Shimei is one of the most overlooked—but most instructive—figures in the Old Testament. His story appears briefly in 2 Samuel 16–19, and Shime's false repentance reveals one of Scripture’s most sobering truths: confession is not the same as repentance. When King David fled Jerusalem during Absalom’s rebellion, Shimei came out cursing, throwing stones, kicking up dust, and accusing David of every evil under the sun. He called David a “man of blood” and a “worthless man.” His words were harsh, hateful, and rooted in decades of bitterness toward the house of David. But after Absalom died and David returned to the throne, everything changed. Suddenly, Shimei fell on his face, declared “I have sinned,” and begged for mercy. He said all the right words—but for all the wrong reasons. In 2 Samuel 16–19, we see: why Shimei misjudged David how bitterness grows like a root and destroys the heart the danger of making accusations without hearing the whole truth the difference between confession and true repentance why God calls us to sincere, wholehearted repentance Shimei’s life is a warning many believers need today. His story teaches us that hurt people hurt people, that bitterness blinds us to the truth, and that confession without repentance leaves the heart unchanged. Most importantly, it points us toward the hope found in Jesus Christ, who offers forgiveness and transformation to all who truly repent. https://youtu.be/Ug8KYnqMGnA Table of contentsThe Context For Shime’s False RepentanceSuffering Tempts Us To Mistreat OthersBitterness Can Cause Us to Misjudge PeopleShimei’s False AccusationsFollow Scripture When Forming ConclusionsBitterness Can Grow for DecadesFear Can Produce Confessions That Lack True RepentanceShimei’s False Repentance Is a Sobering Warning When I taught elementary school, I would receive my class roster a few weeks before the new school year. I always asked the teachers from the grade below for insights into the students and to learn about them. Only once do I remember feeling anxious about a particular student being on my list—and it happened during my very first year of teaching. A fourth-grade teacher looked over my roster and said, “Uh oh. You have Victoria.” He didn’t mean she was a troublemaker. He meant she was the kind of girl who posed a threat to male teachers. I was in my early twenties, single, and determined to keep her as far away from me as possible. I always assigned seats—separating talkative students and placing those who struggled near the front. I put Victoria in the back corner of the room by herself, not even in a row with other students. At the end of each day, I offered my students one of the “three H’s”: a handshake, a high-five, or a hug. Most students who start the year choosing handshakes and high-fives end up wanting hugs by the end of the year. But I doubt I ever even let Victoria touch my hand. I told my friends how concerned I was about having her in my class. One of them visited my classroom and naturally wanted to see “the dangerous girl.” I pointed to the back corner and said, “That’s her.” My friend looked and said, “That’s her? She looks fine.” I probably replied, “That’s how they all seem.” Fast-forward about five or six months. I ran into the same teacher who warned me about Victoria, but he asked, “How’s it going with Amy?”I said, “Fine. Why?”He replied, “Because I warned you about her.”I said, “I thought you warned me about Victoria.”He said, “No, Victoria’s a sweetheart. What about Amy?”I said, “I have her right in the front. She’s been fine.” Even now, the memory saddens me. I completely misjudged Victoria—and when we misjudge someone, we usually end up treating them poorly too. I share that because it’s precisely what happened with a man named Shimei. He completely misjudged David, and as a result, treated him terribly. The Context For Shime’s False Repentance David experienced many low points in his life, but I believe the passage we’re about to study records one of the lowest. David has lost the throne—bad enough on its own—but the one who seized it was his own wicked son, Absalom. Much of the nation David loved and served turned against him and aligned with Absalom, including the elders of the land and David’s close friend and advisor, Ahithophel. David was forced to flee Jerusalem to escape Absalom’s attempt to murder him. He had fled from Jerusalem before becoming king because of Saul, and now he fled again after becoming king—but this time from his own son. It’s hard to imagine many moments in David’s life that could rival the grief he was experiencing. And just when it seemed things couldn’t get worse, David encountered Shimei: 2 Samuel 16:5 When King David came to Bahurim (which is a town just outside Jerusalem), there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera, and as he came he cursed continually. 6 And he threw stones at David (as if cursing wasn’t enough) and at all the servants of King David, and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. I’m not sure how many hands Shimei had, but it seems he had about 20 to throw that many rocks: he threw them at David, the people with David, and even David’s mighty men. If there’s anyone in the Old Testament you don’t throw stones at, it’s them, but that’s how angry Shimei was. 2 Samuel 16:7 And Shimei said as he cursed, “Get out, get out (he means get out of this area where Shimei lived), you man of blood, you worthless man! 8 The Lord has avenged on you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, your evil is on you, for you are a man of blood.” The Hebrew word for worthless man is bᵊlîyaʿal, which was so foul a title that it became a name for the devil in the New Testament (2 Corinthians 6:15). So Shimei isn’t holding anything back. He calls David a devil to because he wants to be as offensive as possible. Shimei is so upset, because he’s “a man of the family of the house of Saul.” Suffering Tempts Us To Mistreat Others There were strong tribal loyalties: people from the tribe of Benjamin wanted someone from their tribe on the throne. The only thing stronger than tribal loyalties was household loyalties. Shimei wasn’t just from the tribe of Benjamin; he was part of Saul’s family. We don’t know his exact relationship to Saul, but it is probably something like a cousin. Shimei used to be part of the royal family when Saul was king. Now he’s part of a disgraced family, and he thinks it’s all David’s fault. When I read about Shimei, it reminds me of the saying, “Hurt people hurt people.” James 1 is about trials: James 1:20 The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Trials can make us angry, which leads us to mistreat others. James 4:1 What causes quarrels and fights among you?...2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. When we don’t get what we want, we get angry, and it causes quarrels and fights. That’s what’s going on with Shimei. We have this funny story in our family about Johnny when he was young. Katie and I were sitting on a bench watching our children play in a park. Johnny fell off a swing, quickly sprang up, and angrily looked at the people around him. Although nobody had done anything to him, he was hurting, so he was looking for someone to hurt. When Katie and I were going over the sermon, she said, “I stub my toe and I’m looking around to see which kids aren’t working.” I appreciate my wife’s humility in sharing this, because I have definitely seen her act like this, and I’m glad she recognizes it. But we can all be like this: “I’m mad and I want someone to blame. I’m suffering and I want someone to suffer with me.” A Woman Who Slandered Me When Her Life Was Falling Apart A few years ago, a woman on the other side of the country—someone I had never met—wrote a review of one of my books on her website and then shared it on social media. Another woman who disliked me saw the review, contacted the reviewer, and began criticizing me on Facebook Messenger. I know this because the reviewer reached out to me and sent screenshots of the conversation. When I looked at the screenshots, they included the woman’s name and profile photo so that I could find her on Facebook. But I still didn’t recognize her. I showed the profile to Katie, who said she knew her. Months later, I was at an event up north and noticed a woman who I thought might be the same person. I discreetly took a couple of pictures to send to Katie and asked, “Is this her?” Katie replied, “Yes, that’s her.” At the end of the event, as the crowd was leaving—maybe a hundred people around me—I turned and she happened to be right beside me. I said hello, and she responded using my name, which caught me off guard. We began talking, and to my surprise, she was very friendly. Since tact isn’t always my strongest quality, I asked, “Have I done something to offend you?” She shared that she was offended at me because someone had talked negatively about me to her. Then it got interesting, and sad: She had several children and began crying as she described how difficult her marriage was and the struggles they were having at home. Before speaking to her, I was frustrated with her, but as she talked, I felt really bad for her. I’m not excusing gossip, slander, or mistreatment. But suffering often tempts people to mistreat others. And when we are mistreated, it may have more to do with that person’s pain than anything we’ve done. In other words, suffering tempts people to mistreat others, and we don’t always need to take it so personally. Bitterness Can Cause Us to Misjudge People Because his accusations are so wildly inaccurate, some commentators assume he must have been irrational to believe them.