1.6 | Grab A Seat!

Tune in for the final episode of the season as Charnelle digs in the roots of a family tree that even reaches to us today...yes, in 2026!

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Hi, everybody! Welcome, one. Welcome all to the Leah effect. I am your host, Charnell, and we are back with another episode in the season of the Slept On. And not only is this another episode, this is the final episode of the season. Oh my gosh. We've come this far by faith, for real. The season of The Slept On featured and highlighted biblical figures who we forgot, some who were underdogs, others who were silent heroes, and some who were working behind the scenes to bring the whole production to life. And we're still keeping the train on the tracks, alright? Our very first episode focused on a woman who was deemed as forgettable, unimpressive, and constantly overlooked, who ended up being a pivotal member in the lineage of Jesus Christ. And today, we close out the season of the Slepton with someone who spent their days hiding in fear, shame, and exile due to his condition. Today, I'm talking about Mephibosheth. Now, his story is connected to a few other people in this good book, so I have to provide context because context matters here. So allow me to set the scene. In this story, outside of Mephibosheth, we have three main characters and one supporting character. We have David, yes, that David, the shepherd, the one who wrote the Psalms, the one with the slingshot, kills Goliath, right? We have Saul, the very first king of Israel, who was disgraced and dethroned due to his disobedience to the Lord. And we have Jonathan, Saul's son and David's best friend. And our supporting character is Samuel, the first prophet slash judge of Israel, plays both roles. Okay, so let's start from the top. Remember throughout the season where I spoke about judges, those responsible for the spiritual and moral upkeep of Israel, which declined anyway, who heard from God and tried to keep the nation within good standing in God's laws and judgments while also fighting their enemies to remain a people free from oppressive powers? Yeah, so that didn't last forever. The role of judges dissipated after about 400 years, and the role of the prophet rose. And here is where we find ourselves in 1 Samuel. Now, the first prophet is an advisor to the king of Israel, the very first king of Israel. Okay? And how did kings come into play? I'm so glad you asked. The children of Israel kept asking God for a king. And God's like, nah, I'm your king. I should be enough. But comparison kicks in, and the children of Israel are like, but God, all the other nations have kings. Why don't we have a king? And God's like, no, I'm telling you, you do not want one. And Israel's like, but we do though. So God tells Samuel to tell the children of Israel essentially what will happen if they have a king for their nation. And Samuel says this He will take your sons and appoint them to serve his own chariots and horses and run in front of his chariots. Running in front of chariots is crazy business. Secondly, he will appoint some for himself as commanders of thousands and of fifties, and others to plow his ground, to reap his harvest, and to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his servants. And he'll take a tenth of your grain and grape harvest and give it to his officials and servants. And he will take your men's servants and maidservants and your best cows and donkeys and put them to his own use. And he will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. And Israel was like, That sounds pretty good though, no? So enter Saul coming to the town to find his father's lost donkeys. I don't hey, whatever floats his boat, right? He's described in scripture as choice, as handsome and tall. Apparently, that's what you need to be a king. And when we say tall, what do you mean by tall? Like, is he like six foot five? We're talking like Wembinyama height, like where are we at right now? No, he is a head's length above everyone else. Right. So God tells Samuel that Saul is to be appointed the king. So Samuel does just that. He anoints Saul, and the announcement is made to the people, and they shout and rejoice, Long live the king! And most of the Israelites are rejoicing and happy about this, right? Now, Saul is anointed king at the age of 30 and rules Israel for 42 years. And throughout this time, he fights many battles. And one of his biggest ops, the Philistines. And as a military leader, he fights alongside his son Jonathan. And they really give all of his enemies the business continually. Okay, but throughout Saul's reign is also where his decline takes place. Now I know we're still waiting for Mephiboshev to come to the picture. Just give me a second, give me a second. It's gonna make sense in a little bit. But one day, Samuel speaks to Saul and tells him, The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over Israel, right? So now you have to listen to the words of the Lord. And this is what the Lord of hosts says. I, the Lord of hosts, witness the Amalekites and what they did to the Israelites as they left Egypt. So now you, Saul, must go and attack the Amalekites and destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare anything, do not spare anyone, and you leave everything behind for destruction's sake. That is what Saul was told to do. Now, what do you think Saul did? Saul went to go and attack the Amalekites. He spares the life of the king of the Amalekites, takes out everybody else, but saves the best of sheep, the best cows, the fattest calves, juiciest lambs, best gold, best jewelry, best silver, best of everything, the best of everything the Amalekites had, Saul kept. When his instruction was to destroy everything. You see, now peep how he didn't do everything God told him to do, and he thought he could get away with it because he did 65% of the assignment. Sidebar. Saul is the reason I learned what partial obedience is, and how that still falls under the category of disobedience. Lord help us. And because of Saul's disobedience, the throne is ripped away from him. The Lord regrets his decision, and Samuel, his advisor, his friend, his confidant, his advocate, is devastated. Now, here's where David comes into the picture. Days after Samuel is still mourning over Saul's loss of the throne, and the Lord rebukes Samuel and tells him, Yo, like, how long are you gonna keep mourning over the thing that I rejected? Like, it's done with Saul. So get up and go find the new king. I'll tell you where to go. Go to Bethlehem and go to this man named Jesse's house. So he goes to Jesse's house, finds David. It's a long, long, long story. Essentially, Jesse has eight sons. Samuel goes to Jesse's house to anoint the king. Jesse says that he has only seven sons to show Samuel. None of the seven sons are equipped, ready, called, or anointed to be king. And Samuel's like, is there anyone else? And Jesse's like, well, there's David in the back. He's he's tending sheep. Turns out David is the one that has to be anointed king because he was the one who was chosen to be king by God. Right? So we're now all caught up. And just to move within succession of the story, he's anointed as king for the first time at 15 years old. He fights the battle with Goliath, wins. He's then called to Saul's palace to play because he is a skilled musician. Love him down for that. Comes to Saul's palace to play the evil spirit that is disrupting Saul out of Saul, right? And that very day that he was called to play, Saul kept David in his palace. Now, remember, Saul has a son named Jonathan. David and Jonathan grew very close, okay? They're tight-knit, they're brothers at this point. Covenant potness. All right. The scripture says that Jonathan loved David as himself. And throughout David's time within the palace, as David is rising in the ranks and favor of the Israelite people, Saul begins to envy David. Saul tries to kill David. David flees the scene to save his own life. And Jonathan covers for David. Jonathan protects David. Jonathan helps David. And because Jonathan helps David, Saul puts a hit out on Jonathan. Yes, Shonda Rhimes can't write stories this well. I'm telling you, put out a hit on his own son. And in the meantime, while David is running away from Saul and hiding and fighting his own battles, he's writing psalms and songs and poems. Some are beautiful prayers asking for strength and salvation and honoring God and praise and worship. And others are essentially distracts. Nas level distracts, Kendrick Lamar level distracts. But over the course of 15 years, David finally takes the throne of Israel. Jonathan and Saul are killed in battle. And now we're in 2 Samuel. David is the newly appointed king, and the early chapters speak of his triumphs and his battles and his victories. But in chapter 9, he is moved to ask this question. Is there anyone in the house of Saul whom I can show kindness to for Jonathan's sake? Now there was a servant from the house of Saul named Zeba, and Zeba knows all the info, okay? And informs David that Jonathan has a son named Mephibosheth, who was lame in both feet. Now he wasn't always lame in both feet, you know. So when word reached the palace that Saul and Jonathan had died in battle, anyone and everyone in the palace was facing imminent danger. Mephibosheth was a young boy, around five years old at the time when this happened. So his nurse, or his nane in present-day language, hurried to leave the premises. And in her rushing, she picked up Mephibosheth, ran, fell, and dropped him. Causing him to live with this condition that he has and is known by. But at this time, years have gone by. Mephibosheth is living in a land called Lodabar. Now, Lodabar. I don't even like Lodebar is like Skid Row. For real. Okay? It is a desolate place. And it means barren or a place of no pasture. It is a place known for isolation and desolation. And that's where we find Mephibosheth. David summons him to come to the palace. And when Mephibosheth comes, David assures him not to be afraid, first and foremost, because Mephibosheth is someone who has been surrounded by loss and depletion by the hands of others. War is all he knows, and it's why he is what he is and where he is now. And traditionally, what is to be done when a new king takes over the throne is that all descendants from the former king's family was either killed or exiled. That way, any threat to the throne would be eliminated. So for Mephibosheth, who spent years in hiding, years in pain, years in desolation and isolation, is suddenly bid by the new king to come to the palace. Yeah. Antennas are going all the way up. But David tells Mephibosheth his plan and says, I will show you kindness, surely, 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. To which Mephibosheth replies, What is your servant that you should notice a dead dog like me? Then the king summoned Zeba, Saul's servant, and told him, I have given your master's grandson everything that belongs to Saul and his family. Zeba, you and your sons and your servants are to farm and to till the land and to bring in the crops to make sure that he is provided for. And Mephibosheth will always eat at my table. And the chapter ends by saying Mephibosheth ate at David's table like one of the king's sons. So what is so important about eating at the king's table? Well, first and foremost, the king's table has honor, it has favor, it has provision of the highest esteem. And lastly, it has security. And here we have Mephibosheth, who referred to himself as a dead dog. He now has a permanent seat at the king's table. He is restored and covered, where his deficiencies are not highlighted or not even seen at this very table. He is taken in and accepted and loved and chosen specifically, not based on merit, not based on deed, but of the covenant of love that grace will cover and intercede for him. Even when he felt disqualified or undeserving. When others would have considered him an enemy, the king took him in as a son. So now Mephibosheth is no longer isolated, but he is now insulated within the kingdom. So what is the Mephibosheth effect? The Mephibosheth effect is when the covenant supersedes the condition. In one way or another, we have all been Mephibosheth. Feeling disqualified by life circumstances, finding ourselves in places of hopelessness or barrenness, defeat, rejection, fear, and even death, honestly. And making a home in it. Finding a place in it to live and even potentially thrive. Because Mephibosheth had a life in Lodabar. Let's not bypass that. Mephibosheth had a child in Lodabar. Mephibosheth had a livelihood in that place, but Lodabar became his personality. And that was who he was because of where he was. But how glad am I that the king made good on his covenant and came looking for Mephibosheth. The king came looking for you. The king came looking for me. And when he found me, he placed me at the table where my flaws are covered, where I'm not an enemy, where I'm not a mistake, where I won't be dropped ever again. And that safety and security is designed just for me. What else but love could be the motivating factor behind that? The covenant between David and Jonathan was that the Lord will be with David as he was with Saul at one point in time. But may David show unfailing kindness like that of the Lord to Jonathan as long as he lived, and do not ever cut off his kindness from Jonathan's family. Jonathan asked David to reaffirm that covenant because he loved him as he loved himself. And generations later, Mephibosheth became the beneficiary of a covenant he never even made. That's grace. That's covenant, y'all. That's that's gospel. Because the truth is, we're all sitting at a table we didn't earn because of a promise we didn't make. He didn't wait for us to clean ourselves up or to prove our worth. He called us by name, brought us into his house, and gave us a permanent place at his table, not because of our condition, but because of his covenant. And maybe that is the greatest lesson of this entire season. God chooses the overlooked, God chooses the forgotten. He chooses the underestimated, he chooses the slept on. And if we've learned anything from Leah, Gideon, Shamgar, the Shunammite woman, Shifra and Puah, and now Mephibosheth, it's this. May we never confuse being overlooked by people with being forgotten by God. Because when God remembers you, that one moment of his favor can rewrite an entire lifetime of rejection and have his loving kindness bring us into wholeness. And that is the Mephibosheth effect. As this season of the Leah effect comes to a close, I want to say this. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for joining me on this adventure that has been season one of the Leah Effect. It has truly been an honor to walk and talk through these stories with you. And this is just the beginning, y'all, and I cannot wait for what is ahead. Because when season two comes back, ooh, it's gonna be a good time. It's gonna be a doozy. But in the meantime, make sure you are following us on Instagram at underscore the Leah Effect, and please subscribe to our YouTube channel so you don't miss any updates, announcements, and upcoming episodes for season two. God bless you, thank you, and always remember there is more to the story, and the effects are truly endless. Catch you next time, and I'll see you in season two.