So David said to [Mephibosheth], “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.”
2 Samuel 9:7
Recommended Reading: Matthew 5:33-37
We often invoke the notion of a promise when conversing about a commitment: “I promise I’ll be there at four o’clock sharp!” Jesus noted that a promise (oath) is a step beyond merely giving one’s word—and should be an unnecessary step: “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’” (Matthew 5:37).
In the Old Testament, a covenant was a type of binding promise. Before David became king, he and Saul’s son Jonathan made a covenant involving Jonathan’s future children. Jonathan asked David to promise that when he became king, he would care for Jonathan’s children. And David did. Years after Jonathan died and David became king, he heard that Jonathan’s disabled son, Mephibosheth, was alive and living as an outcast as a descendant of Saul. So David brought Mephibosheth to his court and made ample and permanent provisions for him.
David kept his promise to Jonathan. God keeps His promises to us. And we should keep our word to one another—always.
God hath promised to keep his people, and he will keep his promise.
Charles Spurgeon