Gtcotr/ss041623
The Story … Approximately 1000 years before Christ, there came a time in King David’s older life when his son Absalom attempted to coup. Absalom wanted to be king. He worked behind the scenes for years flattering people and building himself up in the eyes of others all the while living off of his father’s goodness. He ate the king’s meat and was given respect as the king’s son, but he felt undervalued, overlooked, and somewhat mistreated. Insecurities can drive a person to think and do stupid things.
I encourage you to familiarize yourself with this Bible story since God saw fit to include it for our benefit. Every story has something to teach us.
One of the signs on the road to defeat reads: “It can’t happen to me.”
Basically Absalom had earlier killed one of his half-brothers, Amnon, because Amnon had raped Absalom’s sister, Tamar. Absalom was not punished for killing Amnon, and I can’t say that under those circumstances and in those times, he should have been punished. But the story today is not about Absalom killing Amnon.
Perhaps Absalom disliked David, his father, because David did not take immediate action to punish Amnon for the rape of Tamar. Or maybe Absalom felt mistreated and unsupported for years and harbored bitterness, anger, and unforgiveness towards his father David. Whatever the reason, Absalom plotted the overthrow of his father right under the nose of the King. But the story today is not about Absalom stealing the hearts of the people through flattery.
In the process of time, Absalom gathered enough support from key people in David’s court and declared himself King. All Jerusalem was in an uproar. But the story today is not about Absalom forcibly taking the throne of David.
Even after everything that had happened, David did not want to fight his son Absalom. God had made David a man of war, but he had no heart to harm his son in battle. Rather, David quickly left Jerusalem with a few loyal soldiers along with some other family members and friends. As David was crossing the Kidron valley and on through the passage between the Mount of Olives and Mount Scopus, heading east, down the slope and into the Judean Dessert towards the Jordan River, a man who did not like David began to follow and berate him. This man’s name was Shimei which means: Famous; renowned; hear me! (Basically – I’m important; I’m right; I know what I’m talking about; I’m better than you; smarter than you; wiser than you; so listen to me; hear me!)
Well, you know how some people feel justified when they think they are right, and you are wrong, and you are getting what you deserve? This is how Shimei felt. He did not consider David his king, he was a supporter of King Saul, and he believed David was an illegitimate King. It made him so happy to see what he considered justice finally being delivered to this dirty dog David. But the story today is not about Shimei.
The Bible relates the account much better than I can tell it so let’s read it from 2 Samuel 16. Now remember, David is running for his life from his son Absalom who is determined to remove him from the throne given to him by God and sit there himself. David is leaving because he sees no future in fighting his son. David loves Absalom and David also knows no one is perfect, especially not himself.
2 Samuel 16 NLT
5 ¶ 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.
6 He threw stones at the king
and the king’s officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded him.
7 “Get out of here, you
murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David.
8 “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!”
9 “Why should this dead dog
curse my lord the king?” Abishai son of Zeruiah demanded. “Let me go over and
cut off his head!”
10 “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?”
11 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.
12 And perhaps the LORD will
see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.”
13 So David and his men
continued down the road, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside,
cursing as he went and throwing stones at David and tossing dust into the air.
14 The king and all who were with him grew weary along the way, so they rested when they reached the Jordan River.
“Perhaps the LORD will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.”
·
David
was the first one to realize he wasn’t perfect.
·
David
didn’t even try to argue with Shimei or try and defend himself.
·
David
wasn’t the best father, the best husband, the best captain, or the best king.
He wasn’t even the best son or the best friend.
·
Life
is tough and David had made plenty of mistakes; he had regrets; no doubt he
lived every day of his life thinking of how he could have done things better.
·
He
knew God had plenty of reasons why to replace him if He wanted.
·
No
doubt the enemies in his mind told him that every day.
· All David could do was place his trust in God.
However,
the story today is not about David.
·
If
it’s not about Amnon, Absalom, Shimei, or David … Who is the story about?
·
The
story today is about you.
· You are supposed to find yourself in every Bible story and strive to be the one God is pleased with. (find yourself … not other people!)
David wrote to all of us in Psalms 56:
Psalms 56
1 Be merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up; Fighting
all day he oppresses me.
2 My enemies would hound me
all day, For there are many who fight against me, O Most High.
3 Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.
1000 years later the Apostle Paul confirmed:
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.
Once
you have given your heart to Jesus, life is no longer limited by what you have
done, but rather by what He has done. In time, just like David and just like
Paul, if you place your trust in God, He will silence the enemies of your soul.
