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II Samuel
Chapter
9
"Is
there anyone left in the dynasty/house of Saul,
2a~~Now
there was a steward in the castle of Saul {Note: Ziba was a master of the art of flattery. He is the villain of the chapter. He was crafty and the master of 'CYA' (cover your anterior-portion).}
2b~~And
when they had called him unto David,
And
he said, "Your servant."
3~~And
the king said,
And
Ziba said unto the king,
4~~And
the king said unto him, "Where is he?"
5~~
Then king David sent, {Note: Machir was a very wealthy man. But he more importantly was a man of honor. He took in Mephibosheth without regard for how he could 'use' him (the last member of Saul's line). He protected him and took care of him. He is in great contrast to the personality of Ziba.}
6a~~And,
Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, 6b~~And David said, "Mephibosheth."
And
he answered,
7~~And
David said to him,
Because
I will manufacture grace to you
8~~Again
he {Mephibosheth} prostrated himself, and said, {Note: A dog was the lowest creature of this day (today we would say a 'dead skunk') - dogs were scavengers - eating garbage - traveling in packs, and killed many humans.} {Note: People who are in the habit of doing something - do it under pressure - Mephibosheth was used to falling apart - so he did it here again regardless of his royal blood and upbringing - no poise, dignity etc.} {Note: Many people use their handicap as an 'excuse'. For a believer in Jesus Christ, there are no excuses. Yes, their testing is great, but they have the tools available to deal with the obstacles. It is the mental attitude that makes the difference. Self-pity is never the order of the day.}
9-10~~Then
the king called to Ziba,
(Now
Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty foreman/"major domo's"/managers.)
11a~~Then
Ziba replied the king, {Note: This is not apparent, but this is double-talk. He is going to try to finagle and get around this command.}
11b~~Therefore,
Mephibosheth dined at the king's table
12~~And
Mephibosheth had a young son,
And
all that lived in the house of Ziba
13a~~Consequently
Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem 13b~~Furthermore, he was lame in both feet. {Note: Why mention his handicap again? First, the implication is he is no longer lame in his soul. With doctrine you can live with any handicap. Without doctrine you can not. Now he is living a normal life.}
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