In our day we have seen a national leader insulted by an Iraqi journalist who used a press conference to throw his shoes at the head of an American President.
Something similar happened to David of Israel.
If you have just a minute, have been thinking about the way King David responded to an enemy who, at one of the lowest moments of the king’s life, threw stones at the king, cursed him, and publicly declared that David was finally getting what he deserved.
I find David’s response amazing. When one of the king’s advisers offered to cut the man’s head off, David said something like, “Don’t do it. What if God told him to insult me? Who am I to disagree with God? Or, on the other hand, if I’m being wronged, maybe God will see it and take up my defense (for more detail see 2Sam 16:5-13).
Seems to me that this is one of many examples that show why David is remembered as “as a man after God’s own heart” (1Sam 13:14). David reflects a principle that is twice repeated in the New Testament: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6; 1Peter 5:5).
Have been thinking about how different my life could have been if I’d always shown that kind of realistic self-opinion when insulted by others.
Photo: Bilbopolit
If, you have a few more minutes… maybe we can look together at some of what preceded the stone-throwing incident.
A review of David’s life shows that David was not just posturing for effect;
or expressing false humility for sympathy;
or even justifying passivity to avoid creating a bigger public mess than he was already in.
Consider just a small part of what we know about David’s life. After 40 years of leading the Lord’s people, his record was a complex tangle of accomplishments and failures. For openers, he had almost 2 dozen wives, not counting at least 10 concubines.
His children were all over the place.
One of his sons by the name of Amnon had raped and then rejected a beautiful young relative named Tamar. Later, another of David’s sons by the name of Absalom ambushed and killed Amnon for what he had done to Tamar.
David was heartbroken. Amnon was dead, and the brother who had killed him had escaped to live with a grandfather. After three years, David finally accepted the death of Amnon. He longed to see Absalom. But he also couldn’t find it in his heart to let Absalom come home–even though David, himself, had once taken Bath Sheba, the wife of one of David’s own generals, and then arranged to have her husband die in battle.
Only when some of David’s own friends confronted him with his own inconsistencies did David allow Absalom back into Jerusalem.
More years would pass, however, before David would agree to see him.
Finally David agrees to see Absalom, but without the reconciliation he was hoping for (2Sam 14:1-33).
Although David’s heart softens, his son remains bitter. According to the 15th chapter of 2Samuel, Absalom doesn’t return his father’s affections. Instead, he uses his good looks and flattery to win the hearts of Israel… and to steal the kingdom. In the process Absalom wins the help of Ahithophel of David’s closest and most trusted advisers.
When David finally heard that all Israel had joined Absalom in a conspiracy against him, he realized that he and his friends had to quickly leave Jerusalem.
What I’m picking up from all of this is that David’s life was so complex, so tangled with personal issues, and at this moment so desperate, that I am impressed with what David didn’t do.
Instead of taking the Ark of the Covenant (a symbol of God’s presence) with them, the king told the priests to leave it behind. The second book of Samuel says that David told the priest, Zadok to take the ark of God back to the city. “If the LORD sees fit,” David said, “He will bring me back to see the Ark … But if he is through with me, then let him do what seems best to him.”
It was then…adding even more insult to a tragic day, that the “stone throwing and curses began”. As a brokenhearted David and his supporters were leaving the city, a relative of Saul by the name of Shimei began shouting curses at David, accusing him of being a murderer and saying that, for all of his wrongs, David was finally getting what he deserved.
When one of David’s men offered to kill Shimei, David made another revealing comment. He said, “What…if the LORD has told him to curse me, who am I to stop him?” Then the King added, “My own son is trying to kill me. Shouldn’t this relative of Saul have even more reasons 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.” 2Samuel 16:13 adds, “So David and his men continued on, 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.”
Seems to me that the spirit we see in the king as he left the Ark in Jerusalem, and as he said, “how can I kill Shimei if the Lord has told him to humble me” tell us a lot about David.
Maybe to understand why he is remembered as “a man after God’s own heart” we need to focus not on David’s messed up family life, and not on the other foolish things he did along the way. Maybe we get insight by listening to our Lord who said,
Blessed are the poor in spirit… Blessed are those who mourn… Blessed are the meek… Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for right relationships… Blessed are the merciful… Blessed are the pure in heart… Blessed are the peacemakers… Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake... (Matt 5:1-10).
For God resists the proud… but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6; 1Peter 5:5
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