2 Samuel 9 – GRACE ILLUSTRATED
David: A Man’s Man, God’s Man
Lesson #5 of 8 – A COMPLETE LESSON
· Think of grace as giving or receiving something which is not deserved.
· In what ways have you shown grace to someone or received grace from someone?
· How does God’s grace differ from man’s grace?
· “(God’s) Grace is everything for nothing to those who don’t deserve anything.” Our Daily Bread, October 31, 1997
· Why is it important that we as Christians extend grace to others?
King Saul and his son Jonathan were eventually killed in battle. In time David became king over all of Israel. He then had time to think about his covenant of peace and mutual support with Jonathan. In this chapter we see David extending grace to Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth.
This is an illustration of the grace that God extends to us.
Let us look at Mephibosheth’s reception of grace and how it relates to us.
HE WAS SEPARATED
2 Samuel 4:4 – And Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.
· Because there was a new king in Israel, Mephibosheth was evidently kept in hiding. Why?
· He stayed in what was probably an isolated place called Lo-debar.
· It was very possibly in or near the desert. According to Chuck Swindoll, the word Lo-debar means “no pastureland.” Charles R. Swindoll, David, A Man of Passion & Destiny, (Dallas Texas, Word Publishing Inc., 1997), pp. 172-173
· What do you think Mephibosheth would have been taught as he was raised in this desolate area? What do you think was his greatest fear?
· Mephibosheth was separated from the “main stream” of life.
· In what way is every person separated from God?
Isaiah 64:6 – But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Isaiah 59:2 – But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
· Why is separation from God such a serious problem?
Ezekiel 18:4 – Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
HE WAS SOUGHT – Vss. 1-5
· Vs. 1 – What was David’s motivation for seeking out a relative of Jonathan’s? What is God’s motive in seeking poor lost sinners?
· Vss. 2-4 – Ziba, a servant of Saul, was brought in to see King David. Mephibosheth was identified as being available.
· David was told upfront that Mephibosheth was handicapped. Why might that be a problem in the king’s court?
· What would initially make us undesirable for being in the court of King Jesus?
· Vs. 5 – David sent for Mephibosheth. Why does God seek for us?
Romans 3:10-11 – As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: [11] There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
According to Luke 19:10 and 1 John 4:10 why and how did God seek for us.
Luke 19:10 – For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
1 John 4:10 – Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
· According to 1 John 16:8-11, how does God seek sinners today?
· How is salvation pictured in the parable of the lost coin found in Luke 15:8-10?
· According to Mark 16:15 what part do we have in seeking the lost? Why don’t we take our part more seriously?
HE WAS SAVED – Vss. 6-13
· Vs. 6 – What do you think Mephibosheth was thinking when he stood before David?
· What do many unsaved people think when they envision standing before a holy God? Why is that a good thing?
· Vs. 7 – How did this pronouncement change
Mephibosheth’s life?
· Vs. 8 – Why was Mephibosheth so flabbergasted about David’s pronouncement?
· What is so amazing about God’s grace to us?
· What did Mephibosheth have to do to make David’s offer of grace his?
· What do we do to make God’s offer of grace ours?
Ephesians 2:8-9 – For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast.
· Why is it that people actually refuse God’s offer of grace?
· Vss. 9-11 – Instructions were given to fulfill David’s promise.
HE WAS A SON – Vss. 7, 13
· Sitting at the king’s table meant that David was treating Mephibosheth like his own son.
· John 1:12-13 – But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: [13] Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
· Romans 8:15-17 – For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. [16] The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: [17] And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
· What privileges do we have as God’s children?
· How do we sometimes fail to act like God’s children?