At the King’s Table | Receiving and Extending God’s Kindness | 2 Samuel 7-10

INTRODUCTION

We live in a world that talks a lot about kindness; posters in schools, slogans on social media, campaigns urging us to “be kind.” But if we are honest, we also live in a very harsh, suspicious world. Many of us here have experienced moments when our kindness was misunderstood, taken advantage of, or even thrown back in our faces. That hurts deeply.

In 2 Samuel 7–10, we see a portrait of God’s covenant kindness and how it shapes the life of David. These chapters move in three beautiful scenes:

• God’s kindness to David – 2 Samuel 7: The covenant kindness of God
• David, the model king – 2 Samuel 8. A king shaped by God’s kindness
• David’s kindness to the fatherless – 2 Samuel 9 & 10: one receives, one rejects

From these chapters, we learn this main truth: “Those who receive God’s covenant kindness are called to reflect that kindness to others—even when it is misunderstood or rejected.”

Then we will step back and ask:

• What is God’s kindness?
• How has God shown kindness to us in Christ?
• And how should we live it out, especially when our kindness is rejected?

I. GOD’S KINDNESS TO DAVID; 2 SAMUEL 7

1. David’s Good Desire & God’s Better Plan.

In 1 Samuel 6, David brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.

2 Samuel 7:1-2

¹After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, ²he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

David sees the contrast: He lives in a beautiful house of cedar, while the Ark of God is in a tent. He wants to honour God.

2 Samuel 7:3

Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”

But that night, God corrects Nathan:

2 Samuel 7:4-5

⁴But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:

⁵“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?

Even prophets must sometimes say, “I was wrong.” Nathan models humility and obedience by going back to David with God’s word and admit that he was wrong.

The Lord calls David “my servant” – an exalter title in the OT (cf. Moses, Isaiah’s Servant).  God acknowledges David’s heart, but He reminds David: “I don’t need a house; I dwell among my people. I will build a house/dynasty for you.”

2. God’s David – A House/Dynasty, a Forever King

2 Samuel 7:10-11

¹⁰And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning ¹¹and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.

“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you:

Here “house” does not mean a building, but a dynasty, a royal lineage.

2 Samuel 7:12-16

¹²When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. ¹⁵But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”

Solomon is the near fulfilment. He builds the temple. Jesus, the Son of David is the distant fulfilment of this prophecy. See, the first words we find in the NT.

Matthew 1:1

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Jesus is not only the son of Abraham fulfilling the Abrahamic Covenant but Jesus also is the son of David, fulfilling the Davidic Covenant.

2 Samuel 7:17

Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.

3. David’s Response

2 Samuel 7:18-22; 24-29

David’s Prayer

¹⁸Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: (I see David going somewhere, alone and sat before the Lord. He is just sitting for a long time before any words actually comes to his mouth, How long has it been since you’ve gone in somewhere and sat with the Lord? Then he says:)

“Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?

¹⁹And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human!

²⁰“What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. ²¹For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.

²²“How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.

²⁴You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.

²⁵“And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, ²⁶so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.

²⁷“Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. ²⁸Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. ²⁹Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”

Three observations:

1. David Responds in Humility and Reverence. He knows he is unworthy and the promise is grace.

2. David Remembers God’s Past Faithfulness. He did not overlook what God had already done before he even came on the scene. God was at work before David was even thought of, and he mentions that to God. That’s part of the unfolding story of redemption. God has been at work in my life way before I came on the scene.

3. David Accepts and Prays God’s Promises Back to Him. He embraces God’s will, does not argue like Moses.

This is a more mature and humble David. We see God’s kindness to David.

II. DAVID, THE MODEL KING; 2 SAMUEL 8

Chapter 8 shows what a king looks like when shaped by God’s covenant kindness.

1. David is Victorious

The chapter portrays David as a victorious and successful king who is fighting the wars of Israel and of the Lord. David defeats Israel’s enemy on every side:

• Philistines – West; v1
• Moabites – East; v2
• Arameans – North & Northeast; v3
• Edomites – Southeast; v14.

2 Samuel 8:6, 14

The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.

These victories of David are not because of some special greatness in David, but it’s the Lord who is blessing him and allowing him to win these victories. It is the Lord’s kindness.

2. David Becomes Famous

2 Samuel 8:13

And David became famous after he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

God promised to make David’s name great; 2 Sam. 7:9. Here the promise is fulfilled.

3. David Rules with Justice and Righteousness

2 Samuel 8:15

David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people.

How:

David secured Israel’s borders.

David refused to build a chariot force (obedient to Deut. 17:16).

He did not accumulate wealth for himself.

David dedicated the gold and silver to the Lord.

David is a model king – not perfect – but shaped by God’s kindness.

III. DAVID’S KINDNESS; 2 SAMUEL 9-10

In chapters 9-10, we find two stories that highlight David’s kindness. David reaches out to two men who have lost their father. First Mephibosheth, second Hanun.

1. Kindness Received – Mephibosheth; 2 Sam. 9

2 Samuel 9:1

David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

In the ancient world, new kings destroyed all potential rivals, especially the family of the previous monarch. David was countercultural. David acts in kindness. And he seems uncertain if there are any survivors left in Saul’s family. He wants to show them kindness.

2 Samuel 9:2

Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”

“At your service,” he replied.

The fact that Ziba was able, after all these years, to continue working the fields of Saul, is a testimony to David’s kindness, because David let them continue to have those fields; he didn’t take them all for himself.

2 Samuel 9:3

The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?” Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.”

There are some interesting things here that we should ponder:

Jonathan had asked David to show him “the unfailing kindness like that of the Lord,” and David is using that kind of terminology here. He says, “I want to show some descendant of Saul God-like kindness.” He patterned his kindness on the kindness of God. This was not standard human response. This was David’s imitation of God’s kindness.

Mephibosheth is lame, powerless, far away in Lo-debar (Trans-Jordan, a barren place).

2 Samuel 9:4-8

⁴“Where is he?” the king asked.

Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”

⁵So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.

⁶When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. (Imagine the difficulty he had as a lame man to bow down to the king.)

David said, “Mephibosheth!” [David calls him by name]

“At your service,” he replied.

⁷“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.” [4 times eating at my table – v7, 10, 11, 13]

⁸Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”

Mephibosheth doesn’t have a real good self-image, and he’s also being humble here. David restores his inheritance, gives him servants, and welcomes him as a son at the royal table.

This is the first story of David’s Kindness.

Mephibosheth is a beautiful picture of us; weak, undeserving, once enemies of God, spiritual cripples, far off, brought to the King’s table by grace.

2. Kindness Rejected – Hanun; 2 Sam. 10

In 2 Sam. 10 we have another story of kindness where David shows kindness to a grieving son.

2 Samuel 10

¹In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. ²David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” (they had a treaty of some kind) So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father.

Once again, I think David is portrayed here in a very positive light. But sometimes when you reach out to people in kindness, they don’t respond with kindness.

2 Samuel 10:2b-4

When David’s men came to the land of the Ammonites, ³the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you only to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?” (Do you think David is sincere? Are you going to buy this? In David’s career, he gets falsely accused a lot as a leader and has to trust in the Lord.) ⁴So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.

This is a honour shame culture. It was horrible to be publicly shamed. You are shaming these men by shaving half their beard. This is a culture where public nudity is considered shameful.

Their rejection of kindness leads to escalation and eventually to war. Joab and Abishai lead Israel’s army; later David himself comes to the battlefront. God gives Israel victory. David doing what David was supposed to be doing—subduing his enemies.

2 Samuel 10:19

When all the kings who were servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them.

Summary of the Triplet

These stories prepare us to consider how we respond to God’s kindness.

IV. THE GOD OF COVENANT KINDNESS

The Hebrew word for kindness here is “ḥesed” – steadfast love, mercy, covenant loyalty.

When the Lord reveals His own character to Moses He says:

Exodus 34:6

And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love [hesed] and faithfulness,

Psalm 136:1

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

His love [hesed] endures forever.

Lamentations 3:22

Because of the Lord’s great love [hesed] we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

God is kind. His kindness is not a mood, it his God’s covenant character.

V. KINDNESS OF GOD FULFILLED IN CHRIST

In the NT, this covenant kindness is fulfilled in Christ.

Titus 3:4–5

⁴But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.

Ephesians 2:4–5

⁴But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

God’s kindness appears in Jesus Christ – inviting us to the table of grace.

VI. LIVING OUT KINDNESS – ESPECIALLY WHEN IT HURTS

1. First, Receive God’s Kindness (Salvation)

We must first receive God’s kindness.

David began with “Who am I, Sovereign LORD…?” (2 Samuel 7:18).

Mephibosheth said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?” (2 Sam. 9:8).

God is kind towards us. Some of us struggle to receive it.

Ephesians 2:8–9

⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—⁹not by works, so that no one can boast.

The Lord Jesus is calling you today, do not to harden hearts like Hanun, but to come humbly like Mephibosheth. God brings us to His table by grace.

2. Then, Reflect God’s kindness

Having received covenant kindness, we are called to imitate it.

Ephesians 4:32

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Luke 6:35

“Love your enemies, do good to them… then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”

We show kindness:

To the weak – like Mephibosheth, lame in both feet.

To the forgotten – those in “Lo-Debar” in our society.

Those who once opposed us – Saul’s house was David’s enemy, former enemies.

To those who cannot repay us.

We are to show God’s kindness the poor in the city, the disabled, widows, orphans, estranged family members, people from other faiths around us.

3. When Kindness is Rejected

David’s kindness to Hanun was misunderstood, misinterpreted, and insulted.

Some of you know exactly how that feels.

• You tried to help and were accused of having wrong motives.
• You reached out, and the person pushed you away.
• You forgave, and they mocked your faith.

What do we do then?

Let me offer several biblical responses, shaped by this text and the wider Scriptures.

1. Expect Rejection

Even Jesus’ kindness was rejected; Jn. 1:11

“He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” (John 1:11)

2. Guard Your Heart From Bitterness

The danger when kindness is rejected is to become hard:

“I will never help again.”

“People don’t deserve it.”

“What’s the point of doing good?”

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil;” Romans 12:17

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good;” Romans 12:21

We must deal with our hurt before God so it does not become bitterness.

3. Leave Vindication to God

1 Peter 2:23

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

4. Keep doing good – with Wisdom

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up; Galatians 6:9

We do not let someone’s rejection of kindness define our future obedience. We may need wisdom and boundaries. David does not keep sending gifts to Hanun; eventually, there is a clear break. But we do not allow one painful experience to shut down a life of love.

5. Bring Your Pain to God

David’s Psalms show us that he does not pretend he is not hurt. He brings his confusion, his questions, his wounds to the Lord in prayer. God understands rejected love.

When your kindness is rejected:

• Tell God it hurts.
• Ask Him to heal your heart.
• Ask Him to keep you soft, not cynical.
• The God who showed kindness to David, the God who sent His Son for us, understands rejected love.

CONCLUSION

1. Have you received God’s kindness or are you resisting like Hanun?

Christ invites you to His table. Receive Jesus as the Lord of your life.

2. Are You Extending God’s Kindness to Others?

Who is your “Mephibosheth?” Is God is calling you to notice someone weak, forgotten, perhaps even from an “enemy” group, whom you can bring closer?

3. How will You Respond when Kindness is Rejected?

Will you grow bitter or grow deeper in grace?