2 Samuel 16:5-14 (ESV)
Shimei Curses David
When King David came to Bahurim, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera, and as he came he cursed continually. And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David, and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. And Shimei said as he cursed, “Get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man! The LORD has avenged on you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the LORD has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, your evil is on you, for you are a man of blood.”
Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.” But the king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD has said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’” And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my own son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to. It may be that the LORD will look on the wrong done to me, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing today.” So David and his men went on the road, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and flung dust. And the king, and all the people who were with him, arrived weary at the Jordan. And there he refreshed himself.
What is our attitude toward those who “curse” us? Imagine the above scene being played out in corporate America. HR would be on this right away. David, in this story, is fleeing Jerusalem because his son Absalom is forming a coup to take over the city. A David flees he has some join him and some desert him, to serve Absalom. Sheimei, a descendent of King Saul, takes the opportunity to curse David on his way out of town. David is still king. David still has his mighty men. David still has an army of thousands, with him. David could have had the man destroyed, or killed him by himself. Yet, David’s state of mind is to trust in God, who judges all men. Note how Peter stated this when he was writing about how Jesus was cursed and treated unjustly by the world:
1 Peter 2:23 (ESV)
23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
David, like Jesus would years later, committed himself to “him who judges justly.” In our era of life we have many who like to be like Shimei. They like to curse those around them that they disagree with, or have a false narrative about, or, like in the case of Shimei, have a grudge from years gone by (Shimei was King Saul’s relative and David had received the throne from Saul). Our greatest character is revealed in times like this. Our flesh would want to lash out, like the sons of Zeruiah, above. Yet, David is Spirit controlled and does not allow that to happen. He practices grace and extends that to Shimei. He does it now and will do it when he returns as the victor and Shimei comes, asking for forgiveness (2 Samuel 19:16-23). David give us an example of how to handle adversity and give God glory in the midst of being cursed by the world around us.
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