The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 kings 1:15-16,
"'As you [Bathsheba] know,' he [Adonijah] said, 'the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother [Solomon]; for it has come to him from the Lord. Now I have one request to make of you. Do not refuse me.'"
This request of Adonijah would be his second attempt to seize the throne from Solomon. Both the Lord and King David had chosen Solomon to succeed him, but Adonijah, Solomon's half-brother, made his first attempt at the throne and was thwarted by the Lord through the prophet Nathan.
Now that Solomon sat on the throne, Adonijah approached Solomon's mother to request the hand of David's concubine, Abishag. I'm not clear as to why Bathsheba granted Adonijah's request and appeared before Solomon to ask it in Adonijah's behalf. Taking a previous king's wife or concubine would be a direct challenge to the current king. Not only that, but Adonijah's first attempt, had it been successful, would have resulted in the certain death of both Solomon and Bathsheba in order to establish Adonijah's firm control of the throne. See 1 Kings 1:12.
In any event, I notice the deception in Adonijah's request to Bathsheba, "the kingdom was mine." Clearly a ploy to demonstrate a (faux) great loss at his expense, redounding to Solomon's (and Bathsheba's) good fortune, in order to apparently secure her willingness to pass along the request.
The kingdom was never Adonijah's! He made an attempt, had gotten important backing from key figures in David's court and secured much support, but the kingdom was not his and never was. It was not his to take and the failure in his attempt merely demonstrated the opposite of his justification for approaching Bathsheba with the request.
I have to assume Bathsheba may not have been a woman wise to the deceptive ways in which evil men can act. Solomon's response to Bathsheba as she passed along Adonijah's request was, "Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? You might as well request the kingdom for him—after all, he is my older brother—yes, for him and for Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah!" 1 Kings 2:22. I might add to Solomon's visceral rejection of Adonijah's request Nathan's observation: Adonijah's ascension to the throne would bring about the certain deaths of both Bathsheba and Solomon to establish it.
All for naught as the Lord had chosen Solomon to take the throne and Adonijah paid dearly for this second, rather ill-conceived attempt, with his life.
I am reminded of Jesus' words in dealing with the likes of Adonijah in this life, ",,, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
"'As you [Bathsheba] know,' he [Adonijah] said, 'the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother [Solomon]; for it has come to him from the Lord. Now I have one request to make of you. Do not refuse me.'"
This request of Adonijah would be his second attempt to seize the throne from Solomon. Both the Lord and King David had chosen Solomon to succeed him, but Adonijah, Solomon's half-brother, made his first attempt at the throne and was thwarted by the Lord through the prophet Nathan.
Now that Solomon sat on the throne, Adonijah approached Solomon's mother to request the hand of David's concubine, Abishag. I'm not clear as to why Bathsheba granted Adonijah's request and appeared before Solomon to ask it in Adonijah's behalf. Taking a previous king's wife or concubine would be a direct challenge to the current king. Not only that, but Adonijah's first attempt, had it been successful, would have resulted in the certain death of both Solomon and Bathsheba in order to establish Adonijah's firm control of the throne. See 1 Kings 1:12.
In any event, I notice the deception in Adonijah's request to Bathsheba, "the kingdom was mine." Clearly a ploy to demonstrate a (faux) great loss at his expense, redounding to Solomon's (and Bathsheba's) good fortune, in order to apparently secure her willingness to pass along the request.
The kingdom was never Adonijah's! He made an attempt, had gotten important backing from key figures in David's court and secured much support, but the kingdom was not his and never was. It was not his to take and the failure in his attempt merely demonstrated the opposite of his justification for approaching Bathsheba with the request.
I have to assume Bathsheba may not have been a woman wise to the deceptive ways in which evil men can act. Solomon's response to Bathsheba as she passed along Adonijah's request was, "Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? You might as well request the kingdom for him—after all, he is my older brother—yes, for him and for Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah!" 1 Kings 2:22. I might add to Solomon's visceral rejection of Adonijah's request Nathan's observation: Adonijah's ascension to the throne would bring about the certain deaths of both Bathsheba and Solomon to establish it.
All for naught as the Lord had chosen Solomon to take the throne and Adonijah paid dearly for this second, rather ill-conceived attempt, with his life.
I am reminded of Jesus' words in dealing with the likes of Adonijah in this life, ",,, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
No comments:
Post a Comment