Articles
The Heart of the Kings: David's Heart of Compassion--Transcript
Good evening.
Certainly good to see the presence of those that have chosen to be with us this evening.
I want you to know how thankful I am to be here.
And they must be cutting hay in Murfreesboro because I'm kind of a little choked up.
But it is good to be here.
I'm thankful to have the opportunity to preach the gospel.
I think I speak for the brethren here when I say our desire is to do just that, is to teach and to preach the gospel of Christ.
That is the mission of the church.
Mark chapter 16, 16 and Matthew 28.
Jesus said, Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age.
And so as we consider that, I want you to know that if you're in our presence tonight, I don't ever want to do a lesson that I don't make the opportunity for us to obey the gospel of Christ.
If you're here tonight and you're not a Christian, I want you to understand tonight that today is the day of salvation and no greater time to do that than the present.
Maybe it is this evening that you have fallen from grace, that you have fallen away, that you are an erring Christian.
Today is the day to make those things right.
And we will assist you, the brethren here will assist you in any way in that tonight.
And so as we consider our lesson tonight, we're talking about the heart of the kings.
And last night we discussed King Saul, as already been said, and the heart of disobedience.
And Saul disobeyed God in what he did.
Saul was given a specific command.
He was told to go in and to kill all the people of Amalek and spare nothing.
Saul disobeyed God's command and he faced the consequences of it, just like we will if we do not obey God as well.
As our lesson tonight, we kind of shift gears a little bit.
When we think about our lesson tonight, we're going to be talking about, and you'll have to excuse me, I've got a couple of welcome pages there, we're going to be talking about David and Mephibosheth.
Now, I really struggled when I was studying these lessons to pronounce Mephibosheth.
And I'm going to be honest with you, when I try to pronounce words, when I preach at home, I see people out in the audience kind of giggling.
And I tell you, every time I speak a lesson, there's a Greek scholar somewhere that rolls over in his grave.
And so if I mispronounce a word, just look over me tonight.
And so we're going to be talking about David and Mephibosheth.
And if you would, go ahead and start turning your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 9.
2 Samuel chapter 9, we're going to begin in verse 1.
Now David said, Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul that I may show kindness for his sake, for Jonathan's sake? Then when we look in verses 2 through 3, and it says, And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Zeba.
So when they called him to David, the king said, Are you Zeba? He said, At your service.
Then the king said, Is there not still someone of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness, the kindness of God? And Zeba said to the king, There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet.
Now if you want to pick up your Bible and you start reading it this passage, you're going to say, Where's all these people come from? Who are these people? What are they talking about? But if you could think about the lesson that we taught last night, we talked about King Saul.
And if you remember, what did God tell Saul was the punishment for his disobedience? He was going to lose the throne.
Now David comes on the scene a little later on and actually Saul's tried to kill him.
Saul's tried to take David's life and David spared Saul's life.
When we think about who David is, David is a man after God's own heart.
Now many times when we think about being a man after God's own heart, what do we think about? We think about repentance.
But David is a godly man.
David is a godly man.
He's a man of compassion.
And we are also told that he is a man after God's own heart.
And so as we consider these things, David has said that he is wanting to show kindness to someone in Jonathan's household.
And so he says that there is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet.
That's what Zeba told the king, King David.
There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet.
Mephibosheth had been a young child at the palace when the messenger ran and told the news of Saul's death.
And the Philistines were coming and so his nurse picked him up and he fled.
But as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled.
So now as I was talking about, if you pick this passage up and you just read it, you have to kind of go back and get the backstory.
And so that's how Mephibosheth is the way he is.
That's why he is lame in his feet.
And we find that in 2 Samuel chapter 4 and verse 4.
But when we go into 2 Samuel chapter 9 and verses 4 and 5 and continue there, so the king said to him, Where is he? And Zeba said to the king, Indeed, he is in the house of Micurus, the son of Amel and Lodibar.
Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Micurus to the son of Amel from Lodibar.
And then when we look at verses 6 through 8, it says, Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and he prostrated himself.
Then David said, Mephibosheth, and he answered, Here is your servant.
So David said to him, Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul, your grandfather.
Jonathan was Saul's son, and you shall eat bread at my table continually.
Then he bowed himself and said, What is your servant that you should look upon such a dead dog as I? And then in verses 9 through 12 it says, And the king called Zeba, Saul's servant, and said to him, I have given to your master's son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house.
You therefore, and your sons, and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest that your master's son may have food to eat.
But Mephibosheth, your master's son, shall eat bread at my table always.
Now think about that.
Mephibosheth is going from where he is at, a man who is lame in his feet and not doing so well in life, and now he's going to eat bread at the king's table for the rest of his life.
And so it says, Mephibosheth, your master's son, shall eat bread at my table always.
Now Zeba had 15 sons and 20 servants.
Then Zeba said to the king, According to all that my lord, the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do.
As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he will eat at my table like one of the king's sons.
Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micah, and all who dwelt in the house of Zeba were servants of Mephibosheth.
And when we look at verse 13, it says, So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king's table, and he was lame in both of his feet.
Now here's the question when we look at this.
David chose to invite Mephibosheth to the king's table and he took care of all of his needs.
Why would he do that? Why would he do this and what can we learn from this example? As was pointed out earlier, that's some of the things when you go on the Old Testament, that's what it is.
It's a schoolmaster.
It's a tutor to bring us unto Christ.
We can look back and we can look at these examples and we can learn from them.
From what to do, what not to do.
I made several references last night to Adam and Eve, to Cain.
Those are very simple stories that we can understand that it really modulates in our minds, if that's even a word, it modulates in our minds and really sticks with us.
You know, when we think of Adam and Eve, for instance, what did they do? Well, they sinned in the Garden of Eden.
It's pretty simple, right? What about Cain and Abel? Well, Cain's sacrifice was not pleasing and acceptable to God.
And so what can we learn from David and Baphibosheth? What can we learn from this example? So let's look at some points to ponder.
David remembered his promise that he made to Jonathan.
When you go back and you look at the history of what was going on, and we talked about Saul trying to kill David.
Saul tried to take David's life.
We see one instance in which David spared Saul's life.
But when we think about this in the time when David became king, it was typical for the new king to get rid of all the potential rivals.
They'd kill him off.
And they would seek out the relatives from the previous regime and take them out before the rebellion could begin.
But not David.
If you remember, what did we say about David? Number one, he's a man after God's own heart, repentance.
But David was a godly man.
He was a man of kindness.
He was a man of repentance.
He was a man after God's own heart.
But not David.
He seeks out Baphibosheth, invites him to the king's table.
Not only does he invite him to the table, but he sets this guy up for life as one of his sons at the king's table.
Now when we think about that, that most certainly, my friends, is a heart of compassion.
And so as we consider this, why would he do this? Why give honor to the grandson of the man who's trying to take his life? Why would he do that? In 2 Samuel 9, verse 1, it says, Now David said, Is there still any one of the house of Saul that I may show kindness Notice this, for Jonathan's sake.
David remembered the promise that he had made to Jonathan.
Back when Saul was king, he hired David as an armor-bearer.
God had sent an evil spirit to torment Saul after he had disobeyed God, and David would play the harp to soothe Saul.
But with the many victories David had in battle, Saul became jealous and tried multiple times to take David's life.
And after one of those occasions, David fled to find Jonathan to tell him what was happening.
This would be a difficult position for Jonathan.
I want you to think about this.
David and Jonathan were friends.
They were best friends.
David was his best friend, but Saul was his father.
Now think about what a position that puts Jonathan in.
And so like Jonathan, I think it would be a tough pill to swallow for us to be told that your father's trying to kill your best buddy.
Or it would be for me.
I'd have a hard time with that.
And so the two hatch a plan.
Saul had invited all the big names, including David, to a special dinner.
And so David would skip out, and Jonathan would make his excuse.
And he was with his family for a sacrifice.
Jonathan would gauge his father's response and report to David.
Then they went outside to get away from any ears in the palace that may have been trying to listen to what was happening.
And this exchange takes place in 1 Samuel 20, verses 12 through 17.
When we look at 1 Samuel 20, verses 12 through 17, it says, Then Jonathan said to David, The Lord God of Israel is witness.
When I have sounded out my father sometime tomorrow, or the third day, and indeed there is good toward David, and I have not sinned to tell you, may the Lord do so, and much more to Jonathan.
But if it pleases my father to do evil, then I will report it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety, and the Lord be with you as he has been with my father.
And you shall not only show me the kindness of the Lord while I still live, that I may not die, but you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever.
No, not when the Lord has cut off everyone from the enemies of David from the face of the earth.
So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the Lord require it at the hand of David's enemies.
Now Jonathan calls David to vow because he loved him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
And so when you start putting these things together, I know it's a lot of reading, but when you start putting these things together, you start to see the picture, don't we? So let's look further.
Jonathan knew he wasn't going to inherit the throne.
Saul was done.
God was done with Saul.
His kingship was stripped from him.
His throne was stripped from him.
In fact, he was looking at the air, just like we talked about last night.
He was looking at the air, and that was David.
He still agrees to help David out and makes David then promise to never cut off the steadfast love of God from him or his household.
Who's the household that we're talking about? Mephibosheth.
And so as we consider that, even after the regime changed, now that David is king, he remembers the promise made to Jonathan.
David was a man of integrity.
David was a man of kindness, and he sought a way to keep his word, to Jonathan, and so that's why he would do that.
Now let's look further.
When we look into the points to ponder, there's something deeper than that.
When I look in the Old Testament, what I see is Jesus.
What I see is our relationship with God.
You can't turn to any story in the Old Testament and not see Christ.
That's what the Old Testament is.
The Old Testament is from the time that man sinned in the Garden of Eden, pointing all the way forward till we see him on the scene in the book of Matthew and John the Baptist preparing the way.
That's what we're working up toward is Jesus.
Who is David? Jesus is of the lineage of David.
So everything that we see in the Old Testament is bringing us to Christ.
And so how can we relate this? The story points to the relationship between God and us.
When we look at the story of David and Mephibosheth, one cannot help but see how this story points to the relationship between God and us and what he has done for us.
He made a promise that he was determined to keep.
Jesus shared the promise while talking with Nicodemus in John 3, verse 16.
Now that's a familiar passage to you.
Everybody knows John 3, verse 16.
But when you go back and you look at the context and what's going on, there's a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus.
Nicodemus is a Pharisee.
And Jesus is having this conversation with Nicodemus.
And he's telling him about the Kingdom of God.
And that for one to enter into the Kingdom of God, he must first be born again.
Perplexes Nicodemus.
But Jesus breaks it down into a language that a child can understand.
Jesus tells him, he said, you must first be born of the water and of the Spirit.
And then he goes on in John 3, verse 16.
Now think about this.
Who is Nicodemus? He's a Pharisee.
What was the Pharisee known for? Well, they certainly didn't want Jesus to be the Messiah.
I can tell you that.
But when we look in John 3, verse 16, Jesus tells Nicodemus, he said, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life.
It's through Jesus Christ.
We see that.
And so as we consider that, let's look a little further.
God invites us to his table.
Every first day of the week, we follow the Apostles' examples in Acts, in Acts chapter 20, in verse 7, to partake of the Lord's Supper.
Jesus tells us to do so.
And there's far more to it than just coming together and drinking grape juice and eating a cracker.
It's something far deeper than that.
The Lord invites us to our table.
He shed his blood for us.
He gave his life for us.
Now I want you to think about this and just what kind of compassion that the Lord had on us when he sent Jesus to this earth to shed his blood for our sins.
My friends, if you don't see a heart of compassion in that, I don't know what you would ever see one in.
Jesus took my place on that cross.
Jesus shed his blood for me.
And when we think about Luke chapter 22, verses 19 through 20, and he took the bread and he gave thanks and he broke it.
And he gave it to them saying, this is my body which is broken for you.
And when I think about that, I don't just think about the disciples that were sitting there with him.
I think about us here in the year 2025.
God invites us to the table.
When we partake of the Lord's Supper, we're partaking of the body and the blood of Jesus Christ.
Do this in remembrance of me.
Likewise, he also took the cup after supper saying, this cup is a new test in my blood which is shed for you, for you and I.
And so my friends, that is compassion.
That's what it looks like.
The promise is to all.
Galatians chapter 3, 26 through 29, For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Therefore there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ, and if you are Christ, look at this, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.
Think about that.
God has invited us into that.
He has allowed us to have a portion of that with him.
If we obey the gospel of Christ, as the apostle Paul points out, if we are baptized into Christ, then we put on Christ and we are Abraham's seed.
What a powerful statement.
Have you accepted a seat at the Lord's table tonight? If you are here and you are not a Christian, have you accepted a seat at the Lord's table tonight? Are you washed in the blood of Jesus? Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Just like Jesus told Nicodemus, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believed in him would not perish but have everlasting life.
Jesus reiterates, he points that out again, he says, except you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.
Powerful statement.
Are you willing to repent of your sins? Luke 13, verse 3 tells us, I'll tell you, nay, except you repent you will all likewise perish.
What does that mean? What does that mean to me? To accept a spot at the Lord's table, that means that I must have a change of heart that results in a change of action.
The Lord has shown compassion, he has longed suffering, but I must die dead to sin, I must crucify that old man.
What that means is this, and there's an old guy, and my wife gets mad at me for saying this, but I'm going to say it anyway.
That means if you are a chicken thief, then you've got to stop stealing chickens.
Keep doing that.
And I think that's about the simplest way that you can put it.
Repentance means a change of heart that results in a change of action.
And then we confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Jesus said, if you'll confess me before me, I'll confess you before my Father in heaven.
If you deny me before me, I'll deny you before my Father in heaven.
We see it with the philipine Ethiopian eunuch, he said, here's water, what hinders me to be baptized.
He said, if you believe with all your heart, you may.
He said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
He made that confession.
Baptism for the remission of sins, just like we've seen in Galatians chapter 3, Acts 2 verse 38, when the church was established, we see it happening.
Jesus invites us to the table.
Well, we have to be part of that.
We have to be part of the kingdom of Christ.
Acts 2 verse 38 tells us to repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins.
You shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
And then we're to remain faithful unto death.
Have you accepted a spot at the Lord's table? The Lord is compassionate.
But just like Saul, there's terms that we must come to him on.
And it must be on his terms, not our own.
And the story points to the way that God's children should treat one another.
You and I.
God expects certain things of us.
As a Christian, we are to obey God's Word.
And there are certain things that are expected of us, and one of which is to have a heart of compassion, just as David did for Mephibosheth.
We are too.
God expects that from us.
That we're to love one another.
In John chapter 13 verse 34, that's the new commandment I give to you.
That you love one another as I have loved you.
That you also love one another.
Now what does that mean when we think about loving one another? Well, the word that's used there is agape.
Agape is a Greek term most commonly translated as love in the New Testament.
And it appears prominently in the key text that describes God's nature, the way believers are called to relate to one another.
In ancient Greek literature, agape conveyed a sense of love characterized by goodwill, benevolence, and focus on the well-being of others.
The New Testament writers took the notion, further emphasizing that agape is not merely a fleeting emotion, but a deliberate and selfless act of the will.
Now when we go back and we look at David and Mephibosheth, is that not what we see? It's a brotherly love.
We're concerned for one another's soul.
We're concerned for one another's well-being.
We're concerned with the well-being of others.
Jesus said, A new commandment I give to you that you love one another.
The same word is used by Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 13.
Now look at this.
And we've probably all heard this passage many, many times.
But I'll tell you no matter how many times I read this passage, it still rings truer and truer every time that I read it.
Though I speak with the tongues of men, of angels, but I have not love.
If you have a King James version, it uses the word charity.
But though I speak with the tongues of men, of angels, but I do not have love, I've become as a sounding brass or a clinging cymbal.
What does that mean? Well, if I'm up here preaching the gospel, no matter what I say, if I don't have love and I'm not doing it out of love, I'm just making noise.
Now we know that Paul is referring to those about the spiritual gifts.
That's what he's talking about.
But when we look at the word charity, when we look at the word love, he's saying, though I'm just making noise.
And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries.
You know the Bible from front to back and that's wonderful.
But if you don't have love, then we're nothing.
Look at this.
And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, though I have the all faith so that I could remove mountains, but I have not love, I am nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned.
Now think about what a powerful statement that is.
That even though I give my body as a martyr to die for the cause of Christ, and I do not have love, then I have nothing.
But I have not love, it profits me nothing.
Love suffers long and is kind.
That's what love is.
Compassion.
Now this is something that I've kind of done over the years.
When I talk about love in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, put your name in there.
Alan suffers long as a kind and is kind.
Is that what you are? Is that what you and I are? Love suffers long and is kind.
Love does not envy.
Put your name there.
Are you envious? Love does not parade itself.
Love is not puffed up.
It's not prideful.
Love does not behave rudely.
Does not seek its own.
Is not provoked.
Thinks no evil.
Does not rejoice in iniquity.
Rejoices in truth.
Bears all things.
Believe all things.
Hopes all things.
Endures all things.
Love never fails.
Charity never fails.
Agape never fails.
But whether there is prophecies, they will fail.
Whether there's tongues, they will cease.
Remember he was talking about the spiritual gifts, but a good example of love.
Whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
For we know in part, we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect has come, then that which is done in part will be done away.
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put childish things away.
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.
Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as also I am known.
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three.
But look what Paul says, but the greatest of these is love, charity, agape.
Jesus loved us.
God loves us.
And God expects us to love one another and to be good to one another and to be compassionate to one another.
Love one another.
A new commandment I give to you that you love one another is I have loved you that you also love one another.
I'm reminded of the words of Jesus when He spoke to Peter in one of their last conversations.
Think about this.
Now there was a couple different words for love which are used here.
One was agape, the other was phileleo.
But look at the point.
So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, now think about this, Peter has done what? Peter's denied Jesus three times.
And so this is a point, this is one of their last conversations while he was on this earth.
So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you.
He said to him, feed my lambs.
He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know I love you.
He said to him, tend my sheep.
He said to him a third time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he said this a third time, do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you.
Jesus said to him, feed my sheep.
If we love one another, what are we going to do? We're going to feed his sheep, preach the gospel to others, share the same hope that they have, that we have in Christ Jesus with them.
That is what a heart of compassion looks like.
I clicked my slide too quick.
But as they come on through this, this he spoke signifying what death, he would glorify God, that's in verse 19.
And when he had spoken this, he said to him, follow me.
That's what he told Peter, to follow him.
Do you love Jesus? Do you love the Lord? And if we love the Lord, then we will love one another.
We will be compassionate to one another, and we will be concerned about one another's deeds.
A new commandment I give to you that you love one another is I have loved you, that you also love one another.
What does that look like? What does it look like for us to love one another, to have compassion toward one another? A heart of compassion towards others and not just self.
It's not just about me.
When I'm part of the kingdom of Christ, when I'm part of God's kingdom, it's far greater than me.
It's about others too.
It's about preaching and teaching the gospel to others.
It's about being concerned about the needs of others.
Philippians chapter 2 and verse 3 says, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself.
That is what a heart of compassion looks like.
Teaching others the gospel of Christ.
Mark 16 and verse 16, going to all the world, preach the gospel to every creature, he that believes in his baptized shall be saved.
That's what compassion looks like, to teach the gospel to others.
Think about that.
There's an old song that says, you never mention him to me.
Now think about that.
There's people in this world that are lost, and some Christians have never even made an effort to preach the gospel and to teach the gospel to others.
My friends, love is to preach and teach the gospel to others, to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
That's what compassion looks like.
Being faithful, attending services, that's what compassion looks like.
Remember going back and looking at Philippians chapter 2 and verse 3, who's it about? It's not just about me, is it? Was it about David in the sense when we think about David and Mephibosheth? It wasn't just about David.
It was about Mephibosheth and showing compassion to him for Jonathan's sake.
You see other people in that.
We're brothers and sisters in Christ.
When we think about attending services, some say, well, I'll just wake up, I don't feel like going, I don't feel like being there.
Who's that about? That's about me, isn't it? Look what the Hebrew writer says in Hebrews chapter 10, 24-25, let us consider one another to stir up love and good works.
Who are we considering here? One another.
We're considering someone besides ourselves not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as a matter of some, but exhorting one another in so much more as you see the day approaching.
That's what love looks like.
When I wake up on Sunday morning, and it's time to go to services and my big toes are hurting, and I don't feel like going, I've got brethren sitting here that they may be at the end of their rope.
They may be having a terrible week and to see me walk through the door, that may be the highlight of their day because I'm there to encourage them.
It's about more than just me.
It's about more than what I want or what I feel or what I think.
It's about being compassionate to my brothers and sisters in Christ to submit to the elders.
There are so many congregations that you see across the country where brethren just refuse to submit to the eldership.
Brethren, that's what we're told to do.
Hebrews 13 verse 17, Obey those who rule over you and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls as those who must give an account.
And I tell you, when you think about having an eldership and men who care about your souls, that's something that myself, it's something that you don't miss until it's gone.
And when it's not there and you don't have that, you think to yourself, well, man, I wish I had good, godly men who were looking out for my souls.
But if we have those men that are doing that, then we must submit ourselves to the eldership.
Let them do so with joy and not grief, for that would be unprofitable to you.
As we look at the conclusion of the lesson, we see that David remembered his promise to Jonathan, and he showed compassion to Mephibosheth.
He showed kindness and compassion to him, and he set him up for life.
He fixed him up for life.
And the story points to the relationship between God and us and the love that God has for us.
It also points to the way that God's children should have the relationship that we should have with one another and showing compassion to one another.
And so as we consider these things this evening, the lesson will be yours.
Thank you for your time and thank you for your attention.
