Living Below the Bar

by Sharon Jaynes


"So Mephibosheth ate at David's table like one of the king's sons" (2 Samuel 9:11 NIV).


Who in the world is Mephibosheth and what possessed his momma to give him such a name? Well, I can't answer the second question, but I can shed some light on the first. Mephibosheth was a man who was living way below his potential. He was the grandson of King Saul and the son of Prince Jonathan, but he lived like a pauper. When he was a boy, his nurse dropped him while fleeing from their enemies. As a result, he was crippled in both feet (2 Samuel 9).

When David took over as King of Israel, he wanted to know if there was anyone in Jonathan's household to whom he could show kindness. Jonathan had been David's best friend and he loved him as a brother. A servant told David about the crippled Mephibosheth and he was summoned immediately. Mephibosheth lived in a place called Lo-Debar (meaning a pasture-less land).

My own (very unofficial) translation of Lo-Debar is "below the bar." Mephibosheth was living below the bar. He was the grandchild of a king, but he was living in a pasture-less land like a pauper. When he came before King David he said, "What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?"

David didn't even answer him. He simply turned to his servant and commanded that all the land that had been Saul's be given back to his grandson and that Mephibosheth should eat at the king's table every day.

Perhaps you are walking around like a cripple because of something that has happened to you as a child. Perhaps you feel like a "dead dog." And yet, God is looking for ways to bless you, to restore what has been taken away, and invite you to feast at His table everyday. Mephibosheth was a grandchild of King Saul and potential heir to the throne. However, he saw himself as nothing more than a "dead dog," unworthy to receive even the smallest crumb of kindness from David. David's desire was to restore to Mephibosheth all the land that would have been his inheritance and invite him to feast at his table daily. Mephibosheth didn't see himself as he really was. In reality, he was royalty. "A dead dog?" I think not!

Do you see yourself as you really are? You are a chosen, dearly loved, child of God. You have been blessed with every spiritual blessing, delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of light! You, my friend, are a child of the King!