Gtcotr/ws061715
1 Kings 1
1 ¶ Now King David was old,
advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm.
·
David
is 69 or 70 years old at this time
·
The
difficulties and hardships of life were more than his years
·
The
Psalms allude to continual maladies of his body and mind
·
The
rape of a daughter and the tragic loss of 4 sons thus far have no doubt served
to wear him down
·
After
a decade of running from King Saul and 4 decades of being King of Israel
·
It
appears the much loved King is now bedfast or near immobile
2 Therefore his servants said
to him, "Let a young woman, a virgin, be sought for our lord the king, and
let her stand before the king, and let her care for him; and let her lie in
your bosom, that our lord the king may be warm."
3 So they sought for a lovely
young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the
Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
4 The young woman was very
lovely; and she cared for the king, and served him; but the king did not know
her.
·
Although
the King did not know her and consummate a relationship with her as wife or
concubine, she nonetheless became his property and as such would pass from
David to the next King in succession.
·
It
was at this time in David’s life, when he was most noticeably weakened and
without strength to lead the nation in battle …
5 ¶ Then Adonijah the son of
Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king"; and he prepared
for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
·
Bless
his heart … I really feel sorry for Adonijah in some ways
·
Adonijah
is the next in line and rightful heir by birthright to his father’s throne
·
The
King has a superior right to choose his own successor but left to run its
natural course without interdiction the crown would legally pass to the eldest
son upon the death of the King … however David was not dead yet and therefore
still had the choice.
·
It
appears Adonijah was coaxed into prematurely promoting himself by Joab, the
captain of the armies of Israel, and by Abiathar the High Priest.
·
Adonijah
is the son of Haggith. Nothing more than a name is known about her but her name
suggests that she was lovely and feminine. Her name means: Festive and Dancer –
perhaps that was her charm.
·
It
is noted that Adonijah was a good looking man who presented well
6 (And his father had not
rebuked him at any time by saying, "Why have you done so?" He was
also very good-looking. His mother had borne him after Absalom.)
·
David
had never disapproved of Adonijah’s behavior or choices in life
·
David
never even asked for an account of any actions he took
·
Never
having been corrected or told he was wrong or asked to give a reason for his
actions by his father, Adonijah no doubt developed a false sense of security
and believed he could do anything he wanted and the King would not challenge or
correct him.
·
This
was to David’s discredit as a good father, just like it was with Eli the priest
who never corrected or disciplined his sons.
7 Then he conferred with Joab
the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they followed and helped
Adonijah.
·
They
no doubt hoped to maintain power and control of the Kingdom
·
However,
it was not the time and they did not confer with the King
·
Classic
examples of self promotion, self provision and self protection
8 But Zadok the priest,
Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty
men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah.
·
It
just wasn’t the right time or the right way …
·
Had
this been David’s decision, they would have supported it
9 And Adonijah sacrificed
sheep and oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En
Rogel; he also invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of
Judah, the king’s servants.
10 But he did not invite
Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or Solomon his brother.
·
It’s
not always about those who are invited to the party
·
Darkness
wants no true light to shine on their parade.
·
Perhaps
we should take more account of who is not being invited …
·
Like
Absalom, Adonijah decided to infer God’s blessings on this and evidently
prayer, sacrifice and support won’t change the will of God
The
account continues as the focus shifts to Solomon, the son of Bathsheba. When
word gets out that Adonijah has promoted himself to become King, those loyal to
King David went to confer with him. Note here that Adonijah had not conferred
with his father the King nor sought his will, his agreement or his blessing;
Joab the second in command of the kingdom had not seen fit to counsel with the
King; Abiathar the High Priest decided not to discuss the realignment of his
loyalties with the one who had initially appointed him to his position … do you
see a pattern here?
Darkness
naturally shuns the light – especially in the conspiracy stage. When those
making these kinds of decisions choose to make them in a vacuum without
fatherly counsel and without the person who gave them their position in the
first place and to whom they are suppose to be loyally submitted and committed
to, there is a problem. Even though Adonijah had the permission and support and
counsel of two others in high positions, one the captain of the whole army and
the other the High Priest in charge of the Ark of the Covenant of God …
Adonijah did not have the permission or counsel or support of his father – a
father who loved him and without whom none of them would have had any position
or any claim …
Saddest
note of all – if only Adonijah had have gone to the King, or Joab or Abiathar,
perhaps the king would have supported Adonijah or could have gained Adonijah’s
support for Solomon and guaranteed his position and his life. Sad to know we
will never know. But what we do know is that Joab and Abiathar weren’t willing
to support David’s choice of Solomon as his successor and neither was Adonijah
ready to relinquish his claims!
When
Nathan the prophet and Bathsheba the mother of Solomon went to see King David
and informed him of their concerns, (v. 18 “So now, look! Adonijah has become king; and
now, my lord the king, you do not know about it.”), and
asked him for his counsel and support, things changed! David proclaimed Solomon
as his successor and confirmed the coronation.
Immediately
upon hearing the news and the crowd’s jubilant response, Adonijah became afraid
and ran to the tabernacle and laid hold of the horns of the altar hoping for
mercy from Solomon that he might not be killed.
1 Kings 1
51 And it was told Solomon, saying, "Indeed
Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; for look, he has taken hold of the horns of
the altar, saying, ’Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his
servant to death with the sword.’"
52 Then Solomon said,
"If he proves himself a worthy man, not one hair of him shall fall to the
earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die."
53 So King Solomon sent them to bring him down
from the altar. And he came and fell down before King Solomon; and Solomon said
to him, "Go to your house."
What
a great story … and, although we hope not and pray not nonetheless we know
what’s going to happen next … Adonijah and Joab and Abiathar just won’t be
content to live and prosper in the place God has placed them and where David
and Solomon have shown them mercy. Nope – they won’t let it go. They are
delusional and foolishly imagine they can outsmart David and Solomon without
concern for God’s will. Some men imagine their will to be God’s will. Greed,
pride, selfish ambition … these have such a hold on those bent on serving their
own interests and not God’s interests.
1 Kings 2
12 ¶ Then Solomon sat on the
throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established.
13 Now Adonijah the son of
Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. So she said, "Do you come
peaceably?" And he said, "Peaceably."
14 Moreover he said, "I
have something to say to you." And she said, "Say it."
15 Then he said, "You
know that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set their expectations on
me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom has been turned over, and has
become my brother’s; for it was his from the LORD.
16 "Now I ask one
petition of you; do not deny me." And she said to him, "Say it."
17 Then he said, "Please
speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me Abishag
the Shunammite as wife."
18 So Bathsheba said, "Very well, I will
speak for you to the king."
19 Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to
speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her and bowed down to
her, and sat down on his throne and had a throne set for the king’s mother; so
she sat at his right hand.
20 Then she said, "I desire one small
petition of you; do not refuse me." And the king said to her, "Ask
it, my mother, for I will not refuse you."
21 So she said, "Let Abishag the Shunammite
be given to Adonijah your brother as wife."
22 And King Solomon answered
and said to his mother, "Now why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for
Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also — for he is my older
brother — for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son
of Zeruiah."
23 Then King Solomon swore by
the LORD, saying, "May God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not
spoken this word against his own life!
24 "Now therefore, as
the LORD lives, who has confirmed me and set me on the throne of David my
father, and who has established a house for me, as He promised, Adonijah shall
be put to death today!"
25 So King Solomon sent by
the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him down, and he died.
And
afterwards Solomon also executed Joab and exiled Abiathar – then had the
kingdom rest and peace and so ended the claim of others to the crown which God
had given Solomon in David’s place.
