Cursing the King – 2 Samuel 16: 5-14
Have you ever heard the phrase “they got off scott free”? Maybe you’ve heard someone say, “They got away with murder”. These phrases have forever been used when someone who seems to be guilty eludes justice and gets a free pass back into society. It appears as though he or she has been condoned instead of condemned. It appears that way, but it is not so. Remember, things are never what they seem to be. Once a man told me, “Preacher, I gamble, lie, cheat, curse, swear, drink, and am flat out selfish and look, I get away with it”. I told him, “No you don’t. Jesus Christ was lead to Pilate’s hall and had his body ripped apart to put mercy between you and the wages of your sin.” I’d like to just show you a few scriptures and settle into one piercing thought: “Nobody gets by God!”
*Psalms 10: 11 & 13 (KJV) - He (the wicked man) hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it. 13 ……He hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.
*Psalms 94:7-10 (KJV) - Yet they (the wicked) say, The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it. Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise? He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see? He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? He that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?
*Psalms 7:11-16 (KJV) - God judgeth the righteous (or is a righteous judge), and God is angry with the wicked everyday. If he (the wicked) turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors. Behold, he travaileth with iniquity (or he who is pregnant with evil) conceives mischief (trouble), and brought forth falsehood (disillusionment). He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.
Did you know every good thinker of all history and time has had the same certain dilemma that the writer of the 73rd Psalms (NIV) had? “For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills. Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. From their callous hearts comes iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. They say, ‘How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?’ This is what the wicked are like - always carefree, they increase in wealth.”
The Bible teaches us that the wicked are snared by the work of their own hands. They will sink down into the pit they have dug and fall into the net they have laid. Scripture after scripture reveals that men reap what they sow! Here are a few examples: Galatians 6:7, Psalms 37:10 &17, Psalms 112: 10, Proverbs 10:28, Proverbs 11: 7, Proverbs 10:7 & 27, Proverbs 10:30. This is not even a speck of the thousands of scriptures that reveal that no one lives evil, wearing the garment of harming others, and just gets by. Proverbs 11:31 (KJV) says, “If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!” Did you get what you just read? This is the summation of what I am saying: Though joined hand in hand, the wicked shall not go unpunished! It’s a scriptural law!
Now, let’s look at a small little story nestled in 2 Samuel 16. We find David, who is the king of Israel, having to leave Jerusalem because of his rebellious son Absalom. “As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed (shouted insults) as he came out. He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. As he cursed, Shimei said, ‘Get out, get out, you man of blood, you scoundrel (worthless man),” 2 Samuel 16: 5-7. Abashai, one of Davids right hand men wanted to kill him immediately for cursing his lord and king, but David wouldn’t allow him. King David’s approach was, “Let him curse, just let him curse”!
What a small story with a big meaning. I can’t tell you how many times my lifestyle, decisions, or motives have cursed the King of all Kings. How many stones of rebellion or disbelief have I thrown? Many times I have spoken doubt or complaint to God, all the while I should have been thankful just to be alive. Many people live a life that curses King Jehovah. I know of many that are even as brash to verbally come against God. Many people have raised their fist at God as if to rob Him of their own soul, or exclude Him from their own judgment. Others have committed heinous acts, and by this I don’t mean just murder or the like. I speak of manipulation or demonic games of control that people play on other lives. These things curse the King. Shimei started throwing rocks and cursing the king of Zion. If you were going to do anything, don’t throw stones or rocks at King David, LEST HE PICK ONE UP FOR HIMSELF AND AIM IT AT YOU. I think of how naturally merciful David was to Shimei. Now, how merciful is God in the unseen realm, who sees every vein of the heart. You don’t curse the King and get away with it.
This story has a very sad ending. When Solomon became king, he was told by his father, David, that Shimei was still around and how he cursed him with bitter grievous curses. David told Solomon to hold him not guiltless. In other words don’t let him get away with it! Three years later Solomon, for not really a great reason, had him killed. Shimei had made a simple vow to Solomon that he would never leave his house in Jerusalem, but he broke this vow. Now if you were going to kill a man for cursing the King and throwing stones at the President, or simply leaving his house to go recover some servants, what would you do? However, when you do wicked and evil and seem to get away with it, there will come a day on this earth that some little thing will call you into judgment. You’ll be judged for the whole matter. Solomon told Shimei, “You know all the wickedness which your heart is aware of, that you did to my father: therefore the Lord shall return your wickedness upon your own head,” 1 Kings 2:44 KJV. Shimei was then put to death!
Here are a few real life, more current examples that may hit home a little closer for you:
* A family was driving on the New Jersey Turnpike going on vacation. Their little boy was a baby wrapped in a blanket, sitting in his car seat. They had come up to pay a toll for the turnpike when a massive tractor-trailer hit a line of cars and strapped in the seat with the car lit up in flames was that little boy, Joel Sonnenberg. Eighty-five percent of his body burned. When they finally got him out and saw him, his body was so burned like ash that they said if you touched him, his skin would melt in your hands. The man who hit him got out of his truck and escaped. He got away without a sound. Eighteen years later he was arrested when a cop just happened to pull him over and do a routine background check. That day Reginald Dort was arrested. They brought him to trial and Joel, now a man, requested to see Reginald. Reginald didn’t want to look at Joel. He sat there with his head down the whole time. Now, this is the part where I am supposed to tell you that “NO one gets by” right? Let me tell you first that Joel Sonnenberg did let someone curse him or his inner King. Joel Sonnenberg is a Chrisitian. Joel Sonnenberg couldn’t walk, talk, or feed himself or do anything that a little boy should be able to do. He had many large open wounds that wouldn’t heal. His life was filled with bandages, skin creams, and physical therapy. But Joel went to school, became the student body President in both high school and college, captain of his soccer team, eagle scout, and Olympic torch bearer in 1996. He is a graduate of Taylor University and an international speaker. His friends include people from Billy Graham to Mike Krzyzewski, the head coach for Duke Basketball. Reginald Dort looked up in court and saw Joel and was startled as he felt every pound of that 81,000 lb truck he was driving come crashing down as he was sentenced to prison. Justice wasn’t only prison, but the fact that he would never get Joel’s face out of his mind again. He’s got to live with that forever.
* Everyone is familiar with cases like Natalie Holloway, the teenager who disappeared from Aruba several years ago. I don’t care what happens or when it happens. There will come a day when whomever is responsible will pay for their evil deeds. It doesn’t matter how long it takes. NO one gets by! Vengeance belongs to God!
* Not far from where I grew up is a small town called Philadelphia, MS. In 1964, three young civil rights workers were murdered. Edgar Ray Killen, a Baptist minister was brought to trial along with others the same year. However the jury never reached a verdict. It seemed that Killen and his Klu Klux Klansmen had gotten away with murder. But in January 2005, he was arrested for the murder of James Chaney 21, Andrew Goodman 20, and Michael Schwerner 24; and on June 22, 2005, 41 years to the day of the killings, a jury convicted an 80-year-old Edgar Ray Killen and sentenced him to three, 20-year prison terms. I am not trying to bash anyone. I am simply showing you that “nobody justs gets by”.
In conclusion, all pleasure costs. If it is legitimate, it will cost you beforehand. If it is illegitimate it will cost you after. But remember, “You can’t live a life that curses King Jesus and get away with it”. I meet with parents all the time whose children seem to be in crisis. I always look at the parent and say, within myself, “Look at your life. You don’t honor God as King, so what do we expect”? God has set before us blessing or cursing, DON’T LIVE A LIFE THAT CURSES THE KING!!!!
