In 2 Samuel 16:1-4, David (still fleeing Jerusalem after Absalom has declared himself king in Hebron) meets up with Ziba, the steward looking after Mephibosheth’s interests (see 2 Samuel 9). Ziba has provisions to help David (two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine, along with donkeys to help him on his way) and must have been a welcome sight for David and his men. However, when David enquires after Mephibosheth, Ziba tells him, “He is staying in Jerusalem, because he thinks, ‘Today the Israelites will restore to me my grandfather’s kingdom.’” (2 Sam 16:3) Hurt, David hands over Mephibosheth’s wealth to Ziba and his family, never pausing to check whether Ziba’s statement is true or not.
As it turns out, Ziba has not been honest (see 2 Sam 19:24-30), and this shows us the dangers of presuming motives and listening to hearsay. Ziba ascribes motives to Mephibosheth (the restoration of the kingdom to himself) which are not true; we are reminded that sometimes we do well to hold our opinions to ourselves, because we cannot see people’s hearts. David, understandably fraught from Absalom’s conspiracy, is too willing to believe a report without any verification; there is no ‘benefit of the doubt’ here or presumption of innocence over guilty.
Relationships can be repaired through honest communication and the full set of facts, but this encounter reminds us that we do well to hear the full story and both sides of a story before we make judgments.