Title: An Undeserved Curse/ Topic: Bitterness

Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 15; 2 Samuel 16; Psalm 32; Matthew 25

Scripture: 2 Samuel 16:5-8
5 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 as he came out. 6 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. 7 As he cursed, Shimei said, "Get out, get out, you man of blood, you scoundrel! 8 The LORD has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The LORD has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a man of blood!"

Observation: Shimei, a man from the clan of the former king Saul, comes out to curse and rail against David. He is full of bitterness and anger for offenses he believes David has committed against his relatives. Specifically, he accuses David of shedding the blood of the household of Saul. Nothing could be further from the truth. David honored Saul and protected his life even when Saul was trying to kill him! He also mourned when he heard that Saul and his sons had been killed in battle. How could Shimei have such a skewed perspective? When we hold bitterness in our hearts, take up the offenses of others and make them our own, or indulge in sin in any way, we open ourselves to deception. Satan is given a foothold in our lives when we do any of the above and he can cause us to believe a lie and cling to it as if it were the truth. Without repentance we can become unable to see the truth.

Application: The lessons for me from this passage are: 1) Don't be surprised when I am completely misunderstood and slandered by people who have taken up an offense against me with no cause. It has happened before and it will happen again. 2) I need to be like David and not worry about someone else who is “cursing” me. David had the attitude that the Lord would sort it all out in the end and I need to adopt that same attitude. I need not worry about defending myself, which I am very prone to do. 3) This should also teach me to not believe everything negative that I may hear about another person from a third party. In fact, I need to simply refuse to listen to negative reports about others. My assessment of another's character needs to be based on my own experiences with them.

Prayer: Father, I know how David must have felt listening to this man falsely accuse him. I have had that experience more often than I would like. Please help me to remember that I do not need to defend myself. Your Word says that an undeserved curse will not come to rest. I count on you to be my defender.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.