Text: 2 Samuel 9
David’s kindness to Mephibosheth parallels the grace which God shows us – not on every detail, but on the major points. For David’s kindness and God’s grace, there is a plan, a need, a declaration, and a response.
David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth
- Plan – Before even knowing of Mephibosheth, David planned to show kindness to someone of Saul’s house (2 Samuel 9:1)
- Need – Mephibosheth had reason to fear the king (2 Samuel 9:6-7) – the king had power to kill him; if he was wicked, could come up with a reason to kill him; and Mephibosheth had nothing to offer the king to convince him to spare his life
- Declaration – David’s kindness was made known to Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9:7)
- Response – Mephibosheth declared his allegiance as a servant (2 Samuel 9:8)
God’s Grace toward Us
- Plan – God had an eternal plan to save us (Ephesians 3:11; Acts 2:23)
- Need – Man had reason to fear God (Hebrews 10:31) – God has the power to destroy us (Matthew 10:28); He has reason to destroy us (Romans 3:23); there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation
- Declaration – God’s grace was made know to us through the gospel (Acts 20:24) – shows us the conditions of grace (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38), the instructions of grace (Titus 2:11-12), and admonishes us not to fall from grace (Galatians 5:4)
- Response – We must faithfully serve God (Ephesians 2:8-10)
