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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: FEAST (07/12/18)
Restored

“Livia, Livia, Saul and Jonathan are both dead. Quickly you must take the boy before he is also slain like his father and grandfather.” The servant ran swiftly through the palace as he shouted the news to others.

Everything was left behind as Livia found little Mephibosheth at play in the sand and scooped him up. Aged five he was heavy for Livia to carry, but determined, she held him close and ran.

The most protected path from the palace was uneven, heavily treed and along the side of a ravine. Every so often she was able to rest briefly. Near exhaustion,as she persevered to get him to safety, she suddenly tripped in a hole. Mephibosheth fell out of her arms and screamed in pain as he hit a large jagged rock then rolled down the craggy slope.
He lay motionless at the bottom.

Livia whispered in horror,
“Poor Mephibosheth. What have I done?”
Behind her, in the distance, she could see others carrying belongings who also wanted to escape possible slaughter.
She ran toward them.
“Help. Help. Come quickly. Mephibosheth is at the bottom of the ravine.”
Eager to save the boy, a rope attached to a gnarled tree trunk enabled Mephibosheth to be hauled up. He was in great pain. One ankle was obviously broken. The other swollen and twisted.
“I am a doctor let me help.” A member of the now large crowd pushed his way through and competently applied salve, splints from twigs, and bandages. He also administered medicine to ease the pain.
Meanwhile others went into the woods and came back with branches which made a stretcher to carry him. The group pressed on. After twenty four hours, confident they had reached a place of safety, they stopped.

The former luxurious life style as a grandchild of King Saul was over. No more elaborate clothes, expensive gifts or tables loaded with endless varieties of delicious food. However, Mephibosheth and
Livia were given protection and a tent for shelter on the land of Machir son of Ammiel in Lo-Debar. By gleaning in nearby fields and begging they survived, thankful for what they did have.

Sadly Mephibosheth's injuries didn’t heal properly and he was forced to use sticks to help him walk. He longed to run and play with other children, but because he cheered loudly during games and was a great encourager, he soon made friends.

One day, several years later, at the market with Mephibosheth, Livia saw a familiar face. It was Ziba a former servant of King Saul. Fearful of repercussions, she turned and hurriedly led the lad away. However, they had both been recognized. Because King David had recently asked Ziba if there were any relatives of Jonathan still alive, he reported what he saw to the King.

“Bring Mephibosheth to me. I wish to show him mercy and kindness because of the covenant I made with his father.” David instructed.

Mephibosheth walked awkwardly with his two sticks. He stumbled and fell in an effort to prostrate himself before his King.
“I am your servant.” he uttered from the floor.

David gently helped him up.
“Don’t be afraid. On account of your father Jonathan I want to bless you. From now on you shall want for nothing. All your grandfather's lands will be restored to you and you will always feast at my table. Ziba will be your servant and look after you and Livia.
Let it be written. Let it be so.” And it was.

Mephibosheth was dressed in royal robes, enjoyed priceless gifts and feasted at the Kings sumptuous banquet table for the rest of his life.

We are all imperfect but Christ seeks us out in our imperfect crippled state. When we choose to answer His call it is then we recognise how poor and needy we are. He exchanges our filthy rags for robes of righteousness. As His heirs we receive His many blessings(gifts) of forgiveness, love, peace, and eternal life and we can look forward to a feast with Him at the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Adapted from 2 Sam 4:4 and 9:1-11
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This article has been read 647 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Linda Lawrence 
07/19/18
Great application that never occurred to this cripple. Thank you.
Gloria Pierre Dean
07/19/18
Well written.
Full of vivid suppositions about a very happy Bible story.
Jenny Fulton 
07/25/18
Excellent job with the narrative and application of this story. I enjoyed reading it.
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
07/27/18
This is a great story. You introduce the conflict right away and pull the reader in with the suspense. I'd urge you to have someone read it aloud to you. If they stumble over any sentences, it might need tweaking, tightening, or restructuring. The person also might help catch little errors like no hyphen between twenty-four and no apostrophe for King's sumptuous banquet. You did a great job of bringing the story to life. The dialog helps the story move forward and you have a great message. Personally I don't think you need that last paragraph because you've done such a fine job of showing the moral in the actual story. Congratulations on ranking 3rd in your level and 11th overall. The highest rankings can be found on the message boards.