Sorry I missed our lessons last Thursday and Friday. God, obviously, had plans for this lesson to be given today! Let's dig in!
In this chapter, David gives Solomon some wise counsel and final instructions; he dies; and Solomon begins to clean house. The chapter begins, “As the time of King David’s death approached, he gave this charge to his son Solomon: “I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man. Observe the requirements of the Lord your God and follow all his ways. Keep each of the laws, commands, regulations, and stipulations written in the law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. (Wow! If we follow God’s ways, we will be successful everywhere we go and in everything we do! David is also saying...you can't be a man without following the Lord!) If you do this, then the Lord will keep the promise he made to me: ‘If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel. (I’m excited to learn if this happened; and if it didn’t, where was the breakdown?)
And there is something else. You know that Joab son of Zeruiah murdered my two army commanders, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He pretended that it was an act of war, but it was done in a time of peace, staining his belt and sandals with the blood of war. Do with him what you think best, but don’t let him die in peace.
Be kind to the sons of Barzillai from Gilead. Make them permanent guests of the king, for they took care of me when I fled from your brother Absalom. And remember Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim. He cursed me with a terrible curse as I was fleeing to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan River, I swore by the Lord that I would not kill him. But that oath does not make him innocent. You are a wise man, and you will know how to arrange a bloody death for him.” (1 Kings 2:1-9)
David, then died. He reigned over Israel for a total of 40 years. He was buried in the City of David, and Solomon is now firmly established on the throne.
One day Adonijah went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, to ask a favor of her. As she listened, he requested, “Speak to King Solomon on my behalf, for I know he will do anything you request. Ask him to give me Abishag, the girl from Shunem, as my wife.” “All right,” Bathsheba replied. “I will speak to the king for you.”
So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak on Adonijah’s behalf. The king rose from his throne to meet her, and he bowed down before her. When he sat down on his throne again, he ordered that a throne be brought for his mother, and she sat at his right hand. (Wow! Notice the respect we should all have for our mothers!) “I have one small request to make of you,” she said. “I hope you won’t turn me down.” “What is it, my mother?” he asked. “You know I won’t refuse you.” “Then let your brother Adonijah marry Abishag, the girl from Shunem,” she replied.
“How can you possibly ask me to give Abishag to Adonijah?” Solomon demanded. “You might as well be asking me to give him the kingdom! You know that he is my older brother, and that he has Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah on his side.” Then King Solomon swore solemnly by the Lord: “May God strike me dead if Adonijah has not sealed his fate with this request. The Lord has confirmed me and placed me on the throne of my father, David; he has established my dynasty as he promised. So as surely as the Lord lives, Adonijah will die this very day!” So King Solomon ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada to execute him, and Anonijah was put to death.
Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your home in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not kill you now, because you carried the Ark of the Sovereign Lord for my father, and you suffered right along with him through all his troubles." So Solomon deposed Abiathar from his position as priest of the Lord, thereby fulfilling the decree the Lord had made at Shiloh concerning the descendants of Eli.
Although he had not followed Absalom earlier, Joab had also joined Adonijah’s revolt. When Joab heard about Adonijah’s death, he ran to the sacred tent of the Lord and caught hold of the horns of the altar. When news of this reached King Solomon, he sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada to execute him. Benaiah went into the sacred tent of the Lord and said to Joab, “The king orders you to come out!” But Joab answered, “No, I will die here.” So Benaiah returned to the king and told him what Joab had said. “Do as he said,” the king replied. “Kill him there beside the altar and bury him. This will remove the guilt of his senseless murders from me and from my father’s family. Then the Lord will repay him for the murders of two men who were more righteous and better than he. For my father was no party to the deaths of Abner son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amaso son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. May Joab and his descendants be forever guilty of these murders, and may the Lord grant peace to David and his descendants and to his throne forever.” (1 Kings 2:17-33)
Benaiah did as the king ordered, and afterward, King Solomon appointed Benaiah commander of the army to replace Joab, and Zadok took over as priest to take the place of Abiathar. Solomon is starting to clean house!
“The king then sent for Shimei and told him, “Build a house here in Jerusalem and live there. But don’t step outside the city to go anywhere else. On the day you cross the Kidron Valley, you will surely die; your blood will be on your own head.” Shimei replied, “Your sentence is fair; I will do whatever my lord the king commands.” (1 Kings 2:36-38)
Three years later, however, Shimei left one day to search for some escaped slaves, taking him outside of the boundaries set by Solomon. When Solomon learned of this event, he spoke to Shimei, revisiting the agreement, and then ordered his death.
The chapter ends with the kingdom firmly in Solomon’s grip. He, officially, cleaned house!
Lord, thank you for your Word today! Thank you for reminding us that if we follow your ways, we will be successful in all that we do and wherever we go. Help us stand up and be the men and women you appointed us to be. And Lord, help us to honor and respect our mothers like Solomon did. We love you!
May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
….AND MAY WE ALL PRACTICE THIS WITH ONE ANOTHER.
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