A “Dead Dog?”

The story of Mephibosheth is a story of tragedy, trial, and deprivation.  It is also a story of God’s unmerited and unconditional love and Grace.

This wonderful true story starts out with the covenant made between David and Jonathan. Jonathan was Saul’s son, and David and Jonathan were the closest of friends, so close in fact, they made a covenant of love with each other.

Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. (I Samuel 18:3)

Now I am not anywhere close to being a theologian, but my understanding of covenant is it being a solemn agreement between two partners. If you think of the covenant we call marriage, you will understand what I am trying to convey.

The covenant David made with Jonathan was no light agreement. In fact, it is really quite amazing, when you take a closer look as to what their covenant consisted of!

In the covenant ceremony the two parties would take an animal and cut it into four pieces. Each covenant partner would then take their turn walking through the pieces of the broken animal. They would walk in the form of a figure eight (If you take the number 8 and lay it on it‘s side it is the symbol for infinity, or eternity). While they were walking through the broken pieces they would also recite the terms of the covenant. They would recite the covenant blessings, curses, benefits, and liabilities. And in doing this, they were making an eternal agreement with one another that if they ever broke covenant, they would be as the animal pieces they were walking through. This is why you sometimes read the phrase in the Bible, “lest ye be torn to pieces.” It literally means “if you ever break this eternal covenant, let this same thing happen to you as what happened to this animal!”

One of the most amazing things that happens in covenant is the exchange made between the covenant partners! The core of the covenant is when the partners agree to a life exchange. Which means all of the assets, debts, and liabilities of one now become the others, and vice versa.

David and Jonathan agreed to exchange their lives in the covenant they made with one another. Which meant, all of David’s assets, debts, and liabilities became Jonathan’s and all of Jonathan’ assets, debts, and liabilities became David’s. This is very important, as we will see how this covenant they made with each other affects us today.

A strange twist in the story of Jonathan and David was Jonathan’s father, King Saul. King Saul, who was also Jonathan’s father, was jealous of the anointing that David had been given by God. In fact, he was so jealous of David that he hunted him for several years. He finally became so “far gone” with jealousy and rage towards David that he consulted a witch for advice on how to deal with the issues of his life! This is the danger of a hardened heart, the absolute worst thing that can happen to a human is a hard heart, a heart that no longer hears the voice of the Spirit!

Jonathan and Saul fought and died in the same battle. David remembered the covenant he made with Jonathan, and since Jonathan had died, all of what was once his now became David’s. Everything including Jonathan’s remaining family.

David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” “At your service,” he replied. The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?” Ziba answered the king, “there is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.” “Where is he?” the king asked. Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.” (II Samuel 9:1-4)

Mephibosheth was the name of Jonathan’s son, and  the following provides just a snapshot of Mephibosheth’s life;

Hiding from David in Lo Debar, lame in both feet, unable to provide for himself, and begging for his food! He had concluded that David had killed both his father and his grandfather, and he was next!

Most people live their lives with the same kind of perception toward God as Mephibosheth had towards David. That is, God being a kind of cruel taskmaster, a taskmaster who loves His creation, but just doesn’t like all of it, especially some of the people He created. A God who stands shaking His head at times over our un-Christian behavior, just a little disgusted with us, and questioning why He made us in the first place. A God many see as having to do something FOR, in order for us to receive something FROM!

This perception of God is a product of the Different Gospel, the horrible news of the mixed message of Grace and law Paul talks about in his second letter to the Corinthian believers! This divided message of serving two or more is also what Jesus spoke of in His discourse in Mathew.

The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be SINGLE, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be EVIL, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve TWO masters: for either he will hate the One (Christ), and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other (Christ). Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Mathew 6:22-24)

Or can we serve God AND…anything else! To have a vital and living relationship with a REAL God means Him having our whole heart! This is why many today live estranged from God, because they keep trying (serving) to please God by doing For God!

When our eye is double we see double, meaning we see more than One.

Mephbosheth had such a wrong perception of David, that when he approached him the first thing he said was, “what is it you want with a DEAD DOG like me?” He had already considered himself dead because HE KNEW David was out to kill him!

But one thing Mephibosheth didn’t know, was years before he was even alive, his father, Jonathan made a covenant of love with David, a covenant which would change the entire course of his life!

In this beautiful picture of God’s Grace, David represents the Father, who came looking for the descendants of the covenant (Mephibosheth) on the basis of the death of the Son of the Covenant, Jonathan. Jonathan represents Christ, who by his death initiated the search for Mephibosheth and the rest of those who were included in the covenant between Jonathan and David. And Mephibosheth represents humanity, humanity who before any knowledge of the Covenant of Love, simply existed, begging for some kind of spiritual life, while calling (spiritual) barrenness and desolation their home! And the perception that Mephibosheth had of of David in being a “Dead Dog” is the same way many still see God today! I am not talking about those outside of the Covenant of Love, but those who like us, and like we used to be, are the Covenant Sons (and daughters) of His unconditional love!

And the Great Exchange?

This is where we all see ourselves as being lMephibosheth, unable to walk this walk we call Christianity!  It’s also where we discover we are unable to jump through all of the religious hoops, the hoops we somehow (falsely) believe make us acceptable to God! And we think the same way as Mephibosheth, because we have been fed the message of Grace plus! Grace plus our “dead dog” works of trying and failing as we attempt to have some type of relationship with a God we believe most of the time doesn’t even like us!

This is also where the Great Exchange takes place!  The place where, just like Jonathan and David, we also exchange all of our assets, debts, and liabilities with Christ!

But guess what, since He doesn’t have any liabililities, all we receive are His assets.  In the same way, we don’t have any assets, so all he receives is our liabilities!  We receive His Life!  In the New Covenant of Love we learn the great exchange was that He died our death so we could live His Life!

As I stated earlier, when Mephibosheth heard David was looking for him, he concluded he was already a dead man. But God used the whole situation of living in Lo Debar to bring Him to the absolute end of his resources, and to the place of his own figurative death!

In his mind he was finished, “What do you want with me David? You are King! Why would you bother looking for a “DEAD DOG” like me, other than to kill me? Look at me, I live in barrenness (Lo Debar) and I can’t even walk or take care of myself!

This wonderful picture of David is in reality a picture of Christ! God knew if we continued in our own way we would destroy ourselves!  He also knew we could never walk out our Christianity unless He Himself walked it out IN and through us! Because there is only One who can live the Christian life, Christ Himself! And He does just that, as we simply contain Him, the wonderful purpose for which we were created!

And this hellish teaching, the perception mephibosheth had of david, is exactly the perception many in the church believe today.  Sadly, this has also become standard teaching throughout many of our churches today!

Many don’t know the…Truth! Oh, they know their Bibles, they just don’t know the Person of the Bible!

Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.” Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?” (II Samuel 9:7-8)

Mephibosheth didn’t hear a word of anything David just said to him! Like many in the church today, who are so caught up in the gospel of “trying and failing”, Mephibosheth was convinced that David wasn’t listening, and really wanted nothing to do with him, except to kill him!

And we, being IN Christ have so much more today than Mephibosheth could have ever dreamed of having!

Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.) Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons. Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth. And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet. (II Samuel 9:9-12)

Because it’s the One, the Same One who Mephibosheth knew, who in this moment, NOW lives IN us as our Life!  And like Mephibosheth, invites us by His wonderful Grace, to daily dine at His table as one of His son’s!  So we can see like Mephibosheth, we have been given everything pertaining to Life and godliness! (II Peter 1:3)

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels! (II Corinthians 4:7) 

We have the revelation Mephiobosheth didn’t have alive IN us! The King not only lives with us and feeds us at His table of daily Rest and Peace! But He is the One who lives IN us and as us! He is the One who is both willing and doing of His good pleasure! (Philippians 2:13)

A “Dead Dog?” At one time maybe, but not anymore!