The Wisdom of David

The Bible has much to say about King David, both good and not so good. Among the sins of this man, who, the Bible says had a heart after God, was adultery and murder of the husband of the woman he seduced. David was a sinner. Most Christians leaders today would not be able to maintain their leadership role while committing the kind of sins David committed.

David was an adulterer and a murder. David also was a man after the heart of God. In 2 Sam. 16:5-13 we come across a fascinating scene. Open your Bibles and read the account. we see him with his army coming back from a battle. All of a sudden, a Benjamite named Shimei came up to David and began to curse him and throw stones and dirt at him. One of David's generals asked David to allow him to cut the man's head off. David's basic response was: "Leave him alone, maybe God is telling him to curse me. Maybe God will bless me for putting up with this."

How often does God send a Shimei into our life to see what our response will be? Do we respond with the wisdom of David, or do we respond with, "Off with his head!" Take a few moments to reflect on this passage of Scripture and grow. There may be something in David's heart we can glean.