2 Samuel 16

“The LORD has brought upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the LORD has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil, because you are a bloodthirsty man!"”

David is wandering through Israel, seeking a place to rest. This guy comes out and starts throwing stones at David. He is yelling cursing upon David. Shimei’s reasoning is absolutely ridiculous. Because bad things have happened to David, Shimei immediately blames it on David’s falling away from the Lord. The truth of the matter is that David has a rebellious son who is now willing to kill him. Shimei, like everybody else, has jumped on the new bandwagon and has a few things to say to David.

Humans are funny, especially religious ones. Shimei has based David’s exhile on the fact that he has committed bloodshed. Now David does not argue with Shimei due to the fact that there is an element of truth here. Most lies are mixed with truth. They make the lie harder to argue against. David had killed Uriah. Shimei’s motives are far from right. He is yelling at God’s appointed king. Remember how Nathan approached David when he was sent to explain David’s sin. Nathan never yelled or threw anything. Instead he came in silence.

We find David to be more peaceful than he had ever been before. Poor Abishai, having heard of David’s previous stories, is ready to go and cut off the guy’s head. We remember David’s fury with Nabal when he would not let David have anything to eat. Now there was a man throwing stones at them! David simply says, “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." David knows the way God works. He will not give up on giving God a chance to do a work. He knows God will take care of the rest, so very peacefully he sidesteps this crazy guy and instead goes somewhere to find rest.

Maybe you feel as though you are being slandered. Do what David did. Allow God to be the judge, and go find rest.