Shimei said God had given David’s kingdom into the hands of his son Absalom. And David said the things Shimei was saying against him were what God had told him to say. So this statement in favor of Absalom being king seems to be coming from God.
But in the chapter after that, the Bible says God influenced Absalom to listen to bad advice, in order to bring disaster on Absalom. So God doesn’t seem to be in favor of Absalom being king.
Possible explanations
- Maybe David was wrong about Shimei. That would mean that David was actually letting Shimei pelt him and his officials with stones for no good reason.
- Or maybe God did tell Shimei to curse David, but not all of Shimei’s information was coming from God. That would mean that Shimei was saying false things about God, and God just let him do it, and didn’t care enough to correct him.
- Or maybe God lied when he told Shimei he was on Absalom’s side.
