To Encourage You

2 Samuel 16:4 “And Ziba said, ‘I pay homage; let me ever find favor in your sight, my lord the king.’”

Things are not always as they seem – not even close. Actions speak louder than words, but sometimes actions are just as hypocritical as words are. An example is given to us in the story of the man Ziba from 2 Samuel 16. His story begins soon after the death of King Saul. It was at that time that David, rather than destroy the family and servants of his former rival, sought to do them good. Ziba was one of Saul’s servants. He was brought to David and David asked him, “Is here not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” (2 Samuel 9:3). To this Ziba answered, “There is still the son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” This son’s name was Mephibosheth. He was at David’s mercy, and it was mercy that he received. He gave him all the land that was formerly Saul’s and he welcomed him to eat at the king’s table for the rest of his life. Then David gave Ziba the responsibility of serving Mephibosheth by tilling the land and harvesting the crops, “that your master’s grandson may have bread to eat.” Which brings us to the passage above from 2 Samuel 16.

At this point in the story of David’s life, Absalom, his son, was conspiring to overthrow him and take his throne. Many people had turned against David, and he and his faithful servants had fled. In the chaos of the moment, Ziba sees an opportunity to get out from under his role as a servant to Mephibosheth. So he abandons him in Jerusalem and lies to David when he asks about him. These are Ziba’s words: “Behold he remains in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my father.’” At the same time Ziba brought David a gift of two donkeys, a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine. In response to Ziba’s “kindness,” David pledges to him all the land that he had formerly given to Mephibosheth. So, Ziba “blesses” David with the words in the verse above. With these actions Ziba is at the same time greatly mistreating the lame Mephibosheth by his abandonment and lies and honoring the king with his words and gifts.

So what does this say to you and me? Are there any parallels to our life today? Well, each one of us who calls ourself a believer has been called into the service of a King. However, unlike David, our King cannot be deceived, not even a little bit. He knows every motive and he sees every action. One of the things our King has called us to is the service of others around us. This includes the “Mephibosheths” of the world, i.e., “the poor, the crippled, the lame, (and) the blind” (Luke 14:13).  And while such people may not be able to serve us in return, the Lord has promised us that if we obey Him, we “will be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:14). In the meantime, the Lord is watching.

In Matthew 25 Jesus has told us that at the final judgment some will be greatly blessed for they will hear the following “‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” However, others will hear this: “‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

So, while Ziba was rewarded for his deception of King David, there will be no deception of the almighty King of kings. May God keep us from thinking that our religion is no more than what we do inside the walls of a church where we say our prayers and sing glorious praises to the King of kings. Rather, may we remember that “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27). There’s no deceiving the King we are serving. May He help us who say we serve Him to not deceive ourselves.