Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Green (10/22/09)
-
TITLE: Lo Debar | Previous Challenge Entry
By Lisa Cox
10/28/09 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
Lo Debar, a place to run from…not to. I was only five when I fled for my life to this fruitless place. And even then my eyes were the only thing to touch this land and what a miserable sight it was. At a time when the land should have been filled with golden sunshine on green hills, Lo Debar looked dead. No wonder it is called the land of nothing. It was then that my nursemaid, while running for our lives holding me close to her body, tumbled to the ground crushing both my legs. They haven’t worked since, not that it mattered. Where would I walk to in this God forsaken place? She had me convinced I couldn’t go back home.
You see, I use to be a prince. At least that’s what she told me all these years. My grandfather, King Saul, had big plans for me. My father Jonathan…oh, how I remember riding with him on long days when his attention was all mine and how I longed for it then.
“Mephibosheth,” he would say gently. “If anything should ever happen to me or your grandfather…don’t worry. You see this mark son,” he said as he rose up one arm to show Mephibosheth the scar that had a strange green hue as though it had never quite healed. “This is a covenant I have made with my closest friend. He also bears this mark and its meaning is simple. We’ve promised with the shedding of our blood that we will always take care of one another. And you my son are part of me. Never fear for your life.”
It wasn’t long after, that news came of his bitter death on the battlefield. Hysteria struck the countryside and David, was said to be taking the throne. My life was in danger, or so they said. The rest is history as Lo Debar became my banishment.
The King
It had been weeks since David had experienced such quiet. Days past had been filled with so much excitement. The ark was now safely within the walls of Jerusalem and God had given him rest from his enemies. “What more could a king want,” David thought. When at that moment he caught the reflection of his arm in his goblet and David wept at the reminder of his dear friend Jonathan. His own words concerning his death haunted him, "How the mighty have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights. I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; You were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.”
At that moment David looked upon his servant and said, “Who is left in Jonathan’s house that I can pour out my heart and kindness to?” Ziba spoke and said, “Mephibosheth, my lord, Jonathans only son, and a cripple.”
“Bring him to me now!”
The King’s Table
I knew it would not be long before they found me and became afraid I would threaten the throne. Imagine…me, a cripple taking the throne, but nonetheless they came. Horses and guards to royally arrest the heir. Didn’t they know I lost what mattered most to me many years before on a merciless battlefield?
“David can have his throne,” I snarled at them as they lifted me to a carriage where I knew certain death awaited me.
When we arrived they carried me into the King’s chamber and set me on the floor. “Where is this man that took my father’s seat?" I thought to myself.
As though he could read my mind, a man in a purple tunic bent down to me and placed one arm on my shoulder, “Mephibosheth!” he said looking in my eyes, but it was not his eyes I noticed but his arm…a small scar with a green hue is what caught my attention.
Humbly I spilled my words out like water, “You were my father’s closest friend, and I am your servant.”
“Why do you tremble so?” the king asked of me gently.
“Why me Lord? I am nothing but a dead dog,” I answered.
“Don’t be afraid. Because of your father Jonathan, I am about to pour out my kindness on you and restore to you all that belonged to your grandfather Saul. You shall no longer want for anything, and what’s more, come and dine at my table always.”
On that day it is said that a flower bloomed in Lo Debar.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
