The Yale expositor., 1908-10-16
David's Kindness to
Jonathan's Son
Sunday School Lesson for Oct. IS, 1908
Specially Arranged for This Paper

TIME.-Not far from the middle of
Davids reign. about the time OF the close
OF his wars. Prof Willis j. Beecher
thinks that 1T was subsequent to Davids
great sin and was probably one of the
earliest OF the fruits of his repentance"
PLACE.-David was at Jerusalem. Me-
phibosheth lived near Mahanaim. where
Saul's son Ishbosheth, by the aid of his
general, Abner, had undertaken to hold
the kingdom during David's reign at He
bron. IL was east of the Jordan, about
half way between the Dead Sea and the
Sea of Galilee.
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
Davids Mind Reverts to Forgotten
Duties.-Overlooked in the great pres.
sure of the duties of defending and or.
ganizing his kingdom and building
them up into material and religious
prosperity.
David had made league Of friend.
ship with Jonathan, Saul's son, which
was to extend to their children. All
the affection this prince had lavished
upon David now came back in full tide
to prompt him to express his apprecia-
ton OF IL by kind deeds TO some Of the
family. He had also loved Saul him
self. AS far as Saul was concerned it
was a noble example of doing good to
enemies, according to the precept of
Prov. 25:21. % and Rom. 12:19-21.
Saul had several times tried to kill
David he had driven him into exile,
and hunted him from place to place.
There was a long, black chapter of
wrongs in the past.
He Finds Mephibosheth. Son of
Jonathan.-Ziba, an officer of the
house of Saul. reported to David that
a son of Jonathan was living in the
home of Machir in Lo-debar, a place
not far from Mahanaim.
Mephibosheth, whose name was or
iglnally Merib-baal, Lord Meri"
Il Chron. 1874; 9:40), was FIVE years
old q Sam. 40, when his father Jon
athan and his grandfather Saul were
slain on Mount Gilboa. When the news
came of their death the boys nurse
took him and fed toward Jezreel, and
in her haste let him fall. He was so
injured that he was all his life lame in
both feet. Being five years old at
Sauls death he must have been IL
or Is years old when David became
king over all Israel When, therefore,
he came to court he must have been
30 years old, was married, and had
little son ". 12). Mephibosheth, as
the representative of Saul's eldest son,
had the precedence over Saul's other
grandsons, and was Saul's heir.
Other Accounts of Mephibosheth.-
See l Chron. S:34-40; 9:4O-44; 2 Sam.
"A; 21:7; 1914; 19:24-30.
Mephibosheth's Property Restored,
and Himself Brought to the Palace
The oriental idea was that all the fam
lily of a rival claimant to the throne
should be put to death. or removed
from all possibility of melting an in
surrection.
His inheritance from Saul was re-
'stored to Mephibosheth. 1t must have
lbeen considerable. 1t was placed I'M
der Ziba. a steward, and the revenues
were to be sent to his master at the
court of David.
Mephibosheth was invited to sit at
the royal table as a part of David's
household. The Syrian missionary,
Rev. William Ewing, says in the Sun
day School Times: when two men
eat bread together, this is the desert
sacrament, the sign and seal of a COW
enant of friendship, a league for mu-
tual protection. This is so If they eat
but once. Had David only on one oc-
'casion invited Mephibosheth to sit and
cot wnrfkh Il ~. H.
have been known as the kings friend,
to injure whom would be to provoke
'the monarch's vengeance. But a
place continually at the royal table
declared a relationship OF a deeper
and stronger kind. He who eats con-
.tinually' at an Arabs board has
passed the conditions of mere guest
,or friend, and is acknowledged as
|, Identified with the family in all its
manifold interests. David thus devised
right liberal things for the unfortu-
nate son of the beloved comrade of
other days"
Like David, we are not to wait till
the needy come to us. but we Are to
search for any we can help; canvass
our field, and find out who can be in
.vited to eat the bread of life continu-
ally with us in our class.
We should organize and train our
class to go into the highway and
hedges IL need be, and bring others in
to enjoy the good things of the Bible
with them.
No one should be too busy to do
acts of kindness to individuals, and
to pay by kindness the debts of love.
Elevation to power is a God-given
opportunity" for remembering those
who have been less successful
A woman came to an oriental king
to have some wrong redressed, and he
refused because he had not time.
Then" said she. ''if you have not
time to do justice, you have not time
TO be king"
Great Men Of Culture.
The great men of culture are those
who have had a passion for didus
ing. of making prevail. for carrying
from one end of society to the other.