THE FRUIT OF KINDNESS

2 Samuel 9; Galatians 5:18-26

INTRODUCTION TO 2 SAMUEL 9

A. 2 Samuel 9 is a continuation of the David’s friendship with Jonathan (The story is found in 1 Samuel 13-31). A 17^th century writer said of David’s friendship with Jonathan, “there have been fewer Friends on Earth, than Kings.”

B. David’s kindness toward Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth reminds us that:

1. Kindness is rooted in covenant (1 Samuel 18:1-4; cf. 19:1; 20:8,13-17,41-42; 23:18; cf. 2 Samuel 21; 1 Chron.9:40-44).

2. Kindness is often used in Scripture of something done by a person in a position of strength to another who is in need (2 Samuel 9:6,7).

3. Kindness is giving another what they do not deserve (2 Samuel 9:8).

C. The biblical fruit of kindness doesn’t mean that we have to be best friends with everyone, but that we should treat others as best friends when given the opportunity. David didn’t become best friends with Mephibosheth, but David treated Mephibosheth like his best friend Jonathan (compare David’s kindness to Jonathan’s son in 2 Samuel 9 with David’s kindness to Hanun’s son in 2 Samuel 10).

“Amidst numerous affairs we are apt to forget the gratitude we owe, and the engagements we are under, not only to our friends, but to God himself. Yet persons of real godliness will have no rest till they have discharged them. And the most proper objects of kindness and charity frequently will not be found without inquiry. Jonathan was David’s sworn friend, therefore he shows kindness to his son Mephibosheth. God is faithful to us; let us not be unfaithful to one another. If Providence has raised us, and our friends and their families are brought low, we must look upon that as giving us the fairer opportunity of being kind to them” (Matthew Henry).

I. KINDNESS IN THE CONTEXT OF GALATIANS

A. In 2 Samuel 9, David allowed a lame and “dead dog” to eat at his table. The Judaizers were not allowing Gentile Christians to eat at their tables!

B. Even Peter and Barnabas stumbled into this hypocrisy (Galatians 2:1-13).

C. The Judaizers were devouring one another! (Galatians 5:14-15)

II. THE KINDNESS OF THE WORLD AND THE SUPERNATURAL KINDNESS OF THE SPIRIT

A. Because we are all made in the image of God, people can and do manifest a certain type of “kindness” even though it is not the kindness of the resurrected Christ (see also Romans 3:12).

B. The image of God in man has been seriously marred by sin so that even the kindness of many people can actually be cruel! (Proverbs 12:10)

1. God ordained that children be conceived in a context of covenant love and covenant friendship. The fruit of the womb is to be an incarnation of the love between a husband and a wife.

a. Because of sin, children very often are not the incarnation of covenant friendship but rather the result of immorality, impurity, sensuality, drunkenness and carousing.

b. The womb is no longer a place for kindness and compassion but a place of cruelty, as evidenced by the more than 40 million abortions in this nation alone since 1973.

2. According to Darwin and his disciples we live in a dog-eat-dog world of survival of the fittest – but this has posed problems as to how to explain kindness.

a. One answer scientists give is that “kindness” is really a kind of genetic selfishness.

b. Kindness from an evolutionary world view is “You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.”

III. BIBLICAL KINDNESS IS ROOTED IN THE GOSPEL OF GOD’S GRACE

A. In kindness God has treated His enemies as friends by giving us life when we only deserved death (Titus 3:4-6).

B. Jesus, the son of David, treats us better than David treated Mephibosheth (Proverbs 17:17; John 11:11; 15:14-15).

C. God’s kindness toward us in Christ obligates us to be kind toward others.

D. Kindness is a mindset toward our friends and enemies which asks, “How can I show kindness to whom I am alienated? (2 Kings 6:8-23; Prov.25:21-22; Rom.12:20-21) How can I show kindness to my brothers and sisters in Christ?” (Colossians 3:12; cf. 3 John 15)

“For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend; So that he does not forsake the fear of the Almighty” (Job 6:14).

“He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8 )

E. God’s acts of kindness in your life are not random. Rather, they serve the purpose of calling you to turn from your sins and believe in Jesus Christ.

“Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4)

QUESTIONS FOR SABBATH DISCUSSION & MEDITATION

Take what you have learned this morning and make it into a prayer. Thank God for His many kindnesses in your life. Pray that God would give you a mindset of kindness toward your friends and even those alienated from you.

What passages were read from the Bible today?

What is biblical kindness (think of David and Mephibosheth)?

Should we be kind only if other people deserve it? Should we stop being kind to others if they don’t appreciate all we do for them? Explain.

Are you willing not only to forbear with the faults of others but to be kind to them (Eph.4:32)?

What are some differences between the supernatural fruit of kindness and the kindness of the world?

What does it mean to have a mindset of kindness?

Make a list of the people who have alienated you or whom you have alienated. Pray for these people and ask God how you can show kindness to them.

What is one of the temptations of being kind to others and not having them appreciate your kindness?

Aristotle thought there could be no friendship between a god and a man, any more than a man could be a friend to his slave or his tools, because they were too dissimilar in nature. But the Bible radically rejects secular thought on this point. Few things could be more unnatural and incomprehensible to the pagan imagination than the willingness of the God who created the universe out of nothing to become a friend of mortals whose lives are a mere breath. The whole plan of salvation is an act of friendship whereby God took on human likeness so that people might take on his likeness, transforming enemies into friends (Phil 2:5–8; Heb 2:17; 1 Jn 3:2). The high point of this motif is Jesus’ statement to his disciples, “No longer do I call you servants … but I have called you friends” (Jn 15:15) (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery).