Surrendering to the King’s Kindness

How the Gospel Defies What We Expect from Religion

For the past several decades, my family has spent two weeks every summer at my uncle’s mountain cottage in Monteagle, TN. Totally for free. He won’t even let me pay the cleaning fee. It’s a kindness for which I am perpetually grateful.

2 Samuel 9 is a true story about a man named Mephibosheth who receives a far greater kindness. And let’s be sure to emphasize this: he receives. He does not earn or deserve the kindness he is shown. And neither do we.

This is important because what we discover in this passage is something about the heart of God that some of us have never known and some of us need to remember.

It may be helpful to have a bit of background before we dive in.

Saul became the first king of Israel in 1050 B.C. Forty years later, Saul and his son Jonathan were killed in a battle with the Philistines. David, a former shepherd who gained fame by defeating Goliath, was made King of the southern tribes of Israel, while, Saul’s other son, Ish-Bosheth, claimed kingship over the northern tribes, resulting in a long and costly civil war. By the time of 2 Samuel 9, Ish-Bosheth is dead and the civil war is over. David is the uncontested king over all Israel.