“Moreover, the king said to Shim‘i, ‘You know in your own heart all the terrible things you did to David my father; therefore Adonai will bring back your wickedness on your own head. But King Shlomo will be blessed, and the throne of David will be established before Adonai forever.’ So the king gave the order to B’nayah, the son of Y’hoyada, and he went out and struck him down, so that he died.”-1 Kings 2:44-46
King Solomon’s sentencing of Shimei has begun.
He goes into this long, formal speech, like a judge handing down a verdict.
And in that moment, he reveals the real reason why Shimei is going to die:
“It is because of all the terrible things you did to David, my father.”
This echoes the time when Adoniyah told Bathsheba the real reason why he wanted Avishag to become his bride.
It was because he still felt the throne belonged to him.
Solomon concludes his speech with more elaborate words about how the throne of David will be greatly blessed and never end.
The implication here is that the people of Israel will view Solomon’s execution as a just decision, and Solomon will be praised for what he did.
These words would have pierced Shimei’s heart like a dagger.
Why?
Because it was always his greatest hope that his own tribe, Benjamin, the tribe which gave Israel its first king, would again take the throne.
Solomon was assuring Shimei that not only was that never gonna happen in his lifetime…
It was never gonna happen at all.
And then he ordered B’nayah to strike him down.
Okay, so today, instead of a takeaway, I wanna end with a quiz question, which I will answer tomorrow.
So here’s the thing.
Per the traditions and customs of the day, what Shimei did was normal.
A king is expected to take revenge on and dispose of his enemies.
However, from God’s perspective and His Torah, was Solomon just in executing Solomon?
Let me know in the comments, and we’ll explore the answer to this question the next time we meet.
Wishing everyone a wonderful Shabbat.
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