2 Samuel · chapter 16 of 24
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2 Samuel 16 tells of three encounters David has on his flight: Ziba, who accuses Mephibosheth of treachery and receives his land; Shimei, who curses him and throws stones, and Hushai, who presents himself as Absalom's servant. In Jerusalem, Absalom takes Ahithophel's advice and goes in to his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel, fulfilling Nathan's word.
With David in retreat, 2 Samuel 16 tests his character under pressure. Each encounter along the road reveals something different: Ziba's ambiguity, Shimei's fury, Hushai's loyalty and the cynicism of Ahithophel's counsel. David responds with patience and entrusts his cause to the Lord, while Absalom's rebellion advances in Jerusalem.
David has barely passed the summit of the mountain when Ziba, Mephibosheth's servant, comes to meet him with a couple of saddled donkeys, two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits and a skin of wine. The king asks about his master, and Ziba answers that he is staying in Jerusalem because he expects Israel to give him back his grandfather's kingdom. David, without checking, gives him everything that belonged to Mephibosheth, and Ziba bows in thanks.
When David reaches Bahurim, a man of Saul's family, Shimei, son of Gera, comes out cursing and throwing stones at David and his servants. He calls him a man of blood and worthless, and says the Lord has returned on him all the blood of the house of Saul. Abishai asks permission to cut off his head, but David forbids it: if the Lord has told him to curse, who will ask why? If his own son seeks his life, how much more this Benjaminite. Perhaps the Lord will look on his affliction and repay him with good for this cursing today. They go on their way, while Shimei keeps cursing and throwing dust.
Absalom enters Jerusalem with Ahithophel. Hushai the Archite arrives and cries out: long live the king. Absalom asks about his loyalty to his friend, and Hushai answers that he will serve the one whom the Lord and this people have chosen. Absalom asks Ahithophel for counsel, who suggests he go in to his father's concubines so that all Israel will see that he has made himself odious to David. Absalom pitches a tent on the roof and does so in the sight of all. In those days Ahithophel's counsel was as if one consulted the word of God.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
David, without checking Ziba's story, gives him all that belonged to Mephibosheth. In his haste the king decides quickly and without verifying, a decision that will have consequences in 2 Samuel 19.
David rejects Abishai's proposal to kill Shimei and asks who can reproach a man who curses if the Lord has told him to. His answer shows humility: he sees even the insult as a possible instrument of God.
David hopes that the Lord will look on his affliction and return good for today's cursing. His hope is not in defending himself but in God's mercy.
Absalom goes in to his father's concubines in a tent on the roof, in the sight of all Israel. The act fulfills Nathan's word in 2 Samuel 12:11-12 and publicly seals the break with David.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Donkeys loaded with bread, raisins, summer fruit and wine. — 2 Samuel 16:1-2
Answer: That he stayed in Jerusalem because he expected Israel to give him back his grandfather's kingdom. — 2 Samuel 16:3
Answer: Shimei, son of Gera, of Saul's family. — 2 Samuel 16:5-7
Answer: Cut off his head, but David forbade it. — 2 Samuel 16:9-10
Answer: Long live the king, and that he would serve the one whom the Lord and the people had chosen. — 2 Samuel 16:16-18
Answer: To go in to his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel. — 2 Samuel 16:21-22
David's reaction to Shimei is hard to imitate. He hears the insult, does not respond with violence and wonders whether God may be using even an enemy to correct him. Not every criticism is fair, but it is worth asking whether there is some truth in it before rejecting it. In a small group you can talk about how we respond when insulted.
The episode of Ziba reminds us not to decide hastily when we have heard only one side. David acted without listening to the other party and was wrong. It is a good text for reflecting on the importance of truth, of giving everyone a chance to speak and of not acting for convenience.
2 Samuel 16 shows the strength of human counsel, but also its limits. In 2 Samuel 17, Hushai and Ahithophel give Absalom opposite advice, and the Lord determines which of the two prevails.
The chapter does not make it clear. In 2 Samuel 19 Mephibosheth says Ziba deceived him and that he wanted to go with David but could not because of his disability. The story shows the risks of deciding with incomplete information.
David does not claim that God gave Shimei an order. He humbly recognizes that if God is using the cursing to correct him, it is not for him to silence it by force. It is an attitude of submission before God's judgment.
In the ancient world taking a king's concubines was a public act of usurpation and total break. The text presents it as the fulfillment of what the Lord told David through Nathan in 2 Samuel 12:11-12.