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1 Kings Chapter
One
1 Kings 1
Chapter Contents
David's declining age. (1-4) Adonijah aspires to the
throne. (5-10) David makes Solomon king. (11-31) Solomon is anointed king, and
Adonijah's usurpation stopped. (32-53)
Commentary on 1 Kings 1:1-4
(Read 1 Kings 1:1-4)
We have David sinking under infirmities. He was chastised
for his recent sins, and felt the effects of his former toils and hardships.
Commentary on 1 Kings 1:5-10
(Read 1 Kings 1:5-10)
Indulgent parents are often chastised with disobedient
children, who are anxious to possess their estates. No worldly wisdom, nor
experience, nor sacredness of character, can insure the continuance in any
former course of those who remain under the power of self-love. But we may well
wonder by what arts Joab and Abiathar could be drawn aside.
Commentary on 1 Kings 1:11-31
(Read 1 Kings 1:11-31)
Observe Nathan's address to Bathsheba. Let me give thee
counsel how to save thy own life, and the life of thy son. Such as this is the
counsel Christ's ministers give us in his name, to give all diligence, not only
that no man take our crown, Revelation 3:11, but that we save our lives,
even the lives of our souls. David made a solemn declaration of his firm
cleaving to his former resolution, that Solomon should be his successor. Even
the recollection of the distresses from which the Lord redeemed him, increased
his comfort, inspired his hopes, and animated him to his duty, under the decays
of nature and the approach of death.
Commentary on 1 Kings 1:32-53
(Read 1 Kings 1:32-53)
The people expressed great joy and satisfaction in the
elevation of Solomon. Every true Israelite rejoices in the exaltation of the
Son of David. Combinations formed upon evil principles will soon be dissolved,
when self-interest calls another way. How can those who do evil deeds expect to
have good tidings? Adonijah had despised Solomon, but soon dreaded him. We see
here, as in a glass, Jesus, the Son of David and the Son of God, exalted to the
throne of glory, notwithstanding all his enemies. His kingdom is far greater
than that of his father David, and therein all the true people of God cordially
rejoice. The prosperity of his cause is vexation and terror to his enemies. No
horns of the altar, nor forms of godliness, nor pretences to religion, can profit
those who will not submit to His authority, and accept of his salvation; and if
their submission be hypocritical, they shall perish without remedy.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 1 Kings》
1 Kings 1
Verse 1
[1] Now
king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes,
but he gat no heat.
Old —
Being in the end of his seventieth year.
No heat —
Which is not strange in a person who had been exercised with so many hardships
in war, and with such tormenting cares, and fears, and sorrows, for his own
sins (as divers of his Psalms witness) and for the sins and miseries of his
children and people. Besides, this might be from the nature of his bodily
distemper.
Verse 2
[2] Wherefore 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.
Servants —
His physicians.
Virgin —
Whose natural heat is fresh and wholesome, and not impaired with bearing or
breeding of children. The same counsel doth Galen give for the cure of some
cold and dry distempers.
Stand —
That is, minister unto him, or wait upon him, in his sickness, as occasion
requires.
Lie in his bosom — As
his wife: for that she was so, may appear by divers arguments. First, otherwise
this had been a wicked course; which therefore neither his servants durst have
prescribed, nor would David have used, especially being now in a dying
condition. Secondly, it appears from this phrase of lying in his bosom, which
is everywhere in scripture mentioned as the privilege of a wife. Thirdly, this
made Adonijah's crime in desiring her to wife, so heinous in Solomon's account,
because he saw, that by marrying the king's wife he designed to revive his
pretence to the kingdom.
Verse 4
[4] And
the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but
the king knew her not.
Knew her not —
Which is mentioned to note the continuance and progress of the king's malady.
Verse 5
[5] Then
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.
Then —
Upon notice of the desperateness of the king's disease, and the approach of his
death.
Exalted —
Entertained high thoughts and designs.
I will — As
the right of the kingdom is mine, verse 6, so I will now take possession of it.
Prepared — As
Absalom had done upon the like occasion, 2 Samuel 15:1.
Verse 6
[6] And 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.
Displeased him —
This is noted as David's great error, and the occasion of Adonijah's
presumption.
Saying — He
neither restrained him from, nor reproved him for his miscarriages: which David
well knew was a great sin.
Goodly man —
This was a second ground of his confidence, because his great comeliness made
him amiable in the peoples eyes.
Verse 7
[7] And
he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and
they following Adonijah helped him.
They helped —
Either because they thought the right of the crown was his: or to secure and
advance their own interest. It seems God left them to themselves, to correct
them for former miscarriages, with a rod of their own making.
Verse 10
[10] But
Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother,
he called not.
Called not —
Because he knew they favoured Solomon his competitor.
Verse 11
[11]
Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou
not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord
knoweth it not?
Nathan spake —
Being prompted to it both by his piety in fulfilling the will of God declared
to him, concerning Solomon's succession, 2 Samuel 7:13, and by his prudence, knowing that
Adonijah hated him for being the principal instrument of Solomon's advancement.
Bathsheba —
Who being retired and private in her apartment, was ignorant of what was done
abroad: and, who was likely to be most zealous in the cause, and most prevalent
with David.
Verse 26
[26] But
me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada,
and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called.
But me —
Whom he knew to be acquainted with thy mind, and with the mind of God in this
matter: and therefore his neglect of me herein gives me cause to suspect that
this is done without thy privity.
Verse 27
[27] Is
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?
Shewed thy servant —
Who, having been an instrument in delivering God's message to thee concerning
thy successor, might reasonably expect that if the king had changed his mind,
thou wouldest have acquainted me with it, as being both a prophet os the Lord,
and one whom thou hast always found faithful to thee.
Verse 28
[28] Then
king David answered and said, Call me Bathsheba. And she came into the king's
presence, and stood before the king.
Call Bathsheba —
Who, upon Nathan's approach to the king had modestly withdrawn.
Verse 29
[29] And
the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of
all distress,
Out of all distress —
The words contain a grateful acknowledgement of the goodness of God to him, in
bringing him safe through the many difficulties, which had lain in his way, and
which he now mentions to the glory of God, (as Jacob when he lay a dying) thus
setting to his seal, from his own experience that the Lord redeemeth the souls
of his servants.
Verse 31
[31] Then
Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and
said, Let my lord king David live for ever.
Live for ever —
Though I desire thy oath may be kept, and the right of succession confirmed to
my son, yet I am far from thirsting after thy death, and would rather rejoice,
if it were possible for thee to live and enjoy the crown for ever.
Verse 33
[33] The
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:
My mule — As
a token that the royal dignity is transferred upon Solomon, and that by my
consent.
Gihon — A
river near Jerusalem, on the west side. Adonijah was inaugurated on the east
side. This place David chose, either, as remote from Adonijah and his company,
that so the people might be there without fear of tumults or bloodshed; or, to
shew that Solomon was chosen king in opposition to Adonijah: or, because this
was a place of great resort, and fit to receive and display that numerous
company, which he knew would follow Solomon thither.
Verse 34
[34] And
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.
Anoint — As
they used to do where there was any thing new or extraordinary in the
succession. And this unction signified both the designation of the persons to
the office, and the gifts and graces which were necessary for their office, and
which, they, seeking them sincerely from God, might expect to receive.
Verse 35
[35] Then
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.
My stead — My
deputy and vice-king whilst I live, and absolutely king when I die.
And Judah —
This is added, lest the men of Judah, who were in a special manner invited by
Adonijah, verse 9, might think themselves exempted from his
jurisdiction.
Verse 47
[47] And
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.
Bowed himself —
Adoring God for this great mercy, and thereby declaring his hearty consent to
this action.
Verse 48
[48] And
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.
Blessed, … — It
is a great satisfaction to good men, when they are going out of the world, to
see their children rising up in their stead, to serve God and their generation:
and especially to see peace upon Israel, and the establishment of it.
Verse 51
[51] And
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.
His servants — He
owns Solomon as his king, and himself as his servant and subject; and being
sensible of his guilt, and of the jealousy which kings have of their
competitors, could not be satisfied without Solomon's oath.
Verse 53
[53] So
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.
Go to thine house —
Lead a private life, without noise and numerous attendants, and meddle not with
the affairs of the kingdom.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 1 Kings》
01 Chapter 1
Verses 1-4
Now King David was old and stricken in years.
The Winter of Life
I. Overtakes men
in the highest rank.
II. Chills the
vital sources of the naturally
robust. “And they covered him with clothes, and he gat no heat.”
III. Is but
temporarily alleviated by the best considered human devices. The cherishing of
Abishag was--
1. Advised by the court physicians. An expedient not unusual in
similar cases, when internal cordials failed, and with the limited skill of the
faculty in the use of warmth-creating potions.
2. Was innocent. Suggested for no other than purely medical reasons.
Sophocles lauded old age as a deliverance from the tyranny of the passions, as
an escape from some furious and savage master.
3. Suspended only for a brief season the inevitable progress of
decay. Medical skill is no more efficacious for the monarch than for the
humblest subject. David died within the year. A moment comes in the winter of
life when the warm pulse is stilled, and the once stalwart frame is locked in
the icy embrace of death. (J. Barlow.)
Verses
1-4
Now
King David was old and stricken in years.
The Winter of
Life
I. Overtakes men in the highest rank.
II. Chills the vital sources of the naturally robust. “And they covered him with
clothes, and he gat no heat.”
III. Is but temporarily alleviated by the best considered human
devices. The cherishing of Abishag was--
1. Advised by the court physicians. An expedient not unusual in
similar cases, when internal cordials failed, and with the limited skill of the
faculty in the use of warmth-creating potions.
2. Was innocent. Suggested for no other than purely medical reasons.
Sophocles lauded old age as a deliverance from the tyranny of the passions, as
an escape from some furious and savage master.
3. Suspended only for a brief season the inevitable progress of
decay. Medical skill is no more efficacious for the monarch than for the
humblest subject. David died within the year. A moment comes in the winter of
life when the warm pulse is stilled, and the once stalwart frame is locked in
the icy embrace of death. (J. Barlow.)
Verses
5-53
Then
Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself.
Usurpation
David
is “old and stricken in years.” Round about him there are certain proceedings
which are almost always associated with the death of great men. There are
persons who are wondering who will succeed to the throne. One man has made up
his mind that he will be the king. Could we understand all that is going on in
the minds of our friends when we ourselves arc approaching the hour and article
of death, we should be surprised by some revelations of character which we had
little suspected. Adonijah said, “I will be king” (1 Kings 1:5). How certainly, then, he will not! “Adonijah the son of Haggith
exalted himself.” He did not hear the voice sounding far away in the coming
time which said, “Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased.” You will find
that Adonijah was a spoiled child, for “his father had not displeased him at
any time in saying, Why hast thou done so?” (1 Kings 1:6). That is the explanation. Every will has to be broken, and it
ought to be broken as soon as possible; it is not as if the will could go on
always having its own way, marching from conquering to conquer, going on from
throne to throne; it is the law of life, and it is the most solemn fact in personal
history, that the will must be broken, in the sense of being subdued,
chastened, made to feel that there are other wills in creation, and that peace
can only come by mutual understanding and concession. How cruel, then, are
parents! They think they are kind, but their kindness is the worst form of
cruelty. How would it be in physical matters? You say that a man’s hand is out
of action, and the doctor says that hand might have been as good as the other
if the infirmity or accident had been attended to when the child was young.
That we call reason. A child does not see straightly; its eye is somewhat
askance; and the doctor again says that eye could have been made perfectly
right if it had been attended to when the child was young. When the doctor says
that, everybody looks upon him as a wise man. So many things ought to have been
done when we were young! Yet we ourselves will not do them to those who are
young, and who depend upon us for discipline, education, and general training.
When Adonijah said, “I will be king,” he carried to its logical issue the
training which he had received, or lacked, at home. How will he set about this
business? Exactly like a spoiled child. There is a striking consistency in all
the parts of his character and action. If you ask for his programme, you may
yourself write it for him; them is no need to make inquiry as to what he will
do. Spoiled children can only do one thing. They are absolutely destitute of
originality. What, then, does Adonijah do? He copied, Absalom,. whom in some
degree he resembled, being also “a very goodly man.” That is to say, a
well-favoured man physically; good to look upon, a handsome, noble figure. What
will Adonijah do? The answer is in the fifth verse: “He prepared him chariots and
horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.” How will Adonijah proceed? quite
consistently. In the seventh verse we find him still pursuing the same level of
thought and purpose: “And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with
Abiathar the priest.” What was Abiathar the priest? the priest of the tent in
which the ark of God was kept? or was he but some subordinate, good and honest
in his own way, hut a little tempted to believe in chariots and horses and
forerunners and outriders? Alas! it is possible for a priest even to be so
demented. This was the bound of Adonijah’s counsel; the crafty Joab and
Abiathar. Not the people. The people were to be taken by a storm of music. That
was Adonijah’s great plan for taking the nation! But the people are wiser than
they are often thought to be. Have faith in the people. You cannot easily
measure them. Taken one by one, they do not seem to amount to much; but when they
touch one another, and feel the contagion of sympathy and the inspiration of
common interests; when they listen as one man to the voice of the declaimer or
the charmer, the reasoner and the statesman, they know who is right and who is
wrong. Why these signs of masonry? Why this desire to get away from the society
of pure women and frank children, question-asking youth, and unsuspecting love!
Why did you not
call Zadok and Nathan and Solomon? Out of thine own month I condemn thee. The
honest man would have said, Let all come; this thing shall not he done in a
corner; it is right, sound, clear-hearted, through and through--come one, come
all, and guide me if I am wrong. The right man need not be in any hurry. He
will be sent for in due time. What became of Adonijah? He “feared because of
Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar”--the projecting
pieces of wood overlaid with gold, to which the sacrifices were fastened with
bands or ropes. Laying hold of these, he thought he had the right of asylum;
and he feared Solomon, saying, “Let King Solomon swear unto me to-day that he
will not slay his servant with the sword” (1 Kings 1:50-51). “Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased.” Adonijah, who
began by saying, “I will be king,” ended by saying, I am a servant. See the end
of all vanity, foolish conceit, mistaken and selfish ambition; so Solomon,
being a king in very deed, said: He shall have a conditional pardon--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” (1 Kings 1:52-53). So Adonijah became a ticket-of-leave man. What a fame! but
right. Do not let us mistake this: for we are all ticket-of-leave men. Let
there be no boasting. We are all out of hell conditionally. (J. Parker, D.
D.)
Adonijah
I. Beware of ambition. When regulated, restrained, and guided,
ambition serves a good end. It rouses to activity, and it tends to produce a
generous and noble character. But when it is inspired only by selfishness, by
the desire simply to attain to a certain position, so that vanity may be
indulged and pride gratified--by the determination to outstrip your fellows and win
certain prizes for which they too are toiling;--when, in short, there is
nothing but self to be consulted and flattered and appeased, it is dangerous.
It may lead you to do much that is evil, to trample on that which is sacred, to
break through and cast down the barriers which God’s law has erected around
you, to despise the nearest and dearest relationships of human life. Under its
withering influence he loses sight of the eternal in the temporal, ignores the
spiritual in the carnal, and forgets God in self! There is no ban laid by God
on advancement or “getting on.” You are not forbidden to attain earthly
honours, to acquire what are called the world’s “good things.” But then,
recollect, you must regard them only as subordinate to higher things. “Seek ye
first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be
added unto you.”
II. Beware of disobedience to parents. It may be an old, but it is a
permanent command, “Honour thy father and thy mother,” etc.
III. Beware of evil associations. The unholy alliance at Enrogel broke
up, immediately on the arrival of adverse tidings. Joab, Abiathar, and their
confederates disappeared, and left Adonijah to his own devices. There was no deep
affection, and no bond of pure love to keep them together; selfishness was at
the root of the association. They fawned, and flattered, and fled. Wicked men
do not care for their companions beyond the point of advantage. They have no
interest in each other’s welfare, and they are suspicious of each other’s designs and of
each other’s fidelity. Accomplices and partners in guilt indulge in mutual
accusations and revelations which show the slender nature of the tie which
binds them together. There is no love--no true, deep, self-sacrificing
love--such as dwells in the hearts of Christian brethren, united in Jesus
Christ. (A. Williamson.)
When the play
is out
Honour
must put off the robes when the play is done, make it never so glorious a show
on this world’s stage; it hath but a short part to act. A great name of worldly
glory is but like a peal rung on the bells, the common people are the clappers,
the rope that moves them is popularity; if you once let go your hold and leave
pulling, the clapper lies still, and farewell honour. (T. Adams.)
Ambition,
destructive
The
principal thing that excited the public hatred, and at last caused the death of
Julius Caesar was his passion for the title of king. It was the first thing
that gave offence to the multitude, and it afforded his inveterate enemies a
very plausible plea. (Plutarch.)
Verses 5-53
Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself.
Usurpation
David is “old and stricken in years.” Round about him there are
certain proceedings which are almost always associated with the death of great
men. There are persons who are wondering who will succeed to the throne. One
man has made up his mind that he will be the king. Could we understand all that
is going on in the minds of our friends when we ourselves arc approaching the
hour and article of death, we should be surprised by some revelations of
character which we had little suspected. Adonijah said, “I will be king” (1 Kings
1:5). How
certainly, then, he will not! “Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself.” He
did not hear the voice sounding far away in the coming time which said,
“Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased.” You will find that Adonijah was a
spoiled child, for “his father had not displeased him at any time in saying,
Why hast thou done so?” (1 Kings
1:6). That is the
explanation. Every will has to be broken, and it ought to be broken as soon as
possible; it is not as if the will could go on always having its own way,
marching from conquering to conquer, going on from throne to throne; it is the
law of life, and it is the most solemn fact in personal history, that the will
must be broken, in the sense of being subdued, chastened, made to feel that
there are other wills in creation, and that peace can only come by mutual
understanding and concession. How cruel, then, are parents! They think they are
kind, but their kindness is the worst form of cruelty. How would it be in
physical matters? You say that a man’s hand is out of action, and the doctor
says that hand might have been as good as the other if the infirmity or
accident had been attended to when the child was young. That we call reason. A
child does not see straightly; its eye is somewhat askance; and the doctor
again says that eye could have been made perfectly right if it had been
attended to when the child was young. When the doctor says that, everybody
looks upon him as a wise man. So many things ought to have been done when we
were young! Yet we ourselves will not do them to those who are young, and who
depend upon us for discipline, education, and general training. When Adonijah
said, “I will be king,” he carried to its logical issue the training which he had
received, or lacked, at home. How will he set about this business? Exactly like
a spoiled child. There is a striking consistency in all the parts of his
character and action. If you ask for his programme, you may yourself write it
for him; them is no need to make inquiry as to what he will do. Spoiled
children can only do one thing. They are absolutely destitute of originality.
What, then, does Adonijah do? He copied, Absalom,. whom in some degree he
resembled, being also “a very goodly man.” That is to say, a well-favoured man
physically; good to look upon, a handsome, noble figure. What will Adonijah do?
The answer is in the fifth
verse: “He prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before
him.” How will Adonijah proceed? quite consistently. In the seventh verse we
find him still pursuing the same level of thought and purpose: “And he
conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest.” What was
Abiathar the priest? the priest of the tent in which the ark of God was kept?
or was he but some subordinate, good and honest in his own way, hut a little
tempted to believe in chariots and horses and forerunners and outriders? Alas!
it is possible for a priest even to be so demented. This was the bound of
Adonijah’s counsel; the crafty Joab and Abiathar. Not the people. The people
were to be taken by a storm of music. That was Adonijah’s great plan for taking
the nation! But the people are wiser than they are often thought to be. Have
faith in the people. You cannot easily measure them. Taken one by one, they do not seem to amount
to much; but when they touch one another, and feel the contagion of sympathy
and the inspiration of common interests; when they listen as one man to the
voice of the declaimer or the charmer, the reasoner and the statesman, they
know who is right and who is wrong. Why these signs of masonry? Why this desire
to get away from the society of pure women and frank children, question-asking
youth, and unsuspecting love! Why did you not call Zadok and Nathan and Solomon? Out
of thine own month I condemn thee. The honest man would have said, Let all
come; this thing shall not he done in a corner; it is right, sound,
clear-hearted, through and through--come one, come all, and guide me if I am
wrong. The right man need not be in any hurry. He will be sent for in due time.
What became of Adonijah? He “feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went,
and caught hold on the horns of the altar”--the projecting pieces of wood
overlaid with gold, to which the sacrifices were fastened with bands or ropes.
Laying hold of these, he thought he had the right of asylum; and he feared
Solomon, saying, “Let King Solomon swear unto me to-day that he will not slay
his servant with the sword” (1 Kings
1:50-51). “Whosoever
exalteth himself shall be abased.” Adonijah, who began by saying, “I will be
king,” ended by saying, I am a servant. See the end of all vanity, foolish
conceit, mistaken and selfish ambition; so Solomon, being a king in very deed,
said: He shall have a conditional pardon--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” (1 Kings
1:52-53). So Adonijah
became a ticket-of-leave man. What a fame! but right. Do not let us mistake
this: for we are all ticket-of-leave men. Let there be no boasting. We are all
out of hell conditionally. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Adonijah
I. Beware of
ambition. When regulated, restrained, and guided, ambition serves a good end.
It rouses to activity, and it tends to produce a generous and noble character.
But when it is inspired only by selfishness, by the desire simply to attain to
a certain position, so that vanity may be indulged and pride gratified--by the
determination to outstrip your fellows
and win certain prizes for which they too are toiling;--when, in short, there
is nothing but self to be consulted and flattered and appeased, it is
dangerous. It may lead you to do much that is evil, to trample on that which is
sacred, to break through and cast down the barriers which God’s law has erected
around you, to despise the nearest and dearest relationships of human life.
Under its withering influence he loses sight of the eternal in the temporal,
ignores the spiritual in the carnal, and forgets God in self! There is no ban
laid by God on advancement or “getting on.” You are not forbidden to attain
earthly honours, to acquire what are called the world’s “good things.” But
then, recollect, you must regard them only as subordinate to higher things.
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things
shall be added unto you.”
II. Beware of disobedience
to parents. It
may be an old, but it is a permanent command, “Honour thy father and thy
mother,” etc.
III. Beware of evil
associations. The unholy alliance at Enrogel broke up, immediately on the
arrival of adverse tidings. Joab, Abiathar, and their confederates disappeared,
and left Adonijah to his
own devices. There was no deep affection, and no bond of pure love to keep them
together; selfishness was at the root of the association. They fawned, and
flattered, and fled. Wicked men do not care for their companions beyond the
point of advantage. They have no interest in each other’s welfare, and they are suspicious of each
other’s designs and of each other’s fidelity. Accomplices and partners in guilt
indulge in mutual accusations and revelations which show the slender nature of
the tie which binds them together. There is no love--no true, deep,
self-sacrificing love--such as dwells in the hearts of Christian brethren,
united in Jesus Christ. (A. Williamson.)
When the play is out
Honour must put off the robes when the play is done, make it never
so glorious a show on this world’s stage; it hath but a short part to act. A
great name of worldly glory is but like a peal rung on the bells, the common
people are the clappers, the rope that moves them is popularity; if you once
let go your hold and leave pulling, the clapper lies still, and farewell
honour. (T. Adams.)
Ambition, destructive
The principal thing that excited the public hatred, and at last
caused the death of Julius Caesar was his passion for the title of king. It was
the first thing that gave offence to the multitude, and it afforded his
inveterate enemies a very plausible plea. (Plutarch.)
Verse 8
But
Zadok the priest . . . went not with Adonijah.
Steadfast when
others falter
So
Cranmer and Ridley, and some few other conscientious persons, afterwards ill
rewarded by Queen Mary, refused to subscribe the letters patent for Lady Jane
Grey’s succession to the crown, after the death of King Edward VI.; which yet
were subscribed by the most of the statesmen, who were guided with respect to
their particular interest, for that they were possessed of divers lands which
once pertained to monasteries, chanteries, etc., which they foresaw they should
lose, m case religion should change under Queen Mary. (J. Trapp.)
Verses 22-27
Nathan the prophet also
came in.
Solomon succeeding David
I. The
trouble arising from lack of home discipline. Many a parent sows seeds of
sorrow by over-indulgence of the children. Nothing is more prophetic of grief
to come, for the parent, and calamity, for the child, than failure to insist
upon obedience. There is to be a throne and something of parental sovereignty
in every home. God requires of all parents, for their own sakes, the children’s
sake, and the sake of society, that they should govern their household.
II. The
sin of disregard for parents. Adonijah knew that his father had designated
Solomon as his successor. Finding his father feeble and at the point of death,
he conspired against him, influenced all he could to join him in the
conspiracy, and aid him in accomplishing his purpose. In the ambition of his
heart to reign over Israel he was ready for any intrigue, any injustice.
Ambition is the cause of much of this world’s crime. It consumes all the better
feelings of our nature; makes men regardless of tenderest relations and deepest
obligations. There are no duties diviner than those we owe to our parents. In
their old age, especially, parents have supreme claim on the affection and
protection of their children. None but he who is lost to all sense of the
claims of love, and is far gone in sin, can wilfully make sad a parent’s heart.
In all tenderness, and all solicitation for the joy and comfort of their
parents, children should hand them down to their graves, making, if it may be,
their last days the sunniest and most restful.
III. The
sacredness of human pledges. David had assured Bathsheba that her son Solomon
should succeed to the throne. Human pledges are sacred, especially when made in
the fear of God, and according to His conscious will. No difficulties should
ever turn men aside from fulfilling their vows. There should be no delay when
danger threatens. All men have many interests in their hands. It will cost, of
time, strength, and exposure, it may he, to guard these interests; but they
should be guarded, whatever the cost. David acted promptly, thus he succeeded.
Delays are often fatal. Decision is demanded for emergencies. While men fear
and hesitate it often becomes too late. Truth is to be done. Neither God nor
man excuses falsehood. Faithlessness
is full of annoyance. Our lives should be worthy of trust. There may be
impossibilities in the way; these alone should prevent the keeping of our
pledges.
IV. The
faithfulness of friends. Adonijah would have been crowned as king, had not the
friends of David and Solomon revealed the conspiracy. But these friends were
true; and their haste in acquainting the king of what was transpiring gave him
time to avert the calamity. Faithfulness to friends is one great want of the
world. None is safe from attack on the part of the ambitious and designing.
Neighbours are in danger of being injured in person or position without knowing
it, or being able to avoid the snare. Society is full of secret schemings to
rise on the ruin of others. Character is assailed; property imperilled; all
sacred things put in jeopardy by the unscrupulous. Often serious and
irreparable injury is done before the parties affected dream of anything evil
in the air. In business, in politics, in the whole range of human plan’s for
personal advancement, or right doing on any line, men are liable to be maligned
and harmed. It is duty in all cases and at all hazard to give warning or
counsel, and to interpose for the protection of others. We are not to be
busybodies, but we are to be our brother’s keeper.
V. The
patience of faith. Solomon likely knew of the conspiracy of Adonijah; but he
was as a deaf man that heard not. He seems to have quietly composed himself,
leaving it to God and his friends to order all. God had a will as to that
succession to the throne. Solomon understood it, and he could wait. Faith is
patient. There may be delays and disasters. Enemies may seem to succeed against
us. Providence may seem to be opposing. It may be wholly dark and ominous. But
we are to compose ourselves and wait.
VI. The
sovereignty of God. Adonijah considered the kingdom his by birthright, after
the death of Absalom. He had, however, been set aside by Divine appointment. He
had been welcomed with the cry: “God save King Adonijah!” Shall that conspiracy
succeed? God had planned otherwise. No plan formed against the Almighty can
permanently prosper. Wickedness may prevail for a time. Wicked men may come to
crowning. There may be long bafflings and delayings in the fulfilment of
prophecy. But God reigns. His word shall be accomplished. Here is our hope in
reference to this lost world. We have only to find our place and do our work.
The day is to dawn. There are to be turnings and overturnings. Kingdoms and
empires are to rise and fall--all unto the end of the setting up of the kingdom
of Christ on the earth. The day of jubilee is to be ushered in. (Monday Club
Sermons.)
Solomon’s succeeding David
This presents before us
the last of those three equal reigns, of forty years each, which seem to be
typical of the three dispensations: the Hebrew Church with its apostasy; the
Christian Church during its militant period; and the millennial reign with its
triumphant glory. If Solomon was thus the type of the “Prince of Peace,” the
fact that he ascended his throne only by displacing a usurper may find its
correspondence in the usurpation of authority over this world, Christ’s
rightful realm, by the prince of darkness. Yet how sure stands the unchanging
word, “I have set my King upon my holy hill of Zion”! Adonijah, who is
mentioned fourth among David’s sons, as his mother, Haggith, is fourth among
David’s wives, was a curious compound of physical beauty and grace with
boundless conceit and impudence, arrogance, and ambition. He was a spoiled
child: we are quaintly told in this chapter that “his father had not displeased
him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so?” Of his mother, Haggith, we
get no glimpse, except as the record reveals that at Hebron, not long after
Absalom’s birth, she became the mother of this her only child, Adonijah. Her
name in the Hebrew tongue means “dancer,” and she was probably a gay, light,
unprincipled woman, lacking both intellectual force and moral depth of
character. This son certainly resembled this probable portrait of his mother.
He was a “goodly man”; that is, of attractive personal presence--what, in our
corruption of pure English, we would call a “handsome man.” Yet his youthful
passions were stronger than his principles, and his impulses trampled upon his
convictions. As often happens in such cases, this son, who by reason of his
mother’s laxity and his own waywardness, needed a father’s restraint the more,
was subject to no parental authority or discipline whatever, and under no
sceptre of family government. His ambition was reckless. Ordinarily, however
much the favourite of his father, he could not have aspired to succeed him on
the throne, for Ammon, Chileab, and Absalom would each in turn prefer the clash
of primogeniture; but the death of these three elder brothers left Adonijah the
eldest living son, and therefore a claimant to the royal succession. The throne
was, however, pledged to Solomon, his younger brother, a child of promise,
“beloved of the Lord,” and better qualified every way for a wise and just
ruler. Adonijah’s ambition was not to be so easily thwarted. He saw with secret
exultation the visible and rapid decline of his father’s strength, and that the
time had come to seize by force a crown which he could not secure by favour or
procure by merit. Let us not forget the lesson’s moral, which touches both
parents and children. Parental authority and filial obedience are among God’s
unchanging decrees. A Divine curse for ever alienated from Eli’s house the
sacred privilege of the priesthood; and this is the ground of the curse:
“Because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.” Yet he did
inquire into their conduct and severely rebuked it, and so was a better father
than David, who did not even investigate Adonijah’s course. How grand is the
contrast of Abraham, who commanded his children and his household after him to
do justice and judgment! There may be an indulgence which is innocent. To deny
to a child the gratification of a proper and natural desire whose indulgence
would work no harm to the child nor injustice to others may be unjust; capricious
refusal may provoke to wrath a child who is disposed to obedience, and stir up
mischief, if not malice. But promiscuous indulgence leaves children to grow up
selfish, sensual, and reckless. One of the laws of the Mosaic code required
every builder of a house to put a battlement around the roof; and that
battlement, in the building of the household, is parental law. Where that
exists a child falls into ruin only as he climbs over the battlement. Without
pressing this lesson to the extreme of a fanciful typical interpretation, we
may lawfully find in it illustrations of some most important truths: first of
all, the secret of prevailing prayer. Bathsheba went before King. David with
confidence, for he had given his royal word of promise: “Surely Solomon thy son
shall sit on my throne.” There was no presumption in her plea; she was
emboldened by the king’s word: it was the confidence and courage of faith. And
so she got her request, and the answer was immediate as well as sure: “Even so
will I certainly do this day.” What is our encouragement in prayer? The promise
of the immutable God. No capricious moods make Him liable to repent or change
His mind; no old age and failing faculties render Him liable to forget. We have
to do with the eternal, unchanging God, whose word is the same yesterday,
to-day, and for ever. A second illustration may be gathered from this lesson as
to the providence of God overruling the evil designs of men and accomplishing
His purposes. Everything seemed against Solomon when Adonijah, surrounded by
his fellow-conspirators, was saluted as king. His throne was at risk, and even
his life was in peril But there was an old man, not yet dead, in whose feeble
hands the sceptre still rested, and who had sworn that Solomon should be heir
to the kingdom. A few words spoken by him unseated the usurper, dispersed his
minions, and placed the child of promise upon the throne. How often “all
things” seem against us, while “all things work together for our good.” The god
of this world has usurped the kingdom, and a host of followers rally round his
standard. The apparent successes of the god of this world in seizing the reins
of empire and oppressing the saints of the Most High shall make his ultimate
defeat only the more overwhelming, complete, and final (A. T. Pierson, D. D.)
Solomon succeeding David
I. A
royal advising.
1. Visiting
the king
2. Honouring
the king.
II. A
royal usurper.
1. Treacherous
sacrifices.
2. Treacherous
treatment.
3. Treachery
suspected.
III. A
royal ruler.
1. His
mother summoned.
2. His
father promising.
3. His
mother rejoicing.
4. His
reign established.
Verse
36
And Benaiah . . . said Amen.
The “Amen” of God and of man
Benaiah recognises the necessity that God shall ratify and
effectuate man’s desires and purposes. Man’s “Amen” means “May it be so.”
Jehovah’s “Amen” alone means “It shall be so.” His words are the expression
of--
I. Human helplessness. Man’s
plans only succeed when in the way of God’s Providence, and when carried out in
His strength. The true, broad view of His Providence shows us a government of
the world’s affairs, which takes in the life of the highest and humblest, their
aims, their work, their wants, their very sins and opposition, and, as here,
makes all contribute to the revelation of His Son and the setting up of His
kingdom. At the same time He can fulfil David’s narrower plan, and secure
Solomon’s elevation. He can secure my private wish and His own will; He can
harmonise the course, and aims, and wants, of two lives, or twenty, or a
hundred, even if not to converge for many years to come. If they harmonise, it
is because “He says so too.” Men must strive in vain against God’s purposes; or
for their own, without Jehovah’s “Amen.” Men are, and are not, “architects of
their own fortune.” “Except the Lord build the house” of David, or Benaiah, or
any other, “they labour in vain that build it.” Babel-builders leave God out of
their counsel; they must have Him in their work. Napoleon’s fall dates from his
words at Berlin: “ I propose, and I dispose.” “Man proposes, God disposes.”
II. Hope. Human effort is not
to be paralysed: “I cannot make my plan absolutely secure, or any plan,
therefore I will do nothing.” This is fatalism. There is a responsibility for
effort lying on every man. David and Benaiah must propose. This done
prayerfully and submissively, man may hope for a blessing on his effort, The
godly man proposes, and may hope that God will “say so too.”
III. Humility. Not the sullen
submission which bows, and bears, and yields, because there is no choice, if He
does not “say so too.” But the reverent acknowledgment of a superior will to
which a man loves to bow; the glad submission of every plan to the scrutiny and
revision of a wise Father.
1. Let all our plans in life be conceived in this spirit. Write
“D.V.” upon every record of purpose and desire.
2. All must be conceived and carried out in His strength. In our
vows--
Thou art not
only to perform Thy part,
Thou also mine:
as when the league was made,
Thou didst at
once Thyself indite
And hold my
hand, while I did write.
--(Herbert.)
(H. J. Foster.)
Verse 48
Blessed be the Lord God of
Israel.
The joy of aged and dying
saints
It is matter of great joy
and thankfulness to aged Christians, when they are dying, to leave their
families in prosperous and peaceful circumstances; and especially, rising up in
their stead to serve God and support religion.
I. To illustrate
this observation.
1. It is a pleasure to an aged, dying Christian to leave his family
in prosperous circumstances. It is the character of a good man, that he is not
a lover of this world, nor anxiously solicitous about future events. Nevertheless,
he considers himself as obliged, by the laws of nature, reason, and the gospel,
to provide for those of his own house. He is not solicitous to heap up so much
wealth for them as may be likely to make them idle, proud, and luxurious; but
only so much as may fix them comfortably in the world; in that middle station
which may be most friendly to their piety and happiness. He rejoiceth in that
declaration of Solomon, “The just man walketh in his integrity: his children
are blessed after him”; and he dieth with a full persuasion that it will be
confirmed to his children.
2. It is a greater pleasure to him to leave his descendants in unity
and love. Contentions and quarrels, between whomsoever they happen, are
grievous to all the sons of peace, dishonourable to religion and injurious to
its power; but between those of the same stock and family they are most
shameful and pernicious. The aged saint, when he is going to the world of
peace, is delighted to see his descendants loving as brethren, courteous and
kind one to another.
3. It is his greatest joy to leave his descendants in the way of
holiness, and zealous for the support of religion. “A wise son,” saith Solomon,
“maketh a glad father. The father of a wise child rejoiceth in him”: especially
when he is quitting the stage of life, and can do no more for the Church of God
than pour out his prayers for its prosperity.
II. Why such a
prospect giveth so much joy to aged and dying Christians.
1. This joy ariseth, in part, from their natural love to their
descendants. God hath implanted in all creatures a strong affection to their
offspring, in order that they may preserve and sustain them till they are
capable of providing for themselves. This natural instinct or affection is, in
good men, sanctified by religion.
2. The concern which aged Christians feel for the honour of God and
Christ, and for the continuance and spread of religion, increaseth this joy.
The great object of a good man’s desire is, “that God in all things may be
glorified through Jesus Christ”; that His perfections may be seen and
manifested in the world, especially by the spread of His glorious gospel; and
that He may receive that reverence, homage, and love, which is due to Him from
all His rational, especially His redeemed, creatures.
3. His prospect of meeting his pious descendants again in the
heavenly world. It is a most reviving and glorious consolation which the gospel
affords to dying saints, that when they part with pious friends and relatives,
it is not an eternal separation; it is indeed but a short one. For when Christ
shall be revealed from heaven, there shall be “a gathering together of all His
saints unto Him”; and He will so range and dispose them in the heavenly
mansions, that those who were united in the bonds of pious friendship here,
shall be happy in the renewed acquaintance and society of each other, and shall
be ever with one another and with the Lord.
III. Inferences.
1. It should be the earnest desire, and diligent care, of all
parents, that they may have this joy.
2. Aged Christians who have this joy ought to be very thankful. Bless
the Lord God of Israel, as David did, that He hath given you dutiful and
religions children, and spared you to be witnesses of their holy conversation.
3. It is the duty of young persons to fulfil their parents’ joy. Let
them be solicitous to cherish and manifest those graces and dispositions which
will afford their parents much comfort, especially when they are aged and
dying. “The father of the righteous,” saith Solomon, “shall greatly rejoice,
and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him. Thy father and thy
mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.” (J. Orton, S.
T. P.)
Verse 50
Adonijah feared because of Solomon.
The best way of overcoming
David did not directly attack this false kingdom of Adonijah’s. He
did set up the true kingdom in the place of the false. So the false fell
because there was no room for it in the presence of the true. Here is admirable
illustration of the best way of overcoming. Deduce the principle--crown the
right, the true, the trustful, and these, thus resolutely set up, will crowd
out and take the place of the bad and the false. Apply the principle--
1. To the overcoming of evil thoughts. They are a common trouble.
From the evil nature within us, the evil world without us, from the suggestions
of Satan, from the laws of association under the action of which much of our
thinking emerges, it is not surprising that evil thoughts should assault. What
is to be done with them? How are they to be overcome? A frequent attempt is
that of the sheer set of the will against them. But this is wearying, and
frequently unsuccessful. A better way is to simply enthrone the true. Crown
Solomon. Summon attention to the right. And thus in the presence of the crowned
right thought and pure, the evil thought will fade and fail. Here is a test for
the right sort of reading--a book which suggests evil is a book which ought not
to be read. Here we can see the importance of daffy devotion--study of the
Bible and prayer These things suggest and crown right thoughts and pure, and
the mind, being occupied with these, will have no room or care for evil
thoughts.
2. Apply this principle to the overcoming of despondency. Even the
bravest and most hopeful are sometimes despondent--Moses, Elijah A simple
determination not to be despondent wilt not much help one. But there is a way
of overcoming The opposite of despondency is action. Crown that opposite. Set
yourself, however despondent you may feel, bravely at the duty next you. The
doing the duty will scatter the despondency.
3. Apply this principle to the overcoming of care and worry. Take
hold of a promise. Crown that. The promise is the antidote for worry.
4. Apply this principle in the direction of social reform. It is not
enough simply to attack the bad. Positively set up the good. A merely negative
tearer-down is a poor sort of a reformer.
5. Let us sum up the whole thing--the best way to overcome the bad is
to crown the good; and the Solomon for us to crown over thought, motive, deed,
is Jesus Christ. The Christ-crowned in us will vanquish Adonijah. (Homiletic
Review.)
The triumph of truth
The way to preach down error is to preach up truth. Never tackle
Satan unless you are sure you can lay him. A great many men by opposing error
have magnified it, have glorified it, have given dignity to a hitherto unseen
and comparatively unknown foe. The most that churchgoing people have learned of
some forms d error, they have learned
from Christian pulpits. Now, the Christian pulpit is not erected to preach
evils, but to preach the glory of God. Infidelity is noisy, but it is shallow.
It is a failure, an ignominious failure. A little time ago in the history of
New York, Thomas Paine said, “In five years there will not be a Bible in
America.” How we smile to-day when we read his words! Truth is to triumph just
in proportion as we preach Christ, for as we liberate truth we will oppose
error. (R. S. Storrs.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》