1 Kings Review

The Book of 1 Kings tells us about many kings of Israel and Judah, as Israel became a divided kingdom due to the aspirations of the sons of the kings not always being in line with what God wanted for the people of Israel.  This starts when David was old and having a hard time staying warm.  David had been a good king and was called a man after God's own heart, but he was far from perfect.  We may be Christians and follow God's way in life, but we will never be perfect.  There was a proposal to get a young virgin to keep him warm, and Abishag was chosen.  This was not David's solution nor even God's but was the decision of those around David.  As we get older and less capable of taking care of ourselves, we need to pray that those who may feel the need to take over the task will follow God's will in doing so.  Abishag became fond of David and really did care about him.  Of course, with as many wives and concubines as David had, we might wonder why this was necessary.  Of course, we should only have one spouse, but hopefully as we get older and less capable of doing things for ourselves, he or she will be able to care for us.  At this time, Adonijah, one of David's sons, declared himself king.  Joab the head of David's army and Abiathar the priest supported him in this.  Just because we have the support of those in power does not mean that we are doing what God wants.  Abiathar especially should have been looking to God for guidance, and we aren't told that he did.  Adonijah invited all his brothers, the men of Judah who were David’s servants to a feast, but not Nathan the prophet, Benaiah and the mighty men of Solomon.  He may have believed that they wouldn't support him and figured that it would be better to already have claimed power before he faced them.  If people are worried that we will not support them in their plots today they may not invite us to participate, and that is really a good thing.  Nathan and Benaniah, another of David's sons, proposed to Bathsheba that she go to David and get him to anoint Solomon king and Nathen said he would help her.  Again, we need to hope that as a prophet Nathan was acting under God's guidance.  Bathsheba went to David and told him that Adonijah had taken over as king and David didn't even know it and asked that he anoint Solomon king and Nathan came in to support her request.  David called Bathsheba after Nathan told him what was happening and said that as he had sworn to God that Solomon would be king.  At least he was following God's guidance.  We really aren't told that Solomon himself made any demands during this time even if he had been chosen to be David's replacement.  If we are going to serve where God wants us to be, we need to rely on God to get us there without making demands.  David had Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah come to him and install Solomon as king and give him David's mule to ride and bring him to Gibon.  This would be a sign that David had chosen Solomon as his successor, and this was also consistent with God's will.  Having those in power endorse their replacement is important, but not as important as having God's endorsement.  When Adonijah heard the Solomon had been made king by David and sat on the throne, he was very afraid.  He went and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar.  If we are having problems today, there is nothing better to do than to go to the altar of God, as long as we go for the right reasons.