Lesson 48

The Conflict of David and Absalom

Part 1: The Loss of Moral Support

Main Idea: The way to handle mistreatment is to look to God for His support.

Text: 2 Samuel 16

Introduction:

The following chapters are all going to string together to form one big plot, which actually began in the previous chapters. In this lesson, we will see the conflict rise with the loss of David’s moral support. It peaks with the battles of the counselors and warriors and then comes back down with the resolution of slanders that are thrown at David in today’s lesson. Underlying the entire drama is the thought that God is in control and will protect his anointed as we have seen in David’s life from the very beginning. Even though David’s present troubles all stem from the consequences of his sin, he has since been made right with God and thus enjoys His grace, mercy and protection.

We will only be examining two different stories that cut David to the heart and how he responded to them both. David was in a time in his life when he needed encouragement the most. However, what happens next is only salt in the wound for David. He had been a good king and would remain the measuring stick for kings in ages to come. David did not really deserve the treatment he got in this chapter. So how do you and I respond to mistreatment? How do we handle it when people let us down? The following serves as a good example for us to follow.

Four ways to handle mistreatment when you do not think you can take it anymore:

First, the two stories of disappointment:

  1. Ziba & Mephibosheth

Remember the setting in which this all takes place. David is on the run from his own son, Absalom, who has rigged a conspiracy to take over the kingdom. The conspiracy was strong and Absalom was a very serious threat to David’s life. David’s advisor, Ahithophel, who he had trusted for advice in times of uncertainty, had betrayed him and turned to Absalom’s side. How heart wrenching for David to have his own son out to kill him. As David is running for his life, we pick up here in chapter 16.

  1. As he is leaving, Ziba meets him with donkeys, 200 loaves of bread, 100 bunches of raisins, 100 summer fruits and a bottle of wine. It sounds like Ziba is really taking good care of David! Thanks Ziba!
  2. Ziba was Mephibosheth’s servant. When David had decided to show kindness to Mephibosheth a long time ago, he also gave him Saul’s land and made Ziba work the land for Mephibosheth. So it is that servant who meets him.
  3. When David asks him about all the gifts, Ziba goes along with the act that he is David’s friend and is looking out for him.
  4. David then asks him where Mephibosheth is. (Remember, David is presently on the run from Absalom and already has a drove of people with him, but not Mephibosheth.)
  5. Ziba tells David that Mephibosheth stayed at Jerusalem because he believed that David would soon be dead and that he would inherit the kingdom.
  6. In other words, Ziba tells David that Mephibosheth has betrayed him and that he is glad David is on the run. What a heart breaker! David had done tons for Mephibosheth. He had treated him like a son when Mephibosheth did not even deserve it.
  7. After Ziba is finished making the accusations, David tells him he can have all of Mephibosheth’s land. (This was actually an overreaction, but more on that later.)
  1. Shimei
  2. Shortly after the news of Mephibosheth’s supposed betrayal, this fool named Shimei comes out cursing David and throwing rocks right in front of all of David’s men.
  3. Shimei, like Mephibosheth, was also of the house of Saul and hated David for “taking” the kingdom from Saul. (I do not know what to make out of the fact that both of these hateful slanders toward David are connected to Saul, but I find it interesting. It isas if David just cannot get away from Saul.)
  4. Shimei says that David never deserved to reign in Saul’s stead and that everything he is now getting he deserves for being a “bloody man.”
  5. Shimei only has the guts to say this junk to David because it appears that Absalom is going to destroy David and win.
  6. It takes a man of small character to kick someone when they are down!

David’s response is where we draw today’s lesson.

  1. Do not overreact.
  2. Upon the cursing of Shimei, one of David’s men, Abishai (Joab’s brother) offers to go and take off Shimei’s head!
  3. David rebukes him and tells him to calm down. (It was very similar to Christ’s response to his disciples when they wanted to kill all the Samaritans.)
  4. He did not lose his cool and eventually Shimei comes crawling back for mercy. (Solomon later kills him, so he got what he deserved.)
  5. He was hasty in his judgment of Mephibosheth though and overreacted by giving away all of his land.
  6. Come to find out, Ziba was the one who had lied to David and painted Mephibosheth up to be a back-stabber.
  7. Had David responded to the news of Mephibosheth as he did to Shimei’s cursing, Mephibosheth would not have lost all of his land.
  1. Consider the Sovereign hand of God and his purpose in the situation.
  2. When rebuking Abishai for wanting to cut Shimei’s head off, he says to let him curse because the Lord has bidden him to do so.
  3. In other words, God wants Shimei to curse me!
  4. Now this is an odd statement and hard to be understood. Would God cause Shimei to sin like this, cursing another man, especially the Lord’s anointed?
  5. James 1:13-15 teaches otherwise. God does not CAUSE man to sin.
  6. However, God does USE evil to chasten and/or try his own, as well as accomplish his purposes.
  7. Joseph and his brothers
  8. Pharaoh and the children of Israel
  9. Nebuchadnezzar and the Jews
  10. The Pharisees and Jesus
  11. Satan and Job
  12. Oppressing enemies in Judges
  13. Based on James 1, we cannot say that God is WILLING them or commanding them to do evil, but he IS using their evil or allowing it to be used to accomplish his purposes for his people.
  14. David was still reaping the consequences of his early sins, even though he had been made right with God long ago. In this sense, David knows that God is “causing” this whole mess to happen.
  15. This may seem disturbing to think about, but then again it can also be very reassuring.
  16. Knowing that God is aware and in control of the evil and awful circumstances, we may be experiencing helps us know that even though things are unpleasant, they are going to be okay. The sovereignty of God was David’s patience and comfort in the face of mistreatment.
  1. Use the patience earned in previous trials.
  2. Look at what David says in verse 11.
  3. He is saying, “If my own son is trying to kill me, how big a deal is it for one of Saul’s descendants to curse at me?”
  4. In other words, it is not that big of a deal.
  5. Now to you and me, if someone were screaming curses and throwing rocks at us, particularly in front of everyone we know, we would think it was a big deal. In fact, we would probably have ordered Abishai to take off his head!
  6. David experienced so much more hard opposition than this public cursing that it seemed small.
  7. Read James 1:2-4 and Romans 5:3. Patience is like a muscle, it has to be overwhelmed in order to become stronger.
  8. Patience is not something we are born with (though some may naturally have more than others may);it is something that develops over the trials of a lifetime.
  9. Many of us would like to be as cool, calm, and collected as David was in the face of Shimei’s tirade, but David’s patience became strong by many terrible times, not the least of which was the hatred of his own son.
  10. When we are experiencing hard times, look back at the more difficult trials you have already encountered and tell yourself, “Well at least it’s not that bad.”
  1. Trust that you will be rewarded for your suffering.
  2. Look at verse 12. David has hope and faith that God may reward him for enduring the cursing of Shimei. It was not a sure hope, but a hope nevertheless.
  3. Thinking this way helped David to deal with the mistreatment of Shimei. He knew that flying off the handle and killing Shimei would wrong. But letting God tally the score could produce something sweeter one day.
  4. We need to remember that God watches everything. He sees when we are unfair as well as when we are treated unfairly. Consider these examples of God’s graciousness:
  5. Leah & Rachel – God sees Leah is despised, gives her children.
  6. Hannah & Peninnah – God sees Hannah is suffering, gives her children.
  7. David & Saul – David is made great after enduring all the hatred of Saul.
  8. Christ & the Cross – Phil. 2:5-11 talks about how God has exalted Christ because he endured the shame of the cross.
  9. When you are mistreated, put yourself in God’s hands and trust him to reward you for putting up with it.

Conclusion:

All of us will be mistreated from time to time. David is the victim of it at a time when he needed support the most. The loss of moral support will lead us right into our next lesson. Despite the hatred he feels from not only Shimei, but also Mephibosheth, (even though Mephibosheth has not really done anything wrong) he handled it all wonderfully. He took it in stride, recognizing that God was in control and that he deserved far worse than being cursed. He puts himself once again in the hands of the Lord, and we will see in the next lesson how this mentality pays off, yet again. When we are mistreated or experience something unfair from others, let us remember that God is keeping score and even allowing everything to happen, and that ultimately, He is going to work everything together for our good.