CHAPTER 1

(1015 B.C.)

DAVIDS LAST DAYS

¹Now king David was old and stricken in years (at this time, David was either 69 or 70 years old); and they covered him with clothes, but he got no heat (the first king of Israel, Saul, is not once mentioned in I Kings or II Kings; it is as if he never existed, because Saul was the peoples choice, while David was Gods choice).

²Wherefore 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 your bosom, that my lord the king may get heat (a common experience of the aged; Davids early hardships and later sorrows and anxieties appear to have aged him prematurely; as well, what was suggested was somewhat common in those days; nothing sexual is intimated).

³So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.

⁴And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not (had no intimate relations with her).

ADONIJAH PLOTS TO BE KING

⁵Then 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. (This is the fourth son of David, and now apparently the oldest surviving son. Adonijah, Joab the military leader, and Abiathar the High Priest would set up their kingdom in opposition to Gods elect king. God had no place in their hearts, and so Solomon did not suit them either. In fact, Gods choice never does suit man. This unholy triumvirate is a type of that which controls so much of the Church world presently.)

⁶And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why have you done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bore him after Absalom (as well, he had the Absalom spirit).

⁷And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the Priest: and they following Adonijah helped him. (Abiathar had been very close to David; so, he must have chafed at sharing the Priesthood with Zadok, and now makes his move to gain the number one spot all to himself. Such an attitude has no regard for the Will of God or the Call of God. Unfortunately, the modern Church is full of these religious leaders.)

⁸But Zadok the Priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the Prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah (the Holy Spirit is quick to point out these individuals who placed no stock in Adonijah, even though he was the eldest son, but rather waited on the Lord).

⁹And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En-rogel, and called all his brethren the kings sons, and all the men of Judah the kings servants (even though sacrifices were offered, which gave it a religious leaning, still, for Adonijah to be king was not the Will of God; in fact, had he gained the throne, it would have destroyed Israel, as all such usurpation steals, kills, and destroys, because it is of Satan [Jn. 10:10]):

NATHAN WARNS BATH-SHEBA ABOUT ADONIJAH

¹⁰But Nathan the Prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother he called not (it is clear from this Verse that Adonijah perfectly understood that he had in Solomon a rival; the word had no doubt gotten around that it was the Will of God that Solomon succeed David).

¹¹Wherefore Nathan spoke unto Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith does reign, and David our lord knows it not? (In other words, David has had nothing to do with the aspirations of Adonijah, proving that they were not of the Lord.)

¹²Now therefore come, let me, I pray you, give you counsel, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. (The idea is, these men would go to any lengths to secure their positions, even to killing Bath-sheba and Solomon, and anyone else, for that matter, who would seem to stand in their way. Such is the way and world of religion.)

¹³Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, Did not you, my lord, O king, swear unto your handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then does Adonijah reign? (This oath of David to Bath-sheba is not elsewhere recorded, but it was evidently well known to Nathan, and, no doubt, to others as well.)

¹⁴Behold, while you yet talked there with the king, I also will come in after you, and confirm your words (the meaning is not to amplify, but rather to corroborate).

BATH-SHEBA ASKS DAVID TO CROWN SOLOMON KING

¹⁵And Bath-sheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old (here the word refers to feebleness rather than age); and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king (introduced to show the kings helplessness).

¹⁶And Bath-sheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What would you? (It rather means, What do you want? or What is your business?)

¹⁷And she said unto him, My lord, you swore by the LORD your God unto your handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.

¹⁸And now, behold, Adonijah reigns; and now, my lord the king, you know it not (I know that you didnt have anything to do with this concerning Adonijah):

¹⁹And he has killed oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and has called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the Priest, and Joab the captain of the host: but Solomon your servant has he not called. (She says it in this manner to prove there was a plot. Spence says, It showed the cloven foot.)

²⁰And you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you, that you should tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him (it is certain that all of Israel was indeed abuzz about this).

²¹Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders (in other words, we will be killed).

NATHAN SUPPORTS THE PLEA OF BATH-SHEBA

²²And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the Prophet also came in.

²³And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan the Prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.

²⁴And Nathan said, My lord, O king, have you said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? (Nathan puts it thus forcibly, in order to draw from the king a disclaimer.)

²⁵For he is gone down this day, and has slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and has called all the kings sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the Priest; and, behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save king Adonijah (put to him in this manner, David will now have to take action).

²⁶But me, even me your servant, and Zadok the Priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon, has he not called (this speaks volumes!).

²⁷Is this thing done by my lord the king, and you have not showed it unto your servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him? (The repetition is well calculated to impress upon the king the importance of nominating a successor at once.)

DAVIDS OATH TO BATH-SHEBA

²⁸Then king David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba. And she came into the kings presence, and stood before the king (Bath-sheba had evidently left the chamber when Nathan came in; she now joins Nathan before David).

²⁹And the king swore, and said, As the LORD lives, Who has redeemed my soul out of all distress (in essence, David uses the term, by the life of Jehovah, which gives his statement about to be uttered great force),

³⁰Even as I swore unto you (Bath-sheba) by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day.

³¹Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live forever.

DAVID INSTRUCTS ZADOK AND NATHAN

³²And king David said, Call me Zadok the Priest, and Nathan the Prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king (the order of the names marks the position of the persons with respect to the matter at hand).

³³The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord (these were the Cherethites and Pelethites, about 600 men, a formidable force, to say the least), and cause Solomon my son to ride upon my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon (the riding of Davids mule was not merely a mark of honor, but a public and very significant indication of Davids will respecting his successor; the populace would perceive at once who was destined to sit in Davids seat; actually, it was death to ride on the kings mule without his permission):

³⁴And let Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet anoint him there king over Israel (the anointing, and especially considering that it was done by Zadok the High Priest and Nathan the Prophet, signified the spiritual aspect of the office of King over Israel; in fact, this was the single most important position on the face of the Earth; through this family would come the Messiah, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Lord Jesus Christ): and blow ye with the trumpet (signifying the proclamation of a new king), and say, God save king Solomon (which chant was expected to be picked up by all the people of Israel).

³⁵Then you shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne (in every possible way, his accession was to be proclaimed and confirmed); for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah (he and him are emphasized in the original Hebrew Text).

³⁶And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king say so too (Benaiah is saying, in effect, This is of the Lord).

³⁷As the LORD has been with my lord the king, even so be He with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David (this was said from a full and honest heart, not to flatter Davids vanity; it is thoroughly characteristic of Benaiah, so far as we know him; and the prayer was fulfilled).

SOLOMON ANOINTED KING

³⁸So Zadok the Priest (High Priest), and Nathan the Prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites (these latter two groups had the military might to back up whatever was done; they were Davids royal bodyguard, consisting of sizable forces), went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king Davids mule, and brought him to Gihon (considering this crack special guard accompanying Solomon, this must have been quite a procession).

³⁹And Zadok the Priest took an horn of oil out of the Tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon (this was the holy anointing oil [Ex. 30:25, 31]; they fulfilled exactly what David had told them to do; Solomon was confirmed in his office and, as well, by the approval of the people).

⁴⁰And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the Earth rent with the sound of them (there was great joy in Jerusalem).

ADONIJAHS SUBMISSION TO SOLOMON

⁴¹And Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating (celebrating, they thought, their new position). And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Wherefore is this noise of the city being in an uproar? (Joab seems at once to have suspected the significance of the blowing of the trumpet.)

⁴²And while he yet spoke, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the Priest came: and Adonijah said unto him, Come in; for you are a valiant man, and bring good tidings (Adonijahs misgivings reveal themselves in these words; he fears the worst, but strives to put on a cheerful face, and to encourage his guests Spence).

⁴³And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king David has made Solomon king.

⁴⁴And the king has sent with him Zadok the Priest, and Nathan the Prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the kings mule:

⁴⁵And Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that you have heard.

⁴⁶And also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom.

⁴⁷And moreover the kings servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed (bowed himself in worship of the Lord, because he knows that he has just carried out the Will of God).

⁴⁸And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which has given one to sit on my throne this day, my eyes even seeing it (this is exceptional, because most kings die before they are succeeded by others).

⁴⁹And all the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way (this fear and flight betray a consciousness of guilt).

⁵⁰And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the Altar (by laying hold of the horns, the offender, thereby, placed himself under the protection of the Saving and Helping Grace of God, at least if it was agreed to by the authorities).

⁵¹And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah fears king Solomon: for, lo, he has 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 (by Adonijah referring to Solomon as the king, it is a virtual abdication of his claim to the throne, and a direct acknowledgment of the new Monarch; in this statement, Adonijah indirectly confesses that he has merited death).

⁵²And Solomon said, If he will show 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.

⁵³So 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 your house (this was not a sentence of banishment from the Court, but merely a dismissal to a private life, involving a tacit admonition to live quietly and be thankful that his life was spared him Spence).