Abandoned or Valued
by Dr. Dominic Dixon
During my daily devotions, I had come across the story of
Mephibosheth (Mef-ee-bo’-sheth in Hebrew meaning ‘shameful
thing’ or ‘dispeller of shame’) and was amazed at the chronicles
of his life. In Biblical times, people were given names based on
the situation existing at the time they were born. Can you imagine
his friends in school calling him ‘hey, you shameful thing’? When
I had done a Hebrew study, I was even more amazed at what his
name meant and what his destiny was. There were two different
contrasts.
Mephibosheth meaning ‘shameful thing’ 2 Samuel 4- 9
Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, and grandson of Saul (2 Sam.
4:4). He was five years old when his father and grandfather fell in
the Battle of Mount Gilboa. The child’s nurse hearing of this
calamity, fled with the boy from Gibeah, the royal residence, and
stumbled in her haste, dropping the child on the ground,
permanently paralyzing him from the waist down (2 Sam. 19:26).
He was carried to the land of Gilead, where he found a refuge in
the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar (dry places),
by whom he was brought up.
Permanently paralysing him…
Have you been paralysed due to a certain incident or incidents that
have taken place in your life? Perhaps those incidents have ruptured
your emotions and behaviour. Perhaps your definition of Church
or ministry has become very negative because of those incidents.
May be another Christian did something that has hampered your
life and even permanently damaged your reputation. Or may be,
you’re a Servant of Christ and an ordinary Christian has caused
disrepute to your name or ministry.
On a different level, may be you’re a young widow or you’re
financially in the dumps or you’ve been duped and now you’re a
victim of a major scandal that’s left you on the threshold of despair.
What do you do in such situations? Do you blame God for
permitting those things to happen? Do you blame people for what
has happened? Do you hold a grudge against people?
Mephibosheth reminds me of some of us Christians. The devil
dropped him one day and in the fall, his feet became lame and all
this time the devil – through people have been telling him, “God
did this to you and it’s because of God that you’re this way, it’s
because of your sins and the sins of your forefathers. It’s because
you are cursed that you can’t get off the ground. You can never do
anything right and you will never do anything right. It’s your fault
that your family is falling apart. It’s your fault for your financial
condition. And finally… God is not mindful about you!
When people say such things with grave accusations, I’m
encouraged by the Scripture that says “Neither this man nor his
parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of
God might be displayed in his life.” John 9:3
Sadly, the man in the world believes the devil, because he does not
even know about the covenant that was drawn up before he was
ever born. Does this sound like you? For years, ignorant of what
God had done? Blaming God for your situation? Thinking God
was the culprit? Sadly, I’ve seen a lot of people who were serving
God as missionaries, are now into the world, worst than people of
the world. Why? Because they either blame God for their
circumstances or they’re still living in Lo-debar, the dry places.
Quit living in Lo-debar, the dry places, move into the land that
flows with milk and honey, be planted like a tree that is planted
by streams of running waters. Let the running waters of the Holy
Spirit fill your being with the love of Christ and the joy that comes
from God even in your darkest and driest moment of life.
God ordained Restoration - COVENANT between David and
Jonathan
Some years after this, when King David had subdued all the
adversaries of Israel, he began to think of the family of Jonathan,
and discovered that Meribbaal was residing in the house of Machir.
So he sent royal messengers there, and brought Meribbaal and his
infant son (Micah) to Jerusalem, where he resided from that point
on (2 Sam. 9).
And David said, “Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul,
that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (II Samuel
9:1) Ziba, a former servant in the house of Saul, tells him of
Jonathan’s son,”...which is lame on his feet”(2 Samuel 9:3-6).
David asked, “Is there anyone still
left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness
for Jonathan’s sake?” The king asked, “Is there no
one still left of 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 crippled in both feet.”
“Where is he?” the king asked.
Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of
Ammiel in Lo Debar.”
So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from
the house of Makir son of Ammiel.
When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul,
came to David, he bowed down to pay him honour.
David said, “Mephibosheth!”
“Your servant,” he replied.
“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.”
Just when Mephibosheth thought that he was written off and that
his fate was fatless, and that he would never be known or held in
honour and that the only name he would have was to be called a
crippled shameful thing… Mephibosheth. But God showed up and
blessed him. Sometimes, just like Mephibosheth, we need to just
wait upon God for the duly appointed time for our blessings.
David had never forgotten the covenant he had made with Jonathan
in 1 Samuel 20.
There are people of honour out there, who keep to the covenant
and manifest that covenant even if the world around them collapses.
It perhaps may be difficult to believe anyone who says that they
would make a covenant with you because of the revoking of
covenants in the past and the betrayal of those who have committed
and let you down. Some people think that people make covenants
because of insecurity, which is a false notion. In our ministry, the
leaders have made a covenant and it’s because of that covenant we
remain faithful to God and to each other. A covenant is made
between two or more people or groups. The covenant was God
reconciling man to Himself.
The only thing to do is to trust God in all situations. I am so
convinced that there is absolutely nothing that can happen to me
that is outside the will of God.
Who am I that You are mindful of me, that you hear You me, when
I call?
Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that
you should notice a dead dog like me?” 2 Samuel 9:8
David made a similar prayer in just two previous chapters. 2 Samuel
7:8
“Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that You
have brought me this far?”
Mephibosheth in all awe, asked David the question ‘What is your
servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?’ It is true,
dearly beloved, that God is mindful of you, he knows every
situation. As David said in Psalms 8:4 “What is man that You are
mindful of him, that son of man that you care for him?
Through every storm, God is always there.
When the good Lord first touched me, I was determined to give
the Gospel to everyone I met. I then realised that the Church was
divided based on denominational differences. Although I’m a
Catholic, I used to go to the Pentecostal Churches simply because
I wanted to know more about Jesus. Because I used to go to the
Pentecostal Churches, one of the most prominent Catholic ministries
in the city decided to mince me piece by piece and to spread
rumours of wars against me. They conspired against me in every
way possible. Eventually, the Bishop called and asked me to present
my youth missions projects to the Christian media leaders of the
Province. In addition, when my first book was released, a Vatican
official approved the book and the Archbishop released it.
At this point, no one would dare to speak out against me, until an
opportune time that is. But the greatest part of it all, is that God
has restored me way above what they or I could imagine. Since
then, our ministry has represented Christ across all continents. The
international secular media had interviewed us and Christ was
presented. We are only three years, and God has used us in domains
of influence including the setting up of India’s only Internet
Christian Broadcasting Network.
Conspiracy OR Unfaithfulness
When David was a fugitive, according to the story of Ziba (2 Sam.
16:1-4) Mephibosheth proved unfaithful to him, and was
consequently deprived of half of his estates; according to his own
story, however (2 Sam. 19:24-30), he had remained loyal to his
friend, the king. After this incident he is only mentioned, as having
been protected by David against the vengeance the Gibeonites
were permitted to execute on the house of Saul 2 Sam. 21:7.
Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, also went down to meet the king.
He had not taken care of his feet or trimmed his moustache or washed
his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned safely.
When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him,
“Why didn’t you go with me, Mephibosheth?” He said, “My lord the
king, since I your servant am lame, I said, ‘I will have my donkey
saddled and will ride on it, so I can go with the king.’ But Ziba my
servant betrayed me. (2 Samuel 19:24-26)
It is possible that David didn’t entirely believe him, because he
divided the estate he had given into two, giving the other half to
Ziba, but he continued to protect Mephibosheth until the end of
his days.
The king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul,
because of the oath before the LORD between David and Jonathan
son of Saul. 2 Samuel 21:7
David made a covenant and he kept that covenant. In times when
Mephibosheth was accused, he remembered the promise he had
made to his beloved friend in the presence of the Almighty God.
When David had heard of the accusations about Mephibosheth, he
did not say ‘I heard things about him that scare me”, instead, he
kept his word. Jonathan, whom David had made the covenant
with, was rest assured that David would keep his word for David
was a person of noble standing even though he was a murderer, an
adulterer and what not!
No matter what happened, God proved Himself faithful.
The same faithful God is there for you, to restore you. Go, seek
Him, love Him, and make Him known.
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Copyright © Dr. Dominic Dixon. All rights reserved.
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