The Gospel Stories of David in the Cave and with Mephibosheth

The Gospel Stories of David in the Cave and with Mephibosheth. 

“The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed, and the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed.” (St. Augustine).

The “Old” Testament? Actually, I don’t think I agree with Augustine’s long-accepted claim. First of all, can’t we Christians start referring to the “Old Testament” as the “First Testament” (FT), or the Hebrew Bible, or the Earlier Testament, or the Jewish Scripture, or simply the Torah? “Old” implies something that is outdated, hobbled by age, past its usage date, irrelevant, antiquated, expired… none of which is true of the Hebrew Bible. The Old Testament is the First Testament, Act One of a Two-Act Bible, and the New Testament is the Newer Testament, the Second Act of that Two-Act Drama. The First Testament anticipates and lays the foundation for the Newer Testament, which fulfills the earlier Scripture. If I were a Jewish believer, which in many ways I am since I follow the Messiah Jesus and am thus grafted onto the Jewish tree (Romans 11), I would be offended by those who assume that the Jewish Scriptures are unnecessary or past its prime. Of course, the Bible of the completely Jewish Jesus, the Scriptures read daily by Him and considered by Him to be the eternal Word of God, was the First Testament. We who follow Jesus don’t have the right to consider the FT as irrelevant or past its usage date.

The First Testament! The other reason I disagree with the claim that the NT is concealed in the OT is that that there are countless stories, teachings, and prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures that very clearly point directly to the gospel story. These mini-gospel vignettes are fascinating and inspiring, and they fertilize the ground for the Good News, preparing the way for us to welcome in a fresh way the story of salvation and deliverance. Many of these mini-gospels are not well-known, while many are quite famous. So some of the stories in this series might be vaguely familiar, while the reader might be tempted to skim over others because of their familiarity. Either way, the gospelettes in the Jewish Bible deserve to be unpacked. The criteria I try to use as I choose these FT stories include… the story has to include gospel themes such as sacrifice and death; resurrection and life; redemption and deliverance; punishment and hope; forgiveness and healing. And each gospel vignette in the Hebrew Scripture needs to be a preparation for Christ in some way, pointing to Jesus Messiah as the fulfillment of the story. In other words, if the FT story is the only story you know from the Bible, would it prepare your imagination and spirit for the story of Jesus? Would this vignette make the story of Christ less unexpected and more feasible? If you happen to hear the full gospel story after first hearing the FT story, would the gospel story in the NT remind you in some way of the FT story?

“The David story anticipates the Jesus story. The Jesus story presupposes the David story… The David story is a gospel story. It’s a story that gets completed in the Jesus story.” (Eugene Peterson, Leap Over A Wall).

DAVID was totally unique in Scripture. Raised a shepherd boy, the youngest of eight sons, the one everyone seemed to overlook, he became a renowned musician, a legendary poet, a fierce warrior, and the most beloved King in the history of Israel. He was a faithful worshiper of Yahweh, and, the highest accolade one could receive, he was “a man after God’s own heart.” (1 Samuel 13:14). Was he a prophet? Yes. His psalms prove that, and St. Peter called him a prophet in his first sermon after Pentecost (Acts 2:30). Was he a priest? Well, he led worship and offered sacrifices when the ark was brought to Jerusalem, wearing a priestly garment at the time. Was he a king? Unquestionably, the greatest king of Israel. David’s life certainly hinted at his distant relative, the Messiah Jesus, who was the ultimate Prophet, Priest and King.

Mr. Complicated. David lived from around 1040 to 970 BC.  He may be the most famous character in the Hebrew Bible, with the possible exception of Moses. We certainly know more about him than any other biblical character. He was hand-picked by God to be anointed as King while still a young shepherd boy. He succeeded in slaying the giant Goliath while a young man, already a formidable warrior. He was a skilled musician sent to comfort the troubled, depressed King Saul. He was a fugitive running for his life as King Saul turned the tables and tried to kill him in rage and jealousy. He was finally confirmed King of Israel after Saul died. He ruled as King until his son Solomon took the throne. David wasn’t shy, he tended to be extreme and blatant in his actions. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and the Bible doesn’t try to hide any of his flaws or weak moments. It appears that David was a man of big appetites… God, war, women. He was utterly devoted to God, but he made big mistakes. He took another man’s wife in an act of adultery, and had that woman’s husband killed, for which David paid dearly. Whenever he fell into sin, he confessed, asked forgiveness, faced the consequences, and tried to learn from his mistakes. He rarely repeated his moral blunders. He was a great king, for instance, but he was a terrible parent. His family life was in shambles, but his nation was in great shape. Because of his many psalms, we know he was a man who rejoiced, lamented, prophesied, praised, wept, raged, questioned, trusted, and revealed himself to be a thoroughly complex person who experienced deep emotions and profound insights. Obviously, David was supremely gifted in many ways. He was a great King in many ways, but he had too much blood on his hands from all those wars he waged. Most important of all, David’s  family tree produced Jesus, the Messiah, who was a direct descendant of David. David was a forefather of the Lord.

THE CAVE. The cave system of Adullam was an unlikely place of fascinating importance; a gigantic cavern in the Judean wilderness, 12 miles from Jerusalem, on the south border of the valley where David slew Goliath. It was the secret headquarters for David and his band of merry men, probably around 600 in number. This cave has been discovered and can be entered even now. Inside the opening is a winding passage that leads to a huge room of about 5,000 square feet. There are many more passages that branch out from that room which lead to other big rooms. It is said that the entire cave system could house at least a thousand men. It is in this very cave where David later found refuge when Saul was in hot pursuit. In this hidden cavern, a scene of young David’s glory, his true colors shone as vividly as the first rainbow. “David left Bath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his family heard about it, they came down to him there. He was joined by all those who were in difficulties, or in debt, or who were embittered, and he became their leader.” (1 Samuel 22:1-2). What kind of man, while in an outlaw’s hideout, would attract the needy like nails to a magnet? Like a man after God’s own heart. Sounds like Someone else we know. It has been suggested that David could have written his famous Psalm 34 while hiding in his stronghold in this cave. “The Lord hears his people when they call to Him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed. The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.” Still later, the same David in this same cave had nostalgically voiced his longing for the sweet water from his enemy-occupied homeland. Even though three of his devoted henchmen risked their lives in retrieving that well-water, the humbled king worshipfully poured it on the ground as a sacred offering to God. (2 Samuel 23:13-17). Indeed, David broke the mold in so many ways, and in Adullam we see him at his best.

The Son of David also in a Cave. Isn’t it ironic that many generations later a Son of David would be born in a lonely cave right next door in Bethlehem, that this Son turn out to be a captain of the needy, would Himself become a ringleader of outcasts, and would offer not water, but His blood as an offering of sacrifice? And there’s something about those two caves: Neither one would have necessarily inspired a visitor to take off his shoes in awe of their holy ground. Yet no caves have been privileged like this, to house such holy, earthy men. Only a wildly imaginative Creator could have concocted the unpredictable reality of limestone throne rooms, dispossessed men-in-waiting, and beggar warriors conquering the world for their homeless Shepherd-King.

David’s Eye of Mercy. Soon after David established his kingdom, he asked a question that would delight his descendant Jesus… “Is there anyone in Saul’s family around here, so that I can show him mercy for Jonathan’s sake?” (2 Samuel 9:1). David was eager to show kindness to the family of someone who was once his enemy! David and Jonathan had long ago promised a covenant of loyal love to each other, a promise that would extend to their descendants. Jonathan was David’s dearest friend in the world, his bosom buddy, and David wasted no time to show some of that loyal love to any descendant of Saul. It turned out that a disabled outcast, an exile, was actually a son of Jonathan. David’s quest was rewarded by locating this son of Jonathon who went by the name of Mephibosheth. This man was lame in both feet because of an accident when he was five years old in which his ankles never healed properly. David’s generous, unexpected love was unbounded. His integrity in honoring his promise to Jonathon was straight from the heart of God. Rather than clean house and ridding himself of anyone connected to his arch enemy Saul, David turned the tables and embraced Mephibosheth as one of his own. David restored to him all the lands of his grandfather Saul, and David assigned a worthy servant to manage the estate, assuring the farmland of providing support. David enabled Mephibosheth to thrive at a time when he was floundering without any means of support for a living. Then, David treated him like a prince, including him at the king’s table for all his meals, providing his daily bread. This event in David’s life was the gospel story in miniature, good news for the broken and rejected and undeserving. And Jesus expects us to be like David here. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus has poured love into our hearts to enable us to wake up each morning and ask David’s question, “Is there anyone around to whom I can show kindness for Jesus’ sake? Like David, we can keep our eyes peeled for anyone who needs the generous love of Christ. The Spirit of Christ earnestly wants to develop in each of the good eye of God’s mercy.

What is a Good Eye? For centuries, one of the hot topics in rabbinic circles had to do with how to interpret Leviticus 19:15: “You shall not do injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.” And the two most popular interpretations during Jesus’ day were, “Judge everyone with the scales weighted in their favor,” and “Judge every person in favorable terms.” It is exciting to know that Jesus was smack in the middle of this very practical discussion, and that his words were intended to expand on this subject of how to judge our neighbor fairly.

1. Clearly, Jesus accepted what was popular in rabbinic teaching during that time… Give others the benefit of the doubt. Don’t assume the worst motivation for someone’s questionable behavior. Believe the best about people, because only God knows the heart and can therefore judge rightly. Drop the critical spirit before you become an incurable cynic. Don’t jump to conclusions about a suspicious action, but learn to make allowances. If you believe the worst about people, and judge them with contempt, you are acting as if you know what people are thinking and why they are thinking it. Instead, weight your scales of justice in that person’s favor, even if we think they might not “deserve” it.
2. There was a Jewish idiom during those days that talked about a “good eye” (aiyin tovah) and an “evil eye” (aiyin ra’ah). The good eye referred to looking at people generously, favorably, positively. A good eye meant that a person was generous in how he or she dealt with others. The evil eye meant that a person was stingy, unforgiving, negative in his outlook towards others. These were popular expressions in ancient Judaism, and fit right into this idea of weighting the scales in a person’s favor.
3. Jesus seemed to support all those ideas, but he increased the challenge by focusing heavily on the main reasons for showing mercy… Mercy toward others because of God’s mercy towards me; I give grace to others and allow them to have apparent weak moments, because God gives grace to me and allows me to show my humanity as well. I weight the scales in my neighbor’s favor, because God graciously weights the scales in my favor, despite my own sinfulness. Pretend evil doesn’t exist? Of course not. Excuse sinful behavior? No again. Moral accountability? Yes indeed. Judging favorably doesn’t excuse bad behavior, it instead graciously assumes a forgivable explanation for it. In terms of what’s going on in other’s hearts, God only knows. In our own hearts, which we do know, seek mercy, grace, and peace. Judgment is mine, says the Lord. After all, maybe that driver didn’t even see you, and that sour look came from a sour stomach… Who knows? So what. Give grace.

“So be generous with others, magnanimous even! Isn’t that how the Father treats everyone, whether we deserve it or not? He created a magnificent world for us all to enjoy, given us the very breath of life. He causes the warming sun to shine, and provides the nourishing rain as well, whether we’ve been naughty or nice, grateful or ungrateful. Really now, who do we think we are, judging our neighbor without grace like we do? Listen to our marching orders straight from the King… Love others the way that God loves us.” ( a little riff on Luke 6, Matthew 5:45, James 4:11-12, Romans 14:10, and 1 John 4:11)