What Is the Significance of Lo-Debar in the Bible?
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A story exists about Abraham Lincoln, which is a legend without any real record. However, in the story, someone asked why he tried to make friends of enemies instead of destroying them. He allegedly replied, “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”
While Lincoln may not have said this, we have a God who acts according to this principle. We’ve all lived as his enemies. Our rebellion places us in exile from God, in a dry and barren land. Yet our wonderful God sought us out to redeem us and bring us back into right relationship with him.
The Bible mentions such a place of exile and wilderness, called Lo-Debar. While it sounds negative, and is, looking further into the biblical account reveals the Lord’s heart of love and redemption.
What Bible Verses Mention Lo-Debar?
The Bible specifically mentions Lo-Debar in two places, 2 Samuel chapters 9 and 19, both times in context of Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul.
In 2 Samuel 9:4-5, David has become king over all of Israel. Remembering his covenant and love for his friend, Jonathan, David asks if any of Saul’s descendants remain for him to show kindness to. Ziba, one of Saul’s former servants, tells the king, “He is in the house of Makir the son of Ammiel, in Lo-Debar.” David then sends for Mephibosheth, to bring him from Lo-Debar.
The place appears again in 2 Samuel 17:27-29. David flees from his son, Absalom, who staged a coup. A man named Makir of Lo-Debar brings supplies to David and those loyal to him. This seems to be the same man Ziba spoke of in chapter 9. While Lo-Debar proved a humble and remote place that once sheltered a possible enemy of the king (Mephibosheth), here they supported the real king in a time of need.
Confusion emerges later when Ziba accuses Mephibosheth of disloyalty, staying in Jerusalem with Absalom. David believes Ziba and gives the servant Mephibosheth’s property. After David puts down the coup and Absalom dies, Mephibosheth explains he had been betrayed and left behind (as someone lame in his feet). But he declared he always remained loyal (2 Samuel 19). David again forgives him.
What Was the History and Geography of Lo-Debar?
The word “Lo-Debar” comes from the Hebrew. “Lo” means “no” or “not,” and “debar” means “pasture,” “word,” or “thing.” The name reflects a sense of barrenness or desolation, the land of no pasture or nothing.
Lo-Debar was located east of the Jordan River in Gilead, possibly north of the Jabbok River in the territory once belonging to half the tribe of Manasseh. Scholars generally associate it with the site of Umm ed-Debar. Gilead had rugged hills and forests, becoming a borderland between Israel and foreign nations.
The broader area of Gilead has a long biblical history. Jacob crossed into this region (Genesis 31:21-25). It later became a key area for the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh when they chose to settle east of the Jordan. The tribes helped conquer the Promised Land west of Jordan before returning to Gilead. These tribes spoke of how the land could support their many flocks, perhaps connected to one area without pastureland, Lo-Debar.
During the time of the Judges, Jephthah the Gileadite came from this area to lead Israel in battle against the Ammonites (Judges 11). Being east of the Jordan, separated geographically from the rest of Israel by a major river, the tribes in Gilead experienced more conflict and raiding from nations like Ammon and Aram.
Due to its name, Lo-Debar probably existed as a small, barren town. Among the political chaos with Saul’s death and David’s rise to power, this makes sense as a place for Mephibosheth to hide from a king with a violent reputation. Lo-Debar was separate and far from power and blessing.
Who Was Mephibosheth Who Was Connected with Lo-Debar?
Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul, Israel’s first king.
Saul and Jonathan died in battle (1 Samuel 31) when Mephibosheth was five years old. When the tragic news of Saul and Jonathan reached the palace, a nurse fled with Mephibosheth to protect him from the power struggle which would soon ensue. While they ran, the boy fell and became crippled in both feet (2 Samuel 4:4).
In Israel, and in the Levitical Law, his disability changed his life. Mephibosheth couldn’t serve in the army, work in the temple, or fully participate in the life of Israel. He would have been limited to the outer court, not allowed with other men to the inner court (Leviticus 21:17-23). The Law symbolically associated being lame with the curse, being broken and unworthy. This would have been shameful for someone of royal blood.
In addition, for the ancient world, a new king would often kill the previous king’s family to eliminate any potential rebellions or rivals. King David was known for his skill in battle and great violence. As Saul’s grandson, Mephibosheth came from the former royal line. While he might not have been a physical threat from his disability, many would have considered him a potential enemy.
Therefore, Mephibosheth lived in hiding, growing up far from his home or Jerusalem. He had lost his family, his ability to walk, and his future. He was forgotten and isolated, an outsider. Until David called for him.
How and Why Did King David Show Mephibosheth Great Mercy?
It made complete sense, according to the culture of the day, for David to find Mephibosheth to eliminate him. Yet he didn’t. Instead, he remembered a covenant he made with his friend Jonathan, where they swore to care for each other’s descendants (1 Samuel 20:14-17). A decade or more later, as David establishes his kingdom and new capital in Jerusalem, he seeks information about Saul’s descendants, not to kill but to show kindness. The Hebrew word for kindness is important, chesed, a word meaning faithful love, mercy, or covenant loyalty.
Even though Jonathan died in battle and Mephibosheth had disappeared, David remembered his vow. His mercy was love and covenant-driven, not based on political expediency but as a man who kept his word to a beloved friend. When he discovered a son of Jonathan lived, he gladly asked for Mephibosheth to be brought immediately to Jerusalem.
David could have punished or ignored Saul’s grandson, thinking him a threat or a curse. To simply let him live would have been mercy.
However, David removed him from a barren land, called him by name, commanded him not to be afraid, and restored all Saul’s lands to Mephibosheth. He gave Mephibosheth a permanent place at the king’s table as one of David’s sons (2 Samuel 9:7). This radical generosity and restoration shocked Mephibosheth, who called himself a dead dog, reflecting his poverty and uncleanness.
After winning the battles against Absalom, his son, David again forgives and restrains from punishing Mephibosheth after the accusations of Ziba, Saul’s former servant.
David was known as a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). Here, David acts with God’s heart of mercy. He sought out the broken, the exiled, and the poor. David looked at Mephibosheth through amazing grace, honoring Jonathan’s memory and keeping his promise. God often acted the same way with Israel. Despite their sin and idolatry, the Lord would remember his covenant with Abraham and seek to restore them if they would repent.
The story is a phenomenal example of how mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13), a powerful picture of the Gospel. We read how Jesus does much the same in his earthly ministry. The four gospels remind us how the Son of God, the son of David, reached out to the poor, the marginalized, and the sick to heal and restore them to his heavenly kingdom.
What Can Christians Today Learn from Lo-Debar?
While we read about Lo-Debar in a story that happened thousands of years ago, we can still learn much from this barren land.
First, as a place of no pasture where flocks can’t gather or thrive, Lo-Debar represents this fallen world. We live in such a place of barrenness, exile, and spiritual death. We were born into a broken world, cursed by sin. From our sin, we live far from the presence of God. Ephesians 2:1 says we were “dead in our trespasses and sins.” Our corrupted earth is a place of suffering and separation. On another level, we can further associate Lo-Debar with hell, the eternal place of separation from God.
Second, we aren’t only in a corrupt place, separate from all blessing; we have no way to escape if we tried. Like Mephibosheth, we have no strength or ability to come to God on our own. Even worse, our sin makes us enemies of God (Romans 5:10). We should have no access to the King. We live under the curse of sin (Galatians 3:10) with no way out.
Third, praise God, just as David sought Mephibosheth out for covenant kindness, Jesus does the same with us. We didn’t earn his love or kindness. We weren’t useful to him or worthy. But because of his love and mercy, he came looking for us. Jesus kept a promise to the Father, going to the cross and rising again to redeem the lost and have a reconciled relationship with us.
Fourth, Jesus not only spares us and forgives us, but he also brings us as sons and daughters to his heavenly Kingdom. David gave Mephibosheth honor, lands, ownership, and belonging. Like this, Jesus showed mercy by making us sons and daughters of the King of Kings (Galatians 4:7). He welcomed us into his Kingdom now and forever, a new land, never to return to the old.
Fifth, while Mephibosheth remained physically disabled, God does something greater in us. Through the Holy Spirit, God heals our hearts and makes us new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), removing our spiritual curse. We’ve been made partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4), empowered to follow and serve the King. Whole, redeemed, and fully accepted.
Fifth, while Mephibosheth remained physically disabled, God does something greater in us. Through the Holy Spirit, God heals our hearts, makes us new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17), and removes our spiritual curse. We are no longer broken outcasts but Spirit-filled citizens of heaven—whole, redeemed, and fully accepted.
The story of Lo-Debar reminds us of the Gospel. We were once lost, cursed, powerless. But the King came into the barren land for us, to raise us from spiritual death and give us a place at his table as sons and daughters. This is grace and the Good News.
Peace.
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