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II Samuel

Chapter 9

{Blessings By Association}
1~~Then David said,

"Is there anyone left in the dynasty/house of Saul,
that I may manufacture
  {`asah - out of maximum doctrine in his soul}
grace {checed} for the sake of Jonathan?

2a~~Now there was a steward in the castle of Saul
whose name was Ziba.

{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,
the king said unto him, "Are you Ziba?"

And he said, "Your servant."
  {NOT the polite version - see verse 6b 'Behold your servant' is the
  polite address before the king}

3~~And the king said,
"Is there anyone left in the dynasty/house of Saul,
that I may manufacture
  {`asah - out of maximum doctrine in his soul}
grace {checed} of 'Elohiym/Godhead toward him?"

And Ziba said unto the king,
"Jonathan has yet a son, who is lame in both feet."
  {Mephibosheth was introduced in II Samuel 4:4}

4~~And the king said unto him, "Where is he?"

And Ziba said unto the king,
'Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar."

5~~ Then king David sent,
and fetched him out of the house of Machir,
the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.

{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,
was come unto David, he fell on his face,
and 'prostrated himself'/'humbled himself' {shachah - Hithpael stem}
  {normally in this stem means to worship - did reverence - but this
  is showing he is in bad condition spiritually - as we will see in
  what he says - he comes here thinking he is going to be
  executed by the king because of his claim to the throne of Saul
  - a physically and spiritually broken man}.

6b~~And David said, "Mephibosheth."

And he answered,
"Behold your servant {a polite response - protocol before the king}!"

7~~And David said to him,
"You will not fear me.

Because I will manufacture grace to you
for the sake of Jonathan, your father,
and will restore you all the land of Saul your grandfather;
and you shall eat at my table continually."
  {for a person expecting the firing squad this is quite a switch
  this is sharing the grace of David because of David's friendship
  with his father Jonathan - Grace by Association - God intends
  that the mature will take care of the helpless}

8~~Again he {Mephibosheth} prostrated himself, and said,
"What is your servant . . .
that you should regard/'turn your face at' a dead dog like me?"

{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,
Saul's steward {Saul's major domo},
and said unto him,
"All . . . {everything Ziba had apparently stolen from Saul}
that belonged to Saul and to his estates
I have given/decreed to your master's grandson.10~~

Both you {Ziba} and your sons, and your "major domo's",
shall cultivate the land for him
  {Ziba has been profiting off of Saul's land while
  Mephibosheth lived off of the charity of Machir - now
  Ziba will work for him - for his profit!}
and you shall bring in the harvest,
so that your master's grandson may have a livelihood
but Mephibosheth, your master's grandson,
  {even now after Saul's death, David recognizes Saul's authority
  given to him by God}
shall eat at my table continually."

(Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty foreman/"major domo's"/managers.)
  {Apparently Saul's estates were divided into 20 major sections all
  controlled by Ziba for Ziba and his family}

11a~~Then Ziba replied the king,
"According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant,
so your servant will do
  {not the servant of Saul - so Ziba never recognized Saul's
  authority - he only recognizes his own authority to use authority
  - a revolutionist at heart}."

{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
as one of the king's sons.

12~~And Mephibosheth had a young son,
whose name was Micha {Miyka'}.

And all that lived in the house of Ziba
were servants unto Mephibosheth.

13a~~Consequently Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem
for he did eat at the king's table continually.

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.}