1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:07,500 You�re listening to a sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. To contact 2 00:00:07,500 –> 00:00:16,879 us, call us at 1-877-OPEN-365. Or, visit our website, OpenTheBible.org. Let�s get to 3 00:00:16,879 –> 00:00:23,120 the message. Here is Pastor Colin. This is the last of four Sundays when we�ve 4 00:00:23,120 –> 00:00:29,500 been learning from the story of Saul and David. And today, we come to the central theme of 5 00:00:29,500 –> 00:00:34,759 the whole story. Now, for those of you who don�t know the story, Saul was the first 6 00:00:34,759 –> 00:00:41,880 king over God�s people, and he was an absolute disaster. We followed the story of how God 7 00:00:41,880 –> 00:00:47,419 said that the Kingdom would be taken away from him. He never accepted that, but he had 8 00:00:47,419 –> 00:00:54,080 already been told. David was to become the new king, and even when he was a teenager, 9 00:00:54,220 –> 00:00:59,540 was anointed, and God indicated that that would be his future. But this has happened 10 00:00:59,540 –> 00:01:05,820 in private, so only a few people knew about it, but it had already taken place. Then, 11 00:01:05,820 –> 00:01:12,139 as we followed the story, we followed that great day when David killed Goliath, and, 12 00:01:12,139 –> 00:01:19,139 after that, Saul took David onto his staff at the palace, and there, David met Jonathan, 13 00:01:19,940 –> 00:01:26,940 the king’s son, and they formed a deep bond of friendship. Jonathan must have known what 14 00:01:27,339 –> 00:01:34,339 God had said about his father, that Saul’s son, Jonathan, would not sit on the throne. 15 00:01:34,839 –> 00:01:38,940 We know that Saul had never accepted that, and so, no doubt, there were many conversations 16 00:01:38,940 –> 00:01:43,900 in the palace between father and son. Jonathan, you don’t need to worry about that, 17 00:01:44,279 –> 00:01:51,279 prophet, we’re a strong family. You’ll sit on the throne one day, my son, don’t you worry. 18 00:01:51,339 –> 00:01:57,879 I’ll see to it. But Jonathan was not so sure, because he had faith in God, and he knew that 19 00:01:57,879 –> 00:02:04,339 God had spoken. And, so, as Jonathan and David became friends 20 00:02:04,339 –> 00:02:11,059 in the palace, I wish I could have heard their conversations about the future. I picture 21 00:02:11,100 –> 00:02:17,179 them out in the fields one day. And Jonathan says to his closest friend, two teenagers 22 00:02:17,179 –> 00:02:24,179 talking together, you know, David, I’m not sure I’m going to be King. What do you think? 23 00:02:28,119 –> 00:02:35,119 Long silence. And then David says, Jonathan, can I tell you something that I’ve never told 24 00:02:35,960 –> 00:02:42,960 anyone else in all of my life? Yeah, tell me. I’m your best friend. You can tell me 25 00:02:45,339 –> 00:02:52,339 anything. I’m not sure I can tell you this. Tell me. Well, one day the prophet came privately 26 00:02:55,199 –> 00:03:02,199 to my house. He said that God had told him to anoint a new king. I was out in the fields 27 00:03:03,080 –> 00:03:09,600 when he arrived. He met all my brothers, and then he sent for me. I was absolutely astonished. 28 00:03:09,600 –> 00:03:14,639 When I arrived at the house, you know what he did. He took a flask of oil, and he poured 29 00:03:14,639 –> 00:03:21,639 it over my head, and he said, God is anointing you to be the king over his people. Jonathan, 30 00:03:23,679 –> 00:03:28,139 if your father finds out that I’ve been anointed to be the next king, he’s going to kill me. 31 00:03:28,139 –> 00:03:34,860 What on earth are we going to do? And suddenly the two friends knew that their loyalty would 32 00:03:34,860 –> 00:03:41,779 be tested to the limit. And poor Jonathan, he was, of course, in an impossible position. 33 00:03:41,779 –> 00:03:48,220 His father would try and destroy his best friend, and he was caught right in the middle 34 00:03:48,220 –> 00:03:55,220 and he had to choose which side to take. Either he would accept the word of God and then he 35 00:03:55,259 –> 00:04:01,940 would give up his own claim to the throne and he would side with his friend. Or he would 36 00:04:01,940 –> 00:04:07,020 resist the word of God, he’d fight against it, he’d pursue his claim to the throne, and 37 00:04:07,020 –> 00:04:12,679 he’d take his stand with his father. But either way Jonathan knew that he was right in the 38 00:04:12,679 –> 00:04:19,679 middle of a great conflict. Well, Jonathan made his decision. If God had chosen David 39 00:04:20,459 –> 00:04:27,459 to be the next king of Israel, who was Jonathan to fight against it? Though Jonathan was the 40 00:04:28,239 –> 00:04:33,380 old King’s son, he would give David his full loyalty. 41 00:04:33,380 –> 00:04:37,739 And if you want to follow the story, we’ll be going in different places as we track through 42 00:04:37,739 –> 00:04:44,739 it. We’re really picking it up now at 1 Samuel chapter 18 verse 3. 1 Samuel chapter 18 verse 43 00:04:45,739 –> 00:04:52,739 3 where we read that Jonathan made a covenant – important word. He made a covenant with 44 00:04:54,100 –> 00:05:01,100 David because he loved him as himself, 1 Samuel 18 verse 3. He says to David, now look here 45 00:05:04,220 –> 00:05:11,220 David, whatever the cost, whatever the future, whatever it takes, I want you to know that 46 00:05:11,880 –> 00:05:18,880 you can count on me. Now this covenant loyalty that we’re going to think about from the 47 00:05:21,380 –> 00:05:27,179 Bible this morning is really a special kind of love. The Hebrews in their language had 48 00:05:27,179 –> 00:05:34,179 a particular word for covenant loyalty. They called it hesed. Hesed. And hesed simply means 49 00:05:35,079 –> 00:05:42,079 steadfast love. It means a love that will last. It means a love that you can count on. 50 00:05:49,399 –> 00:05:56,040 It’s sometimes translated in the Bible in the NIV faithfulness, or you could simply 51 00:05:56,040 –> 00:06:03,040 call it loyalty. And if you turn over a couple of pages to 1 Samuel in chapter 20 you will 52 00:06:03,220 –> 00:06:10,220 find there that that word is used twice, in verse 8 and in verse 15, both times it’s translated 53 00:06:10,339 –> 00:06:17,339 faithfulness. By this point in the story Saul has begun his attacks on David’s life. He’s 54 00:06:17,359 –> 00:06:22,299 thrown a spear at him trying to pin him to the wall in the palace, and David has fled 55 00:06:22,299 –> 00:06:27,480 for his life, and now he meets up with the King’s son, his closest friend. And David 56 00:06:27,820 –> 00:06:34,820 says to Jonathan verse 8, as for you show hesced to me, show kindness to your servant, 57 00:06:37,239 –> 00:06:44,239 show faithful love for you have brought him into a covenant with you before the Lord. 58 00:06:46,480 –> 00:06:53,480 He looks Jonathan in the eye and he says your father’s thrown a spear at me. This has really 59 00:06:53,579 –> 00:07:00,579 hit the fan now. Now can I count on you? You made a covenant with me, now please, show 60 00:07:01,420 –> 00:07:08,420 me hesced. I need you to be the one person that I can count on. Will you be that person?” 61 00:07:12,119 –> 00:07:18,559 And Jonathan pledges his allegiance. And then as we go to verse 13, he asks for something 62 00:07:18,600 –> 00:07:25,100 in return. Jonathan knows because it was the Word of God that one day David would be the 63 00:07:25,100 –> 00:07:31,579 king. He also knows that in those days when a new king came to the throne, the way in 64 00:07:31,579 –> 00:07:38,179 which he consolidated his power was to wipe out all the descendants of the old king. That 65 00:07:38,179 –> 00:07:44,260 was simply how you consolidated power. And everyone did it across cultures in those days. 66 00:07:44,260 –> 00:07:49,119 So Jonathan says, chapter 20 in verse 13, may the Lord be with you as He has been with 67 00:07:49,119 –> 00:08:00,640 my father, but show me hesed. Show me unfailing kindness, like that of the Lord. As long as 68 00:08:00,640 –> 00:08:07,100 I live so that I may not be killed. And then he goes further, do not ever cut of your hesed 69 00:08:07,100 –> 00:08:13,799 from my family. Don’t ever cut off your loyal love, your kindness from my family. Not even 70 00:08:13,799 –> 00:08:19,339 when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth. 71 00:08:19,339 –> 00:08:26,500 So Jonathan says to David, look you can count on my pledged loyalty, but can I count on 72 00:08:26,500 –> 00:08:36,940 yours? And David says yes. Verse 17, he reaffirms his Oath. And then as they part, after this 73 00:08:36,940 –> 00:08:42,159 important conversation, Jonathan kind of looks back in verse 23 and he makes the point, just 74 00:08:42,219 –> 00:08:46,559 one more time in case David should ever forget. Now he says about the matter that you and 75 00:08:46,559 –> 00:08:58,380 I discussed remember the Lord is witness between you and me forever. We made each other a promise 76 00:08:58,380 –> 00:09:06,000 and God was witness to that promise and God holds us accountable to fulfill that promise 77 00:09:06,359 –> 00:09:14,659 forever. Now I love this pledge of loyalty that’s made here. You don’t find Jonathan saying, 78 00:09:14,659 –> 00:09:19,599 Well, I don’t know, David. My father thinks there’s a chance that I could become King 79 00:09:19,599 –> 00:09:25,679 and so I’d like to keep my options open right now. You don’t find David saying, 80 00:09:25,679 –> 00:09:29,559 Well, now you’re asking me to make a promise on through the end of my life. Well, 81 00:09:30,440 –> 00:09:37,200 there’s life and there’s politics, and it’s asking a bit much. No, Jonathan knows 82 00:09:37,200 –> 00:09:41,559 that loyalty to David will be the greatest and most costly choice of his life and 83 00:09:41,559 –> 00:09:45,979 David knows that the same is true of his covenant with Jonathan. This will be the 84 00:09:45,979 –> 00:09:54,700 most important thing. And so they choose to seal it with a covenant. Now this 85 00:09:54,700 –> 00:09:59,400 reminds us and speaks to us powerfully today that there are still some things in 86 00:09:59,400 –> 00:10:09,280 life that are so important that we want to put them beyond the range of impulse. 87 00:10:09,280 –> 00:10:15,099 We want to protect them because they’re so important from swings in our moods and 88 00:10:15,099 –> 00:10:20,900 in our feelings. That’s why people get married. 89 00:10:20,900 –> 00:10:27,260 We count this relationship to be so sacred. We know that honoring it at some 90 00:10:27,260 –> 00:10:32,979 points will prove very costly, but we don’t want it to be open-ended. 91 00:10:32,979 –> 00:10:37,239 We don’t want it to be just a private understanding between the two of us. 92 00:10:37,239 –> 00:10:42,820 We want to raise it to the level of a covenant that is sealed with God as our 93 00:10:42,820 –> 00:10:49,580 witness to hold us accountable. So we come and we say to this person for 94 00:10:49,580 –> 00:10:54,340 whom God has given us the gift of love, you can count on me. 95 00:10:54,539 –> 00:10:57,880 You can count on me for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer. 96 00:10:57,880 –> 00:11:04,280 I pledge chesed to you. Whatever the cost, whatever the future 97 00:11:04,280 –> 00:11:14,179 holds, a love that you can count on. And it’s not just a piece of paper. 98 00:11:14,179 –> 00:11:23,979 It is a sacred covenant that gives direction and security to the whole of life. 99 00:11:23,979 –> 00:11:25,440 Loyalty makes a promise. 100 00:11:25,440 –> 00:11:31,179 Do you know I’ve only ever made four vows in my life? 101 00:11:31,179 –> 00:11:33,659 I don’t expect ever to make any others. 102 00:11:35,900 –> 00:11:40,460 But the four vows that I have made in my life are the navigating points, 103 00:11:40,460 –> 00:11:42,400 the pillars of life. 104 00:11:42,400 –> 00:11:48,059 They are the foundational identity of who I am. 105 00:11:48,059 –> 00:11:51,260 Let me just tell you about them in order. 106 00:11:51,260 –> 00:11:55,940 The order in which they happened in my life. 107 00:11:55,940 –> 00:12:00,520 The first was a vow that was made on the day that I was baptized. 108 00:12:00,520 –> 00:12:02,340 In what? 109 00:12:03,419 –> 00:12:11,919 Yes, God gives us baptism because some things are too important to be left open-ended. 110 00:12:11,919 –> 00:12:17,900 And God gives us the opportunity of raising our commitment to Christ above the level of 111 00:12:18,059 –> 00:12:26,340 private thought or prayer, to a public confession and a publicly sealed vow in the presence 112 00:12:26,340 –> 00:12:29,020 of God – that’s what baptism is all about. 113 00:12:29,020 –> 00:12:32,700 If a Christian says to me while they’re not interested in being baptized, I’d feel 114 00:12:32,700 –> 00:12:37,219 the same way as with a couple who say they’re in love, but they don’t want to get married. 115 00:12:37,219 –> 00:12:42,020 I feel like saying why wouldn’t you want to? 116 00:12:42,020 –> 00:12:49,020 So I made a vow when I was baptized – a vow of chesed to Christ. 117 00:12:49,020 –> 00:12:57,659 The second was when I was married – a vow of chesed to Karen. 118 00:12:57,659 –> 00:13:03,280 The third was at a service of ordination charged with the responsibility of leading the church 119 00:13:03,340 –> 00:13:06,500 and preaching the Bible. 120 00:13:06,500 –> 00:13:11,559 I gave a vow of chesed to the church. 121 00:13:11,559 –> 00:13:17,380 And the fourth, in the order in which they happened, happened on two occasions. 122 00:13:17,380 –> 00:13:23,320 When our two boys were born and we had a dedication service back in London and Karen and I together 123 00:13:23,320 –> 00:13:30,320 made vows of chesed as a mother and as a father. 124 00:13:30,919 –> 00:13:36,460 And these four covenants are the greatest privilege of my life. 125 00:13:36,460 –> 00:13:39,059 They’re my highest calling. 126 00:13:39,059 –> 00:13:42,280 My most costly commitment. 127 00:13:42,280 –> 00:13:49,280 Not one of them is open-ended, because loyalty makes promises. 128 00:13:49,900 –> 00:13:53,340 And what are the covenants of your life? 129 00:13:53,340 –> 00:14:00,080 Do you have a covenant to follow Christ? 130 00:14:00,140 –> 00:14:04,679 What are the covenants that God has trusted into your life? 131 00:14:04,679 –> 00:14:08,340 Well, they’ll be different for different ones among us. 132 00:14:08,340 –> 00:14:16,039 But I want us to see three things about the covenants of our lives, these great commitments 133 00:14:16,039 –> 00:14:22,400 that God trusts to us that define who we are. 134 00:14:22,400 –> 00:14:34,020 And the first is this, that hesed, loyalty, covenant commitment will bring you great pain. 135 00:14:34,020 –> 00:14:37,099 It’s always costly. 136 00:14:37,099 –> 00:14:41,479 Turn over if you would to 2 Samuel and chapter 1. 137 00:14:41,479 –> 00:14:46,119 David is still on the run from Saul as we’re following the story. 138 00:14:46,119 –> 00:14:51,700 And then one day, as he’s in his temporary home that he’s set up in this place called 139 00:14:51,700 –> 00:14:55,619 Ziklag, a messenger arrives with news from the battlefield. 140 00:14:55,619 –> 00:15:05,739 He arrives and he, he says, news for you, Saul is dead and all but one of his sons have 141 00:15:05,739 –> 00:15:09,320 died with him, right there on the field of battle. 142 00:15:09,320 –> 00:15:12,640 He’s been struck down. 143 00:15:12,640 –> 00:15:23,380 Then comes the news that David never wanted to hear in verse 4 and Jonathan is dead, your 144 00:15:23,380 –> 00:15:30,820 best friend, the one person in life you could really trust, the person that was ready to 145 00:15:30,820 –> 00:15:39,520 give up everything for you is dead, David. 146 00:15:39,640 –> 00:15:44,760 And David is absolutely broken-hearted and he writes a lament that is recorded in 2 Samuel 147 00:15:44,760 –> 00:15:46,460 chapter 1 and verse 17. 148 00:15:46,460 –> 00:15:51,940 It’s an outpouring of grief for the tragedy of Saul’s life and the loss of his best friend 149 00:15:51,940 –> 00:15:52,940 Jonathan. 150 00:15:52,940 –> 00:15:59,640 Verse 19, your glory, O Israel lay slain on your heights, how have the mighty fallen! 151 00:15:59,640 –> 00:16:05,440 Verse 25, I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother, you were very dear to me. 152 00:16:05,440 –> 00:16:10,239 Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women. 153 00:16:10,239 –> 00:16:12,380 Do you see what he’s saying, Jonathan. 154 00:16:12,380 –> 00:16:16,359 You showed a different kind of love to me. 155 00:16:16,359 –> 00:16:22,440 You showed me the kind of love that would lay aside your own interest in a crown. 156 00:16:22,440 –> 00:16:25,239 You protected me when my life was on the line. 157 00:16:25,239 –> 00:16:27,880 You encouraged me when I was at the point of giving up. 158 00:16:27,880 –> 00:16:30,659 You gave me strength. 159 00:16:30,659 –> 00:16:37,460 You gave up your rights to a throne, and you stood with me so that God’s purpose would 160 00:16:37,460 –> 00:16:39,299 be fulfilled in my life. 161 00:16:39,299 –> 00:16:42,340 What kind of love is that? 162 00:16:42,340 –> 00:16:50,780 That’s hesed, and there’s pain in hesed, always. 163 00:16:50,780 –> 00:16:58,739 You see, those who choose to really care will find that caring makes you vulnerable to hurt. 164 00:16:59,460 –> 00:17:03,919 Is there a mother who doesn’t know this? 165 00:17:03,919 –> 00:17:17,859 To love deeply is to enter into, at some points and in some ways, the deepest of grief. 166 00:17:17,859 –> 00:17:25,140 And those who have chosen to care with all their hearts will at some point and in some 167 00:17:25,500 –> 00:17:32,140 way feel the pain that comes with hesed. 168 00:17:32,140 –> 00:17:39,880 Where there are hills, there are valleys. 169 00:17:39,880 –> 00:17:41,579 The two always go together. 170 00:17:41,579 –> 00:17:46,699 There can be no peaks where there are no valleys. 171 00:17:46,699 –> 00:17:50,260 That’s the main problem that I have with Illinois, I have to say. 172 00:17:50,260 –> 00:17:54,380 It is neither one nor the other. 173 00:17:55,060 –> 00:18:05,219 Covenant love will take you to the highest peaks and it will bring you into the deepest 174 00:18:05,219 –> 00:18:07,780 valleys. 175 00:18:07,780 –> 00:18:14,959 If you choose this kind of love, it will be both your highest calling and your most costly 176 00:18:14,959 –> 00:18:17,699 commitment in all of your life. 177 00:18:17,699 –> 00:18:23,680 It will be your greatest blessing, and at the same time it will be your deepest sorrow. 178 00:18:23,680 –> 00:18:31,060 Think about Mary, the mother of our Lord. 179 00:18:31,060 –> 00:18:33,260 That was exactly how it was for her. 180 00:18:33,260 –> 00:18:38,500 The angel Gabriel comes and tells her that she will give birth to the Son of God. 181 00:18:38,500 –> 00:18:40,839 He will take flesh from her. 182 00:18:40,839 –> 00:18:48,819 Could there be any higher privilege given to any woman in all of the world? 183 00:18:48,819 –> 00:18:51,719 That’s the peak. 184 00:18:52,239 –> 00:18:58,300 And then she takes little Jesus, in his infancy, to the Temple and Simeon the 185 00:18:58,300 –> 00:19:03,040 old prophet takes the infant Christ in his arms, and prophecies, and blesses 186 00:19:03,040 –> 00:19:08,680 over this baby. And then he looks Mary straight in the eye and he says, 187 00:19:08,680 –> 00:19:15,839 This child will be for the falling and rising of many, and a sword will pierce 188 00:19:15,920 –> 00:19:27,280 your soul too. And I ask you, could any of the disciples have had a clue what was 189 00:19:27,280 –> 00:19:38,319 going on in her heart as the Son she bore was stretched out and crucified on a 190 00:19:38,319 –> 00:19:47,459 cross? Well today we thank God for mothers who know about Chesed, mothers 191 00:19:47,459 –> 00:19:54,719 who have laid aside your own interest to take your stand with your children. It’s 192 00:19:54,719 –> 00:20:01,619 a costly choice, but you do it because God has given you a sacred calling. 193 00:20:01,619 –> 00:20:07,619 Mothers who are anxious about their children and father’s too, those who 194 00:20:07,619 –> 00:20:12,540 have chosen to love deeply and because you love so deeply and your love will 195 00:20:12,540 –> 00:20:18,560 not let go, you feel a great burden for a son or for a daughter, that’s part of 196 00:20:18,560 –> 00:20:26,119 Chesed. And it’s a reflection of the very heart of God it’s a costly, but it’s a 197 00:20:26,119 –> 00:20:33,760 glorious thing. Loyalty brings you pain. But the second thing that I want us to 198 00:20:33,920 –> 00:20:40,260 see is that loyalty brings great blessing. Turn on in the story, would you? To 2 199 00:20:40,260 –> 00:20:46,479 Samuel and chapter 9. 2 Samuel and chapter 9. The story is now ruled 200 00:20:46,479 –> 00:20:53,260 forward several years and God’s remarkable promise has been fulfilled 201 00:20:53,260 –> 00:20:58,540 and David is indeed king and the kingdom is established under him. Saul and 202 00:20:58,540 –> 00:21:03,420 Jonathan and all but one of Saul’s sons have died on the battlefield. 203 00:21:03,420 –> 00:21:08,219 The other one ended up dying sometime later and David’s position now is 204 00:21:08,219 –> 00:21:15,660 absolutely secure. His enemies have all been vanquished. And then in 2 Samuel 205 00:21:15,660 –> 00:21:21,119 and chapter 9, David sitting there and he has a question. 206 00:21:21,119 –> 00:21:26,760 In his memory, he goes back to that day that we remembered earlier when he 207 00:21:26,760 –> 00:21:33,280 was with Jonathan and Jonathan pledged loyalty to David and then Jonathon asked 208 00:21:33,540 –> 00:21:44,500 him for one thing, please show your chesed to my family forever. 209 00:21:44,500 –> 00:21:49,339 And David thinks to himself after the sons of Saul have died on the battlefield 210 00:21:49,339 –> 00:21:56,060 before he ever became king. What can I do to fulfill that promise that I made to 211 00:21:56,060 –> 00:22:01,719 my best friend? Is there any descendant of Saul who’s still around to 212 00:22:01,719 –> 00:22:08,459 whom I can show this kind of love? And so they find a man by the name of Zeba, 213 00:22:08,459 –> 00:22:13,339 who in the old times had been a servant of Saul’s household and they call him in. 214 00:22:13,339 –> 00:22:18,459 And David in verse 3 of 2 Samuel 9, really is stressing this question. 215 00:22:18,459 –> 00:22:24,760 Is there no one left to whom I can show God’s chesed? It’s the same word that is 216 00:22:24,760 –> 00:22:30,979 used again. God’s kindness. God has shown unfailing love to me. 217 00:22:30,979 –> 00:22:35,439 God’s blessing has been poured into my life. I’m looking for a way to reflect 218 00:22:35,439 –> 00:22:39,260 faithfulness to the covenant that I made all these years ago with Jonathan. 219 00:22:39,260 –> 00:22:43,280 What opportunity is there for me to show this kind of love? 220 00:22:43,280 –> 00:22:48,760 That’s his question. And Zeba tells David that there is a son 221 00:22:48,760 –> 00:22:54,180 of Jonathan and he’s crippled, verse 4, in both feet. 222 00:22:54,180 –> 00:22:58,140 In fact, a little earlier in the book in 2 Samuel 4, we’re told about the story of 223 00:22:58,140 –> 00:23:03,859 how this happened, apparently when this lad was just 5-years old. 224 00:23:03,859 –> 00:23:08,979 The battle in which Saul and Jonathan died was raging and the news 225 00:23:08,979 –> 00:23:12,540 of their death came back to the nurse who was looking after 226 00:23:12,540 –> 00:23:15,880 the little 5-year-old. And of course, quite rightly, 227 00:23:15,880 –> 00:23:20,119 with the enemies of Saul and Jonathan running rampant on the battlefield, 228 00:23:20,119 –> 00:23:24,079 she realized that the best thing she could do to protect the little fellow was 229 00:23:24,079 –> 00:23:27,699 to take him away from his home and to hide him as quickly as possible. 230 00:23:27,739 –> 00:23:31,719 So she gathered up the stuff, she gathered the 5-year-old under her arms, 231 00:23:31,719 –> 00:23:35,500 and in the process of it, guess what, she dropped the 5-year-old. 232 00:23:37,979 –> 00:23:44,260 And he broke his ankles or something. But the result of that was that he 233 00:23:44,260 –> 00:23:48,819 was crippled for the rest of his life from the age of 5. 234 00:23:51,520 –> 00:23:56,579 And apparently as David has come to the throne, the nurse has continued to feel 235 00:23:56,579 –> 00:24:02,760 that it would be wise and safe to raise this lad in seclusion and to keep 236 00:24:02,760 –> 00:24:10,680 him in hiding. And, so, he grew up in a place called Lodibar, 237 00:24:10,680 –> 00:24:17,599 which means No Pasture, which shows you what kind of place it is. 238 00:24:17,599 –> 00:24:25,400 No Pasture. This little boy’s name was unpronounceable. 239 00:24:25,400 –> 00:24:34,479 No, actually it was Mafibosheth, and you can practice that as I have 240 00:24:34,479 –> 00:24:40,359 occasionally throughout the week. When Ozibah tells David, 241 00:24:40,359 –> 00:24:43,880 there’s this one lad, a cripple. Of course, now he’s not a five-year-old. 242 00:24:43,880 –> 00:24:46,560 He’s now grown up and I expect by this point in the story, 243 00:24:46,560 –> 00:24:51,459 he would’ve been perhaps in his late teens. So, David sends out the 244 00:24:51,459 –> 00:24:56,640 commander of his army to bring Mafibosheth to the family. 245 00:24:56,640 –> 00:25:00,040 I want you to imagine what this must’ve been like for this lad, 246 00:25:00,040 –> 00:25:06,280 who’s been growing up in hiding in a place called No Pasture. 247 00:25:06,280 –> 00:25:10,880 One day the commander of the king’s army arrives at his door. 248 00:25:10,920 –> 00:25:13,199 Is your name unpronounceable? 249 00:25:13,199 –> 00:25:17,800 It certainly is, sir. 250 00:25:17,800 –> 00:25:23,380 Well, I need you to come with me, the king wants to see you in the palace. 251 00:25:23,380 –> 00:25:27,439 Well, Mafibosheth of course must have been absolutely terrified. 252 00:25:27,439 –> 00:25:32,800 The new king wipes out the descendants of the old king and this crippled lad has 253 00:25:32,800 –> 00:25:36,699 absolutely no defense. 254 00:25:36,699 –> 00:25:39,359 So, the young man with the unpronounceable name comes to the palace 255 00:25:39,380 –> 00:25:42,099 and he bows low in the new king’s presence. 256 00:25:42,099 –> 00:25:44,979 Verse Seven, wondering what will happen. 257 00:25:44,979 –> 00:25:46,699 And David says, 258 00:25:46,699 –> 00:25:55,699 Don’t be afraid for I will show you, guess what word it is? 259 00:25:56,579 –> 00:26:03,459 Hesed, kindness, for the sake of your father Jonathan. 260 00:26:03,459 –> 00:26:07,260 And I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul. 261 00:26:07,579 –> 00:26:14,579 And you will always eat at my table. 262 00:26:15,459 –> 00:26:21,819 Mephibosheth must have wondered what on earth was going on. 263 00:26:21,819 –> 00:26:28,819 Picture the king’s sons gathering round this banqueting table. 264 00:26:29,739 –> 00:26:36,739 And think of Mephibosheth on his crutches taking his place with them. 265 00:26:37,180 –> 00:26:43,079 And he’s thinking to himself as he looks round the king’s sons, 266 00:26:43,079 –> 00:26:49,579 and he’s saying what in all the world of I doing here. 267 00:26:49,579 –> 00:26:51,660 It must have been the talk of the nations. 268 00:26:51,660 –> 00:26:53,300 Have you heard about the king in Israel? 269 00:26:53,540 –> 00:26:56,699 He’s got the enemy’s grand kid at his table. 270 00:27:00,020 –> 00:27:06,099 Loyalty brings great pain, loyalty brings great blessing. 271 00:27:06,500 –> 00:27:08,060 Here’s the very last thing this morning. 272 00:27:09,199 –> 00:27:14,479 Loyalty reflects the heart of God. 273 00:27:16,040 –> 00:27:22,099 Do you notice how David says here in verse 3 is there no one left to whom I can 274 00:27:22,140 –> 00:27:25,180 show God’s kindness? 275 00:27:26,339 –> 00:27:28,079 You see what he’s getting this from, don’t you? 276 00:27:28,859 –> 00:27:31,859 God has shown hesed to me. 277 00:27:33,420 –> 00:27:36,780 When Jonathan ask David to make that promise he used the same kind of phrase. 278 00:27:36,900 –> 00:27:42,060 He said will you show hesed like that of the Lord. 279 00:27:43,819 –> 00:27:50,140 And if there is one thing that I would want you to know about God today, it is 280 00:27:50,339 –> 00:27:58,699 you can count on his covenant love, for hesed is in his very nature. 281 00:27:58,900 –> 00:28:00,180 The Bible’s full of this. 282 00:28:00,219 –> 00:28:02,979 This word teams all over the Scriptures. 283 00:28:03,260 –> 00:28:08,540 The Lord is gracious and compassionate, he’s slow to anger, he’s abounding in 284 00:28:09,140 –> 00:28:10,199 steadfast love, hesed. 285 00:28:11,319 –> 00:28:19,380 The steadfast love, the hesed of God never ceases, his mercy is never come to an 286 00:28:19,380 –> 00:28:19,760 end. 287 00:28:20,000 –> 00:28:21,760 They are new every morning. 288 00:28:21,959 –> 00:28:24,119 Great is your faithfulness. 289 00:28:24,420 –> 00:28:26,900 This is what God is like. 290 00:28:28,680 –> 00:28:33,739 And this is the God of the Bible who made a covenant because that’s the sort of 291 00:28:33,739 –> 00:28:35,839 thing that hesed does. 292 00:28:37,540 –> 00:28:44,479 And he made a covenant that he would redeem men and women whatever the cost. 293 00:28:44,520 –> 00:28:51,920 And loyalty to that covenant brought indescribable pain to the heart of God. 294 00:28:52,359 –> 00:28:58,400 That’s what Jesus leaving the throne of heaven and coming all the way to a cross 295 00:28:58,400 –> 00:29:02,079 and laying down his own life so that we should be lifted up. 296 00:29:02,079 –> 00:29:03,599 That’s what that is all about. 297 00:29:03,599 –> 00:29:06,079 He made himself nothing. 298 00:29:06,239 –> 00:29:14,239 And then he rose from the dead, and God exalted him to the highest place so 299 00:29:14,239 –> 00:29:17,719 that he could shower Chesed. 300 00:29:18,839 –> 00:29:23,520 And I think Mephibosheth’s story just gives us a beautiful picture of how God’s 301 00:29:23,520 –> 00:29:25,380 blessing comes to all of us. 302 00:29:25,719 –> 00:29:29,359 Mephibosheth, I mean, he was in the wrong line, wasn’t he? 303 00:29:29,719 –> 00:29:33,260 He was in the line marked for condemnation. 304 00:29:33,619 –> 00:29:36,939 That’s what the Bible says about the human race because of our sins. 305 00:29:37,300 –> 00:29:43,719 And he was absolutely helpless and absolutely defenseless, but the king 306 00:29:43,719 –> 00:29:47,619 from whom he’d been hiding all these years in his life called him. 307 00:29:48,699 –> 00:29:53,739 And he’s brought into the king’s presence, and he experiences the king’seshesed, 308 00:29:53,739 –> 00:29:57,339 and he finds himself dining at the king’s table. 309 00:29:58,199 –> 00:30:03,020 This is what God does for us in Jesus Christ as he draws us to faith in him, 310 00:30:03,020 –> 00:30:07,199 this God that some of us have been hiding from, trying to get away from and then 311 00:30:07,199 –> 00:30:11,479 suddenly we discover he’s the source of the greatest blessing in all of 312 00:30:11,479 –> 00:30:12,420 our lives. 313 00:30:14,319 –> 00:30:18,660 And that he’s not just going to spare your life, but he’s going to bring you 314 00:30:18,660 –> 00:30:22,640 into his own family, he’s going to make you his adopted son and daughter. 315 00:30:22,640 –> 00:30:26,560 He’s going to make you like a king and a priest sitting at his own table. 316 00:30:27,640 –> 00:30:32,199 That’s why every Christian can say with David, surly goodness and mercy will 317 00:30:32,239 –> 00:30:37,140 follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the House of the Lord 318 00:30:37,140 –> 00:30:43,979 forever, and I will feast at the table that is spread for me. 319 00:30:45,800 –> 00:30:50,099 Why would you not want to come to a love like that? 320 00:30:54,260 –> 00:31:01,859 Some of us have known love but we’ve not known hesed. 321 00:31:02,540 –> 00:31:16,160 Some of us have given love, but we weren’t able to give hesed. 322 00:31:16,160 –> 00:31:30,380 God abounds in hesed, and in Jesus Christ he showers kesed on all who will come to receive. 323 00:31:30,599 –> 00:31:35,880 He says to each and every one of us, whatever your background, however long you’ve been 324 00:31:35,880 –> 00:31:44,819 hiding out there in low debar away from the blessing of God, you can come back. 325 00:31:44,819 –> 00:31:51,400 And you will be received with such love, and it’s a love that will never let you go. 326 00:31:51,400 –> 00:31:57,140 It’s a love in which Jesus was ready the go all the way to a cross for you. 327 00:31:57,140 –> 00:32:06,060 And he invites you now so that his Spirit might get inside of your skin, and you might 328 00:32:06,060 –> 00:32:17,739 become capable, having received hesed, of giving hesed. 329 00:32:17,739 –> 00:32:22,859 Think how that will change the world in which we live. 330 00:32:23,619 –> 00:32:28,339 You know, David was a great king of Israel. 331 00:32:28,339 –> 00:32:37,099 He did many things and he won many battles, but I think that there is a sense in which 332 00:32:37,099 –> 00:32:45,459 what he did for a crippled boy called Mephibosheth was one of the greatest things he ever did 333 00:32:45,459 –> 00:32:53,099 in his life, because it reflected the heart of God. 334 00:32:53,099 –> 00:33:04,219 And I want that to be an encouragement, to every mother and to every covenant keeper, 335 00:33:04,219 –> 00:33:07,780 as we bow in God’s presence, today. 336 00:33:07,780 –> 00:33:14,500 Shall we pray together? 337 00:33:14,500 –> 00:33:19,359 Thank you that you are the God of chesed. 338 00:33:19,359 –> 00:33:24,300 We have offended you so many times that if it was not for your chesed, we would be utterly 339 00:33:24,300 –> 00:33:27,459 lost. 340 00:33:27,459 –> 00:33:31,579 So we thank you for a love that we can count on. 341 00:33:31,579 –> 00:33:37,979 A love that streams to us at immeasurable costs through Jesus Christ and lifts us up 342 00:33:38,219 –> 00:33:45,140 make us those who are able to feast at the King’s table. 343 00:33:45,140 –> 00:33:49,099 We thank you that you don’t only do that for us, but your wider purpose is that you would 344 00:33:49,099 –> 00:33:56,099 do that through us that chesed may be birthed in us that we may reflect something of who 345 00:33:57,680 –> 00:34:04,680 you are and so in your mercy and in your grace, grants that we may be covenant-keepers of 346 00:34:08,000 –> 00:34:15,000 yours, whatever the cost, so the blessing may flow. And more than anything else the 347 00:34:17,919 –> 00:34:24,919 character of you, the great and glorious God, may be reflected in me, in my family, in my 348 00:34:29,919 –> 00:34:36,919 world, through my life for Jesus’ sake. 349 00:34:38,139 –> 00:34:38,800 Amen. 350 00:34:42,340 –> 00:34:47,520 You’ve been listening to a sermon with Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 351 00:34:47,520 –> 00:34:51,399 To contact us call 1-877-Open-365 352 00:34:51,399 –> 00:34:54,760 or visit our website openthebible.org