David Helps Mephibosheth

1 Samuel 20:14-17; 2 Samuel 9:1-13
 
Our true story comes from the Bible. It is found in a part of the Bible called First Samuel (1 Samuel) and Second Samuel (2 Samuel). They are two books in the Bible named after a man named Samuel.

We begin with two best friends. Their names are David and Jonathan. 


A long time ago, these good friends had to say goodbye to each other. It was very hard. But they promised to always be friends. And David promised that he would always take care of Jonathan’s family. Then it was time to say goodbye. 


Later, David became the king! Even as the king, David remembered his big promise to his best friend Jonathan: that he would always take care of all of Jonathan’s family. 
every day.


David wanted to find Jonathan’s family, but it was a very big job! King David wasn’t sure where Jonathan’s family was. But David knew that God made him to do big things. David decided to send lots of people to help him find Jonathan’s family.


When the people came back, they had found someone from Jonathan’s family! They found Jonathan’s son! His name was Mephibosheth.


Mephibosheth couldn’t walk. He needed someone to help him. King David wanted to keep his promise to take care of Jonathan’s family. So, he had Mephibosheth brought to the castle.


David gave Mephibosheth lots of land. He gave Mephibosheth a place to live. He made sure there were people there to help take care of Mephibosheth.


King David also made sure Mephibosheth always got to eat at the king’s table. From that day on, King David took care of Mephibosheth just like he promised his friend, Jonathan. Isn’t that awesome? Yes! So awesome. David did a big thing and took care of Mephibosheth. David was a helper! God made us to do very big things and help people, too!




Bible Paraphrase: Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid . . . for the Lord your God goes with you. —Deuteronomy 31:6, NIV

Text Truth: God made me to help others.



Family Devotional

When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.

David said, “Mephibosheth!”

“At your service,” he replied.

“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.” —2 Samuel 9:6-7

Our Bible story was about how King David wanted to find someone from Jonathan’s family who he could help. He wanted to show kindness to them. Who did King David find? He found Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth. 

God made us to help others, too. When we help others, like King David helped Mephibosheth, we are doing a big thing.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid . . . for the Lord your God goes with you. 
—Deuteronomy 31:6, NIV

David helped Mephibosheth in our story today. There are lots of people you can help, too. So, with your family, make a list of people you can help. Have each family member name a person they can help. You could help people in hour house, in your neighborhood, in your school, at church, anywhere!

Pray with your family. Allow any family members to pray if they wish. In your own words, say, “Dear God, thank You for making (name each family member) to help others. Helping others is a big thing! Please help all of us be strong and courageous so [family member name] can help [person they listed] and [family member name] can help [person they listed] and . . . (continue with each family member). We love You, God. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

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Story illustrations are the copyright of Sweet Publishing and licensed by FreeBibleimages (http://freebibleimages.org) for free download under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike 3.0 unported licence.
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