2 Samuel 9:9-13
Verse 11 Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons.
As Mephibosheth was trying to wrap his head around what had just happened the king turns his attention to Ziba who had been a servant of Saul. This man and his family were also about to have their world turned upside down. Though Ziba’s stint as a servant to the king of Israel was over he still had knowledge of the family of his former boss, as he knew where the crippled man existed and knew his whereabouts.
When Ziba is summoned before the king he, like Mephibosheth, had no idea what the king had up his sleeve. The king gets right to the point as he explains he had taken the land that had previously belonged to Saul and his family and returned it to Mephibosheth. A family’s land was very important to the people of Israel. It wasn’t something that they had bought because they liked the area or the house was nice and fit their lifestyle. The land that each family had rights to, was given them by the Lord when they settled into the Promised Land.
The people of Israel were not allowed to buy a person’s land from them and have permeant possession of it. There were rules about how many years you were allowed to keep a person’s property if they had sold it to you to pay a debt (Leviticus 25:23-34). In a fortified city it could be sold as a permanent sale but in a village or in the countryside the land was to be restored to the original owning family.
The Bible holds no indication that the town of Gibeah was fortified and this is where Saul had lived. This land may have sat there growing weeds and such or another family may have taken it over thinking the whole line of Saul had been killed. Either way it rightfully belonged to Mephibosheth and David sought to make sure it stayed that way.
Mephibosheth had no way of working the land on his own but that didn’t stop the king from giving it to him, David just added servants to help with it. Ziba doesn’t balk at the king’s instruction and sets off to do what was commanded of him. But he wasn’t alone, He had fifteen sons and twenty servants, Mephibosheth would be well cared for.
Making It Personal
Do you think of your possessions as being owned by God and gifted to you? How would that perspective change how you use or care for things? Are you willing to serve whenever you are asked?
Making It Personal Kids
Do you like to share your things? Would you share them better if you thought about them belonging to Jesus and He is letting you use them? How quickly do you obey?
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank You for this reminder that all we have is Yours first and we are to be stewards of what You have given us. Give us wisdom on managing Your world. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Comments