King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 19 notes
1Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.
David was about 70 years old at this time.
Dake's commentary makes an interesting, puzzling yet mind-blowing 🤯 point about the kings after David.
That none lived more than 60 years. I'll have to investigate this.
What???
2Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.
3So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
4And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.
5Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
6And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom.
It seems this family 👪 had within them a strong 💪 thirst for power and rulership... Even if it meant usurping them.
7And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him.
8But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.
Let the game of politics and of thrones begin.
How come Joab had separated himself from the mighty men who had been comrades in arms all these decades?
Joab was such a fiercely independent and selfish schemer.
And this ultimately led to his demise.
9And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En-rogel, and called all his brethren the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah the king’s servants:
10But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not.
11Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not?
12Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.
The matters of the kingdom are a matter of life and death ☠.
It was not merely about wielding power for power's sake.
Power has to be protected and all potential threats eliminated.
13Go 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?
14Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words.
Many thoughts regarding the politics of the day. But here are my considerations: firstly, God had promised Solomon would be king, and that by the mouth of the prophet Nathan himself.
So how come now Nathan has become a politician and trying to "help God"? Was he not supposed to leave everything to happen by itself?
And this is where I think we sometimes miss it as believers. We leave many things to chance. Of course, that is not to say that we are to run off pursuing our own agenda by whatever means possible, be it fair or foul means.
The point I see here is we are to do what is at all possible within our power to do with regards to the promises of God, and leave the divine part to God.
That also means God will not do what we must do as men.
As I muse over this verse, another thing also comes to mind. Remember when David slept with Bathsheba, God did nothing all through David's scheming and murder of Uriah, but rather sent Nathan after the event to call out David.
Why did God wait till that time? That is something worth pondering about.
Again, is it not interesting that Solomon, of this wicked union, was chosen by God to be king? Something worth thinking about.
15And Bath-sheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king.
Why was David very old, yet Joab and his mighty men remained relatively stronger?
Could it be the weight and burden of kingship that burdened him so much?
The burden of a good king 👑.
16And Bath-sheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou?
17And 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.
18And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not:
19And 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.
20And 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.
21Otherwise 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.
22And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in.
23And 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.
Behold Nathan the prophet: the systems of the kingdom were established.
An announcement 📢 must be made to the king 👑 even before individuals are granted audience with the king 👑.
24And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?
25For 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.
26But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called.
Where was Solomon at this time?
27Is 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?
The Lord had spoken concerning Solomon, but it will take the man, the king 👑 David, to cause the will of the Lord to pass.
And David was God's man 👨, and he will cause the Lord's will to happen.
That is why the Lord loved him so much.
28Then king David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba. And she came into the king’s presence, and stood before the king.
Bathsheba had by this time been excused so Nathan the prophet could be granted audience.
Only for Nathan the prophet to say the same things.
This further brought emphasis to the mind of the old king 👑, the severity of the situation, that it was not mere insecurity of the woman but a real threat to their lives and his precious son Solomon.
The act of Nathan and Bathsheba was wisdom.
Lord, grant me wisdom in the Castle and in the corridors of Power.
29And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress,
30Even 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.
I wonder when David uttered these words, and under which circumstance he made this promise.
31Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.
Oh, where was Michal, the first true wife of David? She had lost significance in the kingdom 👑, and one of the very few opportunities to continue the name of her father was lost.
32And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.
33The 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:
Riding upon the king's mule was very significant; it was indicative of the transfer of power.
What was the significance of Gihon?
34And 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.
35Then 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.
36And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king say so too.
37As 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.
38So 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.
39And 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.
40And 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.
'Ei asem oo', to wit 'matter oo', as the Nigerian 🇳🇬 would say.
TWO commemorations happening at the same time.
But one carried more weight 🏋️ than the other.
And the entire people followed the king's choice, Solomon, whiles Adonijah's group were left behind.
41And 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?
42And 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.
Speaking 🔊 as a king 👑, he didn't know his kingdom never began, for it to be even said that it had ended.
43And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king.
44And 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:
45And 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.
46And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom.
47And 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.
That sealed it. Anyone can anoint another king 👑 and rejoice in it, as demonstrated by Adonijah,
But to sit on the throne of David the king, and have his servants bless him, and for him to acknowledge such, was more powerful a symbolism than any other.
Adonijah had all the king's sons backing him up, which in itself was a very powerful symbol.
The other sons, though stepchildren, had all come together to back up Adonijah, who was the eldest son at this point.
Amnon, the first and eldest son, was dead; the 2nd, no mention is made of his whereabouts; Absalom was dead in his revolt against his father; and now Adonijah was next in command.
And all the other sons of different mothers had converged to make Adonijah king.
This was a very powerful symbol.
How could Solomon, the youngest son, and of an opportunistic woman 👩 as Bathsheba, be made king 👑?
They can't let that boy rule over them all. They had hatched a plan and it worked so far.
And David their father knew his sons were right to want justice and the right thing to be done...
But David had sworn by the Lord to Bathsheba, and he would not renounce it.
He himself said that in
Psalm 15:4 ESV
in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
That such an one would dwell in the hill of the Lord.
So David honored the word of the Lord God concerning Solomon, and honored his word to his wife Bathsheba.
Nathan was the one who rebuked David for his sins with Bathsheba, and one would have expected him to be the last to support her, seeing her selfishness.
But he was firstly a prophet and a man of God, and knew what the word of the Lord was.
And he chose the Lord's side, though that wasn't the fairest.
But God does not judge after appearances, but judges the heart, and also God does not count the sins of the fathers unto the sons.
The fathers must not eat sour grapes and the children's teeth set on edge.
48And 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.
49And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way.
50And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
51And 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 to day that he will not slay his servant with the sword.
52And 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.
53So 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.
It was settled, the Lord had established Solomon — for Adonijah to bow 🙇 was symbolic of surrender to the new dynasty.