:
“Everything that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours!”
Now, I know what you’re thinking.
Wait a second—doesn’t this go against what I explained?
Doesn’t this sound like the Replacement Theology many churches teach today?
That God rejected Israel and gave all His promises to the Gentile church instead?
In other words, at the SOD level of prophetic interpretation, it would appear that Messiah is saying:
“Since the Gentile church is more faithful than my own people, Israel…
I’m taking everything away from the Jews and giving it to the Gentiles.”
If you’re a Christian, that line should sound familiar.
Because that’s probably what you were taught in church.
It’s this very belief that fuels so much hatred and disrespect toward the Jewish people…
And the idea that they have no right to the Land of Canaan!
Now, to be honest, if the story ended here, it’d be difficult to rebut that that’s what this passage is saying…
Or at least strongly implying.
But what if there’s more than meets the eye here?
What if Tziva, who is presenting himself as righteous, isn’t being completely truthful?
What if he actually betrayed Mephibosheth and lied about that to David?
Well then, we’ve gotta a different story on our hands, don’t we?
When we dig a little deeper…
I think you’ll find that just might be the case.
We’ll find out the next time we meet.
Leave a Reply