1 Kings 2:38, commentary and pictures

The verse records Shimei agreeing that Solomon's command was good and promising to do as the king had said. After that agreement he dwelt in Jerusalem many days, having accepted Solomon's condition and remained there for a time before the penalty was carried out. Solomon's condition made remaining in Jerusalem the obedience required to avoid the death sentence attached to leaving the city, and the penalty was carried out later. The verse belongs to the full account in 1 Kings 2 of how Solomon settled his kingdom after taking the throne, in which Adonijah was pardoned for a time and later put to death for a further offence, Joab was also put to death, and Abiathar was retired from the priesthood. Shimei is the one who had cursed David during David's flight from Jerusalem in fear and flight from Absalom.

He later violated and failed to keep Solomon's condition and was put to death. His agreement that the saying was good and his long residence in Jerusalem did not reflect lasting regard for his oath. His wickedness in cursing David met its just reward. He attacked David's house when he thought David was falling, but he was the one who ultimately went down, not David.

The chapter shows David's troubles continuing into his final days when he was old and weak, as Adonijah tried to take the throne in an attempt that could have cost David and Solomon their lives. Nathan's wisdom helped defeat the plot, but Adonijah was ultimately overthrown and killed. The verse belongs to the subsequent history of David that shows how completely Nathan's denunciation was accomplished, as another fulfillment of Nathan's word that the sword would not depart from David's house, in judgments that came upon David as a consequence of his great wickedness in the case of Uriah. That wickedness in the case of Uriah gave great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, and the sacred record does not cover up or excuse the transgression but preserves Nathan's denunciation and David's own humble confession for all future time. Shimei's cursing of David was part of the family troubles growing out of David's multiplying wives, showing that transgression of God's law brings suffering.

The episode illustrates that a sentence of death could be made certain on a specified day even though its execution came later. Shimei's case illustrates that the warning to Adam meant the sentence of death would be passed on the day of transgression, making death certain, even though death did not occur that day.