Lesson on Purity

In my reading of the Bible, the Lord impressed me so much about Mephiboseth. I saw an excellent character in him which I never saw before. 

Firstly, he was the son of David's beloved, though crippled, he was honored to eat at the king’s table. Despite his handicap, he need not look done on his crippled feet, but look at the food placed on the dinning table of the king.

And Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem because he ate at the king’s table continually. And he was crippled in both his feet. (2 Samuel 9:13, RecVer)

Secondly, he was deceived by his own servant Ziba who wanted to win David's favour and coveted his inheritance.

And when David was a little past the summit, Ziba, Mephibosheth’s attendant, came to meet him with a pair of saddled asses and upon them two hundred loaves of bread and a hundred clusters of raisins and a hundred summer fruit and a skin of wine. And the king said to Ziba, Why do you have these? And Ziba said, The asses are for the king’s household to ride on, and the bread and the summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine is for those who faint in the wilderness to drink. And the king said, And where is your master’s son? And Ziba said to the king, He is now dwelling in Jerusalem, for he said, Today the house of Israel will restore to me the kingdom of my father. And the king said to Ziba, Now all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours. And Ziba said, I bow myself to you. May I find favor in your sight, O my lord the king. And when King David came to Bahurim, a man of the family of the house of Saul came forth from there, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he came forth, cursing as he came forth. (2 Samuel 16:1-5, RecVer)

Thirdly, he acknowledged the fact that he and his whole family were worthy of death. And further confessed that he had no right to cry out to the king.

Fourthly, when David said that he and his servant would divide his inheritance by half, he even offered that Ziba can get the whole.

And he said, O my lord the king, my servant deceived me; for your servant said, I will saddle myself a donkey that I may ride on it and go with the king. For your servant is lame. And Ziba slandered your servant before my lord the king. But my lord the king is like an angel of God; therefore do what is good in your sight. For all my father’s house were but men worthy of death before my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right then do I have to cry out more to the king? And the king said to him, Why speak any more of your affairs? I say that you and Ziba shall divide the land. And Mephibosheth said to the king, Let him even take it all, since my lord the king has arrived at his house in peace. (2 Samuel 19:26-30, RecVer)

Such a character as Mephibosheth impressed me a lot. It reminds me of the purity of heart needed of a believer. I am not sure if I were as pure as him. But I do pray and wish that I be pure in heart too. 

These days, I have also been exercising to deal with my heart of any impurity. I do not want to be double standard and hypocrite. I want to be straight, simple, single, and sincere in my words and deeds. But I am not sure either where I have come upto now. I only hope and pray that the Lord will train me day by day, deal with my heart until it is pure. My motive, intention, attitude, opinion, and thoughts should be pure before God and man concerning anything.

Lord, purify my heart, I pray.