So Let Him Curse

When David comes to Bahurim, slightly east of Jerusalem in Benjamite territory, he experiences a fourth encounter, but the first with an enemy. A certain Shimei, a relative of Saul, appears and takes advantage of David’s plight to vent his anger, hurling curses, insults, stones, and dust as David and his party move along the road. It is not clear what Shimei is upset about, though his insults may offer a clue. He calls David a “bloodthirsty man” and a “rogue” (a “worthless man”). It is hard to see how Shimei could be blaming David for Saul’s death; as Matthew Henry notes, “Once and again [David] spared Saul’s life, while Saul sought his.” Shimei’s anger may have to do with the murders of Saul’s general Abner (3:27) and his son Ishbosheth (4:5–7), but David was not responsible for those deaths either. Shimei also speaks of “the blood of the house of Saul,” so perhaps he blames David for the bloodshed that accompanied the transfer of power.

In any case, Shimei is convinced that David treated Saul and his family unjustly, and he thinks that is why David is now experiencing his present trouble. He declares that God has caused Absalom’s rebellion, which is perfectly true, but he believes God intends it as retribution. God, he says, is bringing the blood of Saul’s household on David. Shimei has concluded that God is punishing David for usurping the throne by allowing it to be usurped by Absalom.

Shimei is foolish to hurl these curses at David from such close range—David and his men are armed and could easily silence him permanently. In fact, Joab’s brother Abishai offers to do just that. But David tells him to leave his sword in its sheath. Why? Because David recognizes God’s hand in this verbal abuse. He believes Shimei is cursing him because God has caused him to do so to chasten him for his sin. After all, David was guilty of blood—Uriah’s. Yes, Shimei is sinning (Ex. 22:28), but his sin is serving God’s just purpose. Besides, David says, this affliction is rather mild compared to Absalom’s rebellion. And he comforts himself with the thought that God may recompense him for this injustice if he leaves it to God to judge. “David bore Shimei’s curses much better than he had borne Ziba’s flatteries,” Henry writes. “By the latter he was brought to pass a wrong judgment on another, by the former to pass a right judgment on himself.”