Betrayal by a trusted friend…
David experiences 3 levels of betrayal just in this one moment. We’ll look at them one at a time.
FIRST – ZIBA & MEPHIBOSHETH
I suspect that most of my readers already know where the plot with David, Ziba and Mephibosheth is going to go, but, just in case you don’t remember or have never read through this narrative, I’m going to pretend that we’re there – in the moment. We know nothing of the future; which is how David would’ve experienced this.
Hopefully you recall from earlier in the reading how David showed kindness to Mephibosheth, the lame son of Jonathan. Ziba and his 15 sons and 20 servants are farming the lands of Saul that David graciously gave to Mephibosheth (2 Sam. 9). But Mephibosheth himself has been living in the palace with David, treated as a son, and given a place at the king’s table.
Yet when the whole household hastily packs up and leaves, Mephibosheth is nowhere to be found. Ziba shows up with a mule-train of supplies for the departing families.
“Then the king said, “Where is the son of your Lord?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is living in Jerusalem for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel shall return the kingdom of my father to me.’”
2 Samuel 16:3 LEB
So, it feels like not one, but TWO of his own sons have plotted to overthrow David and reign in his place.
If you’re David, aren’t you wondering about God’s promise that one of YOUR descendants would sit on YOUR throne. Not his own throne. YOUR throne. Not Saul’s descendant. YOURS.
So that’s betrayal #1.
TWO – SHIMEI’S “FAKE NEWS”
Shimei (shim-eh-ya or shim-ih-ee), is also a descendant of Saul. He walks parallel to David’s procession while having the ancient equivalent of a Tik-Tok screen rant meltdown. This has to be one of the biggest “fits” thrown in the whole Bible. He’s yelling, throwing rocks, cursing, throwing dirt in the air.
Now, when we read that Shimei was “cursing” we think he’s dropping expletives and lots of 4-letter words. That’s not what’s happening at all. The text actually tells us what he said:
“Shimei said while cursing him, “Go out, go out, you man of bloodshed, you man of wickedness. Yahweh has returned on you all the blood of the household of Saul whom you have supplanted as king, and Yahweh has given the kingship into the hand of Absalom your son. Look, you are in disaster for you are a man of blood.”
2 Samuel 16:7-8 LEB
Have a look at it in the more informal NLT:
“Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David. “The Lord is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul’s clan. You stole his throne, and now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine, for you are a murderer!”
2 Samuel 16:7-8 NLT
The Hebrew word for “curse” is qalal (kaw-lal). It means “to be light.” It’s the opposite of kabowd, which means, “heavy” or “weighty.” Kabowd means “glory.” To treat someone with lightness means they carry no weight, unworthy of respect. Qalal means to insult.
Shimei isn’t just throwing rocks and dirt. He’s throwing insults. Disrespect. He’s behaving as if David has no weight. No importance.
I don’t know how widely David’s guilt in having Uriah killed was known was among his family and soldiers. But apparently Shimai knew somehow. And he shouts it for all to hear. He is cheering David’s downfall believing it to be deserved.
Was David a murderer? Well… yes.
Had he been a scoundrel when he stole the wife of his own trusted bodyguard? Yes.
The “fake news” part of it is when he accuses David of “stealing” Saul’s throne. David did nothing of the kind. Saul lost the throne all on his own because of his disobedience.
He accuses David of shedding the blood of Saul’s family. Also completely untrue. David actually could’ve killed Saul several times and didn’t.
After all the mercy David showed to Saul’s family, this is how he’s repaid.
But David doesn’t fight back. Why?
Because Yawheh told him this would happen. When Nathan the Prophet rebuked him for the sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah, he said 3 things would happen:
- There will be violence in his family
- The rape of Tamar and Absalom’s revenge.
- David’s own family would rebel against him.
- Absalom has overthrown his father by conspiracy.
- Another man will have sex with his wives in public.
- That’s what Absalom does based on the advice of Ahithophel.
THREE – AHITHOPHEL’S ADVICE
David left 10 concubines behind to take care of the palace. Concubines were… uh… “servants with benefits.” David had slept with them all and they were part of his harem. They were not important wives but still, they couldn’t have been married to another man because technically, they belonged to David.
Ahithophel was introduced to us as a former counselor or advisor to David. But he defected and joined Absalom. He would’ve been a powerful influence on others to defect as well.
Absalom parades into the city and takes it without a shot fired. But he is young and has no idea what his next move should be. But Ahithophel has an idea.
“Ahithophel told him, “Go and sleep with your father’s concubines, for he has left them here to look after the palace. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted your father beyond hope of reconciliation, and they will throw their support to you.” So they set up a tent on the palace roof where everyone could see it, and Absalom went in and had sex with his father’s concubines.”
2 Samuel 16:21-22 NLT
This disgusting, debasing act was foretold by Nathan as part of the consequences of David’s sin.
It’s been nearly a full decade since David’s one evening of giving in to the flesh. And, even though he was forgiven, he’s STILL paying for it.
Sin will take you further than you want to go. It will keep you longer than you want to stay. And it will cost more than you can pay.
PSALM 55
The text doesn’t say explicitly that this psalm is connected to the betrayal of Ahithophel, but it very well could be. It certainly seems to fit.
“For it is not an enemy who taunts me— then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me— then I could hide from him. But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng.
As for my companion, he betrayed his friends; he broke his promises. His words are as smooth as butter, but in his heart is war. His words are as soothing as lotion, but underneath are daggers!”
Psalms 55:12-14 ESV, 20-21 NLT
Someone close to David – a trusted companion – has turned against him.
It may be referring to Ahithophel. It’s possible that it may even refer to Absalom.
If you’ve lived very long in the world, you may have experienced what we call “being stabbed in the back.” And David is right – it’s much more bearable when an “enemy” does it. It’s a whole other level of hurt when a fellow saint does it; someone you went to God’s house with.
Lots of people have been “church-hurt.”
I’ll be blunt. Some have just been rightly corrected and instead of taking it like a grown up, they left in a huff and pouted to every other church in town. Or they didn’t get their way so they go off looking for a new date congregation.
But, some people have been deeply wounded because Christians passed around hearsay and gossip. Or ignored them in their time of need. Or burned them out and kicked them to the curb. It happens. We all need to work at being kinder; to show others the grace we have been shown.
Let’s see how David dealt with betrayal.
- V16-17, Persistent, intense prayer.
- David doesn’t whisper or mumble a little prayer before bed. He cries out loud in distress throughout the day.
- V18-19, The battle is the Lord’s
- YHWH is both David’s defense (He keeps me safe) and offense (God will humble the opposition)
- V23, God is their Judge
- You don’t have to defend yourself. The LORD can do it much better.
- It’s not my place to send someone to Hell. That’s God’s business.
David’s advice to those who have been betrayed:
“Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.”
Psalms 55:22 NLT
Don’t hold on to betrayal or worry or disappointment or any of it. They will poison you. Give those burdens to the Lord.
There is a simple approach that I have been personally using for some time to work through negative emotions. It goes like this:
- Think of an event in your life that brings up negative emotions. Try to get very clear on exactly what the emotion is: bitterness, anger, fear/anxiety, hurt, shame, sadness, etc. It’s good to take them one or two at a time.
- Give those emotions to Jesus. Name them. “Jesus, I give you this ____. I choose to no longer possess it. I ask you to take these feelings from me.”
- If the emotion is attached to a lie you have believed (about yourself or another person or the LORD), you need to formally “disavow” and renounce the lie. “Lord, I renounce and disavow ______. I ask you to forgive me for believing a lie. I come out of agreement with it. It is not true. It has never been true. I bring this thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. And I come into agreement with You and Your Word.” (Or something like that – but I find the word “disavow” and the phrase “come out of agreement” to be very helpful, clarifying, and powerful.)
- Ask Jesus to heal the wounds in your soul. Negative emotions hurt our souls. But sometimes they are also like padding covering up deeper wounds. “Jesus, I ask you to heal the wounds in my soul.”
- Don’t be surprised if you feel something happening instantly – especially if you are a sensitive person. You might not. Sometimes it unfolds over time.
- Advanced level: Ask Jesus to heal even your spirit and your body where they have been affected. Negative emotions create toxins that literally poison your body. Ask the Lord to remove them.
- Receive His healing. “Lord, I receive Your healing. I receive your grace.”
- Sometimes this one comes with a noticeable Holy Spirit encounter. After all, the LORD IS the grace, The healing is HIM, not something He dispenses apart from Himself. To receive His healing is to receive Him into that raw spot where the negative emotion used to sit (on a kind of tiny throne). We abdicate the negative thing and enthrone Christ there instead.
Rinse and repeat. Think of the original event again. If negative feelings and thoughts come to the surface, keep “giving your burdens to the LORD” and receiving His healing until you are healed and whole. Many of us are walking around with years of layers (like so much paint on an old house) of shame and insecurity and buried anger and disappointment. It may take considerable time to work through all the layers, but every layer that peels away is another step toward complete healing.
If you can think of the original event from step 1 and you encounter it with grace rather than whatever it brought up before, then tackle another event.
Teach your kids the simple version:
- How do I feel about this? (Name the negative feeling)
- Jesus, I give it to you. I ask you to take this feeling from me.
- Jesus, I ask you to heal my soul.
- Lord, I receive your healing.
There is no shortage of our Savior’s Power. His Grace is unlimited. Why would I go around carrying burdens when He invites us to…
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”
1 Peter 5:7 NLT
To The Reader 