Now, let’s turn to 2 Samuel 4:4. “Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.”
Here we have a third young person who had a fall—Mephibosheth. This is, perhaps, that saddest of all, because it was hardly his fault. He was put in the hands of someone who was not careful, and she caused him to fall. Sometimes a young person’s fall can be traced back, in some degree, to those who have had the care over him. In Mephibosheth’s case it was his “nurse” who caused him to fall. This passage warns us of the danger there is in turning our children over to babysitters who may not have the same care and principles that we have. Parents, let’s be careful about who we leave our children with; they could corrupt them and make them “lame” in their walk in some way.
Introducing Things to Stumble Our Children
But we don’t want to just point the finger at those with whom we leave our children; we, as parents, are probably the biggest offenders in this. What I’m saying is that WE are often the ones that cause our children to fall—more so than any babysitter! We can, and often do, stumble our children by what we do and allow in our lives. This is solemn. We can occasion their fall by introducing things into their lives that will overtake them later and cause them to stumble. The classic example is Abraham taking Lot into Egypt. Lot got a taste for Egypt that he never got out of his system, and it was the reason why he made the choices he did in his life that caused him to go to Sodom (Gen. 13:10-11).
There was a Christian man and his wife who received a phone call late one night from the city police. They were asked to come to the city mortuary to identify a body—the body of their own daughter who had just died in a car crash! How would you like to have a phone call like that? When they got there, they were told that the girl had been under the influence of alcohol. She had been drunk.
When the parents returned home, they were, of course, devastated. Many thoughts ran through their minds. How did their daughter get liquor, being under-age? And why would she do such a thing? The father kept repeating that he would like to find the person who gave liquor to his underage daughter; he wanted to get his hands on him. And you can imagine how he felt. Not being able to sleep, the man paced the floor of his house. And he thought that he was ready to have a nervous breakdown. So, he thought he had better take a little shot of brandy or whisky, or whatever it was that he kept in the house. He was an upright Christian man who saw nothing wrong with drinking; he had always used it carefully, never allowing himself to get tipsy. So, he went over to his liquor cabinet, and lo and behold, the bottle was gone! But he saw a note there saying, “Daddy, we took your bottle because it’s graduation; we’ll give you the money to replace it later.” It was signed by his daughter!
What a lesson this man had to learn. Here he was looking for the person who had given his daughter liquor; and it turned out that it was himself! By having it in the house, he facilitated the opportunity for his daughter to get drunk.
Dear parents, don’t be so naïve to think that if your young people drink that they are using it for medicinal purposes. Now you might say, “If they want it, they’re going to get their hands on it anyway.” Yes, but do you want to have it on record that you were the one who enabled their fall? I mention this as an example of how we can occasion the falling of our own children whom we love dearly. Let’s be careful about what we allow in our homes.
Unfortunately for Mephibosheth, this all happened at a time when there was a division in Israel. He was of the family of Saul, and quite naturally his family followed the house of Saul. But sadly, they were following the wrong side. Hence, Mephibosheth was a young person who was led away in a division among the Lord’s people, whether he liked it or not. Being but a child, it was not his fault.
Now brethren, doesn’t that sound familiar? Are there not similar cases among the Lord’s people today? There are young people who have not been cognizant of what’s been happening among the brethren, who have been taken away in a division by their erring parents. Their fall can be traced to their parents and those who have had the spiritual care over them. It’s pitiful; it really is.
Now, how are we to behave toward such persons? I believe that Scripture would tell us that we are to make a difference in such cases, because the wrong position that they have gotten into was not of their own doing (Jude 22). Scripture indicates that the children should not be held responsible for their parents’ mistakes (Deut. 24:16; 2 Chron. 25:4). Our hearts should go out to such. We should try to be a help to those unfortunate ones as opportunity presents itself. And this is exactly what we see David doing in 2 Samuel 9. If we were to turn to that chapter, we would see that David went after the innocent victims of the house of Saul and showed them kindness. He found Mephibosheth in a place of isolation—in Lodebar. He had been there for twenty years! David’s heart went out to him, and he sent for Mephibosheth and brought him to Jerusalem (the divine center), and thereafter he had the privilege of eating at the king’s table.
Primary Teaching of This Passage
This is instructive for us, because most think of the story of Mephibosheth as being a picture of the grace of God going out to sinners in the gospel. But that is a secondary application. The primary teaching in the passage is the work of going after ones who have strayed away, and perhaps, have been damaged through the mistakes of others. But having said that, we have to be careful in this because gathering people to the Lord’s name is not our work—it is the work of the Spirit of God (Matt. 18:20; Luke 22:10).
Now, if these persons who have been taken away in a division prove themselves to be intelligent supporters of their parents’ mistakes—and we have seen such—that’s a different thing altogether. If they understand what happened and still believe that their parents’ position is right, and they are active in supporting it, then we need to back off. Their will is at work, and they are engaged in the same sin as their parents. Joshua 7:24-25 indicates that such persons should come under the same judgment as their parents. Achan was judged for his sin, and his children were judged on that day too. This is not a violation of Deuteronomy 24:16, which says that the children should not die for their parents’ sin; it was done because they were actively involved in their parents’ sin. Scripture says that Achan was “not alone in his iniquity” (Josh. 22:20). So, this all comes back to what I was saying earlier; it takes discernment in each case.
With Mephibosheth there was a lovely restoration; he “dwelt in Jerusalem” and did “eat continually at the king’s table” (2 Sam. 9:13). He was tested on these things later in his life in the revolt of Absalom. Another division developed in Israel and many turned after Absalom, but Mephibosheth remained faithful (2 Sam. 19:24-30). He had learned some valuable lessons. Sometimes, those who have been carried away into division and have been restored value the place more than those who have been there all along.