1 Kings 1:5-27
Verse 13 Go in to King David and say to him, ‘My lord the king, did you not swear to me your servant: “Surely Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’
David was about 70 years old by now and while it doesn’t seem old by today’s standards he was considered quite old for his day. If we read the first 4 verses of this chapter we would have seen how the king was struggling to stay warm, likely from circulation issues in his body. It was because of this the king’s 4th son decided to take the throne for himself. Adonijah was the son next after Absalom in birth order of David’s sons. Amnon was the oldest and killed by Absalom. Next came Daniel whom we don’t hear anything about and he was followed by Absalom.
Adonijah seems much like his older brother, Absalom. He was good looking and seemed to be able to convince men, even those who had been loyal to his father, to follow him instead of the king. One of those men was someone who had once been very close to David and yet started making choices which weren’t as much in the king’s best interest as they were for himself. Joab may have stuck with David when Absalom tried taking the throne but this time around the commander was throwing his loyalty to the feet of Adonijah.
Though we don’t know much about Adonijah we do know a very important fact, David had not deprived him of anything he wanted. This prince may have thought his father would be willing to give him the throne if he showed enough interest in it. He doesn’t take any chances, he sets everything into motion to usurp the throne, even enlisting the men he thought could make it happen. He knew his dad was too weak and old to put up too much of a fight and with the king’s top commander now in his own favor, he knew he could take over the throne.
David may not have been up to stopping the younger man from taking over the throne, but God, who had been the One to place David on the throne in the first place wasn’t going to allow David to lose the throne because of He had already chosen who He wanted on the throne next. He knew whose line He wanted the Messiah to come through. So God sent a prophet to get the ball rolling with Bathsheba, she would be the one to help David realize he needed to crown a son before it became a source of further killing within his family.
Making It Personal
Have you ever wanted something so much you did everything you could do to get, no matter what it meant for others? Why was getting that thing so important to you? Who did you hurt trying to get it?
Making It Personal Kids
Have you ever done everything you could do to get something you really wanted? Did you think about how you getting what you wanted would affect others? What could be more important than getting what you want?
Closing Prayer
Father, we have to admit there are times when we get caught in the trap of thinking things are more important than what You have called us to do. Please give us wisdom on what we should strive for and what we should leave be. Help us desire to do only what You want us to do. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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