Trust in the overruling power of God (2 Sam 16:1-14)

Before I went to study at Bible college/seminary, I told a Christian colleague about it in confidence. However, I soon found out that he went straight to my boss with the information because the latter called me in for a chat. There were two of us, girls, doing the same job at the time and it so happened that the management decided that one person was sufficient for the role. They were in the process of deciding which one of us to keep, when my boss revealed to me that he had heard of my plans to leave in six months’ time. I was fully expecting the choice to fall on the other girl, given that if they kept me, they would have to recruit someone else after six months! To my surprise, however, I was kept on the job, which helped me with the initial funding of my course. Despite others’ self-interest or malice, God is sovereign to provide and overrule their hurtful actions.

God sovereignly provides

We see this principle in David’s encounters as he continues his flight from Jerusalem. If the previous meetings involved genuine friends, the next one with Ziba is most likely motivated by self-interest. The man is the steward of Mephibosheth, the lame son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul (2 Sam 9:3, 9-10). Given that Ziba has fifteen sons (v.9), he may well look for opportunities to enrich himself even at his master’s expense. David’s question indicates uncertainty as to what to make of him and Ziba gives nothing away (2 Sam 16:2). However, the latter’s description of Mephibosheth’s attitude seems so unlikely (how could the feud in David’s family lead to a rival royal house’s reinstatement?) that it is a surprise that David believes him (2 Sam 16:3). Perhaps under the stress of his flight and in gratitude, David takes Ziba’s words at face value. Whatever the real motivation, however, God shows Himself sovereign in providing for David in need.

God’s overruling power for the future

Shimei’s attitude to David is explicitly hostile (2 Sam 16:5-8) and cursing the king is a serious matter because in the ancient Near East curses were feared as being potentially ‘performative’ (i.e. by saying it they could happen). Thus, they could alter the life and future of the cursed person. Other cultures around Israel had special incantations to undo the potentially damaging effect of a curse or spell,[1] though there is no such in Israel. David once again refuses to respond with violence to those who are trying to hurt him (2 Sam 16:9-10). His confidence is in God’s overruling power. He knows very well that he is not guilty or complicit in the deaths of Saul’s household (of Saul, Abner, his general, and Ishbosheth, Saul’s son; 2 Sam 1:1-15; 3:26-39; 4:1-12) that have eventually led to his reign. Nevertheless, the words of being a worthless fellow and a man of bloodshed (2 Sam 16:7) must have stung when he remembered his adultery and Uriah’s murder. David knows his true guilt and looks to God who can give a curse power to come true or thwart it and, by His mercy, bring a different future into reality (2 Sam 16:11-12). It is not the curse or other people’s actions that have the last word but the Lord.

Our secret ‘weapon’

David’s story teaches us that our best weapon against those who want to hurt us is trust in the Lord. We are not immune to harm from people who wish us ill or simply have their own agendas and find us in their way. Yet, we can know that it is God’s sovereignty that sometimes allows suffering into our lives, and He can use it for His own good purposes to shape our character into more Christlikeness (Rom 8:28-29). It is also His mercy that can overrule in our circumstances so that what looks inevitable does not happen! David’s submission to cursing also reminds us of the Son of David who endured the curses and jeering of bystanders on the cross and took our curse, the burden of sin onto Himself, so that we might have a new future.

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[1] For instance, the Assyrian Maqlu Incantation says this, ‘May she who spoke evil magic spells against me melt like tallow! She who made magic, may she dissolve like salt! Her knots are untied, her intrigues demolished.’ Bill T. Arnold & Bryan E. Beyer (eds), Readings from the Ancient Near East: Primary Sources for Old Testament Study (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002), 220.

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