II Samuel 16:11b-12: “Let him alone, let him curse for the Lord has bidden him. It may be that the Lord will look upon my affliction and that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day.”
“If a man loses pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.” Henry David Thoreau – “Walden”
Watchman Nee during his ministry in China underwent some very strong criticism for his teachings. Most of the criticism was false and his friends kept encouraging him to defend himself. However, Watchman Nee would not defend himself. His response was that every criticism bore some truth and thus he could learn something about himself and his relationship with God if he were to listen closely to the criticism and find that grain of truth. Watchman Nee marched to the pace of a different drummer. The world would say, “Go get ‘em, fight ‘em, defend your reputation.” However, the drum beat Watchman Nee heard was: “Listen closely, find out what is in harmony with Me and you shall draw closer to Me.”
This had to be the lowest time in David’s life. His own son seized the throne, forced David to flee for his life. In one clean swoop David lost his kingdom and now he was fleeing with a price on his head. If things weren’t bad enough, as he is running for his life some Benjamite appears and starts throwing rocks at him and cursing him.
Finally one of David’s servants had about all he could take and said: “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king, you just say the word and I will go lop his head off.” David’s response is very curious. He rebuked this loyal servant and said that God told this guy to curse him, so let him curse. So he continued to let the Benjamite curse him and throw rocks at him.
The key to what is going on in David’s head at this time is in the words: b’ouni b’oni (look upon my affliction). There are almost as many renderings to this as there are English translations. B’ouni literally means in my sinfulness and has the idea of dealing with or overturning sin. B’oni (look) comes from the root word ayin which could mean the physical eye or spiritual insight. Most translations render this as a hope that God will see David’s affliction. Perhaps I am a bit naïve but don’t you think a man after God’s own heart, the king of Israel, would catch God’s attention if he is suddenly kicked off his throne? I find the rendering of b’ouni b’oni as the Lord seeing the sinfulness of my discernment and overturning it to be more appropriate.
The last phrase: “He will requite me good for his cursing this day” would express David’s heart in this matter. The word requite is shuv which means to return or restore. The word good is tov which means to be in harmony with God. David is saying that the cursing of this Benjamite might just restore his harmony with God.
My rendering of this passage would be that David is telling this servant to let the Benjamite curse him because God told him to curse him. The word that is rendered as curse is kalal which means to slight, or belittle someone. So we could render this as, “Let him belittle me because God told him to do it. Perhaps God will show me what is wrong with my spiritual discernment and will restore me to harmony with him through this humbling process.” From the reading of most your standard texts it would appear as if David wants this guy to throw rocks at him as a form of penance. The ambiguous nature of this passage will allow you to read it that way. But the passage could also be rendered to express the idea that David is not wanting rocks to be thrown at him as a form of penance but as a way of God speaking to his heart to restore him to harmony with God. There is no indication that David would suffer any physical harm from the rocks. In fact they were thrown as a symbolic gesture. Perhaps David saw this as a reminder of how God used a stone to defeat a giant. The way you will render this passage will depend upon which drum beat you follow.
Some Christians are like David’s servant. They follow the beat of the drum of the world which says that if you are being unfairly stoned and cursed, stand up, fight it, lop their heads off. Some Christians, like Watchman Nee and David, follow the beat of a different drum, a drum which comes from further off, a drum which looks beyond this natural world and into the spiritual world. A drum which says that in this affliction, this suffering, this persecution, there is a deep message from God, one seeking to restore you to harmony with Him.
When sorrows or trials come, you will begin to hear the beat of a drum telling you to find your way out through natural means. But off in the distance is the beat of a different drum, one which will cause you to lose pace with the world, will cause you to search for that spiritual insight which keeps you out of harmony with God. We as believers walk to the beat of a different drum from the world. This is a drum which beckons us to walk through all the difficulties and trials of life to find harmony with God.
There is another rendering for b’ouni b’oni. We say b’ouni which is interpreted as my affliction comes from the root word ‘avah. Logically you would expect the word to be from the root word ‘avin to dwell or to find refuge. Perhaps David is saying, “Let the old boy throw his rocks, I will find my refuge in the eyes of God.” That is a possibility, but when you examine this word ‘avah deep within its Semitic roots it has the idea of getting married. A woman in the ancient culture was very vulnerable if she were not married. A woman sought to get married to find a refuge in her husband. If a woman were caught to be in an adulterous relationship her husband could order her to be stoned. It would be a form of redemption for her adulterous relationship.
You know what I think? I think David purposely used the word ‘avin with its original intended Semitic origin. He was telling the servant, let this guy throw the rocks and stone me because in my understanding (b’oni) I am married to God (b’ouni) and I have been unfaithful, I have committed adultery with other gods and God sent this man to stone me so I may be cleansed of my adultery in order to be brought into harmony with Him again. If I am stretching the meaning here, I can only say I am not stretching it any further than any other English rendering of this difficult passage.
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