The King's Covenant and the Fool's Forfeit Text: 1 Kings 2:36-46
Introduction: Establishing the Kingdom
When a new king comes to the throne, there is always the necessary business of establishing the kingdom. This is not a matter of mere political maneuvering or consolidating power for its own sake. For a godly king, it is a matter of establishing the kingdom in righteousness. True peace, the kind of peace that Solomon's name points to, is not the absence of conflict. True peace is the presence of justice. And justice, biblical justice, is not a sentimental thing. It has teeth. It makes distinctions. It blesses righteousness and it punishes evil.
We are in the early days of Solomon's reign. David, his father, is dead, and the throne now belongs to Solomon. But a throne is not truly established until the enemies of the throne are dealt with. David, on his deathbed, had left Solomon with a short list of accounts to settle. Joab was on that list, and he has been dealt with. Adonijah was on that list, and he has been dealt with. And now we come to the last name on the list: Shimei of the house of Saul.
This is the man who cursed David with a bitter curse as the king fled from Absalom. He threw stones and dust and screamed curses, calling David a man of blood. When David returned to power, Shimei came crawling back, and David swore an oath not to kill him. And David kept that oath. But David understood that Shimei's treachery could not go unaddressed forever if the kingdom was to be secure. So he charged Solomon, his son, the new king, to act with wisdom. And what we see in this passage is not personal vengeance. It is not Solomon settling an old family score. It is the dispassionate, righteous, and necessary work of a king establishing his throne in justice. Solomon gives Shimei a remarkably gracious covenant of peace, a kind of house arrest, and Shimei agrees to it with an oath before Yahweh. The terms are clear. The consequences are clear. And Shimei, in his folly, seals his own doom.
This is more than just ancient history. The establishment of Solomon's kingdom is a type, a foreshadowing, of the way the Lord Jesus Christ establishes His kingdom. He too deals decisively with His enemies. He too establishes His throne in perfect righteousness. And He too offers terms of peace, a covenant, which men are free to accept or reject, but not without consequences. How we respond to the King's covenant determines our final destiny.
The Text
Then the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Build for yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not go out from there to any place. Now it will be on the day you go out and cross over the brook Kidron, that you will know for certain that you shall surely die; your blood shall be on your own head.” Shimei then said to the king, “The word is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.
But it happened at the end of three years, that two of the slaves of Shimei ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your slaves are in Gath.” Then Shimei arose and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish to search for his slaves. And Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath. And it was told to Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned.
So the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by Yahweh and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘You will know for certain that on the day you go out and go anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word which I have heard is good.’ Why then have you not kept the oath of Yahweh, and the command which I have commanded you?” The king also said to Shimei, “You know all the evil which you acknowledge in your heart, which you did to my father David; therefore Yahweh shall return your evil on your own head. But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before Yahweh forever.” So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and fell upon him so that he died.
Thus the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon.
(1 Kings 2:36-46 LSB)
A Covenant of Confined Grace (vv. 36-38)
Solomon begins by dealing with Shimei not with an immediate sword, but with a gracious, though restrictive, covenant.
"Then the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, 'Build for yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not go out from there to any place. Now it will be on the day you go out and cross over the brook Kidron, that you will know for certain that you shall surely die; your blood shall be on your own head.'" (1 Kings 2:36-37)
This is what we might call a probationary covenant. Solomon is acting with great wisdom here. He is not violating David's oath, but he is also not ignoring Shimei's history of treason. Shimei was a Benjamite, from the house of Saul, and his hometown of Bahurim was just east of Jerusalem. To allow him to remain there would be to allow a festering root of rebellion to remain just outside the capital. So Solomon brings him into the city, under the king's eye.
The terms are exceedingly clear. "Build a house. Live here. Don't leave." The boundary is set at the brook Kidron, the valley just east of the city. If he crosses that line, the consequence is death. And notice the language: "your blood shall be on your own head." This is covenantal language. Solomon is making it plain that if Shimei dies, it will not be because of some arbitrary whim of the king, but because of Shimei's own choice to break the terms of this agreement. He is being given a chance to live out his days in peace, provided he lives within the boundaries of the king's grace.
Shimei's response is exactly what you would expect. He is eager to agree.
"Shimei then said to the king, 'The word is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.' So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days." (1 Kings 2:38)
He calls the word "good." He understands the terms. He submits himself as Solomon's servant. He is getting a far better deal than he deserves. A man who publicly cursed and attacked the Lord's anointed is being offered life and a home in the capital city. All he has to do is stay put. This is a picture of common grace. God allows many who are His enemies to live and prosper under certain constraints. He gives them sun and rain. He gives them life and breath. But there are boundaries, and to cross them is to invite judgment.
The Foolishness of a Treacherous Heart (vv. 39-41)
For three years, the arrangement holds. But the heart of a fool will eventually betray him. His priorities will reveal his true loyalties.
"But it happened at the end of three years, that two of the slaves of Shimei ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath... Then Shimei arose and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish to search for his slaves." (1 Kings 2:39-40)
Two runaway slaves. Notice where they run: to Gath, the city of the Philistines. This is enemy territory. And what does Shimei do? He calculates. He weighs his options. On one side of the scale, he has his oath to the king of Israel, his very life. On the other side, he has two pieces of property. And in the foolish calculus of a man whose heart has never truly bowed to the king, the property wins. He valued his slaves more than he valued his word, more than he valued his life, and more than he feared the king.
This is the nature of sin. It is fundamentally irrational. It is trading an eternal weight of glory for a pot of stew. Shimei convinces himself that he can get away with it. Perhaps he thinks no one will notice. Perhaps he thinks the king will overlook a quick trip to retrieve what is his. But he has forgotten the central term of the covenant: "on the day you go out... you shall surely die." There were no exceptions for business trips. The boundary was absolute. His decision to saddle his donkey was a decision to forfeit his life.
And of course, the king is told. The eye of providence is always watching. "And it was told to Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned." The trap, which Shimei set for himself, has been sprung.
Covenant Sanctions Applied (vv. 42-43)
Solomon summons Shimei, not for a debate, but for sentencing. The king's words are a master class in righteous judgment. He simply rehearses the facts of the case.
"So the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, 'Did I not make you swear by Yahweh and solemnly warn you, saying, 'You will know for certain that on the day you go out and go anywhere, you shall surely die'? And you said to me, 'The word which I have heard is good.' Why then have you not kept the oath of Yahweh, and the command which I have commanded you?'" (1 Kings 2:42-43)
Solomon points to two things Shimei has violated. First, he violated the oath of Yahweh. This was not just a promise to a man; it was a vow made before the living God. To break it was to hold God Himself in contempt. Second, he violated the command of the king. He has committed both sacrilege and treason. There is no defense. Shimei has nothing to say. He is self-condemned. He agreed to the terms. He called them "good." He swore by God's name. And he willfully disobeyed.
This is a crucial principle of divine justice. God's judgments are never arbitrary. When men are condemned, it is because they have broken God's clear commands. They stand before Him without excuse. The terms of the covenant of works were simple: "Do this and live." Adam broke it. The terms of the covenant of grace are also simple: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." To reject this offer is to, like Shimei, place a higher value on your own autonomy, your own property, your own fleeting desires, than on the word of the King.
The Kingdom Established in Righteousness (vv. 44-46)
Solomon then connects Shimei's present crime to his past wickedness, showing that this final act of disobedience was simply the fruit of a long-held rebellious heart.
"The king also said to Shimei, 'You know all the evil which you acknowledge in your heart, which you did to my father David; therefore Yahweh shall return your evil on your own head.'" (1 Kings 2:44)
Shimei's heart had never changed. His earlier repentance was a sham, born of fear, not of faith. He was still the man who cursed David. And now, the God whom he had scorned through His anointed servant was bringing that evil back upon his own head. This is the law of the harvest. God is not mocked. What a man sows, that he will also reap.
And Solomon draws a sharp contrast between the fate of the covenant-breaker and the fate of the covenant-keeping king.
"But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before Yahweh forever." (v. 45). The execution of justice is the foundation of blessing and stability. A kingdom that refuses to punish wickedness is a kingdom built on sand. By removing this last internal threat, Solomon secures the peace and prosperity of his reign. The blessing of God rests upon a throne established in righteousness.
"So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and fell upon him so that he died. Thus the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon." (1 Kings 2:46)
The sentence is carried out swiftly by Benaiah, the king's executioner. And with this final act of justice, the narrator concludes, "Thus the kingdom was established." The house is now clean. The internal enemies have been purged. The foundation is secure. Now the work of building the temple, of extending the kingdom's glory, can begin in earnest.
The Greater Solomon
As we noted at the beginning, this entire episode is a picture, a type, of a greater reality. Solomon is a son of David, a king of peace, who establishes his kingdom in righteousness. But he points us to the ultimate Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ, the true Prince of Peace.
When Jesus came, He came proclaiming the kingdom of God. And He too had to establish His kingdom. He did this not by executing His enemies, but by being executed in their place. On the cross, He took the curse for all the treason of His people. He is the king who takes the blood-guilt upon His own head so that we might be spared.
But make no mistake, the kingdom of Christ is also established through judgment. He has defeated Satan, sin, and death. He has cleansed the house. And He now offers a covenant of grace to all. The terms are simple: "Repent and believe the gospel. Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." He offers us a place in His city, the New Jerusalem. He offers us life, forgiveness, and peace.
But this offer also has a boundary. To reject Him as King, to prefer your runaway slaves, your fleeting possessions, your own autonomy, to His gracious rule, is to cross a line. It is to break the oath of allegiance. And for those who persist in this rebellion, there will come a day of judgment when the King will say, "Did I not warn you? Did you not hear the good news? Your blood is on your own head."
The final establishment of Christ's kingdom at His second coming will involve the final judgment of His enemies. He will return as the righteous judge, and He will cleanse His kingdom of all lawlessness. But for now, He extends His gracious covenant. He gives us a place in His city, the church. He commands us to live within its bounds, to abide in Him. To wander outside, to chase after the world's trinkets, is to put our souls in mortal peril. Shimei's folly is a warning to us all. Do not trifle with the King's covenant. Do not value your possessions more than your soul. For the King is just, and His kingdom will be established forever. Let us therefore bow the knee, accept His gracious terms, and live securely in His city forever.