David asked, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and he was summoned to David. The king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “At your service!” 3 The king said, “Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” Ziba said to the king, “There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” 4 The king said to him, “Where is he?” Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” 5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. 6 Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David, and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, “Mephibosheth!” He answered, “I am your servant.” 7 David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always.”
This morning’s readings give us two very definite and distinct sides of King David.
In chapter 8 of the book of 2 Samuel, we see the brutal and cut-throat warrior, a man who does not blanch at the summary execution of half an enemy army, conscripting the other half as slaves.
Then, turn the page, and we see David’s incredible kindness shown to the only surviving grandson of his arch-rival nemesis for the throne, King Saul.
In an America where less than one percent of all citizens serve in the armed forces, we can be squeamish and judgmental towards the way David subdued the wilderness. And perhaps it is right that we be a little squeamish. But at the same time, now we let somebody else’s sons do our sinning on the battlefield, all the while we cast judgments upon the warrior from the safety and security of our office chairs.
David does not deserve all our scorn. Nor does he deserve all our adulation. David is human. And therefore he is complicated, and complex, and capable of both wonderful and also very terrible things.
Just like us —
NOTE — We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow’s Lesson will come from somewhere in Psalms 50, 53, 60, and 75.
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