Focus Chapters:
- 2 Samuel 15-16
- 2 Samuel 17:1-14
Standout Verse(s):
2 Samuel 16:5-13 NLT
As King David came to Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei son of Gera, from the same clan as Saul’s family. He threw stones at the king and the king’s officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded him. “Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David. “The Lord is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul’s clan. You stole his throne, and now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine, for you are a murderer!”
“Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?” Abishai son of Zeruiah demanded. “Let me go over and cut off his head!”
“No!” the king said. “Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah! If the Lord has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him?”
Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to do it. And perhaps the Lord will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.” So David and his men continued down the road, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing and throwing stones and dirt at David.
Observation (s):
- Shimei felt he had a just cause for abusing and cursing David and his men and rejoicing at David’s misfortune.
As King David came to Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei son of Gera, from the same clan as Saul’s family. He threw stones at the king and the king’s officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded him. “Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David. “The Lord is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul’s clan. You stole his throne, and now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine, for you are a murderer!”.
- Abishai’s response was about defending David’s honour and immediate retaliation for the slight.
“Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?” Abishai son of Zeruiah demanded. “Let me go over and cut off his head!”
- David’s reaction was to see things from Shimei’s perspective and believe that Shimei cursed him only because God allowed it. Due to this, he left it up to God to react to Shimei’s behaviour towards him.
“No!” the king said. “Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah! If the Lord has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him?”
Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to do it. And perhaps the Lord will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.”So David and his men continued down the road, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing and throwing stones and dirt at David.
Application:
We live in a world where we tend to “react now and ask questions later.” We instinctively react to every perceived insult or blight to our honour, real or not. And even when we don’t automatically react, we are surrounded by acquaintances who will boost us into a reaction or like Abishai, rise up to react on our behalf. Instead of being hasty, like Abishai, when faced with Shimei-like situations of physical and verbal abuse, we should train ourselves to react like David.
We also cannot overlook that David was under significant stress. He had just been forced to vacate his home and go on the run after his son, Absalom, started a revolution. Additionally, he was now being verbally and physically abused and embarrassed before his relatives, men and followers by a relative of Saul, the man whose’s position he had been blessed with. Despite all of these factors, David:
- Paused to review the matter from Shimei’s perspective and acknowledged that he, as Saul’s relative, had a just reason for cursing him and rejoicing at his misfortune.
- Recognized that the Shimei’s insult could not have happened if God hadn’t allowed it.
- Recognized that the slight could be the gateway to a blessing God intended to bestow upon him.
- Left it up to God to react to Shimei cursing him.
Let’s do a personal analysis. On a stressful day, when everything is going wrong, how would you have reacted if faced with a Shimei-like situation? Will you react like Abishai, ready to retaliate or kill your abuser? Or, would you react like David and leave reacting to your abuser in God’s capable hands? You don’t need to retaliate.
Leave it to God.
