kjv@1Kings:1:1@ Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.
kjv@1Kings:1:2@ Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.
kjv@1Kings:1:3@ So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
kjv@1Kings:1:4@ And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.
kjv@1Kings:1:5@ Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
kjv@1Kings:1:6@ And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom.
kjv@1Kings:1:7@ And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him.
kjv@1Kings:1:8@ But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.
kjv@1Kings:1:9@ And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by Enrogel, and called all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants:
kjv@1Kings:1:10@ But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not.
kjv@1Kings:1:11@ Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not?
kjv@1Kings:1:12@ Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.
kjv@1Kings:1:13@ Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then doth Adonijah reign?
kjv@1Kings:1:14@ Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words.
kjv@1Kings:1:15@ And Bathsheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king.
kjv@1Kings:1:16@ And Bathsheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou?
kjv@1Kings:1:17@ And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.
kjv@1Kings:1:18@ And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not:
kjv@1Kings:1:19@ And he hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host: but Solomon thy servant hath he not called.
kjv@1Kings:1:20@ And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
kjv@1Kings:1:21@ Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.
kjv@1Kings:1:22@ And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in.
kjv@1Kings:1:23@ And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.
kjv@1Kings:1:24@ And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?
kjv@1Kings:1:25@ For he is gone down this day, and hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the king's sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save king Adonijah.
kjv@1Kings:1:26@ But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called.
kjv@1Kings:1:27@ Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewed it unto thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?
kjv@1Kings:1:28@ Then king David answered and said, Call me Bathsheba. And she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king.
kjv@1Kings:1:29@ And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress,
kjv@1Kings:1:30@ Even as I sware unto thee by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day.
kjv@1Kings:1:31@ Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.
kjv@1Kings:1:32@ And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.
kjv@1Kings:1:33@ The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:
kjv@1Kings:1:34@ And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.
kjv@1Kings:1:35@ Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.
kjv@1Kings:1:36@ And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king say so too.
kjv@1Kings:1:37@ As the LORD hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.
kjv@1Kings:1:38@ So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David's mule, and brought him to Gihon.
kjv@1Kings:1:39@ And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon.
kjv@1Kings:1:40@ And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them.
kjv@1Kings:1:41@ And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Wherefore is this noise of the city being in an uproar?
kjv@1Kings:1:42@ And while he yet spake, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came: and Adonijah said unto him, Come in; for thou art a valiant man, and bringest good tidings.
kjv@1Kings:1:43@ And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king.
kjv@1Kings:1:44@ And the king hath sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king's mule:
kjv@1Kings:1:45@ And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard.
kjv@1Kings:1:46@ And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom.
kjv@1Kings:1:47@ And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed.
kjv@1Kings:1:48@ And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which hath given one to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing it.
kjv@1Kings:1:49@ And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way.
kjv@1Kings:1:50@ And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
kjv@1Kings:1:51@ And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me to day that he will not slay his servant with the sword.
kjv@1Kings:1:52@ And Solomon said, If he will shew himself a worthy man, there shall not an hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die.
kjv@1Kings:1:53@ So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house.
So we see the type of behind the scene alliances and confederacies that go into the making of a king. Transitions of such power rarely are smooth. Not only is there old blood but new blood that must be settled. The juvenile Solomon must make some king like decisions from the start. Remember that it was the people who wanted a king over them in the first place. Here they have it.
The life and reign of David now comes to an end. It is not all that we will learn about him however, David penned a great many of the Psalms and had an influence in Solomon's collection of Proverbs. There we will hear his inner thoughts from his perspective and find why he is called a man after God's heart. David had many great strengths and a few serious faults. He is portrayed in both as being human. Judging him is like judging ourselves in some respects but, we too easily forget that he also was under the pressures of being king. The history of Israel/Judah is overwhelmed with unrighteous kings. David like no other stands out as good.
Within two chapters we see both the wisdom God tangibly gave Solomon to rule Israel and the spiritual stupidity and disobedience Solomon used in his own life to apply it. The lesson is that wisdom does not always know enough to see through the deceptions of entanglements. Wisdom often out smarts it's own good.
There are many today who believe that faith is blind and misleading, that intellect is the purer of the two human forms. If one could suppress the defilements of faith they say, the truer intellect would shine through. The lesson learned from Solomon is that while the two together are important, the truest wisdom is of not doing what you were directly told not to do; purer faith and intellect is to obey God in both. The proof is what then happened to the unified nation of Israel.
It should be noted here before passing on the importance given to Solomon by the black arts and satanic cults. These gods and goddesses his wives were ensnaring him with were not just unknown idols of antiquity. Even Free Masonry holds Solomon and a "secret knowledge" supposedly found later in his Temple as central to their beliefs.
Jeroboam didn't use cunning words to pursue his people, he used the familiar forms of a counterfeit religion. It seems to have been a fairly easy sell. Words and debate seem highly over rated. Revolution takes on massive currents of it's own. Pinning his cause to a familiar and disapproved symbol of the past worked brilliantly.
No doubt that prophets are held to a higher standard for having been a representative of the name of God. This prophet did as he was told in the first instance but, was tricked into disobeying in the second. He could withstand the request of a king but not the request of another lying prophet. Familiarity and similarity can breed disobedience.
Let's not let this testimony for David go unnoticed. This is perhaps the best explanation of what it means to be a man after God's heart; especially for a ruler.
The first point to be made here is that this is all happening so soon after the building of the Temple. You would think that for some time at least that Israel (now Israel and Judah) would be committed to and blessed by the presence of the Temple. It is like the Temple wasn't even there. Suddenly a rush of groves and high places and alters and golden cows pop up; and the Temple has already been raided by Egypt. I had mentioned previously that the Temple would be a target? Now we are seeing whom would be targeting the Temple.
Made Israel to sin? With all sin that is going on amongst the people now it seems odd that one leader could make the nation to sin all the more, but, that is the importance of a leader. We tend to think of sin in individualistic terms based largely on whether it hurts anybody else. We also tend to think of religion as something personal and private (what harm is to anybody if I sacrifice in the evening to Baal rather than Jehovah?). Sin should be thought of as a fluid pool all around us, the water you swim in is the water I swim in. That the nation can sin, that the leaders of a nation can make us to sin more, these are the things of sin that should be considered fully.
One hundred prophets hidden for protection strategically in two groups of fifty; do we grasp how hostile and desperate this situation is? So there are good and godly people remaining, even prophets. Many are on the run, many are silent, some stand up, a few of the most effective and public are pursued and therefore exiled to shelter. The stage is set for one major prophet Elijah. I guess living the godly life isn't always as easy going and peaceful as we'd like to think it.
What about a leader enables us the people to make more sin? Is it the brute strength of his sinful conviction? Is it the deeds his tight-fisted rulings and decisions impose upon us? Is it that we are suddenly subject to his over powering will? Rarely! Often it is his own ineffectiveness in dealing with the forces at work around him. It is the momentums that grow quiet organically against him that he does not stand to oppose. The factions that press against him that he seeks to appease and quiet, the idolatrous wives that force their own agendas, the decisions not made, the ideals compromised, the groundwork never laid or surrendered, the stabbing of the backs of his close allies for the sake of calming his distant enemies. Sin is not always caused by his strength or conceit but, more often by his weakness. Political strength is often determined by the perceived weaknesses in leadership that other factions intend to exploit. His sin enables a great many more to sin as well.
While Jeroboam was well aware of why God was choosing to divide the nation because of a particular false worship by Solomon kjv@1Kings:11:31-39, it is of interest that he used the occasion to set up a false worship of his own.
2012 - pBiblx2 Field Wise Bible System Version 2.0.9d - GPL3
