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THE SIN OF TAKING GRACE LIGHTLY!
Absalom, David's third oldest son, was a perfect
specimen of a man. Scripture tells us that in his day he was not only the
most handsome man in Israel but he had a persuasiveness about him that won the
hearts of many. Unfortunately, he was also a traitor. He murdered
Amnon, the oldest son of David, conspired against his own father, and made a
serious attempt to grab the throne for himself.1
When he and his followers stormed the city of
Jerusalem David, instead of defending the city, chose to flee with his family
and staff. In addition to his household staff he was accompanied by about
six-hundred men. The entourage crossed the Kidron valley just east of Jerusalem
with the intent of crossing the Jordan River to safety. It wasn't long
before they came to the town of Bahurim where David was hounded by a Benjamite
from the clan of Saul. His name was Shimei [Shim' e i] and the first chapter
of his story is found in II Samuel 16:5 - 14. We read:
As David and his party passed Bahurim, a man came
out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei son of Gera, a member of Saul's
family. 6 He threw stones at the king and the king's officers and all the
mighty warriors who surrounded them. 7 "Get out of here, you murderer,
you scoundrel!" he shouted at David. 8 "The LORD is paying you
back for murdering Saul and his family. You stole his throne, and now the LORD
has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine,
you murderer!"
"Why should this dead dog curse my lord the
king?" Abishai son of Zeruiah demanded. "Let me go over and cut off
his head!"
"No!" the king said. "What am I
going to do with you sons of Zeruiah! If the LORD has told him to curse me, who
am I to stop him?" 11 Then David said to Abishai and the other officers, "My
own son is trying to kill me. Shouldn't this relative of Saul have even more
reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him
to do it. 12 And perhaps the LORD will see that I am being wronged and
will bless me because of these curses." 13 So David and his men continued
on, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing as he went and
throwing stones at David and tossing dust into the air.
The king and all who were with him grew weary
along the way, so they rested when they reached the Jordan River.
In David's day, and somewhat in our day,
a curse was regarded as very real and a potent weapon. It was potent for
it invited divine retribution. For example, you may recall that Balak,
the king of Moab, was willing to pay Balaam big bucks to curse Israel as they
were getting ready to enter the land. Balak feared that Israel would "lick
up everything around them, as an ox licks up the grass of the field." So
with little regard to what this weapon would cost him he hired Balaam to curse
the nation of Israel.
In II Samuel, Abishai's solution to Shimei's cursing
was probably the correct one. Granted, he and his brother Joab, thought
execution was the best way to solve most problems. But in this case, Abishai's
solution wasn't simply a matter of natural impulse. It was fully in line
with the legal code which made cursing the king a capital offense.
David, however, chose to be merciful. Perhaps
his thinking was influenced by the fact that he had not been the best of fathers
to his sons and that, to some degree, he was reaping what he had sown. Or,
knowing that Shimei was from the clan of Saul, he chose to endure the insults. Whatever
the case, he felt that perhaps God's hand was in this pelting of words and stones. So
in mercy he rode through the difficulty and allowed Shimei to vent his anger.
Then when Shimei heard that David was on his way
back to reclaim the throne he quickly went out to meet David on the east side
of the Jordan. We pick up the story in II Samuel 19:18b - 23. We
read:
As the king was about to cross the river, Shimei
fell down before him. 19 "My lord the king, please forgive me," he
pleaded. "Forget the terrible thing I did when you left Jerusalem. 20
I know how much I sinned. That is why I have come here today, the very first
person in all Israel to greet you."
Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said, "Shimei
should die, for he cursed the LORD's anointed king!"
"What am I going to do with you sons of Zeruiah!" David
exclaimed. "This is not a day for execution but for celebration! I am once
again the king of Israel!" 23 Then, turning to Shimei, David vowed, "Your
life will be spared."
He who was quick to curse David now bowed in complete
submission, begged for mercy, and received grace. Again, still, Abishai
wanted to give him what he deserved but David, in high spirits, chose to let
him live. In part, no doubt, due to the fact that Shimei threw out all
the right words. For here was a man who was good at throwing out whatever
suited his purposes at any given moment in time!
But David knew, or discovered, that Shimei was
a man who hated the truth he knew. He knew David to be merciful and full
of grace. He also knew that David never shed a single drop of Saul's blood
but it did not suit his temperament to accept the truth he knew to be the truth. But
David knew the truth about him and on his deathbed spelled it out for Solomon. In
I Kings 2:8 - 9 we read:
"And remember, you have with you Shimei son
of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, who called down bitter curses on me the
day I went to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to
him by the LORD: 'I will not put you to death by the sword.' 9 But now,
do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom; you will know what to
do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood."
By this time David knew Shimei's repentance was
superficial and that he was, as Dr. Alexander Whyte expressed it, "A reptile
of the royal house of Saul." The dying king left the "reptile" in
Solomon's hands, trusting in his wisdom to deal with the situation in a proper
manner.
Solomon put Shimei on his "to do" list
and soon called him in for a little chat. In I Kings 2:36 - 38 we read:
The king then sent for Shimei and told him, "Build
a house here in Jerusalem and live there. But don't step outside the city to
go anywhere else. 37 On the day you cross the Kidron Valley, you will
surely die; your blood will be on your own head."
Shimei replied, "Your sentence is fair; I
will do whatever my lord the king commands." So Shimei lived in Jerusalem
for a long time.
Shimei was restricted to living in Jerusalem. In
essence, he was placed under house arrest. In particular he was not to
cross the Kidron Valley, head east, and stir things up among the Benjamites. But
he evidently understood that he was to stay within the city limits and for a
period of three years he was careful to stay within the specified boundaries. We
now pick up the final chapter in vv. 39 - 46. We read:
But three years later, two of Shimei's slaves
ran off to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath, and Shimei was told, "Your
slaves are in Gath." 40 At this, he saddled his donkey and went to
Achish at Gath in search of his slaves. So Shimei went away and brought the slaves
back from Gath.
When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from
Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, 42 the king summoned Shimei and said
to him, "Did I not make you swear by the LORD and warn you, 'On the day
you leave to go anywhere else, you can be sure you will die'? At that time you
said to me, 'What you say is good. I will obey.' 43 Why then did you not
keep your oath to the LORD and obey the command I gave you?"
The king also said to Shimei, "You know in
your heart all the wrong you did to my father David. Now the LORD will repay
you for your wrongdoing. 45 But King Solomon will be blessed, and David's
throne will remain secure before the LORD forever."
Then the king gave the order to Benaiah son of
Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down and killed him.
The kingdom was now firmly established in Solomon's
hands.
David, as well as Solomon, treated this scoundrel
with mercy and grace. But when two of his slaves fled to Achish of Gath
he readily violated his parole and pursued them. His actions demonstrated
that he had a very low view of Solomon's authority over his life. But his
real problem, the one that colored his entire life, was that he took mercy and
grace lightly and in the end it cost him his life.
With this matter settled, as well as having dealt
with a few other political enemies, the kingdom was firmly established in Solomon's
hands. It was firmly established for two reasons. First, Solomon
had dealt with those who opposed him wisely, with mercy and grace. Second,
by their own foolish actions his political enemies had, in essence, removed themselves.
With this in mind I want you to turn to Leviticus
24. We read:
The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Command
the people of Israel to provide you with pure olive oil for the lampstand, so
it can be kept burning continually. 3 Aaron will set it up outside the
inner curtain of the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle and must arrange to have
the lamps tended continually, from evening until morning, before the LORD. This
is a permanent law for you, and it must be kept by all future generations. 4
The lamps on the pure gold lampstand must be tended continually in the LORD's
presence.
"You must bake twelve loaves of bread from
choice flour, using three quarts of flour for each loaf. 6 Place the bread
in the LORD's presence on the pure gold table, and arrange the loaves in two
rows, with six in each row. 7 Sprinkle some pure frankincense near each
row. It will serve as a token offering, to be burned in place of the bread as
an offering given to the LORD by fire. 8 Every Sabbath day this bread
must be laid out before the LORD on behalf of the Israelites as a continual part
of the covenant. 9 The loaves of bread belong to Aaron and his male descendants,
who must eat them in a sacred place, for they represent a most holy portion of
the offerings given to the LORD by fire."
One day a man who had an Israelite mother and
an Egyptian father got into a fight with one of the Israelite men. 11 During
the fight, this son of an Israelite woman blasphemed the LORD's name. So the
man was brought to Moses for judgment. His mother's name was Shelomith. She was
the daughter of Dibri of the tribe of Dan. 12 They put the man in custody
until the LORD's will in the matter should become clear.
Then the LORD said to Moses, 14 "Take
the blasphemer outside the camp, and tell all those who heard him to lay their
hands on his head. Then let the entire community stone him to death. 15
Say to the people of Israel: Those who blaspheme God will suffer the consequences
of their guilt and be punished. 16 Anyone who blasphemes the LORD's name
must be stoned to death by the whole community of Israel. Any Israelite or foreigner
among you who blasphemes the LORD's name will surely die.
"Anyone who takes another person's life must
be put to death.
"Anyone who kills another person's animal
must pay it back in full-a live animal for the animal that was killed.
"Anyone who injures another person must be
dealt with according to the injury inflicted- 20 fracture for fracture,
eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Whatever anyone does to hurt another person must
be paid back in kind.
"Whoever kills an animal must make full restitution,
but whoever kills another person must be put to death.
"These same regulations apply to Israelites
by birth and foreigners who live among you. I, the LORD, am your God."
After Moses gave all these instructions to the
Israelites, they led the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him to death,
just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Here we are given a few final instructions regarding
the lampstand and what was known as the bread of the Presence (Exodus 25:30). In
short, we're to act as if God was present. Then, as if out of the blue,
we have the story of a young man, the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian
father, who got in a fight and cursed God.
This is the second of the two stories we find
in Leviticus. Other than these two the book is completely void of human-interest
stories. The first is found in Leviticus 10:1 - 2 where Nadab and Abihu
were consumed with their own ego and by fire. Their story communicated
in a loud and unmistakable voice that God took the whole sacrificial system seriously. The
second story, found here in Leviticus 24, is on the heals of thirteen and one-half
chapters dealing with what it means to live a holy life.
In light of God's mercy and grace, in light of
the fact that God by his mighty power had rescued the Israelites out of slavery,
in light of the fact that he had brought them out of Egypt so as to bring them
into a land flowing with milk and honey you would think holiness would be the
desire of each and every person. After all, holiness is the garment we
wrap ourselves in so as to give the watching world a picture of our God. It
is our way of honoring Him and bringing glory to his name. It is the natural
bi-product of gratitude.
To take God's mercy and grace lightly, to dismiss
it, to have so little gratitude for all that he has done for you is almost unthinkable. And
yet that is exactly what this young man did when he cursed God. It wasn't
that he got in a fight and in the heat of the moment uttered a few cus words. Nor
did he speak rashly when he cursed God.
No, the word used for curse is exactly the same
word used when Balak, king of Moab, asked Balaam to curse Israel. Ironically,
as if this was possible, the young man ask whatever god he worshiped to execute
divine retribution on God. It sounds silly, but in cursing God he extended
the invitation to whoever to strike God down.
What was this young man's problem? Well,
I suppose he never wanted to leave Egypt in the first place. So he was
probably angry with his parents and everyone else. But his real problem,
the one that colored his entire life, was that he took mercy and grace lightly
and in the end it cost him his life. How about us? Do we take mercy
and grace lightly? Is it our desire to be holy so as to give the watching
world an accurate picture of our God who rescued us from the dominion of darkness?
1 See II Samuel 14:25 and 13:29.
LEVITICUS - GOD'S GUIDEBOOK TO WORSHIP 6/18/06 1
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