⁵ As King David came to Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei son of Gera, from the same clan as Saul’s family.⁶ He threw stones at the king and the king’s officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded him. ⁷ “Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David. ⁸ “The Lord is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul’s clan. 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, for you are a murderer!”

⁹ “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?” Abishai son of Zeruiah demanded. “Let me go over and cut off his head!”

¹⁰ “No!” the king said. “Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah! If the Lord has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him?”

¹¹ Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul^b]”>[b] 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^c]”>[c] and will bless me because of these curses today.” ¹³ So David and his men continued down the road, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing and throwing stones and dirt at David.
2 Samuel 16:5-13

Dear God, maybe sometimes we need to be broken down a bit. When I read this whole section of 2 Samuel, starting with chapter 11 and Bathsheba, I see a pattern of David just not doing it right. Was he corrupted? Yeah, probably. Was he maybe a little depressed after Nathan rebuked him in chapter 12 and he lost the baby? Maybe. Either way, the people were obviously not impressed with him, and his son was angry to the point of executing a coup d’etat and trying to humiliate, kill and overthrow him.

But 2 Samuel 16:10-12 is what makes David different–the ability to receive rebuke. The willingness to examine himself and submit to judgment. He also had a certain level of empathy for the descendants of Saul. There was probably always a part of him that felt awkward about having ascended to the throne, even though it was your will.

Father, help me to embrace the part of David I find here in verses 10-12. Help me to welcome correction and respond to it humbly and constructively. Help me to also be willing to humbly approach others with empathy. Love through me and help me to not return evil for evil.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen