David, in his covenant with Jonathan, had promised that when he should have rest from his enemies he would show kindness to the house of Saul. In his prosperity, mindful of this covenant, the king made inquiry, "Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" He was told of a son of Jonathan, Mephibosheth, who had been lame from childhood. At the time of Saul's defeat by the Philistines at Jezreel, the nurse of this child, attempting to flee with him, had let him fall, thus making him a lifelong cripple. David now summoned the young man to court and received him with great kindness. The private possessions of Saul were restored to him for the support of his household; but the son of Jonathan was himself to be the constant guest of the king, sitting daily at the royal table. Through reports from the enemies of David, Mephibosheth had been led to cherish a strong prejudice against him as a usurper; but the monarch's generous and courteous reception of him and his continued kindness won the heart of the young man; he became strongly attached to David, and, like his father Jonathan, he felt that his interest was one with that of the king whom God had chosen.


Patriarker og profeter kapitel 70. 371.     Fra side 713 i den engelske udgave.tilbage

Davids regeringstid

Da David sluttede pagt med Jonatan, lovede han at vise Sauls hus godhed, når han havde fået fred for alle sine fjender. Nu, da kongen havde lykken med sig, kom han i tanker om dette løfte og spurgte: "Er der endnu nogen tilbage af Sauls hus? Så vil jeg vise godhed imod ham for Jonatans skyld!" Man fortalte ham, at Jonatan havde en søn ved navn Mefibosjet, som havde været lam fra barn af. Da filisterne slog Saul ved Jizreel, forsøgte fostermoderen at flygte med barnet, men hun tabte det, så at det blev krøbling for livstid. David sendte nu bud efter den unge mand og tog meget venligt imod ham. Han gav ham Sauls private ejendom tilbage for at sætte ham i stand til at underholde sin familie, men Jonatans søn skulle altid være kongens gæst og daglig sidde ved kongens bord. Fjenderne havde fortalt så meget om David, at Mefibosjet nærede en stærk modvilje mod ham og betragtede ham som en tronraner, men den venlige og høflige modtagelse, som kongen gav ham, og den godhed, som David viste ham, vandt den unge mands hjerte, og han blev knyttet til David med stærke bånd og følte, at han ligesom sin fader Jonatan havde fælles interesser med den konge, som Gud havde udvalgt.

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