A time for judgment

I won’t lie and say that this passage doesn’t bother me to some extent, namely David’s charge to Solomon concerning Joab and Shimei.

His orders concerning Joab bother me not because Joab didn’t deserve death. 

Joab should have been punished twice before, first when he killed Abner, and then when he killed Amasa.

These were two generals that he killed probably because he feared they would take his place as commander of the armies of Israel.

What bothers me is that David never did anything himself concerning Joab.  He left it to his son. 

So what was done to Joab was probably justice, but it was quite delayed.  And I’m not convinced that David’s motives were all that good.

His order concerning Shimei bothers me even more.  Here he swore that he wouldn’t kill Shimei, but then he tells Solomon to make sure that Shimei doesn’t die in peace.

I suppose by God’s law, Shimei was guilty of cursing the ruler of Israel.  And cursing a ruler was probably considered a capital offense. (It was linked with blaspheming God in Exodus 22:28. See also I Kings 21:13). 

But considering that David pardoned Shimei, it doesn’t seem right to me that he ask his son to kill him.

Still, Shimei would not have died had he followed King Solomon’s command to stay in Jerusalem, a command that Shimei fully understood and said he accepted. 

So while one can argue about whether or not David was right in asking for his death, Shimei had no one to blame for his death but himself.

And finally Adonijah, Solomon’s brother. 

He apparently had not given up on his ambitions for the throne as his request to Bathsheba proved. 

A request to marry the concubine of a previous king was just as good as a making claim to the throne back in those days. 

And with that act, Adonijah lost the mercy he had received from Solomon when he had first made his claim to the throne against David’s wishes.

What can we get from all of this?  I don’t want to push the analogy too far, mostly because of the issues I have with David’s commands to Solomon.

But it does occur to me, that there is a truth we can get from all this. 

Namely, a day of judgment is coming.  And while like David, God shows forbearance by often putting off or withholding judgment, if we do not change our ways, judgment will eventually come.

We might think to ourselves, as perhaps Joab did, “Well, God hasn’t done anything bad to me so far.  I’m just doing my own thing, and life is great.” 

But they mistake God’s forbearance with the idea that judgment will not come at all.  Ultimately, however, as with Joab, judgment will come.

Like Adonijah or Shimei, we might reject God as our king.

And though we know what God has said, and we know his warnings to us if we continue to live our own way, we continue to ignore those warnings and do our own thing. 

But like Adonijah and Shimei, God’s forbearance will not last forever.  And judgment will come.

This is not a pleasant message to hear.  Nobody likes to hear about God’s judgment.  But it is a reality. 

The thing you need to ask yourself is this:  am I ready for that day? 

The only way you’ll be ready is to give your heart to Jesus, believe that he died on the cross for your sins and receive him as Lord of your life. 

And by making him your king, all your sins will be pardoned, not just temporarily, but forever.

Is Jesus your king?