In response to the blasphemy and brutality of Shimei's words, David says:
...this Benjaminite is small potatoes. Don't bother with him; let him curse; he's preaching God's word to me. And who knows, maybe God will see the trouble I'm in today and exchange the curses for something good. (16:11-12)In other words,
"A bad sermon can still tell the truth. David is able to hear God's words in Shimei's rants, and what he hears brings David to himself. He faces what he has become - all the wrongs he has committed, all the people he has failed... David could have taken a defensive and vengeful posture. But he does not. He faces the truth about himself. He faces the basic truth that his identity has not been 'king', but 'sinner' and that he can only live by God's mercy. Shimei's curses peel the royal veneer off David and expose his soul." (Eugene Peterson, 2 Samuel)I have experienced insults hurled my direction (thankfully, not rocks!) and my reaction was not like David's. At least not for awhile. It was hard for me to receive words intended to wound and curse as words from God. Eventually, God sifted through the words and I was able to hear what was truth and set the rest aside (they've not yet gone completely). The truth that I am a sinner in desperate need of God's mercy, every single day. God is exchanging the curses for something good. (Gen. 50:20), not in the moment they occurred, not even in the year, but He has and He is.
And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times. O Lord, you will keep us safe and protect us from such people forever. (Psalm 12:6-7)
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2 Sam 16:10-11. Have thought so much about this verse this past year. David recognized God even in his suffering. Someone throwing stones even in the valley. Sometimes when you're down in the valleys, you're open to more going wrong. Depend on God in my suffering of words that sting and stay and our Beautiful God will repay here or there.
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