It wasn’t David’s love or pity for Mephibosheth that prompted this kindness—not originally. It was his love for someone else. Ultimately, God doesn’t show us kindness for our sake but for the sake of Jesus and the covenant they made long before we were born.

In his days as a young monk, Martin Luther struggled to love God. His words looking back were, “Love God? I hated him!” This isn’t surprising, since all Luther had seen at that point was God’s severity; he’d yet to behold his kindness. It’s hard to love someone you think is unkind. Perhaps this is why Satan’s goal from the beginning has been to call God’s kindness into question.

But that’s why chapters like 2 Samuel 9 are in the Bible. This is a story of David’s kindness. The words “show. . .kindness” appear three times (vv. 1, 3, 7), culminating with these comforting words: “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness.”

But it’s more than just David’s kindness. Scripture tells us that David was “a man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14). This story explicitly recognizes the connection between David’s kindness and God’s (2 Sam. 9:3). So let’s look at four aspects of David’s kindness in this story, then consider how they reflect God’s heart to us.

1. Mephibosheth: Object of David’s Kindness

The object of David’s kindness was Mephibosheth, a crippled member of a rival house. As Saul’s grandson, it’s no wonder Mephibosheth feared David (2 Sam. 9:7). Kindness from David must have been the last thing he expected. After all, it was common for new kings to kill off members of the previous dynasty.

Mephibosheth’s lameness resulted from a fall—his nurse had dropped him when he was 5. She was fleeing at the news that Mephibosheth’s father had been killed in battle (4:4; 9:3, 13). So this young man now labored under a double curse. Not only was he the king’s enemy, but he had been crippled and was totally unable to help himself.

This is the kind of person David chose to show kindness to: a member of his enemy’s house, rendered helpless by a fall.

2. Covenant: Origin of David’s Kindness

Perhaps surprisingly, it wasn’t David’s love or pity for Mephibosheth that prompted this kindness—not originally. It was his love for someone else. There was one man in Saul’s house who had been his loyal friend. And that man was Mephibosheth’s father, Jonathan.

David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (9:1).

If we want to find the origin of David’s kindness, we have to go beyond Mephibosheth, all the way back to an act of covenant-making love that existed between David and Mephibosheth’s father (1 Sam. 18:1–4). Even though David posed a threat to his own claim to the throne, Jonathan had loved David “as his own soul,” defended him against Saul’s murderous rage, and recognized David as the rightful heir. Eventually, he’d asked David to show “steadfast love” [Hebrew, chesed] to his house when David finally became king (20:13–17).

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