“So the king (David) said to Shimei, ‘You shall not die.’ And the king promised him on oath.” 2 Samuel 19:23.
Verse chosen from today’s Bible reading: 2 Samuel 19-20, Psalm 55, and Matthew 28.
Shimei, remember him? He was the cursing, mud-slinging, rock-thrower David encountered as he abandoned Jerusalem ahead of Absalom.
At that time, David’s companions wanted to behead him but David prevented it.
Shimei has now comes to senses and realizes that David should be the king. He begs for forgiveness and pledges his allegiance to David.
But David’s companions have not forgotten Shimei’s previous behavior and want him killed. Again, David spares Shimei’s life.
David displays the highest level of role-model behavior in this episode.
Most of us have been injured in one form or another in the past. We remember what happened and we carry a grudge whether verbally, internally, or both. We can’t let the issue go. They were wrong and we feel the hurt.
David, could well have felt the same way. He had reasons to hate/destroy Shimei. He chose not to.
We must be the same way. We must let go of the hurts of our past. Carrying them becomes a burden we don’t need to carry.
God has every reason to hate/destroy us. We are sinners; past, present, and future. BUT His love for us overrides His justice and He found a way for the burden of our sins to be removed. We are in the clear as Shimei now was. The person (David) that Shimei sinned against now promised that it would be so.
“Lord, thank You for lifting my sins from me and taking them on Yourself. What a Savior! You have saved me from the ultimate consequence of my sinfulness. I am in the clear on Judgment Day. Hallelujah!”
We are forgiven. God took care of our sin problem. We must live accordingly.
His Word For Me 