seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 King 1:28 Then King David said, “Call in Bathsheba.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before him.
29 The king then took an oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, 30 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.”
31 Then Bathsheba bowed down with her face to the ground, prostrating herself before the king, and said, “May my lord King David live forever!”
32 King David said, “Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” When they came before the king, 33 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. 34 There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35 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.”
36 Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, “Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. 37 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!”
38 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. 39 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!” 40 And all the people went up after him, playing pipes and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with the sound.
41 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?”
42 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.”
43 “Not at all!” Jonathan answered. “Our lord King David has made Solomon king. 44 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, 45 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. 46 Moreover, Solomon has taken his seat on the royal throne. 47 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 48 and said, ‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has allowed my eyes to see a successor on my throne today.’”
49 At this, all Adonijah’s guests rose in alarm and dispersed. 50 But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, went and took hold of the horns of the altar. 51 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.’”
52 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.” 53 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.”
Here's the link to the commentary I use. As the LORD lives: This introduced a solemn oath. David would confirm the previous promise he made to Bathsheba, that her son Solomon would become the next king.
Solomon your son shall be king after me: David promised to settle the issue that very day. He would abdicate the throne and give the crown to Solomon.
Let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king: This is a rare glimpse of all three offices in cooperation — prophet, priest, and king. Each of these offices was gloriously fulfilled in Jesus.
May He be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David: This pious wish of Benaiah had an interesting fulfillment. On a human level, Solomon’s reign was indeed greater than David’s. But on a spiritual, eternal level, it was not.
The people… rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound: Though Adonijah put forth his best marketing campaign, he could not win the hearts of the people. They sensed that Solomon was the man, not Adonijah.
All the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid, and arose, and each one went: They came for a nice dinner, and to support Adonijah. They left quickly as soon as it was clear that he would not and could not be king. Now, it was dangerous to say that you supported Adonijah as king.
Took hold of the horns of the altar: According to almost universal custom in the ancient world, a religious altar was a place of sanctuary against justice or vengeance. An accused man might find safety if he could flee to an altar before he was apprehended. This is why Adonijah took hold of the horns of the altar.
If he proves himself a worthy man, not one hair of him shall fall to the earth: Solomon gave Adonijah a limited reprieve. This went against all custom in the ancient world. It was common, even expected, that when a new king assumed the throne, he would execute every potential rival. Solomon not only let a potential rival live, but one who openly tried to subvert his reign. This was a large measure of grace and mercy on the part of Solomon, and a good start to his reign.
He came and fell down before King Solomon: Adonijah knew he received great mercy from Solomon, and he wanted to show his gratitude for it and his reliance upon Solomon’s mercy.
Well, let's review the major characters. - David was the anointed king of Israel. He was anointed after Saul, the pretty boy, botched the job.
- Bathsheba was the married woman David had a tryst with, and got pregnant. That baby died [mysteriously?] in just days after birth.
- Solomon was David's second son with Bathsheba. They were married by then, no nasty divorce or custody cases.
- Adonijah was another son of David's [not Bathsheba's]. He decided to take the throne from David, because David was very old and cold.
- Zadok and Nathan were the priest and the prophet who advised David.
- Joab had been military commander under David. Joab decided David was too old and cold so he jumped sides to Adonijah for king.
David took action as soon as he found out. Adonijah would have been schmoozing at the barbeque with his richest and most influential guests, while Solomon was being doused with oil.
When Joab heard what David was doing, he sent Adonijah to apologize and ask for mercy.
As commented in another thread, Adonijah "clung to the horns of the altar", or in modern language, he begged for mercy.
Solomon [newly anointed king] said "As long as he keeps his nose clean"!
King David has abdicated the throne. Solomon was anointed king by the priest and the prophet. Adonijah went home quietly.
Long live king Solomon!
It was a smooth transition of power.
Before I go. I've been posting these Bible Studies for years. I've been using red and purple and even blue to mark passages or parts of passages to make them stand out. Yesterday was the second time someone commented. Sorry.
I can't see the other colors. Yellow orange and gray just don't stand out enough for me to see.
I offer a link to the sites I use. If the highlighting bugs you, please follow the links.
Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Most of all, thanks for reading... it keeps me reading the Bible.