2 Sa. 9: Mephibosheth

2 Samuel 9:7 "Don't be afraid," David said to him, "for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table."

With David firmly ensconced as king, he could now take care of important things, like being kind to any remaining members of the house of Saul. There weren't many left, apparently, and the only one readily available was Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son. Mephibosheth, you may remember was crippled as a child as they fled their home in the panic following the murder of Ish-Bosheth in 2 Sa. 4.

David's devotion to this household is pretty amazing. Other than Saul's being God's anointed, David didn't really have any reason to for this. I don't believe his friendship with Jonathan was the reason for this devotion...perhaps a result of it. And Mephibosheth was Jonathan's son, and was probably in need of special provision. But he wasn't a complete invalid, as he had a son. David had them eat at his table. Which was nice. Mephibosheth was an eventual heir to the throne, but through no fault of his own, that wasn't going to happen. I wonder how he must have felt. First when Ish-Bosheth took the throne, and second, when David took the throne. He must have swallowed his pride eventually.