“David inquired, ‘Is there anyone still alive from the family of Sha’ul, to whom, for Y’honatan’s sake, I can show kindness?’”-2 Samuel 9:1
So let’s get our bearings on where we’re at.
2nd Samuel Chapter 9 is all about David’s faithfulness to a vow he made before the Lord concerning Jonathan’s descendants.
In this case, the descendant was Mephibosheth.
Recall, as an infant, Mephibosheth was crippled for life when his nurse, fleeing in panic from David’s men, dropped him.
What set off the wave of panic was that David’s top commander, Yo’av, murdered Avner.
Amid the chaos, baby Mephibosheth fell and was left permanently disabled—likely due to a spinal injury.
When David heard about it, he probably felt a little guilty, maybe even responsible for what happened.
Fast forward to where we’re currently at in the Scripture…
Out of the blue, we now have David asking his royal court if anyone from Saul’s family is still alive.
But why now?
Why this sudden concern for any lost members of Saul’s family after nearly 20 years had passed?
Also, come to think of it…
Wouldn’t Michal, David’s wife, and Saul’s daughter, have known if she had any living relatives and their whereabouts?
So why didn’t David just ask her?
Ya feeling me here?
Well, this is one of those times when we have to jump around to another part of Scripture.
Since it’s a bit long, I’m not gonna copy and paste it here.
So click HERE to read verses 2nd Samuel 21:1-14.
This was about a time when Israel suffered a famine for 3 years.
When David asked God why, he learned it was because Saul had broken a sacred promise by killing the Gibeonites, a group Israel had sworn to protect.
When David asked how he could make things right, the Gibeonites told him they didn’t want gold or treasure…
Nor did they have a right to execute anyone in Israel…
But they wanted justice!
In this case, justice took the form of asking for seven of Saul’s male descendants to be handed over so they could be executed.
David agreed but spared Mephibosheth because of his vow to Jonathan.
Another interesting point is if you read till the very end of the chapter, you’ll find that David was still battling with the Philistines.
However, in 2nd Samuel Chapter 8, we’re informed that the Philistines had been defeated.
So what’s going on?
The answer is simple homies.
The events being depicted in 2nd Samuel Chapter 20 took place BEFORE the events recorded in 2nd Samuel 9.
Feeling me?
So now everything makes sense, doesn’t it?
After Saul’s family was nearly wiped out…
David—maybe months or even years later—is now asking…
“Is anyone from Saul’s family still alive?
I want to show kindness for Jonathan’s sake.”
So we see David knew who Mephibosheth was.
That’s why he didn’t allow the Gibeonites to kill him.
But Mephibosheth had vanished.
Given that taking blood revenge was a way of life in those days…
There’s no doubt the Gibeonites wouldn’t stop until they killed him too.
So Mephiboshesh was whisked away to a secret location…
It was so secret even David didn’t know its whereabouts.
We’ll get more into that later.
Anyway, since this is getting long, let’s stop here for the takeaway.
This story reminds us that God’s justice and mercy often unfold in ways we don’t expect.
Even after years had passed, David honored his promise to Jonathan.
This shows that true loyalty isn’t forgotten…
Even when life gets messy.
And here’s the bigger picture:
God’s kindness works the same way.
No matter how lost, hidden, or forgotten we feel…
He remembers His promises.
Just as David searched for Mephibosheth…
God seeks us out…
Not to destroy…
But to restore.
This is His limitless Grace in action.
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