Lo Debar

Return from Lo Debar – Part 2

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Return From Lo Debar – Part 2

And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” 2 Samuel 9:7 ESV

This verse paints us a beautiful picture of the restoration of Mephibosheth, but he is not the focus of the story. The return from Lo Debar begins in the heart of David keeping his promise to a friend. In the same way, restoration in our lives begins in the heart of God. In our culture today, it is common to say that people are special and that on their birthday we celebrate their “special” day. We pay more to go to doctors who are specialists and pour resources into programs to help people with “special needs.” Of course, there is nothing wrong with encouraging people to think they have special value, but it is dangerous to make any person the center of our lives. The reality is, that only God is special and that everything good flows from making Him and His love the center of our story. So, let’s look at the wonderful things that happened to our friend Mephibosheth as his life was changed forever by the kindness of King David.

First, Mephibosheth was given everything that his grandfather had lost by sin and rebellion against God. Instead of digging up past failures, David focused on giving his friend’s son a fresh start. In the process of fleeing to Lo Debar Mephibosheth had been crippled by a fall. The society of his day considered him no more important than a common beggar. But David didn’t look down on Mephibosheth, instead he provided him with a life of dignity and respect. Secondly, David was not satisfied with just blessing Mephibosheth. He also wanted Mephibosheth to be close to him. While many generals, wealthy merchants and priests were held in high esteem by the people, only a select few could sit down and have dinner with David. In the same way, God invites you and I to sit close to Him. God wants to do more than just bless us. He wants to be our closest friend! But we will never fully know Him until we know that returning from Lo Debar is about more than only blessings. It is about sitting down at the table with Jesus every day and getting to know Him better and better every day of our lives!

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Returning From Lo Debar – Part One

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Returning From Lo-Debar – Part One

And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” 2 Samuel 9:3-4 ESV

Before David was the king of Israel, he served in King Saul’s army and became a well-loved figure in the king’s court (That is well loved by everyone except Saul.) Not long after David killed Goliath, Saul’s son Jonathan became David’s closest friend. Then when things fell apart and David found himself running for his life, Jonathan came to his defense. That is when they made promises to each other to always be friends, though sadly, things didn’t work out as they had planned. They never had the chance to be best men at each other’s weddings or to do any of the things that friends do, because Jonathan was killed in battle, trying to defend his father when a neighboring nation invaded. In fact, the situation was worse than just a defeat in battle. The invaders also killed every one of Jonathan’s family members they could find.  But, after David had mourned, he remembered his promise to always take care of Jonathan’s family. That is how we come upon the scene of today’s conversation. David discovered that there was one child left, a young man named Mephibosheth who lived in the Biblical boondocks, in a town named Lo Debar.

Now might say, “That’s sort of interesting, but what does it have to do with me?” And the answer is, “Everything!” You see Lo Debar was not just a town in Hicksville. Lo Debar was also the scene of the defeat of Saul’s once mighty army and the place of Jonathan’s death. Talk about being in a depressing, hopeless and bitter spot: well Lo Debar sure fits the bill. Now it just might be that as we are entering a New Year that you look back and can only remember the loss of a loved one, a broken relationship or a moral failure. In fact, that place of pain may still be so powerful that you have bought a house there and moved in!

But the good news in that You are not forgotten by the King! Not content just to hear about you, God is sending you an invitation to return. Lo Debar is not your home. Last year might have been a horrible mess, but God has something way better for the future. He has sent you an invitation, but you have to open the envelope and read His promise. Are you ready to start packing? Lo Debar might be your address today, but Jesus has a place prepared for you that is better than anything you can possibly imagine!