Solomon: Israel's Wisest King (11): Shimei’s Confinement and Execution (I Kings 2:36-46) by Rev. Angus Stewart
I. The Restriction of Shimei’s Movements
II. The Justice of Shimei’s Condemnation
III. The Establishment of God’s Kingdom
Psalm singing: 68:1-6; 5:1-7; 101:3-8; 72:1-8
Scripture reading: I Kings 2:26-46
Matthew Henry on I Kings 2:36-46: “The king sends for [Shimei] and charges him with the present crime (1 Kings 2:42-43), that he had put a great contempt upon the authority and wrath both of God and the king, that he had broken the oath of the Lord and disobeyed the commandment of his prince, and by this it appeared what manner of spirit he was of, that he would not be held by the bonds of gratitude or conscience. Had he represented to Solomon the urgency of the occasion, and begged leave to go, perhaps Solomon might have given him leave; but to presume either upon his ignorance or his connivance was to affront him in the highest degree ... It is a comfort, in reference to the enmity of the church’s enemies, that, how much soever they rage, it is a vain thing they imagine. Christ’s throne is established, and they cannot shake it ... All judgment is committed to the Lord Jesus, and, though he be King of peace, he will be found a King of righteousness; and this will shortly be his word of command concerning all his enemies, that would not have him to reign over them: Bring them forth, and slay them before me; the reproaches of those that blasphemed him will fall on themselves, to their eternal condemnation.”
John Calvin: “As the saving doctrine of Christ is the soul of the church, so does discipline serve as its sinews, through which the members of the body hold together, each in its own place. Therefore, all who desire to remove discipline or to hinder its restoration—whether they do this deliberately or out of ignorance—are surely contributing to the ultimate dissolution of the church. For what will happen if each is allowed to do what he pleases? Yet that would happen, if to the preaching of doctrine there were not added private admonitions, corrections, and other aids of the sort that sustain doctrine and do not let it remain idle. Therefore, discipline is like a bridle to restrain and take those who rage against the doctrine of Christ; or like a spur to arouse those of little inclination; and also like a father’s rod to chastise mildly and with the gentleness of Christ’s Spirit those who have more seriously lapsed” (Institutes 4.12.1).