We next need to look at how Solomon became king, his succession to his father David. Solomon’s story is found in the Bible's history books. There are three main ones, each divided in two because of their size - Samuel, Kings and Chronicles. Solomon’s story is chiefly found in 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles. In this chapter we concentrate on 1 Kings 1, verses that have no parallel in Chronicles or elsewhere.On first reading, it seems a slightly strange chapter in some ways. It appears to leap into the middle of things rather. The history to be found in the Books of Samuel (about Samuel, Saul and David) is assumed. A feature of the chapter is that it contains a number of speeches – from Nathan, Bathsheba and David. There is also a lot of repetition. You may notice that one phrase or something like it occurs no less than nine times – see verses 13, 17, 20, 24, 27, 30, 35, 46 and 48: 'and he will sit on my throne; and he will sit on my throne; who will sit on the throne of my lord the king; and that he will sit on your throne; who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him; and he will sit on my throne; and sit on my throne; Solomon has taken his seat on the royal throne; a successor on my throne today.' There need be no doubt about the subject of this chapter then – who sits on the throne!
Here we have three kings or possible kings, all from the same family – David, Adonijah and Solomon. They portray for us, successively, an old king leaving his throne behind, a pretender to the throne and the true king on his throne. Thus we learn about Solomon negatively by learning what he is not and then positively by learning about his accession.
You may wonder how such information can be of any use to us today but the question of who is on the throne is always highly relevant - not who is on the English throne or who rules America or Israel but who is the ultimate ruler of all. This chapter helps us think that matter through. So we will look at these three kings or would-be-kings and learn from them where to look.
Do not look to puny, passing human rulers like dying David
David is, of course, a type of Jesus Christ in many ways but at this point he is weak and old, his kingship is coming to an end and he personifies the weak and transitory nature of all human kingship. We are told in verse 1 that he ‘was old and well advanced in years’. One of his big problems was that ‘he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him’. You may know that babies and old people are particularly susceptible to hypothermia because of their inability to shiver and so warm their bodies. That is how weak David was by this stage – too weak to even shiver. He was also getting out of touch with what was going on. This comes out in verse 18.
We are told that David’s servants adopted what seems to us a rather odd solution, one that sounds rather unethical. However, before we are too quick to jump to conclusions, we should remember that this is before the invention of central heating or electric blankets. It is surprising what has been done to deal with medical problems, especially in the past. I remember my father telling me about a boy he knew who had to eat live maggots to deal with a stomach growth!
So David’s servants say to him (verse 2) ‘Let us look for a young virgin to attend the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm.’ The idea of using another person to warm David up makes sense. But who? To sell the idea to David they had to make it sound attractive. So, we learn how ‘they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.’ Inevitably ‘The girl was very beautiful’. ‘She took care of the king and waited on him.’
The note – ‘but the king had no intimate relations with her’ is seen by some as further evidence of David’s decrepitude – the great lover can no longer perform! It is more likely that Abishag is introduced here partly to explain what Adonijah does later. The note is intended to clarify David’s relationship with her.
David’s weakness and old age here sum up the nature of human rule and leadership. For all its strengths, it is fundamentally weak and cannot last. Parents and husbands die. Preachers pass away. Political leaders do not last. We need to recognise this fundamental fact so that we do not put our ultimate trust in any merely human power. Psalm 146:3 and 118:9 admonish us 'Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save … It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes'.
David is, of course, a type of Jesus Christ in many ways but at this point he is weak and old, his kingship is coming to an end and he personifies the weak and transitory nature of all human kingship. We are told in verse 1 that he ‘was old and well advanced in years’. One of his big problems was that ‘he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him’. You may know that babies and old people are particularly susceptible to hypothermia because of their inability to shiver and so warm their bodies. That is how weak David was by this stage – too weak to even shiver. He was also getting out of touch with what was going on. This comes out in verse 18.
We are told that David’s servants adopted what seems to us a rather odd solution, one that sounds rather unethical. However, before we are too quick to jump to conclusions, we should remember that this is before the invention of central heating or electric blankets. It is surprising what has been done to deal with medical problems, especially in the past. I remember my father telling me about a boy he knew who had to eat live maggots to deal with a stomach growth!
So David’s servants say to him (verse 2) ‘Let us look for a young virgin to attend the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm.’ The idea of using another person to warm David up makes sense. But who? To sell the idea to David they had to make it sound attractive. So, we learn how ‘they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.’ Inevitably ‘The girl was very beautiful’. ‘She took care of the king and waited on him.’
The note – ‘but the king had no intimate relations with her’ is seen by some as further evidence of David’s decrepitude – the great lover can no longer perform! It is more likely that Abishag is introduced here partly to explain what Adonijah does later. The note is intended to clarify David’s relationship with her.
David’s weakness and old age here sum up the nature of human rule and leadership. For all its strengths, it is fundamentally weak and cannot last. Parents and husbands die. Preachers pass away. Political leaders do not last. We need to recognise this fundamental fact so that we do not put our ultimate trust in any merely human power. Psalm 146:3 and 118:9 admonish us 'Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save … It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes'.
Do not look to false, fading would-be kings like ambitious Adonijah
So with a weak and old king on the throne and nothing apparently yet certain about his successor, there was something of a power vacuum in Israel. Such times come to God’s kingdom, times of change and transition – how we react at such times is important. A passage like this encourages us to remember that through it all God is in control. If we look to him, all will be well. Such circumstances suit opportunists like David’s son Adonijah and the godly need to beware. We can say several things about such would-be kings. We begin with this one
1. Expect them to put themselves forward
At this time it was not automatically the eldest son who succeeded. As a senior son Adonijah felt his claim was as good as any and rather than waiting for David’s death he decided to push himself forward. Verse 5 'Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, I will be king.'
He volunteered himself. It may surprise you to know how many people get to positions of power simply by pushing themselves forward. That is basically how Hitler came to power. Mere personal recommendation is not enough, however. Our leaders need to be those with a little more than a willingness to serve. When we choose our political leaders or elders and deacons in churches we need to do more than simply find volunteers! Our heroes should not just be those that the media promote either.
At this time it was not automatically the eldest son who succeeded. As a senior son Adonijah felt his claim was as good as any and rather than waiting for David’s death he decided to push himself forward. Verse 5 'Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, I will be king.'
He volunteered himself. It may surprise you to know how many people get to positions of power simply by pushing themselves forward. That is basically how Hitler came to power. Mere personal recommendation is not enough, however. Our leaders need to be those with a little more than a willingness to serve. When we choose our political leaders or elders and deacons in churches we need to do more than simply find volunteers! Our heroes should not just be those that the media promote either.
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