1 Kings 1
BATHSHEBA’S SON TO BE NUMBER ONE
A little background: David had multiple sons
by multiple wives and concubines (1 Chronicles 3). Usually, a kingship would
pass to the firstborn son. However, Amnon, David’s firstborn was killed by his
half-brother Absalom after he raped Absalom’s full sister, Tamar (2 Samuel
13:32). The second born son, Kileab or Daniel (1 Chronicles 3:1), probably died
at a young age since there is no record of his adult life. Absalom, the third
born, was killed by David’s general Joab when he mounted a rebellion against
his aging father (2 Samuel 18:14). That brings us to Adonijah, the fourth son,
who naturally considered himself to be next in line to the throne and jumped
the gun by setting himself up as king before David drew his last breath.
1 Kings 1:11 Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bathsheba the
mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith
doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not? 12 Now therefore come, let me, I
pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the
life of thy son Solomon.
Adonijah was mounting a deceitful coup, an
underhanded overthrow, while he knew his father, David, could not put up a
physical fight. It was typical in those days for
a new king to slaughter the family of the old king in order to have no
opposition to his claim to the throne, even if those men where his
half-brothers. Nathan came in to give Bathsheba
the news that she and her son Solomon would be on Adonijah’s “most wanted” list.
Nathan, being a prophet, knew it was not the will of God for
Adonijah to sit on David’s throne. Adonijah means “worshipper,” but he seemed to
be a worshipper of himself rather than the Lord God. He did not seem to live up
to the honor and privilege of his name.
1 Kings 1:13 Go and get thee in unto king David, and say
unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying,
Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my
throne? why then doth Adonijah reign?
Nathan instructed Bathsheba to remind David
that Solomon had been chosen to reign after him and to inform him that Adonijah
had already set himself up as king. If I were David,
that would have made me livid!
1 Chronicles 28:5 And of all my sons, (for the
Lord hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the
throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.
1 Kings 1:14 Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the
king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words.
Nathan planned to come in a few minutes later
to validate what Bathsheba told David. Perhaps he
thought David would believe it better coming from his wife rather than himself.
1 Kings 1:15 And Bathsheba went in unto the king into the
chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto
the king.
16 And Bathsheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king.
And the king said, What wouldest thou? 17 And she said unto him, My lord, thou
swarest by the Lord thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy
son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne. 18 And now, behold,
Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not: 19 And he
hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons
of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host: but
Solomon thy servant hath he not called.
Bathsheba followed Nathan’s instruction. She said that Adonijah had usurped the throne King David had
promised to Solomon. Adonijah had called key people
into a presumptuous counsel but had excluded
Solomon since he was the rightful heir to the throne.
1 Kings 1:20 And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all
Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne
of my lord the king after him. 21 Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord
the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be
counted offenders.
Bathsheba urged David to officially declare
his successor lest she and Solomon be seen as enemies of the kingdom by
Adonijah and be executed.
1 Kings 1:22 And, lo, while she yet talked with the king,
Nathan the prophet also came in. 23 And they told the king, saying, Behold
Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself
before the king with his face to the ground. 24 And Nathan said, My lord, O
king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my
throne? 25 For he is gone down this day, and hath slain oxen and fat cattle and
sheep in abundance, and hath called all the king's sons, and the captains of
the host, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they eat and drink before him,
and say, God save king Adonijah. 26 But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the
priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not
called. 27 Is this thing done by my
lord the king, and thou hast not shewed it unto thy servant, who should sit on
the throne of my lord the king after him?
Nathan told him the same thing Bathsheba had.
Adonijah was hosting a coronation party and leaving out the
king’s chief advisors and the priest because he knew he was in the wrong. Nathan asks if it was true that David wanted Adonijah to take
over the kingdom. He was asking whether David had authorized this takeover
without consulting with him.
1 Kings 1:28 Then king David answered and said, Call me
Bathsheba. And she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king. 29
And the king sware, and said, As the Lord liveth, that hath redeemed my soul
out of all distress, 30 Even as I sware unto thee by the Lord God of Israel,
saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon
my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day.
David called Bathsheba back into his room and
swore to fulfill his promise to make Solomon the next king that very day. He assured her his word was true and certain, and He would make
sure her son sat upon the throne of Israel by abdicating
in favor of Solomon immediately.
1 Kings 1:31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the
earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for
ever.
Bathsheba graciously bowed before the king to
show gratitude for this proclamation.
1 Kings 1:32 And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest,
and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before
the king. 33 The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your
lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down
to Gihon: 34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there
king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.
35 Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne;
for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over
Israel and over Judah.
From his bed, David instructed Nathan and the priests in the ceremonial protocol to
follow in order to declare Solomon as the rightful king. Even from his
deathbed, David was still “large and in charge” as both
Nathan and Bathsheba acknowledged.
1 Kings 1:36 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the
king, and said, Amen: the Lord God of my lord the king say so too. 37 As the
Lord hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his
throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.
Benaiah affirmed that this was the will of
God and pronounced a blessing on Solomon’s future reign.
Reformation
Study Bible:
1:8
Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. Benaiah was the commander of the Cherethites and
Pelethites, mercenary forces who functioned in large measure as David’s royal
guard (2 Sam. 8:18; 20:7; 23:20; 1 Chr. 18:17).
1 Kings 1:38 So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet,
and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went
down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David's mule, and brought him to
Gihon.
39 And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the
tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people
said, God save king Solomon. 40 And all the people came up after him, and the
people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent
with the sound of them.
Nathan, Benaiah, Zadok and the others with
them did just as David had said. They anointed Solomon as king and had a boisterous celebration with trumpets so loud that they
shook the earth with their blast!
1 Kings 1:41 And Adonijah and all the guests that were with
him heard it as they had made an end of eating. And when Joab heard the sound
of the trumpet, he said, Wherefore is this noise of the city being in an
uproar? 42 And while he yet spake, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the
priest came; and Adonijah said unto him, Come in; for thou art a valiant man,
and bringest good tidings. 43 And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah,
Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king. 44 And the king hath sent
with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to
ride upon the king's mule: 45 And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have
anointed him king in Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that
the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard. 46 And also Solomon
sitteth on the throne of the kingdom.
47 And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord
king David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make
his throne greater than thy throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed. 48
And also thus said the king, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which hath
given one to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing it.
Adonijah thought all the hubbub was about him
and a messenger was bringing him good news. WRONG. The messenger took the wind right out of his sails as he
explained that Solomon had been officially anointed king. David’s last official
act as king was to honor God’s choice of his successor by insuring Solomon’s
possession of the kingdom.
1 Kings 1:49 And all the guests that were with Adonijah
were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way. 50 And Adonijah feared
because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the
altar.
The party-goers celebrating Adonijah fled and
hid. Adonijah sought refuge by taking hold of the horns of the altar (symbolic of asking God’s protection) as he feared for his life.
1 Kings 1:51 And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold,
Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the horns of the
altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me today that he will not slay his
servant with the sword. 52 And Solomon said, If he will shew himself a worthy
man, there shall not an hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall
be found in him, he shall die. 53 So king Solomon sent, and they brought him
down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon
said unto him, Go to thine house.
Solomon gave Adonijah a break saying he would
not slay him as a usurper as long as his conduct thereafter was good. However,
in (1 Kings 2:13-25), we see Adonijah trying to lay claim to the throne by
marrying one of David’s concubines (or so he thought), the girl who was his
nurse in his last days. Solomon recognized this as another ploy to take the
throne and had him executed.
All that to show that Bathsheba was named in
the lineage of Jesus because the Lord chose her son Solomon to be king after
David. Note that Matthew refers to her as “her that had been the wife of
Urias.” Although the Lord forgave the sin of adultery between David and
Bathsheba, the consequent notoriety never left her.
Matthew 1:6 And
Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had
been the wife of Urias;
Ponder this: Bathsheba did nothing to earn or
deserve such a prominent place in history, being included as an ancestor of the
Messiah. In fact, her notoriety comes from committing adultery with King David.
However, God in His grace chose her son Solomon to be David’s successor and,
therefore, in the lineage of Jesus. We do not know what her personal
relationship with the Lord was like. God is sovereign and can choose whomever
He desires to choose. If you know the Lord Jesus, take a moment to thank Him
for choosing you!
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