Life of David – 2 Samuel 16

David, “When it Rains, It Pours.”

2 Samuel 16:1–23

Vs. 1-4 Lies will never hurt me?

Vs. 5-14 Sticks and stones can break my bones.

Vs. 15-23 Whom shall I serve?

Intro

David will soon find himself in a situation in which there will be a civil war with his son in which neither his victory nor his defeat will be desirable. What do you do when there is no plausible solution to the situation or circumstance you are in? Well, you can’t look out; you can’t look ahead; no, the only comfort you will find is when you look up. According to the words of David in psalm 61:1-2, “HEAR my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed, Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” David faces three things in this chapter that would break the spirit of any man, let alone one that is already down:

Vs. 1-4 The supposed rejection of a friend in whom you have been a blessing towards
Vs. 5-14 The consistent torments of malcontent upon your forced departure due to personal failure
Vs. 16-23 And a no-win situation with someone you love

Truly, at this stage of David’s life, he must have been feeling “when it rains, it pours,” and all that he can do is to avoid what one Greek philosopher said: “I have often regretted my words, but never have I regretted my silence, so David remained silent. You see, dear Christian, the Lord is using all of this to further develop David’s character. Someone once noted that “Christians are far more likely to be destroyed by praise than they are willing to be saved by criticism.”

Lies will never hurt me?

Vs.1-4 Now back in chapter 16, David met this fellow Ziba because he wanted to show kindness to the house of Saul, fulfilling the promise he had made with Jonathan. So he called in Ziba, who had been Saul’s servant, and asked, “Are there any of Saul’s descendants still alive?” “Yeah, there is that little crippled kid living over in the area of Gilead, Mephibosheth, I think his name was.” So David called him in and gave him all his father’s and grandfather’s land, and he gave Ziba the responsibility to serve Mephibosheth as he had his grandfather Saul.

Fast forward many years later, and David is leaving Jerusalem, and this same Ziba comes up to David showing up at a time of great need for David with a couple of donkeys loaded with supplies. And David apparently thinks it’s a gift of kindness from Mephibosheth, but Ziba takes credit for it and says that Mephibosheth is hoping to become king once David and Absalom destroy each other. Now David must be thinking of that old Jewish proverb that says, “No good deed goes unpunished!” This fellow Ziba is adding “insult to injury” to garner favor with David, as clearly he believes David will be successful against Absalom.

The truth of the matter won’t be found out until we get to chapter 19:24–30, where we will find out that it was Mephibosheth who was behind the blessing and that he had not cared for himself from the day that David departed. So Ziba was lying, and apparently he didn’t want to be taking care of Mephibosheth; instead, he wanted the land that David had promised to his master. So why was David fooled by Ziba? Well, because of all the negative things that were happening, he makes a snap decision based upon emotion and, in so doing, goes back on his word to give Mephibosheth his fathers and grandfathers property. The lies of Ziba caused David to feel as though his goodness towards Mephibosheth was unappreciated; now follow me on this. What did it matter if David’s act of goodness was unappreciated? You see, if what we do is unto the Lord, then we aren’t doing it, so others will do so towards us. Sometimes we are doing it for the Lord. Jesus said in Matt 25:40, “I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”

Hey saints, when we are down and feeling attacked, it is better for us not to make any decisions as we aren’t in the right frame of mind, so why not go and give what troubles you to the Lord before you make any decisions that you will regret? It is never a wise thing to make a decision on incomplete information. And even though Ziba tells lies, it’s only going to get worse for David because Shimei will hurl lies and stones as well. Sticks and stones can break my bones.

Vs. 5-8 David’s departure took him out into the wilderness through the area given to the Benjamites, and as such they were still loyal to Saul. Notice that Shimei stayed up on the bluff while David and his men were in the ravine, as geographically this shows what is going on as Shimei is kicking a man while he is down, which is always a cowardly thing to do. Shimei, according to verse 6, is not only hurling insults, stones, and dirt at David; he is also doing so “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.” Now this guy really is not in his right mind, as you really don’t want to tick off these guys, as we are told in 2 Sam 23:18 that Abishai alone “lifted his spear against three hundred men and killed them.” Apparently Shimei didn’t believe in Jesus’ words of John 8:7. “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” Hey saints, only Jesus has the right to carry stones to chuck at people, but He chooses to carry our crosses instead. Hey, maybe we can do the same. What? Yeh, you know Gal. 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Shimei’s assessment of David’s troubles is way off base, as David had nothing to do with Saul’s demise; instead, it was his own rebellion that caused that. To make matters worse, David was exhausted and discouraged, yet with that said, he shows that he is on far higher ground than Shimei, as he does not even raise his voice to silence his critics. We cannot be certain for how long this went on, but it must have been for hours as the men were weary in the end as Shimei walked along, hurling insults, dirt, and even stones. And his words were tough to hear as he kept on saying, “Get out, get out, you murdering son of Satan!” No one can be certain to whom Shimei was referring, as he could have been speaking of Saul or Ishbosheth, neither of which David had anything to do with.

Perhaps he was referring to the fact that at the time of Saul’s death, David was officially part of the Philistine army even though he was sent home from the battle. Now David was guilty of murder, and that was with Uriah, which speaks to our hearts concerning those who say things about us that aren’t true with regards to a specific situation; they very well may be true in reference to something else.

Vs. 9-14 This is the 2nd time David has to stop Abishai from acting impulsively; the first time was back in 1 Samuel . 26:11 in the cave where Saul had to go and do his business, so apparently Abishai had remained a hothead. This “dead dog” phrase must have been pretty popular in Israel at this time, as it is repeated three times in 1st and 2nd Samuel. I suppose there is not much you can do with a dead dog, so that is what is behind the phrase, as a dead dog doesn’t put up much of a fight and their bark isn’t heard. How could David accept Shimei’s abuse? Well, according to verse 15:26, “Let Him do to me as seems good to Him,” David saw it as coming from God. Notice that David handles it by doing three things:

Vs. 10: Looked away: “Let him curse, because the LORD has said to him, ‘Curse David.’ Who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?” David took this attack before the Lord and realized that God was in control, and if the Lord didn’t want Shimei to hurl insults and rocks at him, then he would have stopped him. Now Shimei wanted to destroy and discourage David, but the Lord was using him to further develop David’s character.
Vs. 11 looked about: “See how my son, who came from my own body, seeks my life. How much more now may this Benjamite? Let him alone, and let him curse; for so the LORD has ordered him.” “If you think Shimei’s words are harsh, they are nothing compared to what Absalom is trying to do to me, and he’s my own boy.” Hey saint, when someone puts you down, hurls insults at you, go and look in the mirror. What? You go and look in the mirror; they are being far too kind. You are twice the sinner they think you are! Then, after you have looked in the mirror, open your Bibles to John 3:16 and read the words of Jesus when he told Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Paul told the Romans in 7:18, “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells.” It is a great day when you realize that you don’t need to defend yourself or protect your reputation but rather take a page from our Lord when we are told in Philip 2:7-8 that He made “himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

Vs. 12 looked ahead: “It may be that the LORD will look on my affliction and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing this day.” Ah, we are told in Matt. 7:11-12, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.” Hey Christian, God knows what you are going through, and the Lord is keeping score, not to worry. He knows who to bless and who to discipline.

Death of Shimei

Shimei wished David was dead, and in the end, according to chapter 19, the King pardons Shimei. And then in 1 Kings 2:36–46, he suggested to his son Solomon that Shimei be restricted to Jerusalem so that he could be watched, and when he arrogantly overstepped his bounds, he was put to death. Interesting that his arrogance and overstepping his boundaries cost him his life. So even though Shimei was throwing insults, rocks, and dust, David was refreshed. Is it possible, Christian, that we can be refreshed under such a barrage of insults? You bet as long as we “look away,” “look about,” and “look ahead.” Solomon would write in Prov. 10:19, “In the multitude of words, sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.” That is the key to the Christian life. DEATH TO SELF CENTEREDNESS: Don’t seek to be blessed but to be a blessing; don’t seek to be understood; seek to understand; don’t seek to receive; seek to reach out!

Hey saints, be it known that the Lord will often test our words with situations that will test what we say! “You’re my everything, Lord; I’ll follow you wherever, even if you take everything from me! Wow Lord, what’s happening? Everything that I had is being stripped from me. I know what I said, but I thought you’d just take my word for it!”

Now go with me a minute back to 12:3, where the Lord used Nathan to bring David into repentance as he said, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.” You see David was living by grace; he was alive on borrowed time; he should have been put to death for his transgressions. That’s the way it is for us as well. Jesus has pardoned us from the penalty of our sins by accepting the penalty upon himself. We are alive not because we aren’t guilty but simply because our guilt has been covered by the blood of Jesus.

My point? Why do we get all flustered when we experience injustice towards us? I mean, do you really want justice? You have probably heard the saying, “Better to keep your mouth shut and everyone thinks you a fool, then open your mouth and remove all doubt.” In his book A Tale of Three Kings, the author put these words in David’s mouth: “The throne is not mine. Not to have, not to take, not to protect, and not to keep. The throne is the Lord’s,” so too with our reputation! Next time you have to go through a situation, just recall the fact that you were once dead and now alive, and you have been pardoned. So what’s a little name-calling, stones, and dirt? God will one day balance the ledger sheet; it’s not our job to do so.

If we follow David’s ascent into the wilderness by way of Bahurim, we will discover that it offers up two interesting details:

Some 20 miles beyond this, he would have needed to cross over the Jordan near or in the area of Gilgal, and it was there where 100’s of years earlier Joshua was led by the Lord to lead the Israelites this way into the land of promise. The Lord instructed the priests to take up 12 stones from the midst of Jordan, and they were to be “stones of remembrance” so that the nation would recall “the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty” (Joshua 4:24). I suggest to you that this was an appropriate time for David, as he was dejected and downtrodden when he came upon those 12 stones where his forefathers discovered that the hand of the Lord is mighty.

Ah, but two other things happened at Gilgal according to the 5th chapter of Joshua that also spoke to David, as it was there that God commanded the “circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.” You see, God was telling these Israelites and now David that there needs to be a continual cutting away of the flesh of our lives. Then in the 13th verse, Joshua saw the pre-incarnate Jesus standing opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand, and Joshua said, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” and the Lord said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD, I have now come.” Do you get the picture? David was taken to three truths:

The hand of the Lord is mighty. He was reminded that no matter what the situation, no matter what the odds, the Lord was going to advance David to where He wanted him to be. Those 12 stones stood as a tribute to the plans of God for the lives of His people, which cannot be thwarted. Oh to God, we would remember this during times of discouragement, defeat, and doubt. God never has us retreat, my friends, only advance!

The way of advancement is further death to self: Paul said to the Corinthians, “I die daily!” God took David by this path to show him that he needed to continually die to the self-centered life, just as 100’s of years earlier those fellows were circumcised a second time.

That the sole purpose in life is to be a worshiper: Every event, every circumstance is designed to draw away from worship of anything other than God. Joshua wanted to know whose side Jesus was on, and He responded, HIS! To which Joshua worshiped and then wanted to know what the Lord wanted, and he said just what you are doing!

The 2nd place David will go is found in chapter 17:22-24, a place called Mahanaim. Now it was here we are told in Gen. 32 that Jacob wrestled with the Lord as he awaited the meeting with his brother Esau. So the Lord was taking David by this place to remind him that it is only in losing that we win! Jesus said in Matt. 10:39, “He who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

Whom shall I serve?

Vs. 15-23 What we are told here picks up the narrative of 15:37, and the first thing we see is that Hushai wins the confidence of Absalom. Hushai is very careful with his words, making sure that he speaks in generalities with regards to saying “long live the king” and “whomever the Lord chooses, his I will be, and with him I will return.” Absalom needed to do two important things to rule the nation:

He needed to let the nation know that he was in charge and knew what he was doing. And in verse 20, he asks Ahithophel for council, and thus he was turning to a man whose council was universally respected.

He needed to demonstrate that he was a decisive leader and that David was no longer around. It is for this reason that Ahithophel told him to abuse his father’s concubines, which was declaring he was now the man in charge. It also should be the nation that there would be no bridge of reconciliation between the two.

Absalom was great at rebellion but not good at leading; he knew how to campaign but didn’t know what to do once he got elected. Sounds like a lot of politicians.

David had prayed in 15:31 that God would, “turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness,” so why did he not just trust the Lord to do what he prayed for? Well, there are a good number of people like David who specifically pray for the Lord to do something and then turn around and not trust Him to answer the prayer. Oh dear saint, remember the words of Jesus in Matt. 6:8 that our Father “knows the things you need before you ask Him.”

It is interesting that out of these dark hours of David, there came forth a depth of commitment to God that preserved him during these difficult times. God puts us in a corner where we have to just turn to Him, depend upon Him, and commit the situation to the Lord as “There’s nothing we can do.”

Hey saints, it’s when we come to where we just give up because there’s nothing more we can do, then God has the opportunity of taking over, doing His work, and showing His salvation. Then someone will come up and ask you, How did you do it? “Well, I was through; I’d given up; I’d tried everything; I used up all of my resources. I’m telling you it was over, but just then God came in and saved me.” Isn’t that our story over and over? How about it? Are you still kicking?