David as King: Victory and Honor

Beauty for ashes and garments of praise,

you come and adorn me with joy once again,

and pour oil of gladness in instead of despair;

bringing your mercy again like sweet, spring rain.

The words speak of the restoration, forgiveness, and transformation that occur when we are saved by the blood of Jesus. Jesus brings a reversal of the despair, gloom, and drought that gripped our lives prior to knowing Him. Of course the song derives from Isaiah 61:3, where God promises the reversal of shame and dishonor and reveals that joy, gladness, liberation, and forgiveness come in His salvation. But experiencing such a reversal is also the turnabout from shame to honor. God provides beauty instead of ashes, honor instead of shame.

In 2 Samuel 9 we see God’s son, the Davidic king, give beauty for ashes and honor from shame. Almost “out of the blue,” verse 1 begins with David asking his officials if there is anyone he can bless from Saul’s family (if anyone is left!). The officials find one of Saul’s servants, Ziba, who is the one who shares that Mephibosheth is still around. Mephibosheth is Jonathan’s son, who is lame in both feet, a disabled individual. The name “Mephibosheth” in Hebrew is linked to the concept of shame (bosheth in Hebrew means “shame”). The text indicates in two places that Mephibosheth was “lame in both feet” (vv. 3,13 NIV 1984). This detail is emphasized for a specific purpose. In the ancient world, if someone was disabled or was born with a birth defect of some sort, they often were ostracized or thought of as sinful.

We remember this from the New Testament as well, when the disciples encountered a person with a disability. The event is recorded in John 9:1-3: “As He was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples questioned Him: ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’” Of course, Jesus responded, “Neither this man nor his parents.” God’s glory would be revealed through that man and his disability.

The reality was that Mephibosheth was not disabled due to a specific sin he had committed; he was just disabled. But in that culture, disability prevented one from experiencing the same kind of life a fully healthy individual could. Now we might not like that, but that is how it was at that time. That fact is what makes this passage so powerful. David brought the disabled/shamed Mephibosheth to the king’s banquet table in a place of honor.

The story of David’s blessing of Mephibosheth is a story of God’s glory. The text records that David wanted to show some form of kindness to Mephibosheth because he was Saul’s family member. God had chosen, anointed, and appointed David to be the king over Israel and all peoples. What kind of king would God’s chosen messiah be? He would be the one who brings honor from shame. Those who are broken and shamed, either by circumstances or self-inflicted wounds, would be brought to the table of honor in the messiah’s kingdom.

In the narrative of David’s reign, this story reveals that kindness, justice, and a reversal from shame to honor will characterize God’s messianic kingdom. All people will be welcome at the Messiah’s table.

The extravagant kindness of the messiah and his table is one of the ways this passage reveals to us Jesus, the true Davidic Messiah. Jesus is the Davidic Messiah whose kindness, generosity, and reversal of shame to honor stand as the banner for His rule. At His table all come to enjoy the feast, whether Jew, Gentile, lame, poor, sinner, or outcast. He draws all to Himself (Luke 13:28-29; Matt 8:11-12) (see Pitre, “Jesus, the Messianic Banquet, and the Kingdom of God,” 145–66).

What about David? He was a type of the Messiah to come. His actions toward Mephibosheth transformed him from shame to honor. Because of David, Mephibosheth had a seat at the messiah’s banquet table. But because of the true Messiah and His act of kindness and love—giving His own life for ours—we who are washed by the blood of the Lamb now will share in the banquet of Jesus forever. Jesus truly gives us beauty for ashes and garments of praise. He comes and adorns us with joy and gladness instead of despair.