‘“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him (Mephilosheth), “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you to all the land that belonged to your grandfather, Saul, and you will ways eat at my table.”’
{ 2 Samuel 9:7 NIV }
“You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.”
{Luke 22:28-30a NIV}
Do you like to be invited to dinner? I sure do, especially when my host has taken time to prepare a lovely meal made to express a deep, loving connection with me. How wonderful to enter a home, sit at a carefully set table, and spend a long, leisurely evening hearing one another’s hearts over a delicious feast and delectable dessert! But what if that invitation to come and dine was totally unexpected, completely undeserved, and good for the entirety of one’s life? That is the kind of offer that poor, lame, Mephibosheth received from King David, an invitation he could hardly believe was his.
The book of 2 Samuel tells us that David had completely defeated Saul and had taken the throne at last. In those times, victorious kings, in order to ensure a long reign, completely annihilated every relative and friend, servant and anyone elseconnected to their enemy who might pose a threat to their kingdom. But David, being a type of Christ, had a completely different mindset. He asked if there was anyone from Saul’s house to whom he could show kindness. His advisors told him that Saul had a grandson named, Mephibosheth, who was lame in both feet. His nurse had dropped him when he was five years old while fleeing from the Philistines after his grandfather, Saul, and father, Jonathon, had fallen in battle (2 Samuel 4:4).
Can you imagine the fear that coursed through Mephibosheth when he was taken from his bed and brought before the king? Mephibosheth even called himself a “dead dog” wondering why the king even noticed him (2 Samuel 9:8). Have you ever fallen so low that you have questioned whether God’s grace could truly be extended to you? Are you able to put yourself in Mephibosheth’s place, poverty-stricken, defeated, crushed by the wheels of life, then blown away by an invitation to eat at the king’s table forever and have all that was lost restored? Can you imagine Mephibosheth’s joy at this unexpected deliverance from poverty and death? Pour yourself something hot and just process this for a while.
Jesus is still asking every single one of us to come and dine at His table. Like Mephibosheth, we are powerless, defeated and lame, because of that long-ago deadly choice made in the Garden of Eden. Yet, Jesus has lovingly, and carefully prepared a table for us, even in the presence of our enemies, a table groaning with the weight of His abundance, a table none of us deserve (Psalm 23). Every time we take communion, we get a little “foretaste of the feast to come,” that is waiting for us in heaven. Every time we spend time with Jesus, especially in the presence of our enemies, we can receive life-giving nourishment, the bread that “sustains the heart” (Psalm 104:15). But, like Mephibosheth, we have to admit that we are “dead dogs” needing God’s forgiveness and strength to make us “stand firm in Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:21) before we take our seat at the table of the King of Kings.
Got enemies? Got struggles? Resources used up? Come and dine at the King’s table! Open your Bible and ask God to feed you. Tell Him about your hunger and thirst. The door to His great dining hall is open to anyone willing to come in (Revelation 22:17). God Himself is the Master of the feast, a feast He has prepared Himself (Isaiah 25:6-8), Everyone is invited to this unending meal with the finest of meat and drink, carefully crafted for broken hearts and crushed spirits. Forgiveness is the first course, served only when we ask for it, followed by food that brings healing and growth, renewal and resilience to anyone willing to live in Jesus’ direction and pull up a chair at His table. Death and grief are banished from that heavenly meal and there is no seat for God’s enemies, so come and eat in peace; eat until you are full (Matthew 5:6). Why starve, eking out an existence on crumbs, when you and I are invited into God’s presence to be rehydrated and to eat of Jesus, the Bread of Heaven, the “finest of wheat” (Psalm 147:14)? Will you pull up a chair at the King’s table?
Prayer:
Abba, my Daddy-God, I thank You for inviting me to eat of You until I am satisfied. Forgive me for chasing after life’s junk food. You are my living water. You are my bread of life. Teach me how to come to You for what will fill me with life, hope, and radiant health. Thank You for giving me a seat at Your table. Amen.
Grow Anyway 