David’s Finest Hour

But I want to look at this story about David Mephibosheth tonight.

And I just want to speak a little bit about shadows,

because shadows are very frustrating things.

We know about shadows, they do point to the real thing,

but they can often leave you with a kind of incomplete picture, can't they?

And questions and a bit of frustration,

because you can't really see the real thing unless you have access to it.

Sometimes we do when we have a shadow.

And I think the Old Testament can be a bit like that for us.

When we read it, it can be quite difficult to understand

and difficult to apply in our own lives and to our own circumstances.

And so we do need to look at the Old Testament,

we always need to look at the Old Testament

through the lens of Jesus Christ,

who is the real thing of which the Old Testament really is a shadow

that points forward to Jesus.

It's always important to do that.

But even then it can be hard work,

even then it can be quite difficult to make sense of some of the things in the Old Testament.

Maybe not so much this chapter,

but certainly parts of the Old Testament, very difficult.

But what we do recognize and see is that throughout the Old Testament,

we have a picture of God,

and a picture of a covenant God,

who makes promises,

and who keeps promises,

and is pointing forward to a day when he will reveal himself

as the Messiah and the person of the Redeemer,

the one who is to come to save his people.

And he promises always into the chaos of life.

And we're living in a lot of chaotic days,

and it's important to remember his promises.

It's important to remember his unflinching commitment

to rescue,

to forgive,

and to love his people.

You and I from death to life.

And what that means for you when you go out tomorrow,

the significance and the importance of that.

And what we find is that sometimes the teaching,

hopefully not sometimes,

hopefully always,

we find the teaching of the Old Testament

unfolds,

even in shadow,

God's purposes to his own people.

In a very different culture,

certainly,

to the one that we're used to,

that ancient Near Eastern culture

of kings and wars and brutality,

which we sometimes recoil a little bit from

when we read it.

And we think,

this is not my world.

I don't understand this.

This is strange.

And yet we're called to recognize God

working in that situation,

and we learn from him

about how he expects us to live our lives in Christ

through God our Savior

in a world that we too are surrounded by enemies.

Different enemies,

in a different context.

You're not going to get,

generally speaking,

people running up to you with chariots

and with spears

and all kinds of stuff like that.

But nonetheless,

we know there's a spiritual warfare going on

in our lives.

So there's two things

that I want to talk about this evening.

The first is

the global picture that we see of God at work

in shadow

here in this passage

or in the passages surrounding it.

And then the personal work of God

in shadow

in the interaction between David and Mephibosheth.

And we'll try and make sense of that for ourselves.

So what we recognize

as we're going through the story of David particularly,

God is establishing his kingdom.

He's establishing a people

and a nation

and a country,

a land,

and a king

over them.

And that becomes really clear

in the chapter before

and in the chapter after chapter 8

and chapter 10

are very interesting.

We don't have time to read them.

And in some ways,

they're quite brutal chapters

because it's all the stories of David

defeating his enemies around him

and destroying the enemies

and setting up the land

and the kingdom

for his people.

And so what we do see, though,

is that God is establishing a king

in King David,

a king after his own heart,

a people,

people that follow God

and who are reliant on God

as their saviour

who has redeemed them

and on whom he pours out his hesed,

his loving kindness,

his grace.

He pours that out on them.

And they're establishing a homeland,

a place to stay.

Someone to follow

a righteous king, David,

and somewhere to live.

Somewhere to call home.

That's not that unfamiliar, is it?

So we have the king,

a people, and a homeland.

And it's to be a society

that reflects God's own character.

A society that's loving

and secure

and just

and fair.

I think chapter 8

and verse 15

we're told that David

reigned over all Israel

doing what was just

and right

for all his people.

So it was to be

a specific kind of nation.

One that reflected

God's justice

and God's character.

And it was also a nation

that was founded

on

on God's help

and God's strength.

So again in chapter 8

if you look at verse 6

in terms of the battles

that David had

it said

the Lord gave David victory

wherever he went.

And then in verse 14

it repeats that.

The Lord gave David victory

wherever he went.

So it was

the nation

the big global picture

as it were

was of God

setting up a people

a king

and a nation

and it was in God's strength

and in reliance on God.

And it was always

in the face

of brutal

opposition.

So the surrounding nations

would have none of it.

They didn't want to worship

the God of Israel.

They didn't want to come

under his lordship.

They wanted their own

idolatrous lives

and idolatrous ways

of living.

And

it was

it was kill or be killed.

That was the world

in which you lived.

it was

they were there

to destroy

God's people

and destroy

the worship of God

and his lordship

and his exclusive claims

and his people.

They all wanted that wiped out.

So we find

that God

in the Old Testament

is pointing forward

by doing this.

He's establishing

a king

and a people

and a homeland.

Now can we move

out of the shadows

for just a moment?

And remember

that Jesus

sheds light

on

on all of this

John 8 verse 12

John 8:12

he says

I am the light

of the world.

And

he brings light

into the shadows

of even

these Old Testament

pictures

and he reminds us

that he is

the greater king

the greater son

of David

the one that

we have put our trust

in.

21st century

Edinburgh

we're the people

that have put our trust

in Jesus

the great servant king

the great son of David

who is God

but who is also

one of us.

He's our idol

as it were

he's our god

he's our king

he's our hope

he's our saviour

and he alone

is worthy

of our

worship

who alone

can satisfy

our deepest needs

he's our warrior king

who's already

won the battle

on our behalf

never leaves us

he's the man

it's too easy

for us to lose

sight of that

it's too easy

for us to drift

along without

thinking about

Jesus

to lack

enthusiasm

for Jesus

Christ

and just to forget

how great he is

that everything

everything in the

Old Testament

is pointing towards

this great

climactic

revelation of

God

in Christ

and all of it

is in shadow

behind him

and he's the God

who meets

our deepest needs

the need for

belonging

that is

a homeland

isn't it

that's what we need

that's what the

Old Testament

people were speaking

of and thinking

of

a land flowing

with milk and honey

good place

that's what

God provides for

his acceptance

family

love

security

ultimately a

homeland

which will be

a physical place

too

new heavens

and the new

earth

a place

with no end

date

no eviction

notice

no borders

a place to

explore

and a place

of excitement

and a place

of joy

and a place

of learning

and a place

of exploration

where we live

in his

in his company

forever

with the church

as a family

or the people

of God

as our family

the ground

which McClue

is built

which your houses

are built

scarred by sin

and by all the

effects of sin

will be reclaimed

forever

in the new heavens

and the new earth

he's providing

a home

and a belonging

and a fatherhood

for us

and that victory

similarly

to the victory

of the Old Testament

is a victory

in the face

of spiritual

darkness

enemies

surrounding us

you know

today we can't

get away

from the reality

of evil

you simply

can't do it

it seems like

there's new ways

to invent evil

all the time

doesn't it

can't get away

from it

we realise

that the nations

are under

God's judgement

and that evil

provokes death

and destruction

and his lordship

and his rule

and his greatness

is denied

we see that

we know that

we experience that

all around us

Satan rails

against God

at every level

but remember

he is defeated

on the cross

not yet destroyed

he thrashes around

in his dying

rage

we recognise that

and we

we're realistic

about that

so our Christian

life's a battle

and your heart

is a warfare

and there's that

reality that we face

every day

the war has been won

but there's many

battles that we

still face

as we live

our Christian lives

so there's a kind

of global

picture there

in a sense

a shadowy

picture

in the Old Testament

victories

and establishing

of a kingdom

which point forward

to what God

is doing in Christ

what is happening

just now

that he's establishing

a spiritual kingdom

a homeland

of which we are a part

but I want just

to speak also

briefly

about

the personal

story

that's in shadow

here

that speaks about

grace personally

that maybe takes it

more into the living room

or more into the church

this evening

and

more into our own lives

and how we respond

because

I was saying this morning

at St. Columbus

you know

it's

it's really easy

to

to be unchanged

under God's word

isn't it

it's really easy

to forget

that we're part

of a grace revolution

and it's

so it's a revolution

not in macro terms

but in heart terms

so that

every time we come

under the word

every time we're

eyeball to eyeball

with God

in his word

or in prayer

or in preaching

or in Bible study

whatever it happens

to be

he's saying

I've got something

that I want to

I want to transform

in your life

there's a response

that I want you to give

to the troubles

you're facing

there's

an action of grace

that I want you to put

in place

because the Christian road

that we're on

is a radical road

it's a revolutionary road

it's a different road

certainly

from the revolutions

of the world

where we live

but nonetheless

it's a grace revolution

anyway

that's me just dipping

into this morning's sermon

in case I run out of time

it's personal in shadows

and I think

we need that

because

what we have here

so you've got the big picture

and I know it's difficult

to understand the battles

and

we feel

and a little bit distanced

from all these battles

and these victories

and warfare

and killings

everything

but now

we come to this

this great cameo

this great

this powerful cameo

where we see

God's covenant love

God's chesed love

God's loving kindness

what it looks like

at eyeball to eyeball

level

between human beings

it's a

it's a little grace oasis

as it were

it's a shaft

of light

of grace light

in the Old Testament

shadow

or the Old Testament

attic

it's a sun spot

in the Old Testament

shadowy garden

and it's a place

of warmth

and attractiveness

for us

where we can see

God's love

at work

and I hope

that we can apply that

to how we

live our lives

so

you're a well-taught

people here

you all probably

know the story

of Mephibosheth

and David

and the background

to it as well

what we do have

is the outworking

of God's love

in David's life

I entitled

this sermon

David's Finest Hour

and I genuinely

believe

this is King David's

finest hour

his interaction

with Mephibosheth

is the high point

of his life

doesn't get better

God is with him

in these victories

but this is the high point

and I think the text

is created

to reveal that

because from this point

or from the next chapter

on chapter 11

it speaks about

his great downfall

and his great failing

and the exposing

of his lust

and selfishness

in the story

of Bathsheba

and what follows

from it

and it really

doesn't really

get any better

from then on

this is the high point

in many ways

and that's good

and that's important

because we know

that David

loved the Lord

we know he was

a recipient

of God's great grace

and love

in his life

and we know

that he shared

that love

with Jonathan

he shared

that love

with the way

he treated Saul

even though he could

have destroyed

that whole family

as the kings

of his day

had every right

to do

but he

or Jonathan

and him

made a covenant

in some of the

earlier chapters

chapter

well it's back

in 1st Samuel 20

and also 2nd Samuel 7

we've got these

this great covenant

that Jonathan

made where David

said look

look after my family

and covenant love

you know whatever

happens

Jonathan says

will you please

not destroy

any of my

descendants

because of the

love we share

and because of

because of the

love God

has shown us

because of God's

love for them

that they were

asking

that Jonathan

was asking

who

Jonathan

who knew

that David

had every right

to destroy

any particular

descendants

of Jonathan

and Saul

who might

usurp

the throne

wasn't it

interesting

that ended up

David's own

son that usurped

the throne

in Absalom

anyway

he made this

covenant

and David

agreed

in love

and grace

knowing God's

love in his

own life

to protect

and look

after the

descendants of

Saul and

Jonathan

loyal love

and forgiveness

and grace

was unbreakable

strong bond

and so we have

this story where

David just asked

the question

is anyone left

is anyone left

to Saul's family

and who I can

show kindness

to

same word

loving kindness

grace

chesed

for Jonathan's

sake

he said that

great love

for Jonathan

and there was

this

Mephibosheth

and so he

calls for him

and he calls

for him

to come to the

house

they summoned

him to appear

before David

can you imagine

what Mephibosheth

was thinking

curtains

this is the

end

I've been found

out

been on the run

most of my

life

things have

been difficult

completely

unexpected call

from the king

love to a

descendant of

Saul

no chance

anonymous

character

don't know

what he was

doing up to

this point

but his

background

his bloodline

was deadly

he had

injuries

lifelong injuries

that were a

constant reminder

to him

of the fact

that he'd

been on the

run

for his

life

as a

small child

probably very

poor

dependent on

others

2 Samuel 4

tells us

that he was

dropped by his

nurse while

they were

running away

for their

lives

and damaged

his legs

and he was

never able to

walk properly

after that

he himself

had no

self esteem

called himself

a dead dog

in verse 8

why on earth

would you have

any interest

in me

a dead dog

it's quite

interesting

he's a

dead dog

and he's

living in

Lodabar

and that

just means

the land

of nothing

this guy's

no great

hero

he's a

crippled

individual

who is

anonymous

who's kind

of scared

of his

life

he has

no great

prospects

and he's

living in

the land

of nothing

and the

first thing

David says

to him

is

don't be

afraid

don't be

afraid

he had

every right

to be

afraid

he was

really an

enemy of

David's

in many

ways

he said

I will

surely show

you kindness

in verse 7

for the sake

of your

father

Jonathan

I will

restore to

you

and he

goes on

this great

generosity

amazing

generosity

that he

shows

he restores

his land

he provides

people to

till the

land

to provide

fruit

and to

provide

income

through that

land

he has

fellowship

at the

king's

table

in

Jerusalem

for the

rest of

his life

he has

servants

he has

harvests

he has

income

he's treated

like a

son

he has

no rights

to any

of it

it's

unreal

beyond

his wildest

dreams

he must

say pinch

me

what's

going on

here

am I

dreaming

this can't

be happening

it's like

winning the

lottery

a hundred

times over

he had

this amazing

future

ahead of

him

not that

winning the

lottery is

any use

of course

I recognize

that

but

speaking

colloquially

and using

that illustration

unbelievable

generosity

and grace

was his

so let's

briefly

shine

the

new

testament

light

of

grace

on that

story

for

ourselves

where we

see as

time

reveals

itself

God's

covenant

of

grace

revealed

fully

in the

person

of

Jesus

Christ

and

I

think

from

this

little

glimpse

of

grace

in

David's

finest

hour

we see

him

if I

can

talk

like

this

way

if I

can

talk

this

way

most

like

Christ

he's

most

like

his

greater

son

in

what

he

does

here

he's

a

type

of

Christ

but

he's

also

and

forgive

me

or

forgive

for

those

who

are

theologians

here

this

might

not

be

correct

but

I

think

he's

also

an

exemplar

of

a

Christian

a

type

of

Christ

but

also

an

exemplar

of

a

Christian

he's

reflecting

God's

love

so

we

find

sandwiched

in the

global

shadows

of

chapter

8

and

10

this

amazing

picture

of

grace

being

outworked

which

points

forward

to

his

greater

son

Jesus

because

can I

say

I

think

if we

reflect

on this

in many

ways

we

are

Mephibosheth

we are

the same

as him

before

this

great

king

before

the

greater

son

of

David

Jesus

by

nature

we're

hopeless

before

the

king

we have

no

rights

we have

every

every

right

for

God

to

reject

us

death

awaits

us

without

salvation

and

that's

where

sin

holds

us

in a

place

of

being

enemies

of

Christ

and under

his

just

wrath

and

judgment

until

we come

to

faith

it's

important

to

grasp

that

to

remind

ourselves

lest

we

think

we

deserve

anything

from

Jesus

lest

we

think

we're

better

than

other

people

lest

we

think

people

out

there

deserve

judgment

but

us

in

here

we

don't

let's

remind

ourselves

of

who

we

were

if

you're

Christians

this evening

who

we

were

and

how

God's

great

grace

was

gifted

to

us

and

can

I

just

ask

if

any

of

you

share

that

same

self

loathing

as

Mephibosheth

had for

himself

this

dead

dog

when

I

was

reading

this

passage

that's

always

what

stands

out

for

me

that

you

should

notice

a

dead

dog

like

me

we

live

in

a

day

and

a

generation

where

people

self

esteem

is

extremely

low

many

people

feel

utterly

worthless

and

insignificant

feel

like

damaged

goods

unworthy

of

anyone

or

anything

now

if

you're

a

Christian

this

evening

and

you

feel

like

that

I

think

you

need

to

seriously

reevaluate

your

understanding

of grace

and of

God's

love

for you

and

his

covenant

love

and

his

promises

and

his

commitment

and

the

great

cost

he's

already

paid

for you

to be

free

we

kind of

forget

it

and yet

it's

the

greatest

cost

that he

couldn't

have done

anymore

for you

to be

sitting

here

this

evening

as

a

Christian

up

close

and

personal

find

your

value

and

your

identity

and

your

worth

and

your

significance

and

your

purpose

in

life

knowing

his

great

love

not

just

talking

about

it

or

understanding

it

theologically

but

soaking it

in

and

taking

it

so that

it

changes

the way

we

think

about

ourselves

and

who

we

are

and

understanding

him

and

recognizing

if you're

not yet

a

Christian

if you

feel that

sense of

hopelessness

and

worthlessness

that is

the world

that we

live in

and that

is the

heart

that

sometimes

sin

exposes

us to

hear

God's

invitation

in

Jesus

Christ

and

come

to

him

for

love

and for

life

and for

belonging

and for

hope

and

listen

to

the

echo

of

God

in

this

passage

where

David

says

don't

be

afraid

you

know

that's

the

most

probably

the

most

common

message

that we

get

from

heaven

I'm

not

quite

sure

if this

is

apocryphal

because

I've

never

tested

it

out

but

there's

supposed

to

be

365

do

not

be

afraid

in

the

Bible

no

I

think

there's

actually

366

there's

one

for a

leap

here

apparently

there's

certainly

a lot

of

them

because

God

knows

isn't

that

good

that

God

knows

that

we're

often

afraid

and

that

we're

often

struggling

and

we're

often

battling

as

Mephibosheth

would have

been here

do not

be

afraid

and

we

rejoice

this

evening

because

he's

taken

that

great

fear

from

our

hearts

and

lives

and

remind

ourselves

when

we

look

at

a

passage

like

this

and

think

of

what

Mephibosheth

was

given

what

we're

given

spiritually

in

relation

to

what

he

was

given

we're

given

everything

everything

that we

need

this is

a bad

dream

this is

a small

bad

dream

in the

light

of

eternity

and the

struggles

and the

battles

we have

here

they're

real

they're

significant

but

they're

a drop

in the

ocean

compared

with

the

reality

of

what

we

have

and

what

we

have

yet

to be

revealed

in

Christ

a

home

and

adoption

resources

we're

sitting

you know

we

celebrated

the

Lord's

supper

this

morning

in

St.

Columbus

because

it's

a

picture

of

the

feast

that

we

will

enjoy

in

the

presence

of

Christ

the

wedding

feast

where

there

is

tremendous

provision

and

love

and joy

and

an

unbreakable

shall we

live

that

perspective

and that

hope

which is

significant

for us

isn't it

he's

sacrificed

so that

we can

I can't

even

I can't

even put

into words

what we

receive

you see

what

Mephibosheth

gets here

and it's

just a

shadowy

picture

of what

is ours

in Christ

and God

knows that

I can't

put it

into words

because he

says it's

beyond

what we

can ask

or even

imagine

but the

Old

Testament

the

promises

thunder

out of

the

shadows

as we

look at

them

through

the

light

of

Jesus

Christ

so we

are

Mephibosheth

and lastly

and very

briefly

I also

think we're

David

or that

we're to

take the

example of

David

I know

that David

in many

ways is

the type

of Christ

here

but he's

also a

sinner

that's

saved by

grace

isn't he

and he's

an example

of how

to

live out

grace

how to

show it

in his

life

and he

shows it

very

powerfully

with

Mephibosheth

because he

understood

at this

point

in the

most powerful

way in

his life

he understood

God's grace

to him

and how

that should

make him

act

with others

that's

why truth

is crucial

for us

tonight

and in

our

Christian

lives

where the

teaching

the doctrine

the truth

the person

of Christ

understanding

the gospel

understanding

the covenant

why that is

so important

because until

we understand

his love

for us

and who

we were

and what

he saved

us from

we've chosen

and rescued

and enriched

we'll never

act that out

in our

relationship

with others

unless we

see what

we've been

saved from

it will

never impact

or transform

our hearts

in the way

we deal

with others

who

are to be

loved with

that same

covenant

love

I think

that starts

first in the

Christian family

see what's

a real

a real

curse

is a

divided

and a

cold

and a

judgmental

and a

gossiping

and a

separated

church

family

it's a

church that

doesn't

understand

grace

it's a

church that's

not sacrificing

itself for the

greater cause

it's a

church that's

just

pedestrian

in their

understanding

and it's a

church that

nobody will

come into

because who

needs that

we get that

in the

bowling club

get that in

the workplace

get that

everywhere else

but the

church is to

be that

great out

working of

grace

it's to

be the

the radical

community

of a

transformed

people who

have been

turned upside

down and

inside out

by God's

grace

as David

was in the

way he

acted towards

this son of