You did not make a mistake in your reading. The schedule had 1st Chronicles 28-29 for today but, chronologically, 1st Kings 1 comes first. So I’m going to cover it today and the Chronicles segment on Saturday.
1st Kings 1 opens with an elderly King David whose circulation is not what it once was. Even if they wrap him up with blankets, he can’t get warm. 🥶
David’s attendants select a young virgin woman named Abishag to lie in the arms of the king (probably naked) to share her body heat with him. It’s likely that for propriety she was wedded to David and considered a concubine even though he never consummated a marriage with her. Abishag’s position in the household will be important later.
David has not yet publicly named his successor. His first four sons were:
Amnon(killed by Absalom for raping Tamar)- Chileab (only named once in the Bible, possibly dead)
Absalom(killed by Joab)- Adonijah (Absalom’s younger brother)
If Chileab was dead or infirm, Adonijah was the next in line for the throne. So without asking his father, he presumes to declare himself the next king. And it’s no surprise. David was an indulgent father and Adonijah (like Absalom) was basically a spoiled brat.
“Now his father, King David, had never disciplined him at any time, even by asking, “Why are you doing that?” Adonijah had been born next after Absalom, and he was very handsome.”
1 Kings 1:6 NLT
Handsome + spoiled = JERK. 😒
We’ve all had the misfortune of encountering adults who were not sufficiently disciplined as children.
Or, as I usually put it, “They didn’t get enough whuppins.”
They are people who aren’t used to boundaries and they pitch a fit when they don’t get their way. And it usually works.
“Adonijah took Joab son of Zeruiah and Abiathar the priest into his confidence, and they agreed to help him become king. But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David’s personal bodyguard refused to support Adonijah.”
1 Kings 1:7-8 NLT
TEAM ADONIJAH:
Joab and Abiathar
TEAM DAVID:
Zadok, Benaiah, Nathan, Shimei, Rei, and the whole bodyguard.
😏 I’d go with the team who has the prophet.
Me too. And the warrior-priest-bodyguard-captain.
Adonijah hosts a big party and invites everyone except Solomon and Team David. He declares himself king and it looks legit because he has General Joab and High Priest Abiathar. All of the guests probably thought it was legit.
Nathan gets wind of the plot and gets Bathsheba (the mother of Solomon) involved because the Lord has already revealed to David that Solomon was to be the next king and David has shared this with Bathsheba.
David assembles his “team” and they hastily go to the Gihon Spring and anoint Solomon as king.
You may remember Jonathan the son of Abiathar. He served as one of the secret messengers (and hid in the well) when David fled Jerusalem from Absalom. Now he delivers the message to Adonijah that Solomon has just been named king by David and anointed by Zadok.
Adonijah’s jig is up. And he’s in BIG trouble. He knows how things ended for his older brother Absalom when he tried to take over the kingdom. His party is over. Everyone scrambles and Adonihjah escapes to the Tabernacle for refuge.
If you ever played “Tag” as a kid you probably had a “Base” where you were safe. “You can’t tag me ‘cuz I’m on base!” That’s what Adonijah is doing.
Solomon is not out to kill Adonijah and tells him he’ll be safe as long as he goes home quietly and doesn’t try anything stupid.
This whole incident is crucial for upcoming events. David is in his final days but he gets to see Solomon made king. And since this coronation was kind of a spontaneous thing, they plan a second coronation that is much more splendid. That’s the content of 1st Chronicles 28-29. And we’ll get there – in just a couple more days…
To The Reader 