DEFEND OR SURRENDER?

2 Samuel 16:9-12  (9)  Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head."  (10)  But the king said, "What do you and I have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD said to him, 'Curse David,' who can ask, 'Why do you do this?' "  (11)  David then said to Abishai and all his officials, "My son, who is of my own flesh, is trying to take my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the LORD has told him to.  (12)  It may be that the LORD will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today."

For me, this is one of the highlights in the life of David.  We all know David as the one who defeated Goliath, and as the warrior who won many battles.  We may fail to see the other “hidden” victories that he had – that of his heart.  Here's one of them.

When David’s own son Absalom took over the throne, David was forced to leave, probably to avoid conflict.  As he was leaving one of the descendants of king Saul began to curse him.

(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!"

One of the hardest things to deal with is being cursed, being insulted, slandered, talked down at.  It pierces our heart.  It provokes, awakens, our pride.

The world we live in is a sinful world, because we are a sinful people.  Even we, Christians, are not exempted from this.  We are recipients of people who curse us, insult us, slander us, talk down to us.  We are also, in our fleshly moments, those who curse, insult, slander, talk down at others (even spiritually.  Are there not times where we insult the spirituality of others, thinking that we are better than they are?)

As we continue the story we see two ways that our hearts can deal with this type of sinful action, when we are cursed or insulted.  We have the reaction of Abishai, and the reaction of David.

(9)  Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head."

Abishai was one of David’s finest soldiers.  He was, in modern terms, his bodyguard.  And when Shimei cursed the king, his natural reaction was to defend his king in the best way that he knew – “let me go over and cut off his head”.  In his mind, which was the natural thing to do then, the man deserved death.

But that’s who Abishai was – he was there to defend his king.

Then we have the reaction of David:

(10)  But the king said, "What do you and I have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD said to him, 'Curse David,' who can ask, 'Why do you do this?' "  (11)  David then said to Abishai and all his officials, "My son, who is of my own flesh, is trying to take my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the LORD has told him to.  (12)  It may be that the LORD will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today."

You quickly see the difference.  Abishai was defending David.

David was humbling himself before his God.  True to what God Himself proclaimed – that he was a man after God’s own heart.

“If he is cursing because the Lord said to him “curse David”, who can ask “why do you do this?”. 

David recognized the sovereignty of God over his life.  David recognized that if this was the hand of God who brought David into this situation, then he would let it be.

“Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to.”

Abishai focused on who David was – the king. 

David focused on who his God was.  His being king wasn’t important anymore.

By this time his heart had been so humbled that he totally surrendered all things to his God.  So he says – “leave him alone, let him curse”.

And, if there was any good, any vindication, that was going to happen, it would be the Lord who would bring it, not him.

(12)  It may be that the LORD will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today."

When someone curses us, insults us or slanders us, we, too, have these two options.

We can be an Abishai, who will defend our honor, our pride, and fight back.

Or we can be a David, who was so humbled by God that his honor, his pride, meant nothing to him.  He did not see his position, his self, as something to defend.  He focused on the sovereignty of God in his life, and the working of God in his heart.

He focused more on pleasing the Lord, rather than pleasing himself.

Now, we shouldn’t think that David all of a sudden became a humble man.  Remember, after his sin with Bathsheeba God strongly dealt with him, humbled him, and revealed to David how sinful his heart was, how he was nothing, and how his Lord was everything.  Every circumstance we go through is a lesson that God is bringing to our hearts, humbling us, and forming a character that pleases him.

In the same way God is continually teaching us, humbling us, before Him.  In His sovereignty He will lead us to dealings with our pride.

This is a battle that all of us face.  A bigger battle than "Goliath", if you ask me, because it deals with our heart before God.

Our pride will always be tested, in big and small ways.  Is God working in our hearts, like David, where we are humbled and totally submit all circumstances to Him?

Or will we be like Abishai, quick to protect and deal with the situation in how we see fit?