Saul’s reign came to a terrible conclusion – the Philistines crushed the Israelites and chased many of them out of their homes (I Chronicles 10:7). Saul and his three oldest sons died in the battle. And all this happened because of Saul’s continual infidelity to God (I Chronicles 10:13-14).

But however destructive and rebellious Saul may have been, and however much he may have deserved his fate, there was one sprig on his family tree that was preserved – Saul’s grandson Meribbaal (I Chronicles 9:40), also called Mephibosheth (II Samuel 4:4).

So, why did Meribbaal survive? It wasn’t because he was somehow useful to King David – after all, he had been permanently crippled at the age of five (II Samuel 4:4). But his father Jonathan had been a close friend of David, transferring his allegiance to David from his own father, King Saul. And Jonathan had asked David to make a promise to him: “And you shall not cut off your lovingkindness from my house forever, not even when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth” (I Samuel 20:15).

And David kept the promise he made to Jonathan, giving Mephibosheth all that had belonged to his grandfather Saul (II Samuel 9:7). And as we see in I Chronicles 8:34-40, Mephibosheth went on to have many descendants. The only surviving heir of Saul, and a lame man at that, became the ancestor of “mighty men of valor” (I Chronicles 8:40). And his lineage was so significant to the Chronicler that it was repeated in chapter 9:40-44.

Why was this story so important? The people of the Chronicler’s generation had also suffered terribly because of their ancestors’ infidelity to God. They had been born in exile in Babylon, and now they were faced with the task of rebuilding the land from which their ancestors had been expelled. Like Mephibosheth, everything around them lay in ruins because of their ancestors’ sin and rebellion.

But just as God could bring new strength and vigor from one lame leaf on Saul’s family tree, God could use a tiny remnant like those who returned from exile to accomplish great things. Just as Mephibosheth’s salvation sprang from Jonathan’s act of faithfulness to David, they too were called to trust in God, no matter how difficult the trials they would face might be. And just as David was gracious to Mephibosheth because of his promise to Jonathan, they could also rely on God’s grace to keep His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, promises to multiply them and give them a place to live in the presence of the Lord.

And we can trust in those same promises today. No matter how great the disaster around us may seem to be, those who put their trust in the Son of David can be confident that our God will forgive us and adopt us and enable us to give our lives to Him. For He has made us part of a great family of faith, a family that includes so many of the people listed in these chapters. May we be found worthy of such a legacy.

I Chronicles 8:33-40 (NASB)

33 And Ner became the father of Kish, and Kish became the father of Saul, and Saul became the father of Jonathan, Malchi-shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal.
34 And the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal, and Merib-baal became the father of Micah.
35 And the sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz.
36 And Ahaz became the father of Jehoaddah, and Jehoaddah became the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri became the father of Moza.
37 And Moza became the father of Binea; Raphah was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son.
38 And Azel had six sons, and these were their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel.
39 And the sons of Eshek his brother were Ulam his first-born, Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third.
40 And the sons of Ulam were mighty men of valor, archers, and had many sons and grandsons, 150 of them. All these were of the sons of Benjamin.