Today's Scripture Reading (June 4, 2022): 2 Samuel 9
As early as January 1945, it
became readily apparent that Germany’s war in Europe was coming to an end. The Battle of Berlin would be the last
battle that Germany would be able to fight in the war, and when it was over,
Germany would once again be decimated. And as the high officials began to read
the writing on the wall, they also started to think about possible next steps for them and their families. Adolf Hitler had already decided that he and his
mistress, Eva Braun, would commit suicide in the Führerbunker or Hitler’s shelter before the Allies took
Berlin. Other officials had to decide whether they would join Hitler in his suicide
pact or take their chances with being captured by the Soviets or, likely preferably,
by the British and Americans.
One of those officials was Hermann Fegelein, a high-ranking
member of the much-feared Waffen-SS. And Fegelein had decided that the one
thing he didn’t want to do was to be a part of Hitler’s suicide pact. By April
27, 1945, Berlin was surrounded by the Soviet Red Army, and the capital had
been cut off from the rest of Germany. The end of the war could now be measured
in days. The Soviet Union continued to bombard Berlin, getting it ready for the
final invasion by the Allies. And on April 27, 1945, Hermann Fegelein walked
away from his post at the Führerbunker.
His absence was noticed fairly quickly.
Soldiers were immediately dispatched to Fegelein’s home, where the SS official
was found intoxicated, wearing civilian clothes, and carrying money and jewels,
some of which had belonged to Eva Braun. Fegelein had decided that it was time
to go into hiding and hopefully flee to either Sweden or Switzerland. Fegelein
was arrested and brought back to the Führerbunker, where one of Hitler’s final
commands was that Fegelein would be shot for his actions. Hermann Fegelein was
executed by soldiers loyal to Adolf Hitler on April 28, 1945, less than
forty-eight hours before Hitler and Braun would follow through with their
suicide pact.
David is trying to find someone from the
lineage of Saul that he can honor. But the only link to Saul that the King
could find was a servant from the house of Saul named Ziba. Ziba knows that
there is a descendant of Saul, Mephibosheth, but his location is a well-kept secret.
Mephibosheth was a member of the lineage of the old regime. After the death of
his uncle, Ish-bosheth, Mephibosheth went into hiding. Mephibosheth, and those
loyal to him, believed that David would likely kill him if he knew where he was.
Regime change almost always came with the execution of the families of the former
King or Queen. So, Mephibosheth rightly believed that he was in trouble with
David on the throne.
The conversation between David and Ziba that we
have in Samuel is quick, but I believe that the communication wasn’t quite as short
as the historian relates in his story. Ziba had to make a huge decision. If he
told David where Mephibosheth was hiding, and David wanted to kill him, he would
have betrayed Saul’s grandson and guaranteed his death. But if David was
telling the truth, the kindness of the King could drastically change
Mephibosheth’s life.
In the end, Ziba took a chance and told David
where to find Mephibosheth. Ziba decided to trust that the David which existed
in the people’s stories was the same David who stood in front of him at this
moment. And the grandson of his former master deserved the kindness that the
king could give to him.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading:
2 Samuel 10
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