Rebellion of Absalom
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hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose
stead thou hast reigned; and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom
into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy
mischief, because thou art a bloody man.”
In David’s prosperity Shimei had not shown by word or act that he
was not a loyal subject. But in the affliction of the king this Benjamite
revealed his true character. He had honored David upon his throne,
but he cursed him in his humiliation. Base and selfish, he looked upon
others as of the same character as himself, and, inspired by Satan, he
wreaked his hatred upon him whom God had chastened. The spirit that
leads man to triumph over, to revile or distress, one who is in affliction
is the spirit of Satan.
Shimei’s accusations against David were utterly false—a baseless
and malignant slander. David had not been guilty of wrong toward
Saul or his house. When Saul was wholly in his power, and he could
have slain him, he merely cut the skirt of his robe, and he reproached
himself for showing even this disrespect for the Lord’s anointed.
Of David’s sacred regard for human life, striking evidence had
been given, even while he himself was hunted like a beast of prey.
One day while he was hidden in the cave of Adullam, his thoughts
turning back to the untroubled freedom of his boyhood life, the fugitive
exclaimed, “Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well
of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!”
2 Samuel 23:13-17
. Bethlehem
was at that time in the hands of the Philistines; but three mighty men
of David’s band broke through the guard, and brought of the water of
Bethlehem to their master. David could not drink it. “Be it far from
me,” he cried; “is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy
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of their lives?” And he reverently poured out the water as an offering
to God. David had been a man of war, much of his life had been spent
amid scenes of violence; but of all who have passed through such
an ordeal, few indeed have been so little affected by its hardening,
demoralizing influence as was David.
David’s nephew, Abishai, one of the bravest of his captains, could
not listen patiently to Shimei’s insulting words. “Why,” he exclaimed,
“should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray
thee, and take off his head.” But the king forbade him. “Behold,”
he said, “my son ... seeketh my life: how much more now may this
Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the Lord hath