"Grace Was the Answer"
According to the Jewish perspective of his day, Mephibosheth, at the very least, viewed himself as having been excluded from the blessing of God because of his lameness. At worst, he would have considered himself accursed.
The latter is likely the case. "What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?" (II Samuel 9:8). The Jews hated both death and dogs, and thus, Mephibosheth felt as if a double portion of the curse of God rested upon him. As with Job, he doubtless wondered why the Lord had chosen to so reject and smite him. "Why hast Thou set me as a mark against Thee, so that I am a burden to myself? And why dost Thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity?" (Job 7:20-21).
Along came King David, full of desire to bless any descendant of his dearly beloved friend Jonathan, to answer the question. Indeed, grace was the answer. As the Lord Jesus Christ would one day say of another unfortunate soul soon to be blessed by grace, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby" (John 11:4). Mephibosheth had been allowed by God to suffer injury so that one day he would be blessed by God with the revelation of His lovingkindness and tendermercies. Had lameness never happened to the son of Jonathan, the particular grace he ultimately received would have never been known.
Perhaps we have questions about our own lameness, in whatever form it may characterize our life and experience. Be it physical, emotional, relational, or whatever seeming misfortune may form the pain, scar and void, the answer remains the same. Grace is the answer. Furthermore, a greater King than David approaches who seeks to bless all related to One more dearly beloved than even the closest friend.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).
When we enter into Christ by faith, we begin to discover that throughout our lifetime, God has worked to prepare us for particular measures of blessedness that can only be known when they fill difficult voids in our lives. Being rightly related to the Lord Jesus through grace fits us for further bestowals of goodness that glorify Him and cause our lives, as with Mephibosheth, to be a vibrant testimony to our King's unspeakable kindness and generosity. Dead dogs become "the sheep of His pasture," alive in His life, and subject in both time and eternity to ongoing revelations of kindness...
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."
(Ephesians 2:4-7)
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