The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 12, Solomon Asks The Lord For Wisdom

In the first half of Chapter 3 the Lord invites Solomon to ask Him for big things. Solomon asks for wisdom and the Lord is pleased with this request. But before we arrive at that portion of today's text the author provides us with some additional information about the early years of Solomon's reign.

"Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem." (1 Kings 3:1) It was common in ancient times as part of a political alliance for a king to marry a close family member of another king's family. Pharaoh's daughter is the first of Solomon's many foreign wives. The Bible does not prohibit a man from marrying a foreign wife if she is willing to convert to the God of Israel. We don't know whether Pharaoh's daughter forsook the false gods of Egypt and gave her heart to the one true God but most Bible scholars appear to hold that opinion. 

Many of Solomon's later wives did not convert to the God of Israel, or perhaps they mixed the worship of the Lord with the worship of pagan deities, for in Chapter 11 we'll learn that he built pagan altars to please his foreign wives and that he was even drawn into dabbling in idolatry himself. However, Chapter 11 names the gods to whom he built altars and none of them were Egyptian gods. This has led scholars to believe his Egyptian wife converted to the God of Israel, especially since Solomon married her during the time in his life when he was still maintaining a faithful relationship with the Lord. 

Before the temple was built the people were still making sacrifices and offerings on the hilltops instead of solely at the tent of the Lord. "The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the Lord." (1 Kings 3:2) This is in violation of Leviticus 17:8-9 where the Lord told the people that none of them, including foreign converts, was to make an offering or sacrifice anywhere other than at the doorway of the tent (the tabernacle) of the Lord. David brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem a long time ago and it is housed in a tent there in Solomon's day but the tabernacle is at Gibeon. Without the ark and the tabernacle in the same place, the people have not yet come to regard Jerusalem as the central location of worship for the nation. We don't find the Lord rebuking the people for still sacrificing at various altars they've set up around the nation and this could be because none of the kings of Israel have so far reunited the ark and the tabernacle to create a center of religious activity at which sacrifices are made. Some people are sacrificing at Jerusalem, some at Gibeon, and some at hilltop altars dedicated to the Lord. 

"Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places." (1 Kings 3:3) Solomon himself has utilized hilltop altars and I presume these are not pagan altars that were repurposed for use in the worship of the Lord but that they are new altars set up in the Lord's name. Again, this is in violation of the Lord's command, but we don't see the Lord reprimanding Solomon for it. 

Solomon makes a special trip to Gibeon to offer an enormous number of sacrifices to the Lord. "The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar." (1 Kings 3:4) We've already been told that Solomon loves the Lord and demonstrates his love for the Lord. He may not yet be making his offerings and sacrifices at a centralized location, and he may not yet be commanding the people to do likewise, but his heart at this point in time is devoted to the Lord. The Lord knows Solomon's heart and invites him to ask great things of Him. "At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, 'Ask for whatever you want Me to give you." (1 Kings 3:5) 

Some scholars interpret the Lord's words as a blank check. They feel Solomon could have asked for literally anything (anything that wasn't sinful) and the Lord would have granted it. What I think is happening here is that the Lord knows what's troubling Solomon the most and He says to him, "Pour out your heart to Me. Tell Me what you're concerned about. Ask Me what you want to ask Me." The Lord is never surprised by anything. Solomon isn't going to ask Him for something that catches Him off guard. The Lord knows that Solomon's primary concern is that he is too young and too inexperienced to lead the nation wisely and to discern innocence from guilt in the capital cases that will come before him. The Lord is aware that these thoughts are heavy on Solomon's heart. 

Solomon is surprised and humbled by the Lord's invitation. Even though wisdom has been on his mind, has he not ever prayed for wisdom before? It appears not. It could be that he loves the Lord and desires to serve Him but has not yet developed a close personal relationship with Him. In that case, it may be that Solomon has never felt bold enough to present his request to the Lord. So the Lord comes to him instead and Solomon is filled with grateful praise for the Lord's goodness. "Solomon answered, 'You have shown great kindness to Your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to You and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.'" (1 Kings 3:6) He thanks the Lord for showing him the same kindness He showed to David in the past.

Encouraged to say what is on his heart, Solomon reveals what has been troubling him. "Now, Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give Your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?" (1 Kings 3:7-9) Solomon says, "This job is too big for me! This job is too big for anyone to perform in a godly way without Your help. I want to honor You by leading Your people in the right ways. I want to be able to discern the truth when cases are brought before me. I am young and inexperienced. The weight of the responsibility of leading these people is so heavy it threatens to crush anyone who is under such a load. Without Your guidance and strength, I will fail. But with Your help I will be able to do good things for the nation."

The Lord is not surprised by Solomon's request. He knows what is uppermost in Solomon's mind. But He also knows that many kings of the earth would have asked for something different if He had extended the same invitation to them. They would have asked for blessings upon themselves instead of asking to be a blessing to their people. "The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, 'Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for---both wealth and honor---so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in obedience to Me and keep My decrees and My commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.'" (1 Kings 3:10-14) 

We don't know how old Solomon was when he became king. Modern theologians tend to place his age at his coronation at anywhere from eighteen to twenty but in times past it has been suggested that he was as young as twelve or thirteen. We will find him reigning for forty years which means he did not live as long as his father David did, for even if he were at the upper estimate of twenty at his coronation, this means he only lived to age sixty instead of age seventy like his father. The Lord promised him a long life "if you walk in obedience to Me and keep My decrees and My commands" but Solomon's heart won't be as steadfastly faithful to the Lord as David's heart was. The author of 1 Kings will tell us that his many wives "led him astray" and that "he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done". (1 Kings 11:4,6) This is likely the reason he does not live an especially long life. 

But here in 1 Kings 3 he has not yet taken all those foreign wives and his heart still belongs to the Lord alone. He is still living by a principle we'll find the Lord Jesus recommending in the New Testament: "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33) Solomon made a godly request of the Lord in asking for His help to lead the nation. He is seeking the Lord's kingdom and His righteousness. The Lord is pleased with this request and gives him many blessings in addition to granting his request. Solomon goes home to Jerusalem in a spirit of rejoicing. "Then Solomon awoke---and he realized it had been a dream. He returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord's covenant and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he gave a feast for all his court." (1 Kings 3:15)

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 11, Shimei Executed

In the remainder of Chapter 2 we find Solomon dealing with someone his father warned him about: Shimei the Benjamite.

We first encountered Shimei in 2 Samuel 16 when David left Jerusalem ahead of the arrival of Absalom and his supporters. David did this so the city would not be besieged and its citizens would not suffer casualties, plus he needed to protect his own life and the lives of his family members. As David and those with him traveled toward safety at the fortified city of Mahanaim, Shimei came out and cursed David and his men, throwing rocks and dirt at them as they wearily trudged down the roadway. Shimei was happy to hear that Absalom was attempting to usurp the throne because, as a man of the clan of the late King Saul, he felt David had no right to the throne. I presume he wanted a man of the house of Saul on the throne instead. David's men offered to kill Shimei for cursing the king but David showed him mercy on that day and he showed him mercy again on the day Shimei met him as he prepared to cross the Jordan on his way back to his throne in Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 19. David promised Shimei he would not take his life. But he did not promise him that no one else would ever take his life if he performed further acts of wickedness. 

Before David passed away he advised Solomon: "Do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom; you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood." (1 Kings 2:9) David felt Shimei could never be trusted and that he represented a threat to Solomon, likely because David was aware of things Shimei was still saying or doing in support of the house of Saul. We don't find any information that Shimei was involved in Adonijah's conspiracies but for some reason---for good reason I am sure---Solomon chooses to place Shimei under a type of quite comfortable and reasonable house arrest. "Then the king sent for Shimei and said to him, 'Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. The day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley, you can be sure you will die; your blood will be on your own head.'" (1 Kings 2:36-37)

You may be familiar with the expression, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Keeping Shimei close to the palace allows Solomon to monitor his activities. If Shimei were allowed to go back to his estate at Bahurim in the territory of Benjamin he would be more difficult to keep an eye on. Shimei realizes that Solomon could put him to death for his past treatment of King David (indeed, if Solomon were a pagan king he probably would do just that) and he seems grateful at first for Solomon's mercy. Solomon is allowing him to build his own home and, since Shimei is quite wealthy, this means he can live in a great deal of comfort in Jerusalem. He just can't leave Jerusalem and its surrounding area because he is to regard it as a sanctuary city, in a manner of speaking, and a man required to reside in a sanctuary city was safe as long as he did not go outside the borders of the prescribed area. "Shimei answered the king, 'What you say is good. Your servant will do as my lord the king has said.' And Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time." (1 Kings 2:38)

Shimei resides in the capital city of Israel in comfort in a fine home for three years and obeys Solomon's orders never to go past the Kidron Valley. But then two of his slaves run away and he decides to go after them himself. Whether these men run away simply to be free from slavery or whether they run away because Shimei treats them cruelly, we are not told, but I wouldn't be surprised to know Shimei is an unkind master to them. "But three years later, two of Shimei's slaves ran off to Achish son of Maakah, king of Gath, and Shimei was told, 'Your slaves are in Gath.' At this, he saddled his donkey and went to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves. So Shimei went away and brought the slaves back from Gath." (1 Kings 2:39-40) 

"When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, the king summoned Shimei and said to him, 'Did I not make you swear by the Lord and warn you, 'On the day you leave to go anywhere else, you can be sure you will die? At that time you said to me, 'What you say is good. I will obey.' Why then did you not keep your oath to the Lord and obey the command I gave you?'" (1 Kings 2:41-43) Shimei not only gave his solemn promise to Solomon but also gave his solemn promise to the Lord and took an oath in His name. If this vow means nothing to him, what does? If he's incapable of keeping his word to the Lord or to the Lord's anointed king in such a small matter, how can he be trusted in more important matters? He does not respect King Solomon and feels it unnecessary to keep the oath he made to him even though the oath was made in the name of the Lord. He recognizes no one's authority over him and has no regard for the laws of God or man. A person like this is very dangerous. 

If Shimei made any reply to the charges against him, the author did not record his words. I think it's likely he made no reply at all because he's clearly guilty of violating a sacred oath and breaking the law. His inability to keep his word has sealed his fate. Solomon did not want to have to put him to death and would not have put him to death if Shimei had fulfilled his oath. But since Shimei is too wicked to keep an oath, Solomon carries out the penalty for breaking it. All the blame for Shimei's death is on Shimei and no one else. "The king also said to Shimei, 'You know in your heart all the wrong you did to my father David. Now the Lord will repay you for your wrongdoing. But King Solomon will be blessed, and David's throne will remain secure before the Lord forever.' Then the king gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down and he died." (1 Kings 2:44-46a)

At this point any conspiracy against the throne has been successfully dealt with. Adonijah has been executed. Abiathar has been defrocked and banished. Joab has been executed. Shimei, who may or may not have taken part in the conspiracy but who certainly does not recognize Solomon's authority over him, has been executed. No one is coming forward now to present themselves as a rival to King Solomon. "The kingdom was now established in Solomon's hands." (1 Kings 2:46b)

Solomon is a very young king, believed to be anywhere from eighteen to twenty, and he lacks political experience. His father cannot guide him and some of his father's advisors proved themselves to be traitors. Solomon needs help from someone whose advice is always one hundred percent correct, so in tomorrow's study we find him praying to the Lord for the wisdom to lead the nation.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 10, Abiathar Banished; Joab Executed

Adonijah lost his life in yesterday's study due to his continuing ambitions toward the crown of Israel. We briefly mentioned the theory that his chief supporters are still plotting with him in a conspiracy, for Solomon was willing to allow Adonijah, Joab, and Abiathar to continue living in Jerusalem---to continue living at all!---after attempting to prevent the kingship from coming to him. Kings of other nations would have had them put to death on the spot but Solomon offered them mercy if they would pledge their loyalty to him and stand by their pledge. But when Adonijah asked to marry his late father's widow Abishag, Solomon understood this request as a threat to his rule since taking a king's wife or wives constituted laying claim on everything the king had. Solomon had promised Adonijah mercy if he proved himself a worthy man but said that "if evil is found in him, he will die". (1 Kings 1:52) Evil was found in him and it sealed his fate.

I think we can safely assume (and it is the opinion of a number of mainstream Bible scholars) that David's former general Joab and Abiathar the priest were still working to replace Solomon with Adonijah. If that were not the case, it's difficult to explain why Solomon suddenly treats them as he does after Adonijah's request reveals he has not changed his heart toward Solomon. We are not told exactly what these men were doing to help Adonijah at this time but Solomon calls for Abiathar the priest because, no doubt, he has some information that the priest has been advising and encouraging Adonijah in his efforts to overthrow Solomon.

As we closed yesterday's study we found Benaiah, the captain of the king's guard, striking down Adonijah for treason upon Solomon's orders. Solomon next turns his attention to the priest Abiathar who helped Adonijah in his attempted coup of Chapter 1 by anointing him king against the Lord's will and against David's will. I believe Abiathar was aware of and involved in Adonijah's latest plans against Solomon in Chapter 2, which is why Solomon pronounces this judgment upon him: "To Abiathar the priest the king said, 'Go back to your fields in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not put you to death now, because you carried the ark of the Sovereign Lord before my father David and shared all my father's hardships.' So Solomon removed Abiathar from the priesthood of the Lord, fulfilling the word the Lord had spoken at Shiloh about the house of Eli." (1 Kings 2:26-27) 

Abiathar is guilty of treason but because he was of great help to David in times past, Solomon banishes him instead of executing him. Another reason Solomon shows him mercy is because of his respect for the office of priest and his respect for the Lord and for the ark of His covenant. Rather than putting Abiathar to death for his crimes, he exiles him to one of the cities of the priests and expects him to remain there and stay out of trouble. If he does not stay out of trouble, Solomon reserves the right to put him to death at a later time.

In 1 Samuel 2 we found an unnamed prophet coming to the high priest Eli and rebuking him for the sins he was allowing his sons Hophni and Phinehas to commit. These men were very corrupt priests who were defrauding the people who came to the house of God. They were also sleeping with some of the women who served at the house of God. Eli was aware of their sins but had only taken them to task with words and not with actions. If they were not willing to listen to his words and change their ways, he had a sacred duty to remove them from the priesthood but he did not. So the Lord said that both his sons would die soon on the same day and that in time the Lord would no longer allow a man from Eli's family line to serve as high priest. Abiathar is descended from Eli who was descended from the first high priest Aaron through Aaron's son Eleazar. Solomon's removal of Abiathar as high priest is going to disqualify any of Abiathar's descendants from serving as high priest, thus fulfilling the prophecy of 1 Samuel 2. The priesthood will now follow only the family line of Zadok who has been serving for many years as co-high priest with Abiathar. Zadok is also a descendant of Aaron but not through the Eleazar/Eli line. He is of the family tree of Aaron's son Ithamar. 

When Joab hears that Adonijah is dead and that Abiathar has been demoted and banished, he thinks he's the next person Solomon will be looking for. "When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah though not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the Lord and took hold of the horns of the altar." (1 Kings 2:28) He flees to the altar for refuge and I think his need for refuge is further proof that he has continued to be involved in a plot with Adonijah and Abiathar to help Adonijah usurp the crown. When the author says he "conspired" with Adonijah, I don't think he means Joab conspired with Adonijah only on the day Adonijah attempted to have himself declared king. I think it means he's been continuing to conspire with him. Solomon previously extended mercy to Adonijah, Abiathar, and Joab by taking no action against them. We were told that Adonijah and all of David's officials bowed to Solomon and pledged their allegiance to him, so I'm assuming those officials included Joab and Abiathar. Solomon was willing to leave them alone if they were sincere in their loyalty and could be trusted to make no further threats against him. But their pledges of loyalty were lies and their continued support of Adonijah broke the terms of the asylum that was previously granted to them. 

Something interesting to consider is that Solomon may not have known for certain that Joab was still conspiring with Adonijah until Joab fled to the altar. It doesn't seem as if Solomon had men out looking for Joab until he hears that Joab is seeking refuge in the house of the Lord. Seeking sanctuary indicates that Joab is guilty of a crime worthy of death and, if Solomon did not already know for sure that Joab was still trying to overthrow him, Joab's own actions testify against him that he has committed further acts of treason. It's ironic that the very act of seeking sanctuary proves Joab's guilt and seals his fate. It was a common custom in ancient Israel and in other ancient cultures for a person to take hold of the horns of a religious altar as a way to obtain asylum, but this asylum was only guaranteed until the person's legal case was heard and judged. If the king or judge ruled in his favor, his life was spared. But if the evidence showed he was guilty of the capital crime for which he was standing trial, he was executed. Grabbing hold of the horns of the altar at that time would not protect him from the consequences of his crime. If Joab were not guilty of treason (for the second time) he would not have fled to the altar. He has always been a very brave man and if he were innocent of any further wrongdoing after the incident in Chapter 1 then I believe he would have had no fear of being accused of crimes he didn't commit. But the fact that he runs to the altar, when no one appears to be seeking him or accusing him of anything, proves he is guilty. (As Solomon will say later in Proverbs 28:1, "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.") Solomon judges Joab's case accordingly. "King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord and was beside the altar. Then Solomon ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada, 'Go, strike him down!'" (1 Kings 2:29)

Benaiah goes but he doesn't want to shed any blood inside the sanctuary. "So Benaiah entered the tent of the Lord and said to Joab, 'The king says, 'Come out!' But he answered, 'No, I will die here.' Benaiah reported to the king, 'This is how Joab answered me.' Then the king commanded Benaiah, 'Do as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so clear me and my whole family of the guilt of the innocent blood that Joab shed. The Lord will repay him for the blood he shed, because without my father David knowing it he attacked two men and killed them with the sword. Both of them---Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel's army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah's army---were better men and more upright than he. May the guilt of their blood rest on the head of Joab and his descendants forever. But on David and his descendants, his house and his throne, may there be the Lord's peace forever.'" (1 Kings 2:30-33) Joab killed Abner and Amasa in cold blood while they were on David's side. Previously they had not been on David's side but after they began fighting for David's army Joab waited for an opportunity to carry out calculated, premeditated murder. This is why Solomon can say that Abner and Amasa were better men than Joab; they would not have done what Joab did. The only men Abner and Amasa ever killed were in battle, not in cold blood.

"So Benaiah son of Jehoida went up and struck down Joab and killed him, and he was buried at his home out in the country. The king put Benaiah son of Jehoiada over the army in Joab's position and replaced Abiathar with Zadok the priest." (1 Kings 2:34-35) Benaiah wasn't seeking Joab's position as general over King Solomon's army. He was just carrying out the orders of his king faithfully, as usual. But Solomon is a rewarder of those who are faithful to him and he promotes Benaiah from his job as captain of the king's guard to commander of the entire army. 

The bloodshed is not over yet. Just as David advised Solomon not to allow Joab to go down to the grave in peace (in other words, to die in his old age of natural causes), David advised Solomon to take care of another discontented scoundrel: Shimei. This is the man who cursed David and threw rocks and dirt on him on a day of deep distress for David. Shimei is a Benjamite of the clan of the late King Saul and although he later apologized to David and begged for mercy, David knew he could be trusted to be obedient to Solomon.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 9, Adonijah Is Executed On Solomon's Orders

In Sunday's study we found Adonijah going to Bathsheba to gain her support for a request he wanted to make of Solomon: he wanted the hand of Abishag in marriage. Abishag is the young woman David's servants procured for him as a wife during the final days of his life so he could have someone to attend to his medical needs (some of these medical needs were likely too private for him to be comfortable with a servant performing them, such as bathing him, helping him to go the restroom, and so forth) and to sleep in the same bed at night because he could no longer stay warm. The marriage between David and Abishag was never consummated sexually but it was a legal marriage and she is now his widow. But Adonijah cannot ask her for her hand in marriage because in ancient cultures the wives and concubines of a deceased or deposed king were under the control of the new king. This doesn't mean the new king had to have any sort of relationship with these women, though in most pagan cultures they probably did, but it means Abishag is not free to make her own decisions. The only way she can ever marry another man is if King Solomon releases her from the royal household. In Israel it was unlawful for a man to have relations with or marry his father's wife but perhaps Adonijah felt there were extenuating circumstances in this particular case because his father had never had relations with Abishag. 

Bathsheba is willing to go to her son Solomon on Adonijah's behalf to present his request. Some scholars think she knows exactly what Adonijah is up to but listens to his words in an attitude of courtesy and compassion as if she believes them. This gives her the opportunity to get an idea of the scope of his plans so she can go to Solomon to let him know Adonijah still seeks the crown. From the remainder of today's text I don't feel it's clear that she is aware of the political implications of Adonijah's request. Women of the royal harem lived very protected lives, so it's understandable if she doesn't see that Adonijah is revealing ulterior motives when he asks for the widow of the former king, but on the other hand she knows that David's son Absalom slept with ten of David's concubines to make the political statement that he intended to take his father's place. It could be that she genuinely thinks Adonijah is in love with Abishag and that if Solomon gives her to Adonijah he will never trouble Solomon again. Or it could be that she feels deeply sorry for Adonijah and that her pity for him has blinded her to the fact that he hasn't accepted his loss of the crown. Or another theory is that she hopes a favorable answer from Solomon will smooth things over between the two half-brothers and mend all the rifts within the family, for all of the other sons of David attended the feast Adonijah held for himself when he declared himself king. This indicates they supported Adonijah over Solomon. But if Solomon and Adonijah can be on friendly terms with each other, the other sons of David will be encouraged to follow their example.

Whatever the reason Bathsheba agrees to take Adonijah's petition to the king, we find her doing so now. "When Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, the king stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought for the king's mother, and she sat down at his right hand." (1 Kings 2:19) Solomon loves and respects his mother and shows her a great honor when he---the king---stands up and bows to her. Then he has a throne brought for her and placed at his right hand which is the place of highest honor. 

"'I have one small request to make of you,' she said. 'Do not refuse me.' The king replied, 'Make it, my mother. I will not refuse you.' So she said, 'Let Abishag the Shunammite be given in marriage to your brother Adonijah.'" (1 Kings 2:20-21) This is not what Solomon was expecting to hear! Some scholars believe Bathsheba presents Adonijah's petition in a sarcastic tone when she states it is a "small request". I am not so sure about that. The way verses 20 and 21 are worded sounds as if she is really trying to help Adonijah and thinks Solomon's granting of his request will facilitate peace within the royal family. 

Solomon was prepared to be indulgent with his mother to grant some sort of personal favor she wanted. But he cannot grant Adonijah's request. His words seem to indicate his mother doesn't realize the significance of what Adonijah has asked, so he makes it plain. "King Solomon answered his mother, '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) Solomon knows Adonijah isn't alone in the plot to usurp the throne. Adonijah still has the support of Abiathar the priest and of Joab the son of David's sister. There is a conspiracy afoot with Adonijah, Abiathar, Joab, and possibly many others involved. We can safely assume this is true because later in our chapter we'll find Abiathar being banished to his farmland and Joab executed. The only reason Abiathar is banished instead of executed is because he was of help to David in times past and because, out of respect for the ark of the Lord, Solomon spares him because he used to carry the ark of the Lord. 

Solomon moves immediately to charge Adonijah with treason and execute him for it. "Then King Solomon swore by the Lord: 'May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if Adonijah does not pay with his life for this request! And now, as surely as the Lord lives---He who has established me securely on the throne of my father David and has founded a dynasty for me as He promised---Adonijah shall be put to death today!' So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he struck down Adonijah and he died." (1 Kings 2:23-25) The faithful Benaiah, who is captain of the king's guard, wastes no time in carrying out the king's orders. As we continue on in Chapter 2 tomorrow we'll find him carrying out further orders to ensure the threat to the crown has been eliminated.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 8, Solomon's Half-Brother Adonijah Hatches Another Plot Against The Throne

If we thought we'd heard the last of the treasonous Adonijah, we were wrong. When David ordered Solomon anointed as king, Adonijah had no choice but to temporarily abandon his attempts to gain the throne. Adonijah bowed to his brother as his king while David still lived. But David, Solomon's strongest supporter and protector, is dead and buried now. It becomes clear to us in today's study that Adonijah has only been pretending to accept the kingship of Solomon. He still considers himself the best candidate and the most legitimate candidate. He assumes a large number of the citizens of Israel feel the same way. Ancient Israel was not a democracy but in Adonijah's mind he would win the majority of the votes if an election were held to choose between himself and Solomon. 

In order to further reinforce his claim to the throne, he announces his desire to be married to one of his late father's wives. As we've discussed before, in ancient times if a man took his father's wife or wives (whether his father was living or dead) symbolized taking his father's place in every way. You'll recall that Absalom slept with ten of David's concubines as a way of making the political statement that he intended to take his father's place on the throne of Israel. 

Adonijah doesn't come to Solomon to ask for one of David's wives. He goes instead to the queen mother to garner her support and to get her to ask Solomon for him. "Now Adonijah, the son of Haggith, went to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother. Bathsheba asked him, 'Do you come peacefully?' He answered, 'Yes, peacefully.' Then he added, 'I have something to say to you.' 'You may say it,' she replied. 'As you know,' he said, 'the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the Lord. Now I have one request to make of you. Do not refuse me.' 'You may make it,' she said. So he continued, 'Please ask King Solomon---he will not refuse you---to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.' 'Very well,' Bathsheba replied. 'I will speak to the king for you.'" (1 Kings 2:13-18)

There's a lot to unpack here, as the saying goes. Adonijah has deceived himself where his popularity is concerned. He states that "the kingdom was mine" which was never true at any time. David had made it plain to everyone that his chosen successor was Solomon. As the oldest living son of King David, Adonijah felt he should have been regarded by one and all as the crown prince of Israel, but David had never made any secret of it that the Lord had told him Solomon was to succeed him as king. It was widely known that Solomon was the crown prince of Israel, not Adonijah or any of David's other sons. Adonijah has never wanted to accept this fact and he imagines that Israel's citizens don't want to accept it either. He claims, "All Israel looked to me as their king," but this is not so. He does have supporters but the number of them is not known. All we know is that Joab the general, Abiathar the priest, Adonijah's brothers other than Solomon, and other guests attended the feast Adonijah held for himself on the day he declared himself king. These likely don't represent the total number of people who feel the crown should rightfully have been passed on to Adonijah, but I would be surprised if Adonijah could have won more than 25% of the vote if an election were held. David was a good king for the people and they loved him. If David said Solomon was the right man for the job---chosen by God---that was all most of the them needed to hear to place their support behind Solomon. 

Adonijah pretends to Bathsheba as if he has come to terms with the fact that the kingship has been given to Solomon "from the Lord". He's putting on a front of being a spiritually-minded man. He's also appealing to Bathsheba's sympathy. He wants her to feel sorry for him. He wants her to think he's in love with the woman whose hand in marriage he wants to gain. If we fully dissect his words above with all their nuances, it's as if he's saying something like this: "I will not oppose the Lord. It is His choice to have Solomon reign from our father's throne. So be it. But since I grew up counting on the kingship coming to me, and since it was basically mine until only a few days ago, you can imagine how discouraged I'm feeling right now. I'd like to ask for a consolation prize. It's a small request, really, but Solomon won't grant it if I go to him myself. He is still holding it against me that I tried to keep him from being crowned king of Israel. But if you make the request on my behalf, he will not refuse it, for you are his dear mother and he cannot refuse you anything! I have fallen in love with our late father's wife Abishag and would like to have her as my wife. But though she is widowed now, I cannot ask for her hand in marriage since everything that was David's is now Solomon's. I am compelled to ask Solomon for her hand in marriage, only I dare not go into his presence. Would you do it for me? I will never ask for anything from Solomon again. If this request is granted, I will be a very happy man. My hopes for the kingship have been dashed and having this woman as my wife is the only other thing in life I've ever really wanted. Please appeal to Solomon on my behalf."

While there are some scholars who give Adonijah the benefit of the doubt by suggesting there are no political motives involved in his request (they think he really does feel affection for Abishag), they are definitely in the minority. Abishag is the last woman David ever married and the two of them never consummated their marriage. She is the youngest of all of David's wives and concubines, as far as we know, and her youth means she is the most likely of all of his wives to be able to produce an heir for Adonijah. The wives and concubines David married in his early years as king are beyond childbearing age by now, for he reigned for forty years. So Adonijah is asking for the youngest, most physically attractive, most fertile of all the women of the royal harem. He's asking for something David never even experienced, since David was in far too ill health to have relations with Abishag. If Solomon agrees to Adonijah's request, Adonijah will be strengthening his claim to the throne by having as his chief wife a woman who was the former king's wife. He will further be able to strengthen his claim if he can sire a male heir with this woman, especially if he fathers a son before Solomon does, because this will prove he is virile enough to produce descendants of David who can continue David's family line. 

In pagan cultures it was a common practice for the incoming king to take over his father's harem and sire children with as many of them as he could as quickly as he could. This symbolized the taking over of everything his father had, including the kingdom. This ensured the royal family line would continue. Solomon is still quite young, as we'll soon learn, and not yet married. There is no proof as of yet that he is capable of siring an heir. Marrying quickly and having a son quickly would give Adonijah something to brag about and something with which to convince people he is capable of keeping the royal line of Israel going on down through the generations. 

But Solomon will not grant Adonijah's request. He isn't fooled, as Bathsheba is, into thinking there's a love connection between Adonijah and Abishag. He recognizes Adonijah's power play for what it is. In tomorrow's passage we'll find him not only refusing the request but treating it as another attempt to commit treason against the crown, which it no doubt is. Treason was a capital crime in ancient Israel and in most or all of the ancient kingdoms of the world of those days. Solomon will order Adonijah to be executed.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 7, David's Final Words To Solomon; David's Death

Today we will study David's final instructions to his son Solomon and then we must say goodbye to David as he leaves this life to be with the Lord.

Yesterday he charged Solomon to walk in the ways of the Lord all the days of his life. He stressed how imperative it is to maintain a close relationship with God. Today he discusses several characters with whom he has had interactions (some good, some bad) and how Solomon must deal with them. 

"Now you yourself know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me---what he did to the two commanders of Israel's armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood he stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. Deal with him according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace." (1 Kings 2:5-6) Both Abner and Amasa thought Joab was at peace with them. He pretended to accept their presence in David's army and then stabbed them in cold blood. 

I feel that verses 5-6 can be used as proof that David doesn't know Joab stabbed Absalom too since he makes no mention of it. But I think David blamed him for Absalom's death anyway, since he had given strict orders to Joab, all the army commanders, and all the troops that if Absalom fell into their hands during the battle he was to be captured alive and unharmed. As the general, Joab bore more responsibility than any other man in the army for making sure David's orders were obeyed. So although I don't believe David knows Joab killed Absalom himself, he feels he is indirectly responsible. I want to point out that there are Bible scholars and commentators who believe David does know that Joab either killed Absalom himself or ordered him to be killed but that he doesn't mention it because it wasn't a cold-blooded murder, such as in the cases of Abner and Amasa. Absalom could legitimately be said to have been killed in battle. He could legitimately be said to have been executed for treason. Joab went against David's orders, which he shouldn't have done, but Joab was right in thinking Absalom needed to be taken out of the picture to prevent him from being a continuing threat. Absalom and his men were out to kill David; that was made plain to us by the battle plans Absalom approved. It could be that by the time David nears the end of his natural life, he realizes that the killing of Absalom was justified and that he should never have ordered the men to spare him. 

David also realizes, near the end of his life, that he has been too lenient with his nephew Joab. Theirs has been a complicated relationship because Joab is his nephew and until lately Joab has been fiercely loyal to David, though not always obedient to David because he has a tendency to do what he thinks is in the best interests of David and the nation. But as David approached his final days on earth, Joab opposed his choice of successor, choosing to place his support behind the usurper Adonijah instead of behind Solomon who he knew was David's choice and the Lord's choice. This makes David consider Joab a serious threat to Solomon. David, like no one else, understands how big of a threat Joab represents. He knows the force of Joab's personality. He knows Joab's shrewdness and ruthlessness. He knows how much the soldiers of Israel respect Joab and how much influence Joab is capable of having on them. Joab could be a formidable enemy to Solomon if he chooses to be an enemy. After all, he can't even be fully trusted when he's a friend. David cautions Solomon to use great wisdom when dealing with Joab and adds that, if he's smart, he won't allow Joab to die a natural death but will have him executed for treason since he conspired with Adonijah to wrest the crown from Solomon. Solomon will take David's words regarding Joab to heart and will do as he says.

Next David speaks of someone who deserves being rewarded. "But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead and let them be among those who eat at your table. They stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom." (1 Kings 2:7) We first met the elderly Barzillai when he came down to Mahanaim to support David and the people with him when they fled Jerusalem ahead of Absalom and his troops. Barzillai, along with other men, brought food, cookware, and bedding to Mahanaim because they knew David and the people needed these items very much. We met Barzillai again after Absalom's rebellion had been put down. He was among those who came to the Jordan River to escort the king back across and see him on his way to Jerusalem. David was so impressed by the great efforts the feeble Barzillai made on his behalf that he invited him to come live out the rest of his days in comfort and splendor at the palace. Barzillai thanked him for his offer but refused it, saying he was in too ill health to be of any use to the king and he did not want to accept the king's hospitality if he could not provide valuable services in return. But he asked him to take his son, Kimham, to the palace instead. David did so and instructs Solomon to always show kindness to "the sons" of Barzillai. I don't know whether Barzillai had more sons than Kimham or whether David is using the term "the sons" to mean the successive generations of Barzillai's family. In the Bible we find the term "the sons" being used both for a man's literal sons and for all his direct male descendants. An example of this is the way Jesus Christ is referred to as "the son of David". Jesus is not literally the son of David but is a direct male descendant of David.

The final person David gives instructions about is Shimei, the Benjamite of the clan of the late King Saul who cursed David and threw pebbles and dirt at him as he made his way from Jerusalem to Mahanaim. At that time Shimei thought David was going to be successfully deposed as king by Absalom and he was glad of it. But after Absalom died in battle and David was crossing the Jordan to return to Jerusalem to resume his reign, Shimei realized he'd made a grave mistake. He hastily ran down to the Jordan River to bow before David and apologize to him. David's men wanted Shimei put to death but David said it was a day for rejoicing, not a day for death, and he promised Shimei that he would not kill him. David has kept his promise but David is about to pass away. The oath David made to Shimei is not binding upon anyone else. David cannot put Shimei to death but he knows Shimei cannot be trusted. I think what happened is that Shimei apologized to David only to save his own life, not because he actually supports David, and I think David knows this. It may be that Shimei was among those who openly gave their support to Adonijah and attended the coronation feast he put on for himself. I believe David has some sort of knowledge that Shimei is not a friend to Solomon and that he says what he says next because of what he knows.

"And remember, you have with you Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, who called down bitter curses on me the day I went to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord: 'I will not put you to death by the sword.' But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom; you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood." (1 Kings 2:8-9) Solomon will attempt to show mercy to Shimei but Shimei will disobey very strict orders given to him by Solomon and will lose his life for his disobedience.

"Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. He had reigned forty years over Israel---seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established." (1 Kings 2:10-12) 1 Chronicles 29:28 phrases it like this: "He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king." David was seventy years old when he died because the Bible tells us in 2 Samuel 5:4 that he was thirty years old when he became king and he reigned forty years. 1 Kings 2 and 1 Chronicles 29 agree with the information provided in 2 Samuel 5 that he reigned forty years. Seventy in our day is not necessarily considered a "long life" or "a good old age" since so many people are living active lives in their seventies and beyond, but when we consider everything David has done and has been through it's remarkable that he lived to be seventy. He survived an untold number of battles. He survived many plots against his life. Had the Lord's protective hand not been upon him, one of these battles or one of these plots would have taken him out long ago. He would never have lived to see thirty, much less seventy. David has been through far more than the average man ever goes through and it has taken a toll on him. He is not like today's men of seventy who are out on the golf course or the jogging trails. At seventy he is very old and very tired. He's ready to see the Lord and the Lord takes him by the hand and leads him home. As the author of 1 Kings puts it, "David rested". 

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 6, A Second Coronation For Solomon; David Charges Him To Obey The Lord

Solomon has been declared king at Gihon while David is nearing the end of his life. In a way these two men are co-regents for a short time but David is so ill he mostly spends his time in his own chambers and Solomon is now seated on his throne. The day after Solomon was anointed and declared king at Gihon, a second celebration is held in the city to confirm his coronation. As we will be doing off and on throughout our study of the kings of Israel and Judah, we will be combining material from 1 Kings and 2 Kings with 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles.

"The next day they made sacrifices to the Lord and presented burnt offerings to Him: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the Lord that day. Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him before the Lord to be ruler and Zadok to be priest." (1 Chronicles 29:21-22) Some scholars place this celebration after the death of David because they feel it was necessary to confirm Solomon as king again after his father and co-regent passed away. But the author of 1 Chronicles doesn't present the material to us in that order. He tells us of the second coronation ceremony before he speaks of the death of David. I don't see any problem with believing that the confirmation of Solomon as king for the second time occurred while David was still living. It seems natural to me that, because he was anointed as king outside the city in a hastily arranged ceremony, the people would want to honor him with a much larger ceremony after they've all had time to hear the news. The people want to rejoice with their new king and they hold a celebration in which they give thanks to the Lord for placing His chosen man on the throne.

It is necessary also to confirm Zadok as the high priest of Israel---as the only high priest. For many years he has been co-high priest with Abiathar but Abiathar rebelled against David and against the Lord by supporting Adonijah's bid for the throne. Solomon will soon depose Abiathar and dismiss him from the city, instructing him to go home to his lands at Anathoth and stay there. Having two high priests in the first place was a violation of the Lord's instructions to Moses about how the priesthood was to function. 

There is no doubt now whatsoever that Solomon will succeed David as king. It is a done deal. The majority of the people get on board with this and pledge their loyalty to him. We can't assume everyone who pledges their loyalty to him prefers him over Adonijah but they vow to serve him as their king, which is their duty. You'll recall that his brothers attended Adonijah's feast at which he had himself declared king. We can't be certain they knew the purpose of the feast beforehand but they didn't get up and leave once the purpose became clear to them. They were still feasting with Adonijah when word came to the dining hall that Solomon had been anointed king at Gihon. But now that their brother is seated on the throne, they must accept the situation as it is. "So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him. All the officers and warriors, as well as all of King David's sons, pledged their submission to King Solomon. The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had before." (1 Chronicles 29:23-25)

Now that this public matter has been settled, David has fatherly advice to give his son in private. We will begin our look at these words today and conclude studying them tomorrow. "When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son. 'I am about to go the way of all the earth,' he said. 'So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to Him, and keep His decrees and commands, His laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep His promise to me: 'If your descendants watch how they live, and if they will walk faithfully before Me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.'" (1 Kings 2:1-4) 

The Lord made this promise to David in 2 Samuel 7. Part of this promise is conditional upon David's descendants remaining faithful to the Lord. As we'll learn as we move through our study of the kings, many of them did not remain faithful to the Lord. This is why there is no throne and no king today. But part of the promise isn't conditional upon anything man will or will not do. The promise that the Messiah of the line of David will someday sit on David's throne and rule the world forever depends solely on the Lord's faithfulness. This will be accomplished because it is the Lord's will to accomplish it. As the prophet Isaiah said when he foresaw the coming King, "The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this." (Isaiah 9:7b)

Solomon will make mistakes. His son will make mistakes and the kingdom will split in two. His son's son and all the men born down the line will make mistakes until, as judgment for idolatry, the Lord allows Jerusalem to fall to the Babylonians. From that time on there has been no king. But the Lord's promise has not been made void. He will do as He has said, for He testifies of Himself, "I will not violate My covenant or alter what my lips have uttered. Once for all, I have sworn by My holiness---and I will not lie to David---that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before Me like the sun; it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky." (Psalm 89:34-37) David's line will continue forever and David's throne will continue forever in the person of the One who lives forever: the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ who is a direct descendant of King David. He will reign from David's throne forever and the Lord's promise will be fulfilled in Him.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 5, Adonijah Asks For Mercy From Solomon

Adonijah and his supporters declared him king against the Lord's wishes and against David's wishes. Upon hearing what was afoot, David instructed his top advisors to place Solomon on the king's mule and take him to a very public place to be anointed and declared king. So many people followed this procession and so many people in public witnessed this event that the Bible told us in yesterday's text that "the ground shook with the sound" of the people's rejoicing.

Adonijah is just a short distance away from where Solomon was anointed as king and he and his guests hear the commotion. "Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they were finishing their feast. On hearing the sound of the trumpet, Joab asked, 'What's the meaning of all the noise in the city?' Even as he was speaking, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, 'Come in. A worthy man like you must be bringing good news.'" (1 Kings 1:41-42) I think Joab feels uneasy when he hears the sound of the trumpet coming from the location of the Gihon Springs. Having been a military man all his life, he's ordered trumpets blown both to assemble troops for war and to call an end to battle. His first thought may have been that there is some imminent threat to the city and its inhabitants. His second thought was likely that there is an imminent threat to Adonijah's claim to the throne, for another occasion upon which trumpets are blown is the type of occasion which has just occurred: a man has been anointed as king and the trumpet is used to signal the people to shout, "Long live King Solomon!"

Joab's uneasiness rubs off on Adonijah. Adonijah starts to breathe a sigh of relief as Jonathan arrives on the scene, thinking he must be coming with good news. He assumes that since Jonathan's father Abiathar is on his side, Jonathan is too. If that is the case then I presume that the reason Jonathan wasn't present for the sacrifice and the feast is because he was left in charge of his father's duties at the house of God in Abiathar's absence. I have to wonder, though, whether Jonathan is on Adonijah's side at all. We found Jonathan and Ahimaaz, the son of the priest Zadok, risking their lives for David in 2 Samuel 17 by getting word to him about the battle plans being proposed against David by Absalom. Would a man that loyal to David turn against his wishes to support Adonijah?

It's difficult to tell from Jonathan's reply whether he's a supporter of Adonijah as king or whether he supports Solomon as king. Maybe I'm reading more into his reply than what's actually there but I get the feeling Jonathan supports David's choice for king since it appears as if Jonathan was present for both the public and the private events of this day. Another indication that Jonathan is on the side of David and Solomon is that when he makes his reply he refers to David as "our lord King David", which is a term of deep respect he would be required to use when in the king's presence but would not be likely to use when away from the king if he is living in rebellion toward him as Adonijah and his followers are. When Adonijah presumes Jonathan is bringing good news, Jonathan is quick to let him know otherwise. "'Not at all!', Jonathan answered. 'Our lord King David has made Solomon king. The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites, and they have put him on the king's mule, and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon. From there they have gone up cheering, and the city resounds with it. That's the noise you hear. Moreover, Solomon has taken his seat on the royal throne. Also, the royal officials have come to congratulate our lord King David, saying, 'May your God make Solomon's name more famous than yours and his throne greater than yours!' And the king bowed in worship on his bed and said, 'Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has allowed my eyes to see a successor on my throne today.'" (1 Kings 1:43-48) 

I can't help feeling as if Jonathan gives his report in an attitude of satisfaction. I believe he is pleased for David and for Solomon. But we cannot know this for certain since we never hear of Jonathan again. That is because his father Abiathar will be removed from the priesthood by King Solomon and therefore the priesthood will stop being handed down the family line of Eli as was foretold by an unnamed prophet of the Lord in 1 Samuel 2. After he has been deposed from the priesthood, Abiathar will be ordered by Solomon to return to his land at Anathoth where he (and presumably Jonathan and any other sons Abiathar may have) will make their living by working the land. This will not leave Israel without a high priest since Abiathar and Zadok have been officiating as co-high priests for a number of years. Zadok is a descendant of the first high priest, Aaron, through Aaron's thirdborn son Eleazar. Abiathar is descended from Aaron's youngest son Ithamar. You may recall that Aaron's two oldest sons, Nadab and Abihu, were wicked and were put to death by the Lord for making an improper offering on His altar in Leviticus 10. This left Eleazar as the oldest surviving son and this means that Zadok, as a direct descendant of Eleazar, actually has a greater claim to the high priesthood than Abiathar. But the two men were allowed to serve as co-high priests until Solomon defrocks Abiathar for his disloyalty to David.

Adonijah's guests desert him like rats jumping from a sinking ship. In many other cultures they would be put to death by the new king for supporting someone who was trying to prevent his ascension to the throne. They can't be certain Solomon won't put them to death but we'll see in a moment that he's a merciful man. "At this, all Adonijah's guests rose in alarm and dispersed." (1 Kings 1:49)

Adonijah has more reason than anyone else to think he might be executed. "But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, went and took hold of the horns of the altar. Then Solomon was told, 'Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon and is clinging to the horns of the altar. He says, 'Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.'" (1 Kings 1:50-51) Taking hold of the horns of the altar was a custom not only in ancient Israel but also in many other ancient cultures of the world. It signified the seeking of refuge. A religious altar was a place to which a person could resort to ask for mercy or to be granted asylum until his legal case came to court. 

"Solomon replied, 'If he shows himself to be worthy, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground; but if evil is found in him, he will die.' Then King Solomon sent men, and they brought him down from the altar. And Adonijah came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon said, 'Go to your home.'" (1 Kings 1:52-53) Solomon is willing to show Adonijah mercy---more mercy than Adonijah would have shown him if the situation were reversed. Here we find Solomon following the example of his father David who was willing to be merciful to those who apologized for their sins against him and who acknowledged his sovereignty over them. Adonijah refers to Solomon as "King Solomon" and refers to himself as Solomon's "servant". This is intended to indicate a willingness to accept the fact that Solomon has been made king and a willingness to submit himself to Solomon's rule. 

But Adonijah won't be content to go home and stay there and live in quiet obedience to his half-brother. He will make waves once again, later on in our study, and his request at that time will clearly show he has no desire to take a back seat to his younger brother. His request will reveal that in his heart he still considers himself to be David's rightful successor.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 4, David Orders The Immediate Coronation Of Solomon

In Tuesday's study David received the alarming news from Bathsheba and Nathan that his oldest son Adonijah has had himself declared king of Israel. David immediately moves to declare his intended successor, Solomon, as king.

Bathsheba spoke with David first and then she withdrew and waited outside his chambers while Nathan spoke with him. Nathan has now withdrawn outside his chambers and David calls Bathsheba back in to reaffirm his promise to her to make Solomon his heir. "Then King David said, 'Call in Bathsheba.' So she came into the king's presence and stood before him. The king then took an oath: 'As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, I will surely carry out this very day what I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel: Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place.' Then Bathsheba bowed down with her face to the ground, prostrating herself before the king, and said, 'May my lord King David live forever!'" (1 Kings 1:28-31) 

Her words, "May the king live forever!" was a common blessing spoken in the ancient world to express thanks and goodwill and respect toward the king. Bathsheba knows David won't live forever. He's almost at the end of his life already, which is why Adonijah thought he could get away with his scheme. Adonijah chose a time when his father was still alive (but not long for this world) to make his move because if he waits until David dies he knows David's top men will carry out his will by placing Solomon on the throne. But he also chose a time when he thought David was too far gone to put a stop to his claim to the kingship. He miscalculated how close to death David actually was and he miscalculated the ability of the Lord to equip David with the strength he needs to block Adonijah's attempt to keep Solomon from ascending to the throne.

David wastes no time in getting a handle on this urgent situation. "King David said, 'Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.' When they came before the king, he said to them: 'Take your lord's servants with you and have Solomon my son mount my own mule and take him down to Gihon. There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, 'Long live King Solomon!' Then you are to go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah.'" (1 Kings 1:32-35) 

You'll recall that Zadok the priest and Abiathar the priest have been serving as co-high priests for some time now, which is not an ideal situation and certainly is not how the Lord told Moses the priesthood was to be set up. I'm assuming that when Abiathar went over to Adonijah's side he anointed him as king. The Bible doesn't say so anywhere, as far as I can tell, but I think the main reason Adonijah invited Abiathar to his sacrificial ceremony (and the main reason he conducted a sacrificial ceremony at all) was to give an aura of religious legitimacy to his claim to the throne. It would make sense to believe the priest anointed Adonijah on this occasion. But the anointing is not legitimate because it goes against the will of God. Zadok the priest will anoint Solomon as king and this anointing will be legitimate because Solomon is the man the Lord has chosen to follow David as Israel's leader.

I am sure David longs to go with the men so he can see Solomon publicly anointed and declared king of Israel. He is physically unable to do this so he orders the men to place Solomon on his own mule to show everyone that Solomon has his endorsement as king of Israel. No one could have ridden the king's mule unless the king gave it into his custody. David would not have given his mule into the custody of any man except the one to whom he plans to hand the crown. 

David knows he can trust the faithful priest Zadok, his top spiritual advisor Nathan, and Benaiah the captain of the king's special guard. None of these men were invited to Adonijah's sacrifice and feast because he knew they were firmly on David's side and could not be persuaded to betray him. In addition, he knows they would have stood up and opposed the claim he was making on the throne. He wanted to be anointed and declared king before these men had time to realize what he was doing. He hoped they and his father would accept his actions as a "done deal", for he doesn't realize his father still has all the mental sharpness he ever had. Upon learning that his father could no longer even maintain his body heat no matter how many blankets were heaped upon him, I think Adonijah assumed David was rendered incapable of understanding the situation at hand or doing anything about it. This causes me to think he may not have visited his ailing father lately, which is another black mark upon Adonijah's character. 

"Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, 'Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. As the Lord was with my lord the king, so may He be with Solomon to make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord King David!'" (1 Kings 1:36-37) It's easy to see why David chose this man to be the captain of his special guard. He is clearly a man with a heart for the Lord. He's a man who cares about David and Solomon too; his words reflect the heart's desire of any good parent---that their children would prosper even more than they themselves have prospered. When Benaiah says he hopes the Lord makes Solomon's throne even greater than David's, this is something David himself wants for his son Solomon. Benaiah and David are on the same page, so to speak, and this why David knows he can trust him.

"So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon mount King David's mule, and they escorted him to Gihon. Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and all the people shouted, 'Long live King Solomon!' And all the people went up after him, playing pipes and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with the sound." (1 Kings 1:38-40) You may have heard of the Gihon Springs. It was the primary source of natural water in the area of Jerusalem and that means it was a busy gathering place for people and their animals. It was one of the most crowded public places the men could have taken Solomon to anoint him as king. In addition to those who were gathered at the springs, it sounds like a large number of people from the city were made aware of what was about to take place and they formed a joyful procession to follow Solomon to Gihon to see him proclaimed king of Israel. There were so many people, and the sound of their voices and their musical instruments was enough to shake the ground---something that will not escape the notice of Adonijah and his guests in tomorrow's text as they feast at the Stone of Zoheleth. When the news of what has transpired is brought to Adonijah, his guests will desert him in a panic. Adonijah, knowing his plans have been firmly and permanently thwarted by the father he thought was weak enough to outsmart, will beg King Solomon for mercy.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 3, An Alarming Message

David's oldest living son, Adonijah, is attempting to take the throne so that Solomon, who is David's intended successor, cannot ascend to the throne upon David's death. David is near the end of his life and Adonijah feels he can get away with having himself declared king during the final days of his father's life. As we discussed yesterday, Adonijah is fully aware that Solomon has been named as David's successor. All of the members of the royal family and the top officials of the government and many of the people of the nation are fully aware that Solomon has been named as David's successor. In 1 Chronicles 28:5 we find David addressing a great assembly with these words: "Of all my sons---and the Lord has given me many---He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel." 

David's speech was given at some point before he became as feeble as we find him in 1 Kings 1 because at that time he was drawing up building plans for the temple, amassing materials to be used in its construction, and writing down an orderly description of how the priests would be assigned their work. These ideas were given to David by the Lord, for David said, "All this I have in writing as a result of the Lord's hand on me, and He enabled me to understand all the details of the plan." (1 Chronicles 28:19) So we see that before David became too ill to maintain his body heat (as we were told earlier in our chapter) he was making it plain to everyone that he was working to make Solomon's ascension to the throne go as smoothly as possible.

In yesterday's text the prophet Nathan told Bathsheba to remind David of the promise he made to her regarding her son Solomon. She obeys Nathan's instructions. "So Bathsheba went to see the aged king in his room, where Abishag the Shunammite was attending him. Bathsheba bowed down, prostrating herself before the king. 'What is it you want?' the king asked. She said to him, 'My lord, you yourself swore to me your servant by the Lord your God: 'Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne.' But now Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord the king, do not know about it. He has sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the king's sons, Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant. My lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to learn from you who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. Otherwise, as soon as my lord the king is laid to rest with his ancestors, I and my son Solomon will be treated as criminals.'" (1 Kings 1:17-21) 

She asks David, "Are you going to let Adonijah get away with this or are you going to appoint Solomon as your successor as you have promised? The whole nation is waiting to see whether you allow Adonijah's wicked deeds to prosper or whether you fulfill your word regarding Solomon my son. Keep in mind that if you allow Adonijah to ascend to the throne, he will have Solomon and me put to death."

As Nathan said he would do, he shows up in a moment to back up the information Bathsheba is providing to the king. Why does David need the word of more than one person? I can only give my opinion. I feel that if Nathan had come alone to advise David of Adonijah's treachery, his words would not have had the power of Bathsheba's for it was to her and not to Nathan that David swore an oath that Solomon would be king. But since there was always great rivalry in the households of ancient kings due to them having so many wives and so many children, there's a risk of David thinking she's imagining conspiracies that don't exist. He might doubt that Adonijah's feast and his exclusion of Solomon means he's announcing himself as king. David could have dismissed her fears by convincing himself that Adonijah failed to invite Solomon by mistake, not because he wanted to lay claim to the kingship without Solomon present. Another reason I think it was necessary for two people to testify to Adonijah's rebellion is because David has always been too lenient with his sons and would be loathe to believe only one person's word against Adonijah. As the law in Israel stated, the testimony of two or more witnesses was needed to establish anyone's guilt, and David can hardly ignore the testimony of Solomon's own mother and the testimony of his spiritual advisor combined.

"While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived. And the king was told, 'Nathan the prophet is here.' So he went before the king and bowed with his face to the ground. Nathan said, 'Have you, my lord the king, declared that Adonijah shall be king after you, and that he will sit on your throne? Today he has gone down and sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep. He has invited all the king's sons, the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest. Right now they are eating and drinking with him and saying, 'Long live King Adonijah!' But me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he did not invite. Is this something my lord the king has done without letting his servants know who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?'" (1 Kings 1:22-27) 

Nathan doesn't let on that he's already spoken with Bathsheba. He sets the scene up so that it appears the two of them arrived independently to inform the king of this sad and shocking news. Although this might come across as deceptive to us, I think it may have been done this way to underscore the urgency of doing something immediately. It sets a more dramatic scene for two separate people to come in at two separate times with the same story. It creates a sense of alarm in David that is necessary to move the elderly, sick, parentally permissive king to take action against the plans of his rebellious son.

Adonijah is rebelling not only against his father's wishes but, more importantly, against the Lord's wishes. It was the Lord who told David who should be his successor. David didn't make his mind up on this matter by himself. David's natural inclination probably would have been to appoint his oldest surviving son as his heir. That's how it was done in all the ancient nations of his day except in cases where the oldest son had displeased his father to the point of being disowned. In proclaiming himself king of Israel, Adonijah is openly rebelling against God Himself, and that is a situation that cannot be allowed to continue. In tomorrow's study we will find David moving quickly to secure Solomon's future.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 2, Adonijah Works To Usurp David; David's Intended Successor Revealed

Yesterday we learned that David has become very feeble as he nears the end of his life. The oldest of his remaining sons, Adonijah, began campaigning for the kingship while his father is still alive. It will become apparent to us in today's study that Adonijah, along with all of the royal family and those close to them, are aware that David intends for Solomon to succeed him. Adonijah hopes to prevent Solomon's succession to the throne by wresting the kingship from David's hands before David passes on. 

"Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they gave him their support." (1 Kings 1:7) Earlier in the Bible when David's son Absalom rebelled against him, we found his nephew Joab remaining firmly on David's side. He was so firmly in support of David's kingship that he killed Absalom in direct disobedience of David's orders and although we never find him confessing this deed, David never felt the same afterwards about the man who was the commander over his entire army. Joab bore the responsibility of making certain David's instructions regarding Absalom were carried out: that Absalom was to be captured alive and unharmed. But instead Absalom ended up dead and David blames Joab even though he evidently does not know Joab stabbed Abdalom in the heart. As soon as David was restored to the throne at Jerusalem, he demoted Joab and put one of his other nephews (Amasa) in his place even though Amasa had betrayed him by serving as Absalom's general. At the first opportunity Joab killed Amasa and resumed leadership of the army himself. David did not oppose him but I don't think he ever showed him the same amount of respect or familial affection he formerly did. This may be why Joab now places all his support behind Adonijah in spite of being aware that Solomon is David's chosen successor. 

We've referred to Joab several times as a "loose cannon" because he does what seems best to him even when it contradicts David's orders. It seemed best to him to take Absalom out, and although he was probably right to suspect Absalom and his enormous group of supporters would continue being a threat if he were left alive, he was not right to disobey his king. I think that when he gives his support to Adonijah he is again doing what seems best to him even though it contradicts David's plans. Joab feels Adonijah should succeed David, not Solomon, and he knows David won't live much longer. He sees nothing wrong with Adonijah assuming the throne while David still lives. It's not as if Adonijah is trying to kill David, as his elder brother Absalom intended to do. David is almost at the end of his life already and Adonijah thinks his father is too weak to oppose his bid for the throne. After all, as the author of 1 Kings told us yesterday, David has never denied him anything he wants. Adonijah believes that when his father hears he has declared himself king and that some of the major players in the kingdom are behind him, he will accede to Adonijah's wishes. David was still healthy and reasonably physically fit when Absalom attempted a coup; that is not the case when Adonijah attempts his coup. Adonijah believes David is too old, weak, and sick to resist his efforts to take the crown.

It's more difficult for us to understand the treachery of the high priest Abiathar than it is for us to understand why Joab deserts David. We know that for some time Abiathar and Zadok have been serving as co-high priests, which is not a situation in accordance with the Lord's instructions. Many scholars believe David showed favoritism to Zadok and that could be the case, for we find David addressing himself to Zadok in the Scriptures more often than to Abiathar. Abiathar's desertion of David may be due to rivalry between himself and Zadok. But Zadok remains faithful to David. "But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei and Rai and David's special guard did not join Adonijah." (1 Kings 1:8) Benaiah was the officer in charge of David's special guard. Shimei was the Benjamite who cursed David and threw rocks and dirt at him when Absalom was trying to take over the throne, but later Shimei apologized to David and asked for his mercy, which was granted, and Shimei has been a staunch supporter of David ever since. I could not find any information regarding the identity of Rai or what his duties were. 

Adonijah invites his supporters to a sacrifice and a feast but he excludes those he knows are not on his side. "Adonijah then sacrificed sheep, cattle and fattened calves at the Stone of Zoheleth near En Rogel. He invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the royal officials of Judah, but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the special guard or his brother Solomon." (1 Kings 1:9-10) He is attempting to legitimize his claim to the throne by having the general of the army, one of the high priests, and all of his brothers (other than Solomon) present to witness sacrifices being made to the Lord. These sacrifices represent another attempt to legitimize his claim by making it seem as though the Lord Himself has chosen him to be king. 

Word quickly gets back to the palace regarding what's going on at the Stone of Zoheleth which lay just a hundred yards or so southeast of where the Temple Mount would later be located. The Pool of Siloam, mentioned later in the Bible, was also there. So we see that the news doesn't have far to travel. As soon as Nathan the prophet hears the news, he goes quickly to Solomon's mother Bathsheba to inform her of the danger to herself and her son. "Then Nathan asked Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, 'Have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has become king, and our lord David knows nothing about it? Now then, let me advise you how you can save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. Go in to King David and say to him, 'My lord the king, did you not swear to me your servant: 'Surely Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne?' Why then has Adonijah become king?' While you are still there talking to the king, I will come in and add my word to what you have said." (1 Kings 1:11-14)

We had not been previously told of David's choice of successor but the author of 1 Chronicles 22 gives a detailed account of plans David made while he was still healthy enough to make them. In that chapter he amasses materials for his successor to use in building the temple and he clearly states his intention to pass the crown to Solomon according to the will of God who instructed him to do so. Not only does he speak to Solomon directly in that passage, making his intentions known to him, but he charges "all the leaders of Israel" to help guide the young Solomon after his coronation. Everyone in David's family and all the leaders of his government are very well aware that David wants Solomon to succeed him as king. Those who are supporting Adonijah are doing it in direct opposition to David's will and to the Lord's will. 

In our next study session we'll find Bathsheba following Nathan's advice. Nathan will then come in and back up her claim that Adonijah has declared himself king. Then David will find the strength to sit up and do the things that must be done.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 1, David's Son Adonijah Rebels Against Him

Today we begin the book of 1 Kings and we will be calling the study of 1 King and 2 Kings (combined with 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles) "The Kings Of Israel And Judah" because in the day's of King David's grandson Rehoboam the kingdom will split in two. The ten northern tribes will retain the name of Israel. The two southern tribes will be known as Judah. Each kingdom will have its own king from the time of the split onwards. 

As we open the book of 1 Kings we find David nearing the end of his life. His health has declined to the point that he is always cold. We don't know precisely what his medical diagnosis is and can only speculate that it might have been a circulatory problem or a condition like anemia. But his shrewd and ambitious son Adonijah intends to take advantage of his father's poor physical health by making a bid for the throne.

"When King David was very old, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him." (1 Kings 1:1) David will die at the age of seventy, which isn't considered "very old" in our day. But not many men who have been through what David has been through would have survived so long. From the time he was a young man he's fought fierce battles on the field and he's fought fierce battles against his right to rule Israel. He's endured a great deal physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. I think by the time David reaches seventy he looks and feels like a "very old" man.

David's attendants come up with a solution that seems bizarre and improper to us but that was actually a common medical treatment used in the ancient world. There are several ancient texts describing this type of "prescription", for lack of a better word. "So his attendants said to him, 'Let us look for a young virgin to serve the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm.' Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful young woman and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. The woman was very beautiful; she took care of the king and waited on him, but the king had no sexual relations with her." (1 Kings 1:2-4) 

Most Bible scholars believe David legally married Abishag as his concubine even though he could not consummate the marriage. It would not have been morally proper for a woman to be sharing the king's personal living quarters without being legally married to him. It would not have been right for her to sleep in the same bed with him, even if the two of them were fully clothed at all times, if she were not legally married to him. 

David has a son who wants to manipulate the current circumstances for his own benefit. He believes his father is too ill to prevent him from seizing power. "Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, 'I will be king.' So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him." (1 King 1:5) Adonijah is David's fourthborn son. Amnon was his firstborn who was murdered by his thirdborn, Absalom, for raping Absalom's sister Tamar. David's secondborn son, Kileab, was never mentioned again after his birth announcement in 2 Samuel 3:3, which has led scholars to conclude that he either died at a young age or had a lifelong ailment severe enough to prevent him from ever being considered for the kingship. Absalom, David's thirdborn, was killed by Joab and his men while Absalom's army was making war with David and his army in an effort to wrest the kingship from David. If it had been the Lord's will for the crown to automatically pass to the eldest son, Adonijah would be the heir-apparent to David's throne. He is the oldest of David's sons who are still living. But it is not the Lord's will for Adonijah to be king. It appears David has made this known to his family, for later in Chapter 1 we will learn that David has already named Solomon as his successor.

But Adonijah feels the throne is rightfully his and he believes he can convince the citizens of Israel that he is the best and logical choice to succeed his father. He begins traveling throughout the country with a large and impressive entourage as he campaigns for the job of king. He does not care whether he is the Lord's choice or his father's choice. All he cares about is that being king is what he wants for himself. The author of 1 Kings tells us why he has no respect for his father or for the Lord. "(His father had never rebuked him by asking, 'Why do you behave as you do?' He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom." (1 Kings 1:6) He has evidently been rebellious from a young age and David has never done anything to correct his behavior. This has led to him developing a sense of entitlement. It has led to him believing he can do what he wants and have what he wants because nothing has ever been denied to him. His good looks have added to his belief that he deserves whatever his heart desires; extreme handsomeness and stunning beauty have a way of opening doors for those who possess them. The third thing that solidifies in Adonijah's mind that he has the right to be king is that he he is the oldest surviving son. In other nations the birth order alone would mean he would automatically ascend to the throne upon his father's death. But in Israel the Lord has the final say on who will be king. It is His will for Solomon to succeed David and He has made David aware of His choice. David is in agreement with the Lord's choice and has made this information known to the royal household.

But Adonijah---whose name means "My Lord Is Jehovah"---is not in agreement with the Lord's choice. David named this son with so much hope that he would grow up to be a godly man but instead we find him opposing his father and the Lord Himself. In tomorrow's text we'll find this situation going from bad to worse.

The Second Book Of Samuel. Day 89, David Builds An Altar At The Future Temple Site, Part Two

The Lord told Gad the prophet to tell David to build an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. This is the threshing floor where David saw the angel of death standing with his hand outstretched to strike Jerusalem during the plague. This is also where the Lord commanded the angel, "Enough! Withdraw your hand." The altar will commemorate the Lord's mercy on David and on the inhabitants of the city. The site of this altar is part of the land that will comprise the land upon which the temple complex will be constructed during King Solomon's reign.

The Lord didn't specifically say to purchase the threshing floor but that was implied because this plot of land does not belong to David. Kings of other nations might seize whatever they want from their citizens but David is not like pagan kings. He follows the laws the Lord laid down for Israel to follow. Building an altar on another man's threshing floor constitutes theft, for the threshing floor would be rendered unusable for anything other than an altar after it has been consecrated to the Lord. 

In yesterday's text we found David going to Araunah's house to ask him about the purchase of the land. Araunah offered to give the land to David, along with oxen and wood for the burnt offering. But David said he would not offer to the Lord something that cost him nothing. Araunah is clearly a very wealthy man because his offer of the threshing floor means he either has other pieces of land suitable for use as a threshing floor or he has plenty of money with which to buy another suitable area. It would please him to donate the land for the purpose of building an altar and I am sure David appreciates his kind offer but David understands that the nature of a sacrifice is a "giving up" of something. He wants to pay a fair market value for the threshing floor so that the site he dedicates to the Lord cost him something. 

It can be hard for us to relinquish things that cost us something, can't it? It's the way of the world to want to hold onto anything that's been worked for or paid for. But the Lord gave sacrificially when He sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. It cost Him something to redeem us. It cost Him the best He had to give. With this in mind, don't we owe Him something in thanks for all He's done for us? Don't we owe Him our time in prayer, in Bible study, in ministering to others, in watching or attending church services? Don't we owe Him our offerings? A sacrifice is not a sacrifice if it doesn't cost anything. If it doesn't cause us some of our time, money, energy, effort, etc. then it is not a sacrifice at all.

When David insists on paying for the land, I believe he's telling Araunah to name his price. If Araunah were selling the threshing floor to someone other than the king, what would be a fair price to him? A fair price is apparently fifty shekels of silver. "So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them." (2 Samuel 24:24b) This amount of silver would have weighed approximately 1.25 pounds. It's important to note that the parallel account in 1 Chronicles 21 differs from 2 Samuel 24. It says, "David paid six hundred shekels of gold for the site." (1 Chronicles 21:25) This amount of gold would have weighed approximately 15 pounds and would have been an exorbitant price to pay for a threshing floor. Why is there a discrepancy between 2 Samuel 24:24 and 1 Chronicles 21:25? We'll discuss that below.

Solomon will build the temple and its surrounding complex on real estate that David purchases from Araunah. The land known as "the site" in 1 Chronicles 21 is believed by scholars to be a reference not just to the threshing floor but to the entire plot of land upon which the temple complex will be built. They feel that David paid the original 50 shekels of silver for the threshing floor alone and that he bought a far bigger plot of land from Araunah for six hundred shekels of gold. Many scholars feel that David entered into a contract with Araunah here in Chapter 24 to purchase not only the threshing floor but a good deal of the surrounding land and that the 50 shekels of silver was just the down payment (or "earnest money", in other words) and that he came back with the six hundred shekels of gold at a later date. Farther on in the Bible we'll be provided with the dimensions of the temple and the surrounding complex and it will become clear to us that there's no way something that large could have been built on a hilltop threshing floor. The remains of threshing floors from the Bible era have been found and some of the largest measure only 25 feet across at the widest point. That's far too small for a temple and its outer courts. But it's the right size for a hilltop altar. 

I don't believe there are any contradictions in the word of God. It makes sense to me that David would have gone to Araunah immediately, after being commanded by the Lord, to consummate the purchase of the threshing floor for an altar. I think he paid for it on the spot with fifty shekels of silver and then, at some later date, bought a number of adjoining acres for six hundred shekels of gold. The author of 2 Samuel 24 tells us what David did on the same day the Lord commanded him to build an altar but a later author (or the same author at a later time) tells us about the purchase of "the site" when writing the book of 1 Chronicles. The author of 2 Samuel 24 says David bought "the threshing floor" for fifty shekels of silver and then the author of 1 Chronicles 21 says that David bought "the site" for six hundred shekels of gold. These appear to be two separate purchases conducted at two separate times.

Although David will not be the man to build the temple, the Lord has already told him that one of his sons will build the temple. Farther on in the Bible we'll learn that David began laying the groundwork for his son's project. David accumulated funds and amassed materials. And, as we've seen today, David purchased land. 

Now that he's purchased the threshing floor he builds the altar and makes sacrifices and offerings on it. "David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer on behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped." (2 Samuel 24:25) The parallel account adds this: "Then the Lord spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath." (1 Chronicles 21:27) The Lord had already commanded the angel to halt the progress of the plague but the angel is still standing at attention waiting for further instructions. The angel waits while David obeys the Lord by buying the threshing floor, building the altar, and making the sacrifices and offerings. If David had not obeyed the Lord, I think the Lord would have commanded the angel to strike Jerusalem with the plague that has already struck inhabitants of the other cities of the nation. But when David obeys the Lord, the Lord tells the angel to put his sword away. The plague is over. The angel is to do no more. David has repented of his sin of conducting the census of the fighting men. He has been disciplined for it. He has made offerings for atonement (burnt offerings) and offerings that symbolize the peace being restored between himself and God (fellowship offerings). The sin and the discipline are behind him now and he is to move forward. He is nearing the end of his reign, as we'll see when we begin the book of 1 Kings tomorrow, but he is still working for the future. He has made the first step in acquiring what will be the location of the temple his son will build. The fact that the Lord told him to make this purchase is the proof that the Lord will not go back on His promises to David even though David has made several extremely sinful mistakes during his lifetime. 

Some of the promises of the Bible are conditional. They are conditional upon our obedience and our faith. But some are not conditional upon anything we do. They depend solely on the faithfulness of God. God made the promise regarding David's family line because it is His will for the royal line of Israel to pass down through David's descendants. It is the Lord's will for His own Son to be a direct descendant of David. The keeping of this promise depends solely on the Lord's faithfulness. He didn't make the promise in exchange for David living as perfect of a life as a man can live. He knew everything David had ever done wrong and He knew everything David ever would do wrong. The promise was made because it is the way the Lord wants to fulfill another promise, which is the greatest promise ever made---the promise of a Redeemer. We don't understand everything about why choosing David's family line is the best way of bringing about the ultimate promise but on faith we believe this was the best way. It was the way that lined everything up exactly right according to the will of God and according to His perfect purpose.

Join us tomorrow as we begin our study of 1 Kings, our study of the final years of David's life, and our study of his son and successor ascending to the throne.