Useful Bible Studies > 2 Samuel Commentary > chapter 9
2 Samuel 8:18 tells us about the importance of the king’s sons in David’s government. Now Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, would have the same rank as one of the king’s sons (9:11).
The person who ate at the king’s table would have constant opportunities to speak to the king about important matters (for example, 1 Samuel 20:24-29). So, the places at that table were only for important government officials and for those people who deserved great honour. David gave that honour to Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth had done nothing to earn that honour. David gave it to him because of his (David’s) kindness, and because of his promises to Jonathan, Mephibosheth’s father (1 Samuel 20:14-17).
David also provided great wealth for Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth’s grandfather was Saul, the king of Israel. As the king, Saul owned much valuable farm land. All of this became Mephibosheth’s property. David also put back in place the arrangements that Saul had to look after that land. He re-appointed Ziba as the manager of the land; he ordered Ziba to use his sons and his servants to look after the land. Ziba would pay wages to those who worked on the land - but all the profits would belong to Mephibosheth and his family.
Next part: David's sympathy at the death of Nahash (2 Samuel 10:1-2)
Please use the links at the top of the page to find our other articles in this series. You can download all our articles if you go to the download page for our free 1000+ page course book.
© 2023, Keith Simons.