Today we continue to follow David as his kingdom falls apart. The people have abandoned his leadership for that of Absalom (the father of peace). David heads out toward a village that is east of Jerusalem, near that Mount of Olives. Despite the fact that David is king and has his soldiers with Shimei dares to say out loud what David already knows, that he is a murderer.
To his credit David has the wisdom to recognize that perhaps this man is sent by God, It would have been easy for him to simply have him killed to shut him up or dismiss him as crazy. None of us wants to be reminded of our sin. And rarely do we want to listen to those who disagree with us. There are times in all our lives when we need a Shemei, the person who will speak the truth we don't want to hear, even if it hurts. Are we truly open to hearing the truth in whatever form it comes?
Sadly, this was only a moment of wisdom, because in the end David will order Shemei killed (1 Kings 2:8-9) for insulting him. Are there people we are angry with because they have spoken some truth?
