And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, there came out from thence a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera he came forth, and cursed,
David is fleeing Jerusalem, driven from his throne by his own son. At the village of Bahurim a man from Saul's old family comes out and curses him as he walks. Two questions run through the scene. Why did God allow a false charge against His chosen king? And why would David not let anyone stop it?
This insult is part of a larger chastening from God. One writer puts the whole flight from Absalom under God's hand, not Absalom's.
It is painful to see the conqueror of Goliath driven from his home and his throne by his beloved son, and that under God's hand. For if God had not allowed it, who could have driven God's elect from the royal seat in which Jehovah had placed him? The sword was in his house; the word of God, sharper than a two-edged sword. How just is Jehovah! But whom He loves He chastens.
The verse names Shimei's family before it reports a word he said. He belongs to the house David replaced, and the names point the same way.
Shimei is the ghost of Saul's house, risen up against the one who has taken possession of its estate and honours. Shimei means "my fame," or "my reputation." He is the son of Gera, a name we have taken elsewhere as "rumination." He is from Bahurim too, which means "choice or chosen ones." All this helps to link him with the house which he represents.
Shimei accused David of the blood of Saul's house. Measured against David's actual record toward Saul, the charge collapses.
Unworthy slander! So David was accused — David who had spared Saul when he slept in the cave and in the middle of his camp. He had returned Saul only good for evil. He had shown himself righteous, patient, and holy in all his ways. David had never avenged himself. He had always respected Saul as the Lord's anointed, and he had honoured his enemy's death with a funeral lament!
The charge was false in its details. David still let it land, because a different bloodshed was on his conscience.
His accusation that David was responsible for "all the blood of the house of Saul" was unfounded and unjust. He was not responsible for the death of Saul and Jonathan. He was just as guiltless of the death of Abner and Ish-bosheth. And yet David saw something else in the curses of Shimei, and in Shimei calling him a bloody man. The blood of Uriah which he had shed must have suddenly come to his mind.
David had a choice: silence the man, or listen for God in the insult.
Of course Shimei's bitter attitude did not have God's approval. But God had not stopped him from cursing. David knew that he deserved cursing, even though Shimei was going beyond what was even true. How much better then for David to learn from God in this matter than to silence Shimei by killing him.
David's men wanted to kill Shimei on the spot. David would not trade a lasting lesson for a moment's relief.
The mighty men were naturally furious. But we hear the voice of the humbled king correcting his followers, who were too quick to shed blood. No; the humiliation came from God, and David accepts it completely. Shimei shall not provoke him so as to lose a grain of the profit. The arm that would have crushed Shimei in a moment would have deprived David of a lesson never to be forgotten.
One writer sees David's suffering here as Christ's portion too, and marks the one place the two part:
God allows this hatred, for it is part of His discipline toward David, but it was also Christ's portion: "They hated Me without a cause" (John 15:25). How could it be otherwise for His disciples? But He alone could say: "Without a cause."
Another writer sets David beside Christ's silence under accusation:
He did not answer the accusations of the wicked. Silently, or in the unspoken musing of His spirit, He committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. David showed the same spirit towards Shimei.
Shimei was gambling that David was finished. The gamble failed.
Yet Shimei kept on cursing, throwing stones and kicking up dust for some time. He was clearly certain that David would never regain the throne, so he did not hesitate to abuse him when he was down. When David did return, Shimei was humiliated. He had to take back his words and apologise to David.
- Cause. David's flight was God's chastening, not Absalom's triumph. No one could unseat God's chosen king unless God allowed it.
- Curse. Shimei's charge about Saul's blood was false. David had spared Saul's life and mourned his death.
- Conscience. David still let the false charge search him, because the blood of Uriah was on his record.
- Choice. He refused the sword. He would not lose "a grain of the profit" of a lesson God was teaching through an enemy's mouth.
- Consequence. He left the matter with God, and God vindicated him. The same Shimei later came back to apologise.
and cast 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.
Shimei's stones fall on a king who is already running for his life — and David, flanked by armed men, forbids anyone to answer. The verse forces two questions: was the charge behind the stones true, and why did David let it stand?
The stones came with words. Both hit the king's servants as well as the king.
A man named Shimei, of the house of Saul, came out from Bahurim cursing David and throwing stones at him and his servants. His words too were insulting and bitter. He called David a "man of blood" and a "worthless man." He declared that the LORD was now bringing judgment on David for reigning in place of Saul. He was implying that David was guilty of the deaths of the men of Saul's house, and that God was now punishing him for it.
Set against David's actual record with Saul, the charge falls apart.
What a shameful lie! Shimei said this of David! David had spared Saul when he slept in the cave and in the middle of his own camp. He had returned Saul only good for evil, and had shown himself righteous, patient, and holy in all his ways. David had never taken revenge, had always respected Saul as the Lord's anointed, and had honoured his enemy's death with a song of mourning!
David did not defend himself. A false charge can still land on a real fault.
All of David's integrity might rise up against such an accusation — and yet he really was a man of blood! Shimei did not know it, but God knew it. This wicked man was God's instrument to remind David of his fault: "Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to." David accepts the curse. His broken heart looks for no defence, no excuse, and no credit for his past righteousness.
Shimei picked his moment: David was on his way out, not on the throne. The moment did not last.
Shimei was clearly very sure that David would never get the throne back. So he did not hesitate to abuse him when he was down. But David did return. Shimei was then humbled, and had to take it all back and apologise to David.
The verse puts armed men on both sides of the king. They were ready to answer, but David had more to gain by silence.
The mighty men naturally felt no small anger. But we hear the voice of the humbled king correcting his followers, too quick to shed blood. No — the humbling came from God, and David accepts it completely. Shimei will not provoke him into losing a grain of the profit. The arm that could have crushed Shimei in a moment would have robbed David of a lesson he would never forget. When one of his trusted warriors offers to punish Shimei's insolence, the king breathes the spirit of meekness, even at the moment when the basest of men pours contempt on him.
David's silence rested on a conviction about who was really speaking through the abuse.
And besides all this, he will allow even the wicked to insult him. Another Benjamite comes out against him to torment him badly; one whom he had never wronged or treated with contempt, any more than he had his relative Saul long before. But Shimei comes out against him on this day of his disaster, and insults him, throwing stones at him and cursing him as he goes. But David does not insult him back. He hears the righteous rebukes of God in all this, and bows his head... with David, it is not Shimei but the Lord.
The stone-throwing did not stop at Bahurim.
David is a picture of our Lord Jesus, the true King, but rejected and cast out. How many there are who like to throw stones at Him today, or at His followers. And sad to say, there are true Christians even now who seem to spend their time throwing stones and dust at fellow Christians. I fear they sometimes do it out of spite.
- The stone thrown — Shimei came out from Bahurim and pelted the fleeing king and his servants, adding the labels "man of blood" and "worthless man."
- The lie in the stone — the blood of Saul's house was not on David; he had spared Saul, refused revenge, and mourned him.
- The truth in the stone — Shimei aimed wrongly and still hit something real; David had shed blood, and God knew it.
- The hand behind the stone — David looked past Shimei to the Lord, and answered his own soldiers instead of his accuser.
- The lesson kept — one blow would have silenced Shimei and cost David the lesson. Stones still fly today — at Christ, and between Christians.
And thus said Shimei as he cursed Away, away, thou man of blood and man of Belial!
David is fleeing his son Absalom. As he passes Bahurim, a man from Saul's family runs out, throws stones, and shouts these words. Two questions follow. Was the charge true? And why did the king say nothing back?
The shouting was not vague abuse. Shimei named his charges.
A man named Shimei, of the house of Saul, came out from Bahurim (v.6). He cursed David and threw stones at him and his servants. His words too were insulting and bitter. He called David a "bloodthirsty man" and "a man of Belial" (worthlessness). He declared that the Lord was now bringing judgment on David, because David reigned in place of Saul. He was implying that David was guilty of the deaths of the men of Saul's house, and that God was now punishing him for this.
The ESV calls the second insult "worthless man." The word behind it is "Belial."
The Hebrew word means 'worthless, lawless.' It is not a proper name. It pictures evil itself, so we read of a 'son of Belial,' a 'daughter of Belial,' and so on.
Set beside how David had treated Saul, the charge falls apart.
Shimei maligns David... Unworthy slander! So David was accused! Yet David had spared Saul when he slept in the cave and in the middle of his camp. He had returned Saul only good for evil. He had shown himself righteous, patient, and holy in all his ways. David had never taken revenge. He had always respected Saul as the Lord's anointed. He had honoured his enemy's death with a funeral lament!
David heard something in the word "blood" that Shimei did not intend.
His accusation that he was responsible for "all the blood of the house of Saul" was unfounded and unjust. He was not responsible for the death of Saul and Jonathan. He was just as guiltless of the death of Abner and Ish-bosheth. And yet David saw something else in the curses of Shimei and in his calling him a bloody man. The blood of Uriah which he had shed must have suddenly come to his mind.
Writers also note how the whole situation now looked to an onlooker. Saul's house had been swept aside to make room for a king who then shed innocent blood himself.
Saul had pursued David with the intent to kill him, and David had actually caused Uriah to be slain — not even out of fear for his own safety, but to cover up the sin of his invasion of Uriah's house! Which was better? Did it not seem as if the blood of Saul's house had been shed for this David pointlessly, and so wrongly?
David refused to silence Shimei. His reason reached past the man in front of him.
David's response is one that every believer should take deeply to heart. He refuses the very suggestion, for he sees beyond Shimei, to realise that God had told him to curse David. Of course Shimei's bitter attitude did not have God's approval. But God had not stopped him from cursing. David knew that he deserved cursing, even though Shimei was going beyond what was even true. How much better then for David to learn from God in this matter rather than to silence Shimei by killing him.
Instead of arguing his record, David asked for something he had no claim to.
David accepts the curse. His broken heart seeks no defence, no excuse, and no payment of any kind for his past righteousness. For him this is God's judgment, and grace is his only hope: "It may be that Jehovah will look on my affliction, and that Jehovah will repay me good for my being cursed this day" (v. 12).
The scene points past David to Christ — and then to us.
"Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him (David, his rejected king). He cursed as he went, threw stones at him, and threw dust." David is a picture of our Lord Jesus, the true King, but rejected and cast out. How many there are who like to throw stones at Him today, or at His followers. And it is sad that even now many a true Christian seems to spend his time throwing stones and dust at fellow Christians.
David was called "man of Belial" on his worst day. Later he could still speak against such men.
In the day of his sin, he had been called by this very name... And he would not answer Shimei. Instead he admitted that God had given him his commission to charge him in this way. Sons of Belial might therefore say he was as bad as they. But in the face of all this, he is not afraid. He does not hesitate to announce their judgment. He is sure that in the riches of grace God had separated him from them, however they might convict him.
- The curse spoken. Shimei blames David for the blood of Saul's house and calls him worthless. He says the rebellion is God's payback.
- The curse was false. David had spared Saul, refused revenge, and mourned his enemy's death. As it stood, the charge was slander.
- The curse landed anyway. Uriah's blood was real, so David heard God's voice in an enemy's lie.
- The curse was received, not returned. He refused to strike back, sought no defence, and asked only that God might repay him good.
- The curse did not define him. Grace separated David from the name he was called. The road from Bahurim points to a greater rejected King, still pelted today.
Jehovah has returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and Jehovah has given the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son; and behold, thou art [taken] in thine own evil, for thou art a man of blood.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head.
David is fleeing Jerusalem, driven out by his own son, when a man from Saul's family walks the ridge above him, throwing stones and curses. Abishai, one of David's most loyal soldiers, offers to end the insult with a sword — a warrior's answer that the king will refuse.
The insult Abishai reaches for is not random. Scripture gives the dog a settled meaning:
Scripture speaks of the dog again and again as an unclean and debased animal, so the nations outside Israel are compared to dogs. No one was allowed to put the price of a dog into the Lord's treasury; it was an abomination (Deuteronomy 23:18). Hazael, who was not an Israelite, said, "Is your servant a dog?" and the most offensive name you could call a man was a dead dog.
Abishai's offer comes from loyalty, not cruelty. It was not the first time David had to hold him back, and Shimei's case did not end there:
He could not bear anything that dishonoured the king. When Shimei called him "a bloody man," he asked permission to "take off his head." But David again held him back. In due time punishment came from the Lord upon Shimei.
In David's story two men use the words "dead dog" about themselves: Mephibosheth speaking to David, and David speaking to Saul. Abishai aims them at someone else:
Abishai, Zeruiah's honourable son, tries to turn David aside from humble submission to God's ways in discipline. We cannot expect Abishai to call himself a dead dog as Mephibosheth does, or as David did before Saul. Despicable as Shimei might be, he and Abishai are equal in God's eyes. Realising our own unworthiness keeps us from using insulting words about the race we belong to. A man who hates people always considers himself better than others.
The difference between the two men is a difference of eyesight. Abishai looks at Shimei. David looks past him:
In short, he meekly bows his head to what God has appointed. He felt, no doubt, that he was only reaping the fruit of his sin, and he accepted it. He saw God in every circumstance, and acknowledged Him with a humbled and reverent spirit. To him it was not Shimei, but the Lord. Abishai saw only the man, and wanted to deal with him accordingly — like Peter later, when he tried to defend his beloved Master from the band of murderers sent to arrest Him. Both Peter and Abishai were living on the surface, looking at secondary causes. The Lord Jesus was living in the deepest subjection to the Father. "Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?" This gave Him power over anything. He looked beyond the instrument to God — beyond the cup to the hand that had filled it.
Shimei was saying more than was true. Even so, David would not let the sword answer him:
David's response is one that every believer should take deeply to heart. He refuses the suggestion outright, for he sees beyond Shimei and realises that God had told him to curse David. Of course Shimei's bitter attitude did not have God's approval. But God had not stopped him from cursing. David knew he deserved cursing, even though Shimei was going beyond what was even true. How much better, then, for David to learn from God in this matter than to silence Shimei by killing him.
Abishai does not change. The offer comes a second time, later in the story, and meets the same answer:
Abishai, still the same, would like to take revenge against Shimei. David stops him: "What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be as an adversary to me? Shall anyone be put to death in Israel this day?" No, this is the day of grace and forgiveness. Whether or not the feelings Shimei expresses are sincere, David does not stop to consider; he is not judging them now. Shimei will have to answer for them later, when his conduct reveals what they were really worth.
- Slur — "Dead dog" was the worst name one man could call another: a word for what is unclean and worthless.
- Sword — Abishai's offer came from real loyalty. He could not bear the king dishonoured, and his cure was always the same: remove the offender.
- Sight — Abishai saw Shimei. David saw the Lord behind Shimei. Look past the instrument to the hand that holds it, and you have power over anything.
- Silence — David let the insult stand, because he knew he deserved cursing. He chose to learn from God instead of killing the man.
- Sequel — Offered the sword a second time, David again said no. That day belonged to grace; the reckoning could wait.
And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, for Jehovah has said to him, Curse David! Who shall then say, Why dost thou so?
David is fleeing Jerusalem during his son Absalom's revolt, and Shimei, a man from Saul's family, curses him and throws stones. Abishai asks to kill him on the spot; the king refuses, and says the Lord Himself told Shimei to curse.
Abishai looked at the man in front of him; David looked past him. One writer sets David's answer beside Peter's, when Peter tried to defend his Master from the men sent to arrest Him.
In short, he quietly bows his head to God's dealing with him. He felt, no doubt, that he was only reaping the fruit of his sin, and he accepted it. He saw God in every circumstance. To him it was not Shimei, but the Lord. Abishai saw only the man, and wanted to deal with him as such. It was the same with Peter later, when he tried to defend his beloved Master from the band of murderers sent to arrest Him. Both Peter and Abishai were living on the surface, looking at second causes. The Lord Jesus lived in the deepest submission to the Father: "Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given Me?" This gave Him power over everything. He looked beyond the instrument to God — beyond the cup to the hand which had filled it.
Abishai's offer sounded like loyalty to a dishonoured king. But David answers the sons of Zeruiah as men whose thinking he will not share.
Abishai's words show that he was completely unable to enter into David's sufferings under God's discipline. He could not understand David's humble submission, or his firm resolve to walk in this path... David says to Abishai: "What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah?" Their thoughts could only come from the flesh, and they came from the enemy.
David says the Lord told Shimei to curse. That does not make the cursing right.
Of course God did not approve of Shimei's bitter attitude. But God had not stopped him from cursing, and David knew that he deserved to be cursed, even though Shimei was saying more than was true. How much better then for David to learn from God in this matter rather than to silence Shimei by killing him.
God's permission had a purpose that neither Shimei nor Abishai could see.
The malice is plain. As for Saul and his family, David can easily clear himself of the charge. Yet he still sees that in some sense this rude man from Benjamin has his orders from the Lord: "the LORD has said to him, 'Curse David.'" The Lord has permitted it, for a deeper purpose than Abishai in his anger could understand, or than Shimei himself could imagine.
Shimei called David a man of blood over the deaths in Saul's family — a charge David could have disproved. He does not try.
All of David's integrity might rise up against such an accusation — and yet indeed he was a man of blood! Shimei did not know it, but God knew it. This wicked man was God's instrument to remind David of his fault: "the LORD has said to him, 'Curse David.'" David accepts the curse. His broken heart looks for no defence, no excuse, and no reward for his past righteousness.
The name Shimei threw at him fitted another matter altogether. Another writer names the death David had on his hands.
And yet David saw something else in Shimei's curses and in his calling him a man of blood. The blood of Uriah, which he had shed, must have come to his mind at once.
One writer draws from this a rule that covers far more than David's case.
Nothing can touch His people without His permission... It is a simple, basic principle, yet many take long years to grasp it. Once the soul is clear that God Himself is directly concerned in every detail of life, it is set free from being taken up with the instruments at work. So David will not let the eager Abishai touch the offender. He knows that "the LORD has said to him, 'Curse David,'" and can therefore leave it all in His hands, trusting Him to turn the curse into a blessing.
Sparing Shimei was not the end of the matter. Shimei later apologised, and David left the case to his son Solomon.
Though Shimei had cursed David, David would not trust himself to take revenge on his own behalf. How important it is that we should keep to such a principle! But David knew that Shimei's apology was not sincere. So he told Solomon to use wisdom and see that Shimei was put to death for this evil, which had really been done against the Lord.
- Cause — The charge was false in its details. Yet David saw his own sin behind it, and took the words "man of blood" without excuse.
- Permission — God did not approve Shimei's malice. He did not stop it either, and He had a purpose in it that neither man could see.
- Sight — Abishai and Peter saw only the man in front of them. David saw the Lord behind Shimei, and the Lord Jesus looked past the cup to the hand that filled it.
- Silence — David made no defence and took no revenge. He would not trust himself to settle a score on his own behalf.
- Rest — Once you are sure God is directly concerned in every detail, you stop being absorbed with whoever is causing the trouble. You can leave it all in His hands.
And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, who came forth of my bowels, seeks my life how much more now a Benjaminite? let him alone and let him curse; for Jehovah has bidden him.
David is on the road out of Jerusalem, pushed off his throne by his own son. A man named Shimei walks beside the road cursing him, and David stops Abishai from killing him by pointing past the man to God.
Before Shimei appeared, David had already read his situation correctly. He had lost the throne to his own son, and he did not treat that as mere politics.
It is painful to see the man who defeated Goliath driven from his home and his throne by his beloved son. And this happened under God's hand. For if God had not allowed it, who could have driven God's elect from the royal seat in which Jehovah had placed him? ... But whom He loves He chastens. So all this shows the righteous rule of God. But for David it is also a time of deep heart-searching, and of a closer, more real knowledge of God. His heart was bound to God truly and forever, so all his sorrows bore fruit, even though his own faults caused them.
The verse works by comparison. David has already taken the greater blow from his son. He will not fight back at the smaller one from a stranger.
Of course Shimei's bitter attitude did not have God's approval. But God had not stopped him from cursing, and David knew that he deserved cursing, even though Shimei was going beyond what was true. It was far better for David to learn from God here than to silence Shimei by killing him. In fact, he says that his own son Absalom was doing far worse than Shimei, seeking David's life... If he was to bow to God's governing hand in Absalom's case, then surely he was to do the same in the case of Shimei.
Shimei blamed David for the blood of Saul's family. The charge was false. Yet David did not argue back, because another man's blood really was on his hands.
He blamed David for "all the blood of the house of Saul," but that charge had no basis and was unjust... And yet David saw something else in the curses of Shimei and in calling him a bloody man. The blood of Uriah, which he had shed, must have come to his mind at once.
"The LORD has told him to" is the heart of the verse. David is not excusing Shimei; he is refusing to stop at the visible cause.
In short, he meekly bows his head to what God is doing. He felt, no doubt, that he was only reaping the fruit of his sin, and he accepted it. He saw God in every circumstance, and owned Him with a subdued and reverent spirit. To him it was not Shimei, but the Lord. Abishai saw only the man, and wanted to treat him on that level. He was like Peter later on, who tried to defend his beloved Master from the band of murderers sent to arrest Him. Both Peter and Abishai were living on the surface, and looking at secondary causes. ... He looked beyond the instrument to God — beyond the cup to the hand which had filled it.
David's "Leave him alone" is spoken to a loyal friend, not to an enemy. The problem with Abishai was how he measured himself against Shimei.
Despicable as Shimei might be, he and Abishai are equal in God's eyes. The realization of our own unworthiness keeps us from using insulting words about the race we belong to. A man who despises people always considers himself better than others. ... Besides, Abishai's words show that he could not enter into David's sufferings under God's discipline. He could not understand David's humble submission, or his settled resolve to walk in this path.
David said nothing back to his accuser. One writer, reading a psalm of David's grief, sees in that silence a faint sketch of a greater one.
He speaks as if he were a leper outside the camp. And such is the picture of a convicted sinner, or of a saint under discipline... And that blessed Saviour, at once "spotless" and yet "made sin," was led to the slaughter without opening His mouth. He did not answer the accusing of the wicked, but silently... committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. This was expressed in David towards Shimei. David did not know the counsel of the sons of Zeruiah — his soul had no sympathy with it.
- Instrument — Shimei is the visible cause; David looks past him, and "to him it was not Shimei, but the Lord."
- Permission — God did not approve the cursing, but He did not hinder it; David treats what God allows as what God sends.
- Consistency — David bowed under the greater blow from his son. He will not fight back at the smaller one from Shimei.
- Conscience — the charge about Saul's house was false. But it touched real guilt, the blood of Uriah, so David took the sting instead of arguing.
- Silence — David knew he deserved the blow, so he had no sympathy with Abishai's sword. In that silence he pictures the One who gave His accusers no answer at all.
It may be that Jehovah will look on mine affliction, and that Jehovah will requite me good for my being cursed this day.
David is fleeing Jerusalem, driven out by his own son. A man from Saul's family walks along the ridge above him, throwing stones, dust and curses. His officer offers to end it with a sword. David says no. He lets the abuse stand and rests everything on one hope: that God will see, and will answer with good.
David's refusal to strike back was not weakness but a way of seeing. He read the whole scene as coming from a hand above Shimei's.
He meekly bows his head to what God has appointed. He felt, no doubt, that he was only reaping the fruit of his sin, and he accepted it. He saw God in every circumstance, and acknowledged Him with a quiet and reverent spirit. To him it was not Shimei, but the Lord. Abishai saw only the man, and wanted to deal with him on that basis. Peter did the same later, when he tried to defend his beloved Master from the band of murderers sent to arrest Him. Both Peter and Abishai were living on the surface, looking at secondary causes. The Lord Jesus was living in complete subjection to the Father. "Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?" This gave Him power over anything. He looked beyond the instrument to God — beyond the cup to the hand that had filled it.
The charge Shimei shouted was false. David had not shed the blood of Saul's family. Yet another name came to his memory as he listened.
His accusation that he was responsible for "all the blood of the house of Saul" was unfounded and unjust. He was not responsible for the death of Saul and Jonathan. He was just as guiltless of the death of Abner and Ish-bosheth. And yet David saw something else in the curses of Shimei and in calling him a bloody man. The blood of Uriah which he had shed must have suddenly come to his mind... His eyes now look to the Lord whose chastening hand rested so heavily upon him.
David could have pointed to his own record of righteousness. He put none of it forward.
Shimei did not know it, but God knew it. This wicked man was a divine instrument to remind David of his fault... David accepts the curse; his broken heart seeks no defence, no excuse, and no compensation of any kind for his past righteousness. For him this is God's judgment and his only recourse is grace.
David's words are a hope, not a claim. Was the hope justified?
What he says in verse 12 was true. If someone bows to the government of God, and leaves such matters in God's hand, that is the way of true blessing in the end. David proved it in experience.
David was a forgiven man. Why then was he on this road at all? The answer is a distinction between grace and God's government.
Nathan the prophet did announce God's pardon to the king after his repentant confession. But he added that the sword would not depart from his house, "for whatever one sows, that will he also reap." The grace of God pardons the repentant sinner so that he does not die, and restores him to fellowship with God. Do not confuse that grace with the righteous government of God. God's government often makes a fallen but restored child of God feel the solemn consequences of sin for the rest of his life. This is not only God's justice; it is His wisdom and grace. ... He knows how easily we forget how serious sin is, once its painful consequences have passed away.
The lesson is not reserved for kings in exile. It reaches the small provocations of a normal week.
Perhaps there are few things we fail in so much as this: seeing the presence of God, and His dealing with our souls, in every circumstance of daily life. We keep getting trapped by looking at secondary causes. We do not see God in everything. So Satan gets the victory over us. Nothing happens to us, from morning to night, in which we may not hear the voice of God and see the hand of God. If we were more awake to that, what a holy atmosphere it would surround us with!
- Sin — the road out of Jerusalem was the harvest of David's own past; he accepted the stones as fruit he had planted.
- Sight — he looked past the man throwing them. "To him it was not Shimei, but the Lord." Abishai saw only a target for a sword.
- Silence — he offered no defence and claimed no credit for his past righteousness. A broken heart pleads grace, not its record.
- Sword — Nathan had already brought God's pardon, yet the sword stayed in David's house. Forgiveness and God's governing hand are two different things.
- Hope — "it may be" is trust, not certainty. David left the matter in God's hands, and found it the way of blessing.
And David and his men went by the way; and Shimei went along on the hill's side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.
David is on the road out of Jerusalem, and one of Saul's relatives keeps pace on the slope above, cursing and throwing. Why does the king take it in silence, and what does he see in it that his soldiers do not?
Shimei did not shout once and leave. He kept pace, because he had worked out that this king was finished.
Shimei continued his cursing, throwing stones and kicking up dust for some time. Shimei was sure that David would never regain the throne. So he did not hesitate to abuse him when he was down. When David did return, Shimei was humbled into taking back his words and apologising to David.
Shimei's taunt was that David was a man of blood. The words landed somewhere Shimei never aimed.
All of David's integrity might rise up against such an accusation — and yet he really was a man of blood! Shimei did not know it, but God knew it. This wicked man was a divine instrument to remind David of his fault: "So let him curse, for the LORD has said to him, Curse David!" David accepts the curse. His broken heart seeks neither defence nor excuse nor any compensation for his past righteousness. For him this is God's judgment and his only recourse is grace.
Another writer separates what the charge got wrong from what it woke up in David.
His accusation that David was responsible for "all the blood of the house of Saul" was unfounded and unjust. And yet David saw something else in the curses of Shimei and in his calling him a bloody man. The blood of Uriah which he had shed must have suddenly come to his mind.
David refused every offer to silence the man. He was not looking at Shimei at all.
In short, he bows his head humbly to what God has appointed. He felt, no doubt, that he was only reaping the fruit of his sin, and he accepted it. To him it was not Shimei, but the Lord. Abishai saw only the man, and wanted to treat him as he deserved. Peter did the same later, when he tried to defend his beloved Master from the band of murderers sent to arrest Him. Both Peter and Abishai were living on the surface, looking no further than the visible cause. The Lord Jesus lived in the deepest submission to the Father: "Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given Me?" He looked beyond the instrument to God — beyond the cup to the hand that had filled it.
Abishai asked permission to go over and kill him. One writer weighs his contempt and finds him no higher than the man he despised.
Abishai tries to turn David away from humble submission to God's ways in discipline: "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head." We cannot expect Abishai to call himself a dead dog as Mephibosheth does, or as David did before Saul. Despicable as Shimei might be, he and Abishai are equal in God's eyes. Realising our own unworthiness keeps us from using insulting words about the race we belong to. A man who hates mankind always thinks himself better than others.
The scene does not stay in the past. One writer sees the same throwing still going on today.
David is a picture of our Lord Jesus, the true King, but rejected and cast out. How many there are who like to throw stones at Him today, or at His followers. And sadly, there are true Christians even now who spend their time throwing stones and dust at fellow Christians. Sometimes, it is to be feared, they do it to hurt on purpose.
He then names the one who does this work more than anyone.
There is one, more than any other, who does this work. He does it so constantly — casting stones and dust at the Lord's people — that in the New Testament he has earned the name "the one who throws stones," or "the Slanderer." The word is used many times. With three exceptions it is always translated "devil."
David's silence was not weakness. One writer explains where the answer goes when we stay quiet.
If we keep silence in the presence of insults, it is not that there is no answer to evil and malice. Instead, we leave the answer with God. We must never try to take vengeance on the wrongdoer. God keeps all vengeance in His own hands.
- Cursing — Shimei kept pace along the slope and kept throwing. He was sure a falling king would never rise again.
- Conscience — the charge about Saul's house was untrue. But it woke David to Uriah's blood: God knew what the accuser did not.
- Cup — David looked past the man to God: to him it was not Shimei, but the Lord. Christ looked beyond the cup to the hand that filled it.
- Contempt — Abishai wanted to take off Shimei's head. But a man who calls another a dead dog forgets that both stand level before God.
- Committing — silence like David's is not helplessness. It hands the answer to God.