1 Kings 2 House Arrest

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
1 Kings 2:36 Then the king sent for Shimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. 37 The day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley, you can be sure you will die; your blood will be on your own head.”

38 Shimei answered the king, “What you say is good. Your servant will do as my lord the king has said.” And Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time.

39 But three years later, two of Shimei’s slaves ran off to Achish son of Maakah, king of Gath, and Shimei was told, “Your slaves are in Gath.” 40 At this, he saddled his donkey and went to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves. So Shimei went away and brought the slaves back from Gath.

41 When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, 42 the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and warn you, ‘On the day you leave to go anywhere else, you can be sure you will die’? At that time you said to me, ‘What you say is good. I will obey.’ 43 Why then did you not keep your oath to the Lord and obey the command I gave you?”

44 The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your heart all the wrong you did to my father David. Now the Lord will repay you for your wrongdoing. 45 But King Solomon will be blessed, and David’s throne will remain secure before the Lord forever.”

46 Then the king gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down and he died.

The kingdom was now established in Solomon’s hands.​

This is from the easy English site.

Solomon ordered Shimei to stay in his own house in Jerusalem. However, when two of his slaves ran away, Shimei left Jerusalem. He found them in Gath and he brought them back. When Solomon heard about this event, he sent for Shimei. He told him that he would punish him. This punishment was also for what he had done to Solomon’s father David. So Benaiah killed Shimei. Solomon said that God would bless King Solomon. The curse that Shimei had put upon David could have no effect (2 Samuel 16:7-8).

David knew that Solomon would need wisdom to deal with Shimei. If Solomon had killed Shimei at once, Solomon would have seemed cruel. And Solomon would seem to be acting without honour. David had promised that Shimei would live. So Solomon, who was David’s son, should continue to perform that promise.

Solomon dealt with Shimei in a similar manner to how he dealt with Adonijah. Solomon did not punish either man immediately. Instead, he tested them to see whether they were loyal. So Solomon asked Shimei to promise not to leave Jerusalem. Shimei promised this in the Lord’s name. So the promise was a sacred, serious promise. But Shimei did not keep that promise. To break such a promise was a serious crime. Shimei deserved his punishment.​

Ok... THIS is why we took the time to go through Leviticus. Shimei swore to be good. Shimei swore that he would stay in his home. They didn't have ankle monitors back then. A man had to stand on his own word.

Leviticus 5:4 or if anyone thoughtlessly takes an oath to do anything, whether good or evil (in any matter one might carelessly swear about) even though they are unaware of it, but then they learn of it and realize their guilt—

Shimei stood on a street corner and spit at the king. Now today... someone might be able to get away with spitting at the president or a senator, or congressman.... but back then... not so much. On top of that... a coup was underway.... Absalom decided he would be king... and Shimei thought that it was smart to spit, curse and throw rocks at the king. Shimei backed the wrong son.

When David's throne was back securely in his hands, Shimei begged David to forgive him. 2 Samuel 19:16-23 That's when Abishai butted his nose in and told David what he though David should do about it.

So... he wasn't killed for spitting. He wasn't killed for throwing rocks. He wasn't killed for cursing the king. He was killed because he swore he would stay in his home. He knew if he left the house he would be facing a death sentence. When it was inconvenient for him to hold up his half of the bargain.... he decided to leave the house instead of sending someone else. He broke his word.

:coffee:
 
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