2 Samuel 16:5-14
5 When King David came to Bahurim, behold, a man was coming out from there from the family of the house of Saul, and his name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he was coming out, cursing as he came.
6 He also threw stones at David and all the servants of King David; and all the people and all the warriors were on his right and on his left.
7 This is what Shimei said when he cursed: “Go away, go away, you man of bloodshed and worthless man!
8 The Lord has brought back upon you all the bloodshed of the house of Saul, in whose place you have become king; and the Lord has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. And behold, you are caught in your own evil, for you are a man of bloodshed!”
9 Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Now let me go over and cut off his head.”
10 But the king said, “What business of mine is yours, you sons of Zeruiah? If he curses, and if the Lord has told him, ‘Curse David,’ then who should say, ‘Why have you done so?’ ”
11 Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my son who came out of my own body seeks my life; how much more now this Benjaminite? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him.
12 Perhaps the Lord will look on my misery and return good to me instead of his cursing this day.”
13 So David and his men went on the road; and Shimei kept going on the hillside close beside him, and as he went he cursed and threw stones and dirt at him.
14 And the king and all the people who were with him arrived exhausted, and he refreshed himself there.
David and Shimei
Shimei’s curse
How do you respond when you are slandered for something you did not do? In the previous passage, David accepted Ziba’s false report and made a wrong decision. But in today’s passage, he responds correctly. Let us learn a lesson from David’s response. As David and his company were on their way from the Mount of Olives to Jericho, they encountered a man named Shimei in Bahurim. (1) Shimei was from the family of Saul and had long harbored resentment toward David. (2) Seizing this opportunity, he cursed David and his servants, throwing stones at them to insult David in front of the soldiers. (3) Shimei declared that the calamity David was now facing was God’s retribution for the bloodshed of Saul’s family. However, this was not true. In fact, David had always taken great care to avoid shedding the blood of anyone from Saul’s household.
David’s tolerance
(1) Unable to endure it any longer, Abishai, David’s nephew (the son of Zeruiah), spoke up. Abishai was always zealous to protect David. He requested of David to let him go over and cut off the head of the “dead dog” (referring to Shimei). (2) However, David would not allow it. He recognized the hand of the Lord behind Shimei’s cursing. (3) David’s true sentiment was that if even his own son Absalom was seeking his life, then it was no wonder that Shimei, a relative of Saul’s family (a Benjamite), would curse him as well. (4) At the same time, David expressed his hope that the Lord, seeing his heart, would turn this cursing into a blessing for him. (5) As it would later unfold, Shimei repented and prostrated himself before David, and David did indeed return safely to Jerusalem (19:18-23). The Lord honored David’s faith in this. If we wish to live lives of peace, we should entrust everything to God’s evaluation rather than being swayed by human opinion. David is a good example for us, but the Lord Jesus is an even greater one. Let us now look to Jesus and pray that we would be changed to His likeness.
Today's prayer
Heavenly Father, when the Lord Jesus was reproached, He entrusted all judgment to You. Please give me the heart of the Lord Jesus. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.