The God of the Flawed

How God accepts the rejected.

One of the highlights of my childhood was reading Bible stories. I loved reading them. They excited and satisfied a holy curiosity in me. I almost always left with a sense of awe, a privilege to read the accounts so preserved in scripture.

Okay, I will admit that I didn’t see depth in the stories back then. But the one thing that stood out to my young mind was this: The stories were remarkable.

My favorite Bible story character by a long shot was King David. I loved the stories about him. His valor, his demeanor, his wars and victories all made him my hero.

However, there is a story about him that is not popular. I consider it a typology, a prophetic picture.

And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?

2 Samuel 9:1 (KJV)

This is a strange time. The previous chapter just rounded a recap of the latest military conquests of David and the attendant establishment of his right hand men. It was against the backdrop of a display of might, valor and success that the events of chapter 9 were set.

Now the throne is established, and the king perhaps one of those nights, started to think upon the goodness of God and the path that God brought him through. And then he remembers his friend Jonathan and the covenant they had entered into. He arose from that contemplation with a desire to show kindness (a more encompassing word will be mercy) to anyone of the seed of Jonathan.

And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet.

2 Samuel 9:3 (KJV)

Notice he called it the Kindness of God, or more appropriately the Mercy of God.

So here we are; the King wants to show the Mercy of God to someone. Anyone. A son of Jonathan was found. However, notice that Ziba didn’t mention his name or his marital status or even his age. What he does say though is very significant. He mentions immediately that whereas this person is the son of Jonathan, he is lame on his feet.

Why? There are two forces here.

The first on the King’s side: The Mercy of God. On the side of this yet-to-be-named son: His lame feet.

On any other day, a lame man has no business associating with the King. He would hardly even have audience with him. Being lame is enough a reason to be disqualified from seeing or meeting the king. Actually, such deformities were considered inappropriate to find proximity and expression before the king. You can understand why Ziba mentions it. He didn’t want to waste the King’s time. He fully expected the King to reject the person.

Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.

2 Samuel 9:5 (KJV)

Contrary to presumption. The King sends for the son – Mephiboseth- and brought him out of where he was holed up. The Mercy of God was brought into the equation and in a moment of time, he went from forgotten and forsaken to promoted and exalted. The man who previously could not stand before the King now had a seat continually before his table to partake of the bounty of the Lord.

2 Samuel 9:7,13
[7]And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.
[13]So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame on both his feet.

And not only that, Mephibosheth would not be a visiting partner of the table of the king. The King ordered that his address be changed. He left that place of his place of his alienation despair to be a fellow occupant of Jerusalem, the city of the great King.

We all are in some sense like Mephibosheth in different ways. For some of us, our defining and prevailing identities are our inadequacies. When we look at ourselves, all that we see, is all men see, and we have resigned to our perceived fates. For us, the story is over, and we do not see any way the King would desire us.

I present to you the Mercy of God, which God is basing not according to us, but according to His work in and through Christ. Yes, you are Mephibosheth, but all He sees is Jonathan. Yes, you are laden in sins and trespasses, and there is much uncomeliness about you, but God by His mercies on the account of his work is Christ, has dispatched a search and fetch party for you. He desires to shower you with the love and privileges of Christ.

It is by his Mercy that our Lord accepts the rejected. He is the God of the flawed. You are in good company. So hear the Great King calling your name, dispatching the gospel herald to reach you, regardless of the Work of Sin and depths that you have found yourself in.

Ephesians 2:4-6
[4]But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
[5]Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
[6]And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: