Why did David allow Shemei to throw rocks and dust at him? That’s not the way kings generally behave, is it? No, they are much more likely to react the way David’s cousin Abishai suggested, cutting off the heads of those who dare to disagree with them (II Samuel 16:9).

And it’s not as though Shemei’s hatred was well-founded. Yes, David had taken his kinsman Saul’s place on the throne of Israel (II Samuel 16:8). But David had gone out of his way not to kill Saul, even passing up two golden opportunities to rid himself of his obviously insane father-in-law (I Samuel 24 and 26). No, David was not the bloodthirsty revolutionary Shemei accused him of being.

But Shemei wasn’t completely off base, was he? After all, because of his lust for Bathsheba, David had made sure that her husband Uriah would die in battle (II Samuel 11:15). And when David’s son Amnon raped David’s daughter Tamar, David’s own sexual sin rendered him incapable of anything but rage (II Samuel 13:21). It’s no wonder that Absalom, Tamar’s brother, lost all respect for David, plotting to seize the throne, and thus forcing David to flee from Jerusalem, eventually walking right by Shemei’s house.

So, why did David allow Shemei to throw rocks and dust at him, cursing him as a “man of bloodshed?” Because, deep down in his heart, he knew Shemei was right. And if we will be truly honest with ourselves, if we will acknowledge all the ways we have turned away from God by hurting other people, well, maybe we’ll be just as meek, just as patient, even when unjust criticism comes our way.

For didn’t Jesus demonstrate the same sort of meekness? No, He wasn’t guilty of the blasphemy or the rebellion of which His enemies accused Him. But He endured the curses and the blows, the nails and the spear, even death and the tomb because He had taken on Himself all the sins that so richly deserve all those things. Yes, the Father “made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might becomes the righteousness of God in Him” (II Corinthians 5:21).

And Jesus calls all who would follow Him not only to turn the other cheek to those who wrongfully abuse us (Matthew 5:39), but to go so far as to deny our self-interest completely, taking up our own crosses, losing our lives for His sake (Matthew 16:24-25). And in his humble meekness, David gives us an example of what it means to walk in this way, the way of the cross.

So, will we continue in pride, bristling at every criticism, attempting to justify everything we have done? Or will we follow David and the Son of David, ready to admit our own sin, and treating those who hate us and hurt us with gracious patience?

II Samuel 16:5-14 (NASB)

5 When King David came to Bahurim, behold, there came out from there a man of the family of the house of Saul whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he came out cursing continually as he came.
6 And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David; and all the people and all the mighty men were at his right hand and at his left.
7 And thus Shimei said when he cursed, “Get out, get out, you man of bloodshed, and worthless fellow!
8 “The LORD has returned upon you all the bloodshed of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the LORD has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. And behold, you are taken in your own evil, for you are a man of bloodshed!”
9 Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over now, and cut off his head.”
10 But the king said, “What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah? If he curses, and if the LORD has told him, ‘Curse David,’ then who shall say, ‘Why have you done so?'”
11 Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my son who came out from me seeks my life; how much more now this Benjamite? Let him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him.
12 “Perhaps the LORD will look on my affliction and return good to me instead of his cursing this day.”
13 So David and his men went on the way; and Shimei went along on the hillside parallel with him and as he went he cursed, and cast stones and threw dust at him.
14 And the king and all the people who were with him arrived weary and he refreshed himself there.