From Paupers To Princes- Part 2

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. And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar. Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar. Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant! 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. And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am? Then the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master's son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house. Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master's son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master's son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king's sons. And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth. So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king's table; and was lame on both his feet. II Samuel 9:3-13 (KJV)

This is the story of King David and Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son and King Saul’s grandson. Mephibosheth was born into royalty, yet events had happened that had left him lame in both feet and living below the level into which he was born. He was livingin a place called Lodebar, which means no pasture, in other words, he was living in a place where one could not make a living. He was supposed to live in royalty but he was living in poverty, below what God had planned for him. In verse 8, we see that Mephibosheth had a poor self image, calling himself a dead dog. His poor self-image kept him in low-level living.

David called him in, restored his family land to him and gave him a place at his royal table. This speaks of God giving us provision and a place of belonging. David assigned someone to work the land for him and Mephiboseth would reap the benefits. In that same way, we will reap where we have not sown. Instead of Lodebar, Mephibosheth would dwell in Jerusalem, the city of the king. Jerusalem means foundation of peace. Mephibosheth would have a foundation of peace on which to build his life. We also have been given the peace of God on which to build our lives. Mephibosheth went from being a nobody to being somebody highly esteemed- from a pauper to a prince- in one day.

When we accepted Jesus as our Savior, we went from a nobody to a somebody, from pauper to prince in one day. We have moved from the place of no pasture to a land of abundance, fed daily at our King’s table. We have gone from low-level living to being seated in heavenly places with Christ. All that we have lost is being restored, and God is saying that His kindness will provide a continual flow of provision. The King of kings is meeting all our needs from His abundant supply, arranging for others to serve and bless us. No matter our frailty, Jesus’ love and provision will swallow up our poor self-image, weaknesses, and shortcomings. Our “not enough” will turn into more than enough as we dine at the King’s table.

God has taken you from a pauper to a prince, one who has special privileges with the King. Enjoy the presence and provision of the King!