1 KINGS LESSON 2

     We will begin this lesson in I Kings 1:28  "Then king David
answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba. And she came into the king's
presence, and stood before the king."

     It appears, from this, that Bath-sheba had spoken to David, and
then left the room. Now, that Nathan has verified the fact that
Adonijah is trying to make himself king, David requests Bath-sheba
to come back into the room. We know, from the last lesson, that
Adonijah was trying to become king, even before the death of his very
weak father's death. We know, also, that Joab and all of Adonijah's
brothers, except Solomon, are in favor of Adonijah being the next
king.

     I Kings 1:29 "And the king sware, and said, [As] the LORD liveth,
that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress," I Kings 1:30 "Even as
I sware unto thee by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon
thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my
stead; even so will I certainly do this day."

     David is speaking this to Bath-sheba in the presence of Nathan.
There will be no doubting this proclamation with Nathan as a witness.
Notice, even near death, David is careful to give the LORD credit for
his life and his power. David is saying, that he will keep the oath he
had made to Bath-sheba. He will make Solomon king now.

     I Kings 1:31 "Then Bath-sheba bowed with [her] face to the earth,
and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live
for ever."

     Again, Bath-sheba shows her reverence for her husband and king.
She truly means, "Let my lord king David live forever".

     I Kings 1:32  "And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and
Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came
before the king."

     David may have been weak, but he was still thinking clearly, and
knew exactly what must be done. Notice, that Zadok the priest was
mentioned first. A Hebrew king must, first, be recognized by the man
that God had put in power as the priest. The spiritual was always
first. Remember that Benaiah was David's bodyguard.

     I Kings 1:33 "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:"

     We know that the she mule that David rode, was a mule proclaiming
him as king. To allow Solomon to ride this special mule, would mean
that David was announcing that Solomon would take his place as king.
Gihon was believed to be just to the west of Jerusalem.

     I Kings 1:34 "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."

     This seemed to be a place where most of the inhabitants in that
area could hear the trumpet. Zadok and Nathan would represent not only
the wishes of David in this, but the wishes of the LORD. As soon as
they have anointed him king, they will shout, along with the servants
of David's household, "God save king Solomon".

     I Kings 1:35 "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."

     Solomon will enter Jerusalem as the new king. He will already be
anointed by Zadok and Nathan. David, also, is still in power, and he
had declared Solomon as his successor. He will rule over all twelve
tribes, not just Judah.

     I Kings 1:36 "And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king,
and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king say so [too]."

     "Amen" means so be it. Jehoiada, is saying, "It will be as the
king has proclaimed". We must remember that, Jehoiada was a spiritual
man, as well. He knew, and said this pleased the LORD, as well.

     I Kings 1:37 "As the LORD hath 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 is an expression of his loyalty to Solomon. He had loved and
respected David, and now, he is willing to serve Solomon as king. It
is a way of showing his continued loyalty to David. He speaks a
blessing upon Solomon.

     I Kings 1:38 "So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and
Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites,
went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David's mule, and
brought him to Gihon."

     The Cherethites and the Pelethites were spoken of earlier as the
servants that went with them. They are, probably, a number of people
who had attended David in and around the palace. It is interesting
that all of this was not Solomon's idea. He was God's choice for king,
not Solomon's choice. He had not taken it upon himself to proclaim
himself king. David's priest and prophet had proclaimed Solomon king.

     I Kings 1:39 "And 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."

     The anointing oil coming from the tabernacle shows that this is,
indeed, the choice of the LORD for king. The people, mentioned here,
are, possibly, the Cherethites and the Pelethites who went with them.

     I Kings 1:40 "And 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." I Kings 1:41  "And Adonijah and
all the guests that [were] with him heard [it] as they had made an end
of eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said,
Wherefore [is this] noise of the city being in an uproar?"

     It appears that, all of this happened in a very short period of
time. Adonijah and his followers had not even finished their feast,
when they heard the trumpet blowing, and the people proclaiming
Solomon king. It seems that after the trumpet was blown, and the
pronouncement made that Solomon was king, many people followed along
behind the procession into Jerusalem. Joab, who had been the leader of
David's army, heard this noise and wondered what was happening.

     I Kings 1:42 "And while he yet spake, behold, Jonathan the son of
Abiathar the priest came: and Adonijah said unto him, Come in; for
thou [art] a valiant man, and bringest good tidings." I Kings 1:43
" And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king
David hath made Solomon king."

     Abiathar the priest had followed Adonijah. It was his son, who
came and brought the news to them. Adonijah was pleased to see him,
because he thought he was bringing them good news. This was quite a
shock to Adonijah to hear that David, himself, had declared Solomon
king.

     I Kings 1:44 "And the king hath 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 king's mule:"  I Kings 1:45 "And 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 ye have heard."

     The fact that the priest, Zadok and the prophet, Nathan had
anointed him with oil from the tabernacle, and put him on David's mule
to ride into Jerusalem, shows the LORD's approval of Solomon as king.
The noise they heard was the city of Jerusalem rejoicing over their
new king.

     I Kings 1:46 "And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the
kingdom."

     David had already set Solomon upon his throne. "Sitteth" means
continues to sit.

     I Kings 1:47 "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."

     It appears, the people are pleased with the selection David made
of Solomon as king. As they come to recognize Solomon as king, they
are speaking a blessing that Solomon's reign will be even greater than
that of David. David was confined to his bed, but bowed in the bed, to
recognize Solomon as king.

     I Kings 1:48 "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]."

     David, again, recognizes this decision to be of the LORD. His
blessings are for the LORD for choosing Solomon to succeed him on the
throne. He was so pleased that the LORD let him live to see his son,
Solomon, become king in his stead.

     I Kings 1:49 "And all the guests that [were] with Adonijah were
afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way."

     There was a mass exodus from Adonijah that day. These people no
longer wanted to be associated with Adonijah. They feared for their
lives. If they were supporting Adonijah and Solomon decided to kill
him, he might kill them, also.

     I Kings 1:50  "And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose,
and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar."

     Adonijah was the half-brother of Solomon. They had the same
father, David, but different mothers. It would have been customary for
the new king to kill Adonijah. He went to the tabernacle, and took
hold of the horns of the altar, begging for mercy. Adonijah had placed
himself under the protection of the LORD by this action.

     I Kings 1:51 "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 today that he will not
slay his servant with the sword."

     Someone came and told Solomon of Adonijah's desire for
forgiveness. He wanted Solomon's word, that he would not kill him for
desiring to be king. He knew if Solomon swore to him that he would not
kill him, he would be safe. He greatly feared that Solomon would kill
him. It would have, generally, meant death to Adonijah for what he had
done. He had appealed to the LORD for help, however.

     I Kings 1:52 "And Solomon said, 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."  I Kings 1:53 "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."

     This was a generous offer, to forgive Adonijah. Solomon would not
kill him, as long as he lived right. If he fell back into revolt
against the king, or started trouble in the kingdom, Solomon would
have him killed. It appears, he did accept Solomon's rules and bowed
to him, showing he accepted him as king.
                        1 Kings 2 Questions


1.  Who did David make his promise to?
2.  Who were the witnesses?
3.  What were the words of David's promise?
4.  Who did David proclaim as king to follow him?
5.  How did Bath-sheba react to this promise David made to her?
6.  Which three men did David send for, to carry out his wishes?
7.  A Hebrew king must, first, be recognized by the man that _________
    had put in power to be priest.
8.  Who were these three to take with them?
9.  Why did David tell them to set Solomon upon his mule?
10. Who were to anoint Solomon king?
11. After they had anointed him king, what 2 things were they to do?
12. What does "Amen" mean?
13. What is the statement, in verse 37, an expression of?
14. Who went with Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah?
15. Who actually poured the anointing oil on Solomon?
16. After the trumpet blew, what did the people say?
17. What caused the great noise coming into Jerusalem?
18. Who heard this noise, and wondered what it was?
19. Who came and told them what the noise was?
20. What news did he bring?
21. What things showed the LORD's approval of Solomon as king?
22. In verse 46, what had already happened?
23. What blessings were spoken on Solomon by the people?
24. How does David show that Solomon is now king?
25. When the people with Adonijah heard this news, what did they do?
26. What did Adonijah do?
27. What relation was Adonijah to Solomon?
28. What did Adonijah desire of Solomon?
29. What promise did Solomon make to Adonijah?
30. What were the conditions of this promise?
31. What did Adonijah do, that showed he accepted Solomon as king?