Beth Shalom
Seventh-day Adventist

Written by Paul Lippi

I want to share with you a story found in 1Kings 2:1-12.

“Now the days of David drew near for him to die. He charged Shlomo his son, saying, ‘I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong and prove yourself a man. Keep the charge of HaShem your God to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, his judgments, his testimonies, as written in the Torah of Moshe, in order that you may succeed in whatever you undertake and wherever you turn. In order that HaShem may fulfill his word which he spoke concerning me,’ saying, ‘If your sons keep their way to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, ‘there shall not be cut off from you a man on the throne of Israel.’ Further, you know what Yoav ben Tzruya did to me, what he did to two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Avner ben Ner and to Amasa ben Yeter. He killed them, putting the bloodshed of war in peacetime. He put the bloodshed of war on the belt around his waist and on the shoe of his foot. Act according to your wisdom and let not his gray hair go down to sheol in peace. But to the sons of Barzilai the Giladi deal graciously. Let them be among those who eat at your table, for so they drew near to me when I fled from Avshalom your brother. Now behold, you have with you Shimi ben Gera the Benyamini from Bachurim. He cursed me an outrageous curse the day I went to Machnayim. He came down to meet me at the Yarden, and I swore to him by HaShem saying, ‘Should I put you to death by the sword…’ Now do not hold him guiltless. You are a wise man, you’ll know what to do with him, you will bring his gray hair down to sheol in blood. And David slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years. In Hebron he reigned seven years, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years. And Shlomo sat on the throne of his father David and the kingdom was firmly established.”

The last will and testament of King David reads like a scene out of Coppola’s “The Godfather.” The deathbed wish of the man after God’s own heart is a hit list! “Shlomo, you’re a smart boy. You’ve gotta arrange the demise of Yoav ben Tzruya. Then there’s my old score to settle with Shimi ben Gera. Son, you’ve learned your lessons well. When the time comes along you’ll know what to do.”

In the case of certain powerful subordinates, King David had been forced by circumstances to delay the execution of justice. But as king he was still responsible that justice be served. If he couldn’t pull if off during his lifetime, responsibility rolled over to his descendants. The house of David would be considered guilty until the parties in question were brought to justice. Allowing them to go Scot-free indefinitely would signal injustice, and the primary duty of an ancient Middle Eastern king was to establish justice. So contrary to our initial impression, David’s unfinished business is not a personal vendetta; it’s matter of upholding the legitimacy of his government.

Yoav was a superb field commander, but the fact remained that he had caused David irreparable harm. Yoav had murdered his opposite number after he’d honorably surrendered. Until Yaov was punished, people would imagine that he’d been acting under secret orders.

Shimi ben Gera is more interesting, because in his case David had explicitly promised not to punish his treachery. The story goes back to the time when King David was fleeing for his life from his rebel son Avshalom. Shimi ben Gera came out to throw stones and curse King David. You can read the details at your leisure in 2Samuel 16. For our purposes I’ll just summarize. Shimi ben Gera was of the house of Shaul, David’s predecessor. When David’s kingship was at its weakest, Shimi took advantage to stir up rebellion. He obviously wanted a relative of Shaul back on the throne.

When David returned after quelling the rebellion, Shimi ben Gera came out to meet him singing a different tune (2Samuel 19:16-23). Shimi begged the king’s forgiveness, and David magnanimously forgave him on the spot. David even swore he wouldn’t punish him. But on his deathbed, David instructed Shlomo to deal wisely with the likes of Shimi ben Gera.

When Shlomo came to power he told Shimi that he was welcome to build a house in Jerusalem and live out the rest of his life under royal protection. This part of the story comes in 1Kings chapter 2. But Shlomo warned Shimi that if he so much as set foot on territory belonging to the tribe of Binyamin, he’d be executed for treason. Slomo wasn’t about to give Shimi an opportunity to hatch a plot with his fellow tribesmen. King Shlomo put the man on probation, and Shimi agreed to abide by the king’s terms.

But three years later Shimi went for a little visit to the King of Gat. In a man of lesser standing, that sort of behavior might have been excusable, but in a man with powerful connections, it was too big a threat to ignore. When Shimi ben Gera returned home, King Shlomo demanded he resume liability for his earlier behavior. Notice the wording in 1Kg 2:44-46a.

“The king said to Shimi, ‘You know all the evil, as your heart knows, which you did to my father David. Now HaShem will return your evil on your own head, And King Shlomo will be blessed and the throne of David will be established before HaShem forever.’ So the King commanded Bnayahu ben Yhoyada and he went outside and struck him down, and he died.”

Now let’s analyze that story a bit. Was Shimi ben Gera a forgiven man or wasn’t he? It all depends, of course, on what we understand by forgiveness. Certainly there was a formal apology and an extension of clemency. But is that all we mean by forgiveness?

Some people think that forgiveness entails nothing more than a verbal exchange. I say I’m sorry and you say it’s OK, and that’s that. If that’s all there is to it, then forgiveness is no big deal. Pretty easy to give and pretty easy to get. Many people also think that sort of forgiveness is pretty worthless. They’re liable to say, ‘Thanks for nothing. You can keep your forgiveness for yourself.’

In the Torah forgiveness is more than an exchange of verbal niceties. In the Torah sense, Shimi ben Gera never really accepted King David’s forgiveness. Shimi never reconciled himself to David’s rule. Shimi’s rebellious behavior during the time of Shlomo demonstrated that despite the king’s clemency, the man remained an implacable enemy. He never took advantage of his forgiveness to switch his loyalties from the house of Shaul over to the house of David.

Shimi wasn’t executed for visiting the King of Gat. The biblical record takes pains to point out that Shimi was executed for the wickedness he’d done to David. The visit to the King of Gat merely indicated incorrigible disloyalty. The man was punished for the sin that had been long since forgiven him!

This doesn’t mean that Shlomo went back on his father’s promise. Shimi was really and truly forgiven. There was no reason he should have died for cursing the king and throwing stones, but Shimi failed to capitalize on his forgiveness. Because he chose to remain a rebel, the king’s forgiveness was of no advantage to him.

The story of Shimi ben Gera illustrates the dynamics of forgiveness in the Torah. If you examine the procedure in the Book of Leviticus, you’ll learn that God’s treatment of damaged relationships goes far beyond what we commonly understand by forgiveness.

In the first seven chapters of Leviticus the various types of offerings, which effect expiation, are listed. Expiation, by the way, means the transfer of responsibility away from the perpetrator. The underlying assumption of the Torah is that human beings are incapable of entirely dealing with the far-reaching consequences of damaged relationships, so God allows responsibility to be transferred to ritual objects, and then from ritual objects to himself. On yom hakippurim, all responsibilities deposited in the sanctuary are transferred to God.

To us it may seem a little weird to treat moral responsibilities as if they were material substances to be manipulated. But this is precisely what Israel’s sanctuary is all about. In Israel’s sanctuary God in infinite condescension limits himself and interacts with human beings on their own level. In Israel’s sanctuary human beings can get a grip on criminal liability and deal with it as if were a material substance that can be physically handled, moved around from room to room, and removed. In the sanctuary Israel gets in touch with spiritual realities by touching them. It’s the hands on approach to knowing God.

After the description of each type of offering the perpetrator brings (by the way, the type of offering brought is a function of the sinner's social status, not the gravity of his or her sin), after the transfer has taken place, the Torah says, “and it shall be forgiven him.” That phrase occurs in Leviticus over and over again, “it shall be forgiven him.”

The Torah is very emphatic about this. When a perpetrator comes to the sanctuary and takes advantage of God’s provision, he or she is truly forgiven. “It shall be forgiven him” is what we call a divine passive. This is a nice Jewish way of avoiding unnecessary repetition of God’s proper name. In plain English, “it shall be forgiven him” means, “God will forgive him.” That’s the grace which the Torah calls expiation, the transfer of criminal liability. There is full assurance of forgiveness in the Torah. And that assurance of forgiveness is still available today to any person. We needn’t entertain any doubts as to whether God is really capable of healing our brokenness.

As human beings we realize that we cannot relive the past and undo the hurt we’ve caused others. But God suffers no such limitations. He’s the Lord of history. As human beings we realize that psychological damage is deeply imprinted in recesses below our conscious control. But God suffers no such limitation. He reads thoughts. This is a fundamental difference between creature and Creator that we must come to grips with: what is absolutely impossible in human terms is very doable on God’s terms. With God all things are possible. The Torah teaches that God is ready to assume responsibility for our wrongdoing and we can avail ourselves that unmatched opportunity for reconciliation and restoration. Normal limitations aren’t a consideration here.

But forgiveness for the perpetrator is not the end of treatment for damaged relationships in the Torah. In Leviticus chapter 8 you learn that expiation must also be made on the altar where the medium of transfer was poured out. In Leviticus chapter 9 you learn that expiation must also be made on the priests who manipulated the medium of transfer. In Leviticus chapter 16 you learn that expiation must be made on the entire sanctuary complex where the transfer took place. Broken relationships have repercussions that reach far beyond the perpetrator, and God treats the damage at every level.

The center-piece of Leviticus is the ritual in chapter 16 for yom hakippurim or the Day of Expiations. The summary of the day’s activity at the end of chapter 16 defines expiation in terms of cleansing. This is the stage in mending relationships that goes beyond forgiveness. Leviticus 16:29, 30.

“And it shall be an eternal statute for you on the seventh month, on the tenth of the month you shall afflict your souls, and any workmanship you shall not do, the citizen or the resident alien who resides in your midst. For on that day he will expiate on you, to cleanse you from all your sins. Before HaShem you shall be clean.”

From the Book of Leviticus we learn there are two major aspects to God’s provision for broken relationships: there’s forgiveness and there’s cleansing. Both are necessary. Both have been provided through the transfer medium of blood. Forgiveness takes place on the individual level. Forgiveness is for the perpetrator. Cleansing and expiation takes place on the social level and the cosmic level. Cleansing is for all those hurt: the victim, the community, the environment, even God himself, because God is hurt most of all by broken relationships. Because he’s a close relative, what hurts us hurts him. The Final Portion of Scripture spells out the assurance that God provides both forgiveness and cleansing. Reading the First Letter of John 1:8, 9.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just that he may forgive us the sins and may cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Unfortunately, in the Christian world we have a mentality that’s eager to accept forgiveness, but less concerned with cleaning. Too many Christians seem to demand instant forgiveness, but they’re not nearly so interested in picking up the pieces. The world has looked at that sort of forgiveness and concluded it can do just as well without.

From the Book of Leviticus we learn that forgiveness and cleansing are not granted instantaneously or simultaneously. Forgiveness is not granted the moment the transferring blood is shed, but only when the blood is taken into the sanctuary. Cleansing is granted only on yom hakappurim, only on the Day of Expiations, and only on condition of the worshiper’s participation.

yom hakappurim puts another angle on forgiveness. yom hakappurim is exclusively for people who’ve already been forgiven. Perpetrators who haven’t explicitly requested forgiveness earlier don’t even come up for review. They’re not on the list. At the end of the Day of Expiations they remain just as liable for the consequences of their actions as they were the day before. Forgiveness and cleanings are processes which demand our cooperation with God. And the consequences of non-participation are serious. I’m reading from Leviticus 23:26-30.

“And HaShem spoke to Moshe, saying, ‘Also on the tenth of this seventh month, it is the Day of Expiations, it shall be a holy convocation for you. And you shall afflict your souls and bring near a food-gift to HaShem. Any workmanship you shall not perform on that same day, for it is the Day of Expiations to expiate on you before HaShem your God. For any soul who is not afflicted on that same day shall be cut off from its people. And any soul which does any workmanship on that same day you shall destroy that soul from among its people.”

Even people who’ve followed the procedure in the first seven chapters of Leviticus, totally forgiven people, can lose out on their cleansing if they refuse to participate in the sanctuary ritual on the Day of Expiations, on yom hakippurim. They end up bearing full responsibility for their sins, despite the fact that once they were totally forgiven. By non-cooperation they forfeit their forgiveness.

God is a little like an ancient Middle Eastern king. With God the bottom line is loyalty. He magnanimously extends clemency to rebels, but there comes a point where subjects who persist in rebellion must be treated like rebels, forgiven or not. This is not due to any lack of compassion on his part; this is simply the price of sovereignty. When King David was challenged for the throne by his own son, he wept openly,

בני אבשלום בני אבשלום מי יתן מותי אני תחתיך אבשלום בני בני.

“My son, Avshalom my son, my son Avshalom, would that I had died instead of you, Avshalom my son, my son!”

But it was a question of one or the other. Two kings cannot both exercise sovereignty over the same chunk of real estate at the same time. When Avshalom openly challenged his father for the throne, he left him no choice.

The God of the universe doesn’t conduct the cosmic Day of Expiations because he’s lacking in love or short on grace or has run out of mercy. He simply must reassert the first principle of the Decalogue: “You shall have no other gods before me.” He cannot give place to other gods and still be himself. If he doesn’t suppress rebels, he essentially abdicates the throne of the universe. Rebels must either be pacified or put down, or they’ll take over the place. When Avshalom rebelled he even took public possession of his father’s concubines on the palace rooftop! Rebels will stop at nothing. If unchecked, they’ll overrun everybody and everything.

The story of Shimi ben Gera has something priceless to teach us about forgiveness. Forgiveness is not the whole story on repairing broken relationships. It’s an essential stage in the process, but it’s not the end of story. Some people hold on to their forgiveness, while others throw it away. Some people make good on their forgiveness, while others ignore it. For some people, forgiveness is a life-transforming experience, while for others forgiveness is a meaningless exchange of words that doesn’t change anything. In the Torah forgiveness is not a mere matter of words, but an opportunity to rebuild a broken relationship.

Some people are like Shimi ben Gera. They beg the King’s forgiveness in order to avoid punishment, but then they never quite get around to switching sides. They never allow the king an opportunity to develop their friendship. They remain the king’s enemy. On them the royal generosity is just wasted.

Earlier on in our service we all recited the shma declaration, the public acknowledgement that we have but one God, that his sovereignty is absolute in our lives, and that we renounce all competing loyalties. The shma is an unsurpassed verbal expression of Israel’s commitment to HaShem for thousands of years, but it needs to be converted into personal loyalty in practical terms.

Some of us may be publicly loyal to the God of Israel, but privately we’re serving other interests. We need the king’s forgiveness. And we need to render him the undivided loyalty he deserves. Obtaining God’s forgiveness is simply a matter of asking, with the sincere intention of siding with him 100%. God doesn’t expect absolute moral perfection from mere mortals, but he does have the right to expect exclusive loyalty. It has to become clear whose side we’re on.

Some of us have already sought forgiveness from a person we’ve damaged. Forgiveness has been granted in order to reverse some of the damage we’ve done. We can’t undo all the hurt, but with the spiritual resources God provides we can repair and rebuild that relationship. Since forgiveness comes from God, it comes with the assurance that real change is possible. We’re not locked into our self-destructive behaviors or their consequences. Because our Creator renews his universe every day, with our permission, he can include us in that renewal.

Forgiveness is a priceless gift. Today of all days, let’s none of us waste the King’s generosity.