#468 More Rejection

Now King David was old, [a]advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm. 2 Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman, a virgin, be sought for our lord the king, and let her [b]stand before the king, and let her care for him; and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord the king may be warm.” 3 So they sought for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4 The young woman was very lovely; and she cared for the king, and served him; but the king did not know her.

5 Then Adonijah the [c]son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will [d]be king”; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 6 (And his father had not [e]rebuked him at any time by saying, “Why have you done so?” He was also very good-looking. His mother had borne him after Absalom.) 7 Then he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they followed and helped Adonijah. 8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah.

9 And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of [f]Zoheleth, which is by En Rogel;[g] he also invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants. 10 But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or Solomon his brother.

11 So Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it? 12 Come, please, let me now give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. 13 Go immediately to King David and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your maidservant, saying, “Assuredly your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ 14 Then, while you are still talking there with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.”

15 So Bathsheba went into the chamber to the king. (Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.) 16 And Bathsheba bowed and did homage to the king. Then the king said, “What is your wish?”

17 Then she said to him, “My lord, you swore by the Lord your God to your maidservant, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ 18 So now, look! Adonijah has become king; and now, my lord the king, you do not know about it. 19 He has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army; but Solomon your servant he has not invited. 20 And as for you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 21 Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king rests with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders.”

22 And just then, while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. 23 So they told the king, saying, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. 24 And Nathan said, “My lord, O king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? 25 For he has gone down today, and has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, and the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and look! They are eating and drinking before him; and they say, ‘Long[h] live King Adonijah!’ 26 But he has not invited me—me your servant—nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon. 27 Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not told your servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”
David Proclaims Solomon King

28 Then King David answered and said, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king. 29 And the king took an oath and said, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress, 30 just as I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ so I certainly will do this day.”

31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and paid homage to the king, and said, “Let my lord King David live forever!”

32 And King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king. 33 The king also said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and take him down to Gihon.[i] 34 There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel; and blow the horn, and say, [j]‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35 Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, and he shall be king in my place. For I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.”

36 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, “Amen! May the Lord God of my lord the king say so too. 37 As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may He be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”

38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and took him to Gihon. 39 Then Zadok the priest took a horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, and all the people said, [k]“Long live King Solomon!” 40 And all the people went up after him; and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound.

41 Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the horn, he said, “Why is the city in such a noisy uproar?” 42 While he was still speaking, there came Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest. And Adonijah said to him, “Come in, for you are a prominent man, and bring good news.”

43 Then Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, “No! Our lord King David has made Solomon king. 44 The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have made him ride on the king’s mule. 45 So Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon; and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you have heard. 46 Also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom. 47 And moreover the king’s servants have gone to bless our lord King David, saying, ‘May God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’ Then the king bowed himself on the bed. 48 Also the king said thus, ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne this day, while my eyes see it!’ ”

49 So all the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid, and arose, and each one went his way.

50 Now Adonijah was afraid of Solomon; so he arose, and went and took hold of the horns of the altar. 51 And it was told Solomon, saying, “Indeed Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; for look, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’ ”

52 Then Solomon said, “If he proves himself a worthy man, not one hair of him shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” 53 So King Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. And he came and fell down before King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.” 1 Kings 1 NKJV

I remember going to the houses of the aged, and thinking how do they live in such heat, but when you looked at them, they were wrapped in sweaters or blankets. They could not get warm, and the pictures on the wall, the memories of bodies past had long been lost from their grip. If honor is only in strength, if it is really survival of the fittest and we are a mere pack of wolves, then there is no wrong in turning our backs. No matter how strong we may have been, no matter how sharp the mind was at a time, it is all slipping away. The spring was wonderful for David, the smell of grass, quiet starry nights, simple and pure pleasures of honest labor. He could talk to God, practice the harp and sling, it was work but not at such a horrible pace. It was where he came to face both the lion and the bear. The summer found him in the heat of battle, barely a man, but too seasoned to be called a boy. He shot up like a weed, came out of nowhere, destroyed a giant and won the heart of a nation. A star came out of Bethlehem, he became king and chased the enemies of Israel. Autumn was a strange time, it was cooler but still pleasant and not so far from summer's prime. The things he would not have thought to do in spring were now too easy to obtain, what things we entertain. His darkest hours were in this fall, with winter on it's way. I have sinned, what more could he say? Now winter's here, cold, relentless chill. Some never see it, and that crisp air that let's you look past everyone in the room, but David knows it to be a blessing, and that he will be going home real soon. 

Adonijah is not a case of misunderstanding. It says his father never rebuked him at anytime, saying why have you done so? He says, I will be king and does like his brother Absalom, he will ignore the wishes of father, king and God. He does not invite anyone who would have claim, nor anyone that would reject his own claim. He takes advantage of his father's age, that he is shrinking, that he is weak and shivering. He, like so many, rejects God's way, and thinks somehow that he may find enough important people, people of influence to make his own way stick. "Long live the king", but for a small matter, that this is not God's will. Nathan goes to Bathsheba to let her know what is taking place, that her life, and the life of her son are in danger. We should always be so quick to warn those, who either in ignorance, neglect or denial are not aware of what is coming. Your brother, the son of your father, the one that he did not want to disappoint or correct, is coming. He would take away your summer, mar the winter of your father, but he is like snow falling in Florida, it just doesn't stick. Bathsheba goes to David, Nathan goes to David, he remembers and makes right. 

Solomon seems quiet in all of this, maybe he has weighed it out in his mind, and thought, yes it was said that I would be, but so what if I am not? Maybe he is oblivious to all that is going on, or maybe he is already coming into wisdom, for if God has appointed us to anything then who is any man to say otherwise. Surely he knows the stories of his father and Saul, his father who spared the life of the man who hunted him. Just because someone makes a claim, because they blow the horn, others agree, does not mean that God has weighed in yet, or that He will overlook this. This is, after all, more against God than Solomon, for who is Solomon without the anointing of the Lord? This should relieve much anxiety, and remind us all to "consider how the lilies grow." 

His brother takes a chariot and hires out 50 men to run in front of him, but Solomon is placed upon his father's mule. It is a more humble procession, and does not avoid the guard of the church nor the prophet of the Lord. The other puts his trust in the head of the military, chariots and horses, a show of force. Then his celebrating becomes uneasy, like an earthquake is the rumbling of the people in the distance. The king has spoken, oil has been poured out, and God has chosen. Long live the king, and David does not contest the blessing of an even greater kingdom. He has laid a foundation and now his son will take it to new heights, blessed be the name of the Lord, Who lets me live so long to see this. Now the plotter is gripped with fear and grabs the horns of the altar, "please, please, I want mercy now." Solomon grants him such, but only if he is found worthy, that he refrains from wickedness.

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,


5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt,[a] the foal of a beast of burden.’”

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” Matthew 21: 1-11 ESV