And Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king; and he provided himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
David is old and dying, the succession is unsettled, and one of his sons decides not to wait. The verse shows a man crowning himself, and it raises two questions: what makes someone grab what God has not given, and what part did his father play?
Adonijah was not filling an empty space. The next king had already been named in public, in front of the nation's leaders.
The revelation of a divine purpose stirs up the opposition of the Devil, and he works at once to frustrate it. 1 Chronicles 22 describes an important gathering in Jerusalem. There David made known that Solomon, though one of his youngest sons, was the Lord's choice for the throne. He at once charged him to build a house for God. He also charged all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son (1 Chron. 22:17). The young man was then solemnly enthroned.
The heart of the verse is not the chariots. It is the sentence Adonijah says to himself.
It was after this, and so in full knowledge of the purpose of God, that "Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, 'I will be king'" (1 Kings 1:5). As surely as Solomon prefigures Christ, Adonijah prefigures the Antichrist. Mark the fatal words, "I will." In Isaiah 14:13-14 we hear Lucifer saying five times, "I will." Here we have the very essence of sin. 1 John 3:4, correctly translated, teaches us that "sin is lawlessness." Lawlessness is self-will. James tells us we should always say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that" (James 4:17). Self-will has been the undoing of the human race, and its full evil is not yet developed.
The chariots and runners were not a new idea. The family had watched this same parade once before.
He was imitating the pride of his brother Absalom. Absalom had tried to dethrone his father David, and he came to an end in shame and disgrace (2 Sam. 18). This should have been enough warning to Adonijah, but his pride overshadowed caution.
Two men joined him. What drew them says something about which king the human heart prefers.
Joab and Abiathar follow him. Joab, always the same, seeks only his own self-interest. Sensing that David is near his end, he turns to Adonijah, just as before he had turned to Absalom at the first opportunity. How could he take the side of the king of righteousness? The wrongs of his past life must have made him afraid of close contact with Solomon. And then there is nothing in the true king that attracts the flesh. The natural man turns, and will always turn without hesitation, toward the usurper and the false king.
Where did that will come from? Commentators point to his place in the family, to his father, and to a question his father never asked.
Born right after Absalom, though to a different mother, he no doubt thought he had the same claim to the kingdom. Pride, a will that no one had ever checked, and a high opinion of himself all drove him. He was "a very handsome man." His faults had been fed by his father's weakness, and that same weakness had done great damage in David's own life. Perhaps David spared the rod here because he was taken with his son's looks, as Absalom's story suggests. "His father had never at any time displeased him by asking, 'Why have you done thus and so?'" Families of believers often see their testimony ruined through the weakness of the parents. When they spare the rod with their children, they bring the rod on themselves. They also bring dishonour on Christ. God never acts like this. The proof of His love toward us is given in His discipline. The weakness of parents does not prove their love. It proves a selfishness that spares itself when it spares the children (Prov. 13:24).
Set against Adonijah stands One with no will of His own. The contrast lands on the reader.
Everyone born of the Spirit should hate the restlessness of the flesh in every form. They should find delight in doing the will of God. The Man Christ Jesus is our perfect example of having no will of His own. When He came into the world He said, "I delight to do your will, O my God" (Psalm 40:8). In the night of His sorrow He wanted only the Father's will to be done (Matt. 26:39). In the middle of His service He told the people around Him, "I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me" (John 6:38). Every bit of self-will we indulge tastes not of Christ, but of Antichrist.
- Root — "I will" is the essence of sin. Lucifer says the same words five times in Isaiah 14. Lawlessness and self-will are one thing.
- Soil — that will grew wild because his father never once asked why. Sparing the rod does not spare the child. It brings the rod on the home.
- Show — the chariots and runners copy Absalom, whose rebellion ended in shame. Pride ignores the warning already written in the family.
- Supporters — Joab and Abiathar join him for their own advantage. Nothing in the true king attracts the flesh, which always drifts toward the usurper.
- Substitute — the throne was never Adonijah's to take. God had already named Solomon. The true King says the opposite: not My will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
And his father had not grieved him at any time in saying, Why doest thou so? and he was also a very comely man; and [his mother] bore him after Absalom.
Before Solomon comes into the story, Adonijah tries to seize his father David's throne. This verse gives the reason it was possible: a father who never once asked his son a hard question.
Verse 5 tells us what Adonijah did; verse 6 tells us why he could. One writer traces the whole uprising back to what was missing in the home:
He "exalted himself, saying, I will be king." Pride, a will no one had ever checked, and a high opinion of himself all drove him. He was "a very handsome man." His father's weakness had fed his faults — the same weakness that had done so much to bring disaster on David's own life... Families of believers often see their testimony ruined by weak parents. In sparing the rod with their children they bring the rod on themselves, and dishonour on Christ. God never acts like this. He proves His love for us by disciplining us. A parent's weakness is not proof of love. It is selfishness: sparing themselves by sparing their children.
David was not a cold father. His problem was the opposite, and it left his son defenceless against himself:
David did not restrain the pride of his son (v.6), perhaps because the boy was so good-looking (v.6), as was true of Absalom too. David loved his sons. But he neglected the discipline that love should have used, and our sinful flesh will always take advantage of weak rule.
The verse links two facts side by side: no correction, and fine looks. Commentators see the second as part of why the first happened.
It seems Adonijah was a "spoiled child."... David treated the handsome Absalom, a little older than he was, in the same way. Good-looking children are in special danger in the hands of foolish parents... Many of God's people carry broken hearts because parents neglected discipline. The dishonour to the name of the Lord is even more serious. A Christian's house should be like the house of God, where God's will alone is done.
Adonijah was born after Absalom, and the two ended the same way. One writer draws a warning from it for parents today:
We are probably right in thinking that Absalom was brought up the same way as his younger brother. So we have a terribly sad picture of these two handsome boys, close in age, raised without any correction at all. They were allowed to do their own will and go their own way — a way that led each of them to an early and violent death. Today we call this way of raising children "self-expression," and some people are foolish enough to recommend it. But the result, as the Holy Spirit records it, should warn us to flee from this wicked and senseless method to the one God's Word lays down.
The unasked question in this verse is a father's refusal to name wrongdoing. One writer treats it as a live failure among parents today, and pairs it with what must go alongside correction:
Bringing up children has two parts. First, discipline, which means seeing a child's wrongdoing and stopping it. There are cases where fathers see their children doing something wrong and do nothing about it (we have an example of this in 1 Kings 1:6)... Second, admonition, which is a completely different thing. It means showing our children the right and good way to act, and helping them follow it. We need a balance. Some fathers stress discipline and forget admonition, while others only admonish and never act. But these things must be done "in the Lord." He is our help, so we need to depend on Him.
A child's rebellion never stays with the child. One writer turns the lesson back on the parent:
But this is the heart of the matter: the self-will of my children shows the self-will of my own heart. A righteous God is using them to discipline me, because I have not disciplined myself... To save myself trouble, I let things drift in my family. Now my children have grown up around me to be thorns in my side, because I did not train them for God. This is the story of thousands.
- Unasked — David never once challenged his son. An unchecked will grew into "I will be king."
- Unrestrained — David's failure was not a lack of love. He loved his sons but neglected the discipline love owed, and sinful flesh always takes advantage of weak rule.
- Unguarded — Good looks made it worse. Good-looking children in the hands of foolish parents are in special danger. Absalom had already proved it.
- Unbalanced — Correction alone is not enough. Discipline stops the wrong; admonition shows the right way — and a father must do both.
- Unavoidable — Spare the rod and you bring the rod on yourself. What a parent never judges in his own heart grows up in the child. The dishonour reaches past the family to the name of Christ.
And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest; and they helped Adonijah and followed [him].
Adonijah's private ambition became an organised revolt the moment two men joined him: David's army commander and one of David's priests. Why did two men who had stood by David for decades back the usurper instead of the son God had chosen?
Adonijah went straight for the men whose backing counted most. One writer explains why Joab switched sides now, when he had not switched for Absalom.
Adonijah enlisted Joab, David's army general, to seek his support in making himself king. Joab had not supported Absalom because David was then an energetic king and Joab knew it would not serve his own best interests to desert David. But now that David was dying, Joab's natural thoughts inclined him to follow Adonijah, who was David's oldest living son. Adonijah recognized Joab to be a key man in his gaining his object. Another key man was Abiathar the priest, whom Adonijah also found willing to support him.
Each man Adonijah recruited brought something different to the plan.
Joab would influence a certain set. Abiathar the priest would have his religious name and reputation. Above all, there were the king's sons — all of them except Solomon — and, as the text says, all the men of Judah who served the king. The rebellion was widespread, and it looked carefully planned.
Joab had marched with David for a lifetime. That long record did not make him loyal. It only delayed the moment his true character showed.
As far as Joab is concerned, sooner or later the flesh, however clever it may be, must uncover itself and show its true character. For a long time Joab could keep company with David, the Lord's Anointed, and hide the motives that drove and ruled his heart. But an occasion always comes when the natural heart shows itself hostile and rebellious. It shows that it is not subject to the law of God, and cannot be.
There is a further edge to it. Joab was the very man who had once told David that numbering Israel was wrong.
But now the same man who could warn David could not warn himself. What lessons, beloved friends, at every turn.
Until this verse, Abiathar and Zadok always appear as a pair. Here they split.
Until now, the record has named the two of them together, and always on David's side: during Absalom's rebellion, and again during Sheba's rebellion. But now the time has come to separate the wheat from the chaff… Most likely, ambition drove them. They counted on positions and favours if they helped Adonijah to power. Solomon, if he became king, would owe them nothing.
Abiathar's fall was not only a personal failure. He was the last of Eli's family in office, and that family was already under God's judgment.
Abiathar was the last official representative of the house of Eli. He and his son Jonathan sided with the ambitious Adonijah, working with the veteran warrior Joab, in a plot against Solomon. For that he lost his office and was disgraced… He had shared David's sufferings in the days when David was rejected. He had carried with him the burdens of a reign that saw plenty of trouble. Yet at the end he slipped, and lost his place of honour just as Solomon's reign was about to begin.
Solomon offered these men nothing they wanted. One of them also had reason to fear him.
Joab, ever the same, seeks only his own self-interest… How could he have taken the part of the king of righteousness? The misdeeds of his past life must have made him fear too close a contact with Solomon. And then there is nothing in the true king that attracts the flesh. The natural man turns, and will always turn, without hesitation to the usurper and the false king.
Everything about the alliance was shrewd. It still collapsed.
Joab, long restrained by prudence in David's lifetime, shows himself as he is. He makes himself necessary to Adonijah, as he had been to David. Abiathar, long under the sentence of God, takes the same course. Solomon, the elect of God, who held his rights from God, did not suit them. But after all, man's prudence fails before the judgment of God.
- Recruited. Adonijah's revolt needed two men, the army commander and a priest. He got both, and their names pulled others in.
- Revealed. Joab's choice did not make his heart what it was. It exposed it. Long service beside David had only hidden his motives.
- Divided. Zadok and Abiathar had stood together through every earlier rebellion. This one split them, and ambition was the likely reason.
- Ripening. Abiathar's choice finished a judgment spoken over Eli's house long before. Delayed, but not forgotten.
- Reversed. The plan was wide, well-connected and shrewd. It still broke apart. Human prudence fails before the judgment of God.
But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men whom David had, were not with Adonijah.
Adonijah, one of David's sons, has just declared himself king while his father lies dying. He has drawn a general, a priest and most of the royal family to his side. Then comes a short list of men who were not there. That absence turns out to be the hinge of the whole chapter.
Up to now the two priests of David's reign always appeared together. This verse splits them, and one writer sees a test in that split:
At this point we see a striking difference between the two priests, Zadok and Abiathar. Until now the record kept naming them together, and both stood on David's side: during Absalom's rebellion and during Sheba's rebellion. But now the time has come to separate the wheat from the chaff... How refreshing to read in the next verse: "But Zadok the priest ... and David's mighty men were not with Adonijah." Again Zadok is on the right side — this time in contrast to Abiathar, his fellow priest. Adonijah was a "very handsome man," but that did not sway Zadok. His loyalty to David was marked by faith.
The names are not a random list. Each man was tied to someone, and that tie kept him away from Adonijah:
Zadok, Benaiah, Nathan and David's mighty men are not with Adonijah. The true priest; the prophet, God's messenger; Benaiah, the true servant who walks in the footsteps of his master — what do they have to do with him? The priest looks to God, the prophet to the Spirit of God, the servant to David, to Christ. Do they need anything else? Those mighty men have found their strength in David. Will they follow Adonijah, who cannot give it to them?
Shimei and Rei appear almost nowhere else in the Bible. About Rei, one reference work says only this:
A friend of David, mentioned when Adonijah set himself up to be king.
One writer weighs a man's title against the work he actually does:
"But Zadok the priest and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada" — Benaiah was the true servant of the king's purposes, not Joab. Joab had the name and the title, but Benaiah was the man who did the real work. And there was "Nathan the prophet," the man who interpreted the mind of God.
What kept Benaiah steady was not ambition for promotion but the habit of copying the man he served:
In David's time he already held a leading place in service. Was he not worthy of it? He had followed his master's footsteps step by step in everything, and he later became chief captain over the whole army. Still, this man has no ambition except to stay faithful to his king and to be like him. He is not like Joab, who captured the stronghold of Zion to gain the first place. No, he is humble. His whole aim is to reproduce David in the way he lives.
On the day, these few names looked like the weaker side. Numbers, talent, religious standing and royal blood all sat with Adonijah:
Turning away from the mind of God is usually a success at first. Where there is ability, every step of unfaithfulness brings big results in the world. Everything that could work on people's minds was drawn up here, and no doubt it was all well planned. Joab would influence one set of people. Abiathar the priest would bring his religious name and reputation. And above all there were the king's sons — all of them except Solomon... The rebellion was widespread, and it looked carefully planned... And that is exactly where faith can rest — on God's word... There is no real blessing except where the call of God is... The flesh may rule for a while in the world, but God must rule among God's people.
When David acts, he does not have to search for men he can trust:
King David, though weak and at death's door, rises to the occasion. He knows who he can trust: "Call me Zadok the priest …" He orders that Solomon is to be king and that Zadok is to have the honour of anointing him. Zadok receives his reward already during his lifetime.
- Absence. The verse records nothing these men did. It records where they refused to go, and that refusal is their loyalty.
- Attachment. Priest, prophet, servant and soldier each held a different tie: to God, to His Spirit, to David, to David's strength. Every tie pulled the same way.
- Ambition. Joab had the title; Benaiah did the work. The man chasing first place changed sides. The man copying his master stayed.
- Appearance. The rebellion had the crowd, the talent and the religious reputation, and still lost. Faith rests on God's word, not on a head count.
- Answer. When the dying king needed men, he called the ones who had stayed away from Adonijah. Zadok received his reward within his own lifetime.
And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fatted cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En-rogel, and invited all his brethren, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants;
Adonijah's push for the throne goes public here, with animals killed at a stone outside Jerusalem and a feast that looks like worship. Commentators ask why he sacrificed at all, why he invited these guests, and why he left one brother off the list.
The animals were part of the plan, not a side detail. A priest on his side made the sacrifices look right.
His plans were well thought out. He wanted God included among his supporters, so he sacrificed sheep, oxen and fattened cattle near Jerusalem, in the Kidron valley. Since Abiathar was his priest, he could treat these sacrifices as fitting for his purpose. He gathered all the support he could find.
Adonijah was not the first son of David to dress rebellion in religious clothing.
Adonijah gives the meeting at En-rogel the false appearance of a peace offering. He follows in the footsteps of his brother Absalom, who had said that he wished to pay a vow to the Lord. He even invites the servants of the king, and they come to his feast. The rebel does not fear that they will fail him.
The ESV calls these guests "the royal officials of Judah"; older translations read "the king's servants." These men ate at a table set against the king's own choice. Their title had outlived their loyalty.
We know what the title "servant of the king" is worth if the heart is not really attached to David. We know what "servant of God" is worth if Christ is not the object of the affections. How many of these "king's servants" do we see today running to people who hide their hatred of Christ behind a show of godliness?
Adonijah had the numbers on the day: the general, the priest and the royal family. Early success proves nothing.
A departure from the mind of God is always apt to be successful at first. Every step of unfaithfulness has a great result in the world where there is ability, and where everything that works on people's minds is drawn up in order. No doubt this was well calculated. Joab would influence a certain set. Abiathar the priest would have his religious name and reputation. Above all there were the king's sons — all of them except Solomon — and "all the men of Judah," that is, "the king's servants." The rebellion was widespread, and it looked carefully planned. But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he did not call. And there is just where faith can rest — on God's word. That was what gave the weight to Solomon… there is no vital blessing except where the call of God is.
The guest list reads "all his brothers," but one son of David is missing — the one God and David chose.
He invites all his brothers, with one exception. Solomon alone has the right to the throne, by the will of God and of his father, and he is the one who is to become the king of glory. Clearly Adonijah must keep out of his feast the one whose presence would judge it and condemn it, and would bring to nothing all his plans and all his ambitions. The world invites Christ last of all. More than that, the world is unwilling to invite Him.
Some writers see a pattern in the whole scene: a self-made king, the men who profit from him, and the crowd that falls under his power.
Adonijah is a picture of the man who tries to lift himself up to the very throne of God. Joab and Abiathar are the men who take advantage of this. The people who follow Adonijah are those brought under his power as he rises.
Commentators differ on how far to press this. Another writer measures Adonijah against "the king," the Antichrist, and finds the likeness real but limited.
Adonijah said, "I will be king." Did he not know that Solomon was the chosen of Jehovah? Here is deliberate rebellion, and, taken as a picture, he is an opponent of Christ. It is said of "the king" that he will do as he pleases. Does Adonijah show us "the king" in any measure? They are alike in that both do their own will, and neither is an enemy from outside: both are in Jerusalem. But there is this difficulty: "the king" as Antichrist is destroyed as soon as Christ appears. We see one or two of the same features in each, yet hardly enough, taken with the other circumstances, to say that Adonijah is a picture of "the king."
- Sacrifice — Adonijah killed the animals so his takeover would look like worship, and a priest on his side gave it the appearance of God's backing.
- Script — the trick was second-hand. Absalom had already hidden rebellion behind a religious vow.
- Servants — men still carrying the king's title sat at a rival's table. A title is worth nothing when the heart is not attached to the king.
- Success — the rebellion looked wide and well planned. Turning from God often looks successful at first. Faith rests on God's word, not on the crowd.
- Solomon — Adonijah invited every brother except the rightful heir. Solomon's presence alone would have condemned the feast, and the world still leaves that name off its list.
but Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he did not invite.
Adonijah's feast had a priest, an army commander and a crowd of royal guests. This verse lists the four men he left out, and those four names decide everything.
after
The four omissions were not oversights. One commentator explains why Adonijah left each name off:
However, he did not invite Nathan the prophet, a faithful man of God. He did not invite Benaiah, a fully devoted servant of David, or the other mighty men like Benaiah, or Solomon his brother (v.10). Why did he leave these men out? Because he knew he could not count on their support. Everyone knew that David had decided Solomon was to be king. But Adonijah seemed to think David was now too old to enforce that choice, and that popular opinion would favor him. Sad blunder!
The gathering was not irreligious on its surface. Sacrifices were offered, and a priest was on hand to make them look proper:
His plans were well thought out, for wanting to include God as one supporting him, he sacrificed sheep, oxen and fatted cattle near to Jerusalem, in the Kidron valley (v.7). Having Abiathar as priest, he could consider these sacrifices appropriate for his purpose. Also, he invited all his brothers, the kings' sons and many servants of David. He marshaled all the support he could possibly find.
Each missing man already had a master. One writer asks what these four could want from Adonijah:
Zadok, Benaiah, Nathan, and the mighty men of David are not present with Adonijah. The true priest; the prophet, the messenger of God; Benaiah, the true servant who follows in his master's footsteps — what do they have to do with him? The priest looks to God, the prophet looks to the Spirit of God, the servant looks to David, to Christ. Do they need anything else? These mighty men found their strength in David. Will they now follow Adonijah, who has no strength to give them?
Adonijah invited every brother except one. One writer sees in that exception a picture of how the world treats Christ:
He invites all his brothers, with one exception. He leaves out the only one who has a right to the throne by the will of God and of his father: Solomon, the one who is to become the king of glory. Clearly he had to shut out of his feast the one whose presence would judge it, would condemn it, would bring all his plans and all his ambitions to nothing. Christ is the last one the world invites; more than that, the world is unwilling to invite Him.
Some men did follow Adonijah. One writer points out what those followers had in common:
Notice that the men who were willing to live at a distance from David were the ones drawn to follow Adonijah. They were not close to David, as Bathsheba and Nathan were. What a lesson for every believer! Only by staying near to the Lord will we be kept from the danger of dishonoring Him by following what looks appealing but is really disobedience.
At first the rebellion looked unstoppable. One writer weighs that early success against the one thing it could not reach:
Turning away from the mind of God is always likely to succeed at first. Every step of unfaithfulness has a great effect in the world where there is ability, and where everything that sways people's minds is gathered up. This plot was no doubt well calculated. Joab would influence a certain set. Abiathar the priest would have his religious name and reputation. And above all there were the king's sons — all of them except Solomon... It was a widespread rebellion, and it seemed a carefully planned one. "But he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the mighty men or Solomon his brother." And that is exactly where faith can rest — on God's word.
One writer looks at how schemes like this end:
But in the end, human shrewdness fails before the judgment of God. God arranges events so that sooner or later the shrewdest people are shown as they really are.
- Uninvited. Adonijah left out Nathan, Benaiah, the mighty men and Solomon. He knew he could not count on their support.
- Unimpressed. The four missing men looked to God, to His Spirit, to David. Adonijah had nothing to offer men whose strength came from the true king.
- Unwelcome. Adonijah had to shut Solomon out. His presence alone would have condemned the feast — and the world still keeps Christ off its guest list.
- Undone by distance. The men who joined Adonijah were already living far from David. Staying near the true king kept the faithful safe.
- Unshaken. Unfaithfulness often succeeds at first. But clever plans fail before God's judgment, and faith rests where the rebellion could not reach — on God's word.
And Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith is king, and David our lord does not know [it]?
David is dying and knows nothing, while his son Adonijah has already seized the throne. Nathan's question to Bathsheba begins the rescue — and shows how God guards His own purpose when the king is too weak to act.
The crown was changing hands and David had no idea. One writer sees both the danger and the answer:
On the day this great danger threatened Israel, nothing had been done to guard against it (vv. 11-31). The king, weakened by age and confined to his palace, "knew not" what was happening. Thankfully, God was keeping watch for him. God, who has the glory of His Son and His kingdom in view, does not allow the plans of the usurper to succeed. To this end He sends the prophet to Bathsheba with a word of wisdom. You may be sure of this: in the Word of God we will always find the means to glorify Christ and to be kept safe from the enemy's traps.
Adonijah was not just one prince pushing past another. His claim ran against something already settled and widely known:
Everyone in the house of David and in the land of Israel knew this. God chose David from among his brothers, and He was also pleased to appoint Solomon to the throne of Israel... Adonijah's sin was not just ambition. It was not even simply rebellion against the king, against David. It was rebellion against Jehovah. It was a direct act of setting himself against the declared and revealed purpose of God.
The same writer presses the lesson home: "If the word of God is an unmatched blessing to us, then our responsibility is far greater, and sin takes on a new character."
Nathan does not confront Adonijah. He goes first to Solomon's mother, and builds a plan around her:
When Adonijah made the bold move of proclaiming himself king, Nathan the prophet took a wise course. He advised Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, to tell David at once what Adonijah had done. Adonijah had proclaimed himself king, even though David had sworn to Bathsheba that Solomon would reign (vs.11-13). Then Nathan would come in with the same message to confirm it (v.14), so that David would see how urgent things were.
Two mouths, one message. Another writer compares Nathan with Joab, who once used a woman from Tekoah to work on the king:
What a contrast between Nathan's mediation and that of Joab through the woman of Tekoah (2 Sam. 14)! There everything was trickery and lying, meant to sway the king's spirit and flatter his hidden leanings... Here prudence points to what must be done, without straying from the truth at all.
Bathsheba could have taken this news to anyone in the palace. Where she went says something about her:
She went to Nathan, the one man above all who could give the mind of God. He had rebuked the king at the height of his power. He had the courage to speak for God whatever it cost him... We always show where our heart is by whom we trust. Suppose a man is set on his own will and going wrong. He is sure to ask advice from exactly the people he should avoid. If he cannot count on outright approval, he looks for someone weak, who will give the feeblest protest, if not some encouragement. Weakness leans on weakness.
Adonijah's feast had room for every brother but one. Commentators read the omission as more than tactics:
He invites all his brothers, with one exception: the only one having the right to the throne according to the will of God and of his father — Solomon, the one who is to become the king of glory. Clearly he had to shut out of his feast the one whose presence would judge it, would condemn it, would bring all his plans and all his ambitions to nothing. Christ is the last to be invited by the world; more than that, the world is unwilling to invite Him.
The conspiracy did not delay Solomon. It fast-tracked him:
The only effect of Adonijah's conspiracy was not to hinder Solomon, but to move him forward to the throne of Israel. Without the conspiracy, Solomon would surely have waited for the king to die. Instead the plot secured the throne for him, and secured it at once. So it is that if we are only calm, God always accomplishes His purpose.
- Unaware. David does not know it. Adonijah is taking the throne while the old king lies helpless in his palace.
- Unmistakable. Israel already knew God had chosen Solomon. So Adonijah's grab was not ordinary ambition; it was rebellion against the Lord.
- Unfailing. God did not leave the gap open. He sent the prophet to Bathsheba with a word of wisdom: prudent in method, exact in truth.
- Unbroken. David's oath still stood. God had already named Solomon Beloved of the Lord, and one reminder of that oath moved the old king to act.
- Undone. The plot backfired. Instead of blocking Solomon, it hurried him onto the throne.
And now, come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.
Adonijah has crowned himself king while David lies old and unaware. Nathan the prophet goes to Bathsheba with advice meant to save two lives. Why were those lives in danger, and whose counsel is safe in a crisis?
The rebellion ran on unchecked. The one man who could stop it did not know it was happening. One commentator points out who was watching while the king knew nothing.
On the day this great danger threatened Israel, no one had taken a step to ward it off (vv. 11-31). The king, weakened by age and confined to his palace, "knew not" what was happening. Thankfully, God was keeping watch for him. God, who has the glory of His Son and His kingdom in view, does not let the schemes of the usurper succeed. To that end He sends the prophet to Bathsheba with a word of wisdom. You can be sure of this: in the Word of God we will always find the means that glorify Christ and keep us safe from the enemy's traps.
Nathan speaks of saving a life, and he means it literally. Bathsheba later put the same danger to David.
She also told David that the eyes of all Israel were on him, waiting to see what he would do in view of this turn of events. For if he let Adonijah's crowning stand, then Bathsheba and Solomon would count as offenders, and they would be killed for it (v.21).
Nathan had once told David to do whatever was in his heart. What he gives here is of a different kind, and one writer marks the difference.
We have seen in this chapter that Nathan's counsel was according to God and according to the respect due to the king. This is not human counsel, as when the same Nathan said to David, "Go, do all that is in your heart" (2 Sam. 7:3). It is divine wisdom, meant to keep the prophet-king from a fall, and to defend the honour of Solomon, the anointed of the Lord, after his father's passing. Above all, it is a matter of establishing the king of glory on his throne.
The same writer sets Nathan beside an earlier scene. Joab once sent a woman from Tekoa to David with an invented story. That was trickery and lies, used to work on the king's mind and flatter his hidden leanings. Nathan is careful, but he never wavers from the truth. David must be told the danger, and persuaded to act firmly for God.
The counsel was practical. It fixed who would speak first, and who would follow.
When Adonijah made the bold move of proclaiming himself king, Nathan the prophet took a wise course. He told Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, to inform David at once that Adonijah had proclaimed himself king. Adonijah had done this even though David had sworn to her that Solomon would be king (vs.11-13). Then Nathan would come in with the same message to confirm it (v.14), so David would see how urgent the situation was.
Bathsheba took the advice, and she took it from Nathan. One commentator makes her choice a test anyone can apply.
Whatever her weakness, her heart was right. She went to the one who, above all, could give the mind of God — to Nathan. He was the one who had rebuked the king at the height of his power. He was the one with the courage to speak for God whatever the cost. She goes to Nathan. And allow me to say, dear friends, as a matter of practical profit, we always show where our heart is by our confidence. Suppose a man is going wrong in his own will. He is sure to ask for advice in exactly the place where he should not. He looks for advice where he will find weakness, if he cannot count on outright approval — somewhere the protest will at least be faint, if not a little encouraging. Weakness leans on weakness.
- Danger. Adonijah crowned himself and no one stopped him, because David did not know what was happening.
- Watchfulness. While the king knew nothing, God kept watch. He has the glory of His Son and His kingdom in view, so He does not let the usurper win.
- Word. God's answer to the danger was a message. In His Word we still find the means that glorify Christ and keep us from the enemy's traps.
- Counsel. Nathan's advice was divine wisdom, not human counsel. It was urgent and truthful, it respected the king, and it guarded the honour of Solomon, the anointed of the Lord.
- Confidence. Bathsheba listened to the man who could tell her the mind of God. Where we go for advice always shows where our heart is.
Go and get thee in to king David, and say to him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear to thy handmaid saying, Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne? why then does Adonijah reign?
David lies old and weak in his palace, and Adonijah has taken the throne. Nathan the prophet sends Bathsheba to the king with one question, built on a promise David once made under oath.
Nobody in the palace had acted against the danger. One writer points out that the king's ignorance did not leave Israel unprotected.
The king, weakened by age, confined to his palace, "knew not" what was happening. Thankfully, God was keeping watch for him. God, who has the glory of His Son and His kingdom in view, does not allow the plans of the usurper to succeed. To this end He sends the prophet to Bathsheba with a word of wisdom. You can be sure of this: in the Word of God we will always find the means to glorify Christ and to keep ourselves safe from the enemy's traps.
Nathan's closing question is sharp because the answer was already public knowledge. Adonijah was not just seizing a chance. He was going against something God had already settled.
Everyone in the house of David and in the land of Israel knew this: just as God chose David from among his brothers, so He had also been pleased to appoint Solomon for the throne of Israel... So Adonijah's sin was not just ambition. It was not even simply rebellion against the king, against David. It was rebellion against the Lord. He set himself directly against the purpose God had declared and revealed.
Nathan's plan uses timing and a chosen speaker. That could look like scheming. So one writer sets it beside Joab's earlier approach to David through the woman of Tekoa.
What a contrast between Nathan's mediation and Joab's through the woman of Tekoa (2 Sam. 14)! There everything was trickery and lying. The aim was to work on the king's mind and flatter his hidden leanings. In the end it was to put a deceitful and violent man on the throne over Israel. Here prudence suggests what should be done, but without straying in the least from the truth. The king must be made aware of the imminent danger. He must be persuaded to act decisively for God.
Before Bathsheba goes to David, she has already gone to Nathan. Kelly reads that choice as a test anyone can apply to themselves.
She went to the one who, above all, could give the mind of God — to Nathan. He was the one who had rebuked the king at the height of his power. He had the courage to speak for God whatever the cost... we always show where our heart is by who we confide in. Suppose a man is going wrong in his own will. He is sure to look for advice in exactly the place where he should not.
Nathan tells her to go in at once and speak to the aged king. One writer treats her manner as a model.
Bathsheba speaks with respect and boldness. She shows David that he does not know the danger (v. 18). She reminds him what he had settled on: a successor who was a king after God's own heart (v. 17). She also points out his responsibility towards herself, her son, and the people. The eyes of all Israel were on David, waiting for him to say who should sit on his throne after him. Truth is in this woman's heart, as it is in the prophet's heart. It is a lovely example of the spirit we should show one another.
The plot did not delay Solomon. It brought his crowning forward, and Kelly draws a general rule from that.
Adonijah's conspiracy did not hinder Solomon. Its only effect was to move him forward to the throne of Israel. If there had been no conspiracy, Solomon would surely have waited for the king to die. Instead the result was to secure the throne, and to secure it at once. So it is that if we are only calm, God always accomplishes His purpose.
Nathan's question rests on an oath, and Rossier explains why that reminder was enough.
The mind of the Lord about Solomon had already been revealed to David. He knew it very well. There was a reason why the Lord had given David's son the name Jedidiah, Beloved of the Lord (2 Sam. 12:25)... It was enough to remind this man of faith of his oath for him to see the path to take.
- Watching — David knew nothing of the plot, but God did. Heaven guarded the throne before anyone in the palace noticed.
- Word — the rescue came as a word of wisdom through a prophet, and one reminder of David's oath was enough to move him. God's Word still shows us how Christ is glorified and how we escape the enemy's traps.
- Way — Nathan's plan was urgent and shrewd, yet it never left the truth. Joab's earlier approach through the woman of Tekoa was pure trickery.
- Witness — Bathsheba went first to the man who could give her the mind of God. Who we ask for advice shows where our heart already is.
- Wait — Adonijah's rush only put Solomon on the throne sooner. If we stay calm, God still accomplishes His purpose.
Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee and confirm thy words.
Adonijah has thrown a feast and had himself crowned king while his father lies old and unaware. Nathan the prophet answers with a plan, not a protest: Bathsheba goes in first, and he follows to confirm her words. Why two voices instead of one?
David's ignorance is the crisis of the chapter. Nobody in the palace had moved to stop the theft of the throne. But David was not the only one watching:
On the day this great danger threatened Israel, no one had taken any measure to ward it off (vv. 11-31). The king, weakened by age, confined to his palace, "did not know" what was happening. Thankfully, God was keeping watch for him. God, who has the glory of His Son and His kingdom in view, does not allow the plans of the usurper to succeed. To this end He sends the prophet to Bathsheba with a word of wisdom. Be assured that we will always find in the Word of God the means by which Christ may be glorified and we ourselves preserved from the ambushes of the enemy.
Nathan's plan has an order to it. Bathsheba raises the alarm first; the prophet then walks in and says the same thing.
When Adonijah made the bold move of proclaiming himself king, Nathan the prophet took a wise course. He advised Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, to tell David at once that Adonijah had proclaimed himself king — even though David had sworn to Bathsheba that Solomon would be king (vv. 11-13). Then Nathan would come in with the same message to confirm it (v. 14). That way David would see how urgent the situation was.
A staged approach to a king can slide into manipulation. Writers contrast Nathan's plan with an earlier scheme, and show what it rested on.
What a contrast between Nathan's mediation and that of Joab through the woman of Tekoah (2 Sam. 14)! There everything was trickery and lying. It was meant to work on the king's feelings and flatter his hidden leanings, so that in the end a deceitful and violent man would take David's place as king over Israel. Here prudence suggests what should be done, but without swerving in the least from the truth. The king must learn of the danger closing in. He must be persuaded to act with resolve for God. The Lord had already revealed His mind about Solomon to David, and David knew it well. He had sworn to Bathsheba by the LORD, the God of Israel, "Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place" (vv. 17, 30). One reminder of that oath was enough to show this man of faith the path to take.
When Bathsheba speaks to David, nothing is invented and nothing is hidden:
Bathsheba speaks with respect and boldness. She shows David that he is unaware of the danger (v. 18)... The truth is in the heart of this woman, as it is also in the heart of the prophet — a lovely example of the spirit in which we should behave toward one another.
Before Nathan can confirm anything, Bathsheba has to be willing to hear him. Her choice of adviser shows where her heart was.
She went to the one who above all could give the mind of God — to Nathan. He had rebuked the king at the height of his power. He had courage to speak for God whatever the consequence. And note this: we always show where our heart is by whom we trust. Suppose a man is going wrong in his will. He is sure to take advice in the very quarter where he ought not. If he cannot count on outright approval, he looks for advice where he will find weakness. At most he will meet a feeble protest, and perhaps even some encouragement. Weakness tends to lean on weakness.
Nathan's aim reaches past palace politics. His counsel guards three things at once.
We have seen in this chapter that Nathan's counsel was according to God and according to the respect due to the king. Here it is not a matter of human counsel, as when this same Nathan said to David, "Go, do all that is in your heart" (2 Sam. 7:3). It is divine wisdom. It aims to keep the prophet-king from a fall, and to defend the honour of Solomon, the anointed of the Lord, after his father's passing. Above all, it is a matter of establishing the king of glory on his throne.
And the rebellion achieved the opposite of what it intended:
The only effect of Adonijah's conspiracy was not to hinder but to hurry Solomon to the throne of Israel... So it is that if we are only calm, God always accomplishes His purpose.
- Watching. David "did not know," but God did; He was keeping watch over a throne His aged king could no longer guard.
- Sending. God answered the danger by sending a prophet with a word of wisdom. His Word still supplies what keeps us safe from the enemy's ambushes.
- Confirming. Nathan planned two messages, not one. Bathsheba speaks, he follows, and David is held to the oath he had already sworn.
- Truthful. Prudence shaped the approach, but no word bent from the truth. Joab's earlier scheme through the woman of Tekoah did the opposite.
- Establishing. The whole quiet plan served one end: to seat the rightful king. The rebellion meant to stop him only hurried him there.
And Bathsheba went in to the king into the chamber; and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered to the king.
Verse 15 takes us into a bedroom while a rebellion runs loose in the city. The one man who could stop it lies weak in bed, a young woman tending him, unaware that his son has claimed the throne.
The verse notes that the king was very old. One writer traces that weakness to the life David had lived.
David was about 70 years old and extremely feeble. Many things left him this weak. He had led a hard life. His youth brought exposure and hardship. His reign brought cares and worries. He went through discipline because of his great sin, and much else weighed on him too. It is another illustration of that unbending law: whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. It was an early decay, with the complete loss of natural warmth.
The second half of the verse names the woman beside the bed. One writer explains how she came to be there, notes what Scripture never says about her, and finds a picture of Christ in it.
The king's servants come up with a way to bring him back to life, copying the rulers of the nations around them. It seems David lacked the will to oppose the plan of those around him. So they bring a Shunammite to him. She cares for him and serves him. This very beautiful young woman of Israel will later be counted by Solomon as one of the most precious jewels in his crown. She is to belong to him, and anyone who dares to look at her with desire will bear his judgment. But let us not get ahead of the story. What the Word teaches us is that she did not become the wife of David, the king of grace. It is like this at present with Christ. His eyes are on Israel, yet right now another bride is being taken from among the Gentiles. He will keep her as King of Glory. Yet as King of Glory He will also renew His relations with the remnant of Israel, the finest of His people.
She did not come on her own. A prophet sent her, and behind the prophet was God.
On the day this great danger threatened Israel, no one had done anything to stop it. The king, weakened by age, confined to his palace, did not know what was happening. Thankfully, God was keeping watch for him. God, who has the glory of His Son and His kingdom in view, does not allow the plans of the usurper to succeed. To this end He sends the prophet to Bathsheba with a word of wisdom.
Before she entered the room, she had gone to Nathan. One writer makes that choice the test of her heart, and applies it to us.
She went to Nathan, the one who above all could give the mind of God. He had rebuked the king himself, at the height of the king's power. He had the courage to speak for God whatever the consequence. And let me say, as a matter of practical profit, we always show where our heart is by our confidence. Suppose a man is going wrong in his own will. He is sure to take advice in exactly the quarter where he ought not.
Notice how she carries herself in the room.
Bathsheba bowed to him, showing the humility of her subjection to the king, even though he was her husband.
Her words matched her manner. One writer finds in them a pattern for how believers should treat one another.
Bathsheba speaks with respect and boldness. She shows David that he is unaware of the danger. She shows him that the purpose he had settled on was to have a king after God's own heart as his successor... The truth is in the heart of this woman, and in the heart of the prophet too. It is a lovely example of the spirit in which we should behave toward one another.
The old man in the bed proved fully awake to the moment.
So the king showed that, old as he was, he was fully alive to how serious the moment was. He saw and judged the crisis that was coming. Adonijah's conspiracy did not hinder Solomon. Its only effect was to bring him forward to the throne of Israel. Had there been no conspiracy, Solomon would have waited, we can hardly doubt, for the death of the king. So it is that if we are only calm, God always accomplishes His purpose.
- Weakness. The verse shows an old, failing king who did not know what was happening. He could no longer defend his own throne.
- Watch. What David could not do for himself, God did for him; He would not let the usurper's plan succeed.
- Word. God's method was not force but a message — the prophet sent Bathsheba in with a word of wisdom.
- Witness. She went to Nathan first, then spoke to the king with respect and boldness, with truth in her heart.
- Work done. The rebellion counted on David's weakness. Instead it hurried Solomon to the throne. God accomplishes His purpose.
And Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance to the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou?
An old king lies in his chamber, and he does not know that another son has already seized his throne. The woman bowing before him has come to tell him, and the throne of Israel turns on it.
Bathsheba comes in because David does not know. No one in the palace had moved against the danger, and that is where God stepped in.
On the day this great danger threatened Israel, no measure had been taken to ward it off. The king, weakened by age, confined to his palace, did not know what was happening. Blessedly, God was keeping watch for him. God, who has the glory of His Son and His kingdom in view, does not allow the plans of the usurper to succeed. To this end He sends the prophet to Bathsheba with a word of wisdom.
She is his wife. She could have come as a wife. She comes instead as a subject, and the room she enters is a sickroom.
Bathsheba then went into David's bedroom, where Abishag was serving as a nurse to David. Bathsheba bowed to him, showing the humility of her subjection to the king, though he was her husband. In answer to David's question, she reminded him that he had sworn by the Lord to her that Solomon would succeed him as king. She also told him that Adonijah had taken the place of king without David being aware of it.
What follows is neither flattery nor panic. Bathsheba tells David what he does not know, and she keeps to the truth.
Bathsheba speaks with respect and boldness. She shows David that he is unaware of the danger (v. 18). She shows him that the purpose he had settled on was to have a king after God's own heart (v. 17) as his successor. She also points out his responsibility toward herself, her son, and the people. The eyes of all Israel were on David, and he should tell them who should sit on his throne after him. This woman has the truth in her heart, and so does the prophet. It is a lovely example of the spirit in which we should treat one another.
The petition she is about to make is not a family dispute over inheritance. Adonijah, David's eldest surviving son, had taken the crown for himself — and the writers press that this was worse than ordinary ambition, because everyone in Israel already knew whom God had chosen.
It was not mere ambition in Adonijah. In someone totally ignorant of the word of God and of the will of the LORD for Israel, it would have been ambition. But if we have an incomparable blessing in the word of God, we have far greater responsibility. And sin takes on a new character. So Adonijah's sin was not just ambition. It was not even just rebellion against the king, against David. It was rebellion against the LORD. It was a direct act of setting himself in contradiction to the declared and revealed purpose of God.
She went to Nathan before she came to the king. That order tells you where she thought the answer lay.
Bathsheba showed her own confidence in the will of God — her faith, in short — by coming to Nathan. She went to the right quarter. She told him of Adonijah's conspiracy and his party, and she goes into the presence of the king. Nathan followed. The result was that the king, however aged, showed he was fully alive to the seriousness of the occasion. He saw and judged the crisis that was coming. The only effect of Adonijah's conspiracy was not to hinder Solomon but to hurry him to the throne of Israel… So it is that if we are only calm, God always accomplishes His purpose.
- Danger. Adonijah took the throne while the king did not know it, and no one in the palace had moved to stop him.
- Watch. God was keeping watch for David. He sent the prophet to Bathsheba with a word of wisdom, and the usurper's plan failed.
- Bow. She came in as a subject, not as a wife, showing the humility of subjection to the king, though he was her husband.
- Truth. She spoke with respect and boldness, with truth in her heart — a lovely example of how we should treat one another.
- Outcome. Adonijah set himself against the revealed purpose of God, and only hurried Solomon to the throne. If we stay calm, God accomplishes His purpose.
And she said to him, My lord, thou hast sworn by Jehovah thy God to thy handmaid, [saying,] Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And now behold, Adonijah is king; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And he has sacrificed oxen and fatted cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king and Abiathar the priest and Joab the captain of the host; but Solomon thy servant has he not invited.
Bathsheba stands at the bedside of a dying king. She tells him that a coronation feast is already under way, with sacrifices, guests, the priest and the army commander. Her last clause carries the whole weight of it: Adonijah left Solomon off the list — the son David had sworn would reign.
The meal had the look of worship, and the guests included the king's own household. One writer notes that leaving Solomon out was not an accident. Adonijah's plan required it.
Adonijah gives the meeting at En-rogel the false appearance of a peace offering. He follows in the footsteps of his brother Absalom, who had said he wanted to pay a vow to the Lord. He invites his brothers, the sons of the king, and even the servants of the king... But Adonijah is too shrewd to invite those whose faith or whose testimony keeps them close to David. He invites all his brothers but one. He leaves out Solomon, the only son with a right to the throne by the will of God and of his father — the son who is to become the king of glory. He has to leave him out. Solomon's presence would judge that feast and condemn it, and would ruin every plan and ambition Adonijah had. The world invites Christ last of all; more than that, the world does not want to invite Him at all.
Bathsheba names Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander alongside the king's sons. One writer sees in those three names a picture of the forces that combine against God's chosen King.
In these three men we see three powers combined against Christ. Adonijah is the authority of the world, Joab the power that carries out orders, and Abiathar the religious power. They are the representatives of the three great moral forces of the world. While they were feasting, they heard the people shouting. Fear seized them, and destruction soon followed. So it will be at the end.
Nathan, Benaiah and David's mighty men had nothing to gain at that table. Each of them was looking somewhere else.
The priest looks to God, the prophet to the Spirit of God, the servant to David, to Christ. Do they need anything else? Those mighty men found their strength in David. Will they now go after Adonijah, who cannot give it to them?
On the surface, the numbers were all on Adonijah's side. One commentator warns that early success proves nothing.
Turning away from the mind of God almost always looks successful at first. Every step of unfaithfulness gets big results in the world where there is talent, and where everything that works on people's minds is drawn up in order. This plan was certainly well calculated. Joab would influence a certain set. Abiathar the priest would have his religious name and reputation. And above all there were the king's sons — all of them except Solomon... It was a widespread rebellion, and it seemed a carefully arranged one. "But he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the mighty men or Solomon his brother." And that is where faith can rest — on God's word.
Her report is not flattery and not panic. She lays the facts and the consequences in front of David, and Nathan follows with the same emphasis.
Bathsheba speaks with respect and boldness. She shows David that he does not know the danger he is in (v. 18). She reminds him that he had settled on a successor, a king after the heart of God (v. 17). She also points out his responsibility towards herself, her son, and the people... Nathan comes in next. In his own conversation with the king he stresses two things: Adonijah invited none of the Lord's faithful servants, and, above all, he set Solomon aside on purpose. What must one expect from a man who gives no place to the Lord, to the true King, in his purposes or in his life?
The plan was carefully arranged. That careful arrangement is what collapsed.
Solomon, the chosen of God, who held his rights from God, did not suit them. But in the end, human cleverness fails before the judgment of God. Sooner or later God arranges events so that the cleverest are shown for what they really are. On the surface everything is going well. The king's eldest and best-loved son is there. So is the captain of the army, whom David himself could not resist, and the priest who had always stayed with David. All the king's sons are there too — all except the one God had chosen. Yet no one there gave a thought to God or His will.
- Excluded. Adonijah invited everyone but Solomon. Solomon alone had a God-given right to the throne, and his presence would have condemned the whole feast.
- Disguised. The sacrifices made the rebellion look like worship. Adonijah was copying his brother Absalom, who had once claimed he was going to pay a vow to the Lord.
- Allied. Adonijah, Joab and Abiathar stand for three powers: the world's authority, the power that carries out orders, and religion. All three joined against God's King.
- Absent. The priest, the prophet and the loyal servants stayed away. Their eyes were on God, on His Spirit, and on David — Adonijah had nothing to give them.
- Overturned. The plan looked well-arranged, and for a moment it worked. But human cleverness collapses before God's judgment. Faith rests on His word, not on the size of the crowd.
And thou, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
David is old and shut in his palace. He does not know that his son Adonijah has already thrown himself a coronation feast. Nathan sends Bathsheba in to the king. Her question is the one the whole nation is waiting on: who will follow David on the throne?
No one in Israel moved to stop Adonijah. The throne looked unguarded.
On the day this great danger threatened Israel, no one had taken a step to hold it off. The king, weakened by age and shut in his palace, did not know what was happening. Thankfully, God was keeping watch for him. God, who has the glory of His Son and His kingdom in view, does not let the usurper's plans succeed. To this end He sends the prophet to Bathsheba with a word of wisdom.
Bathsheba is not asking for a favour. If David stays silent, she and her son lose everything.
She also told David that the eyes of all Israel were on him. They were waiting to see what he would do about this turn of events. For if he let Adonijah's crowning stand, Bathsheba and Solomon would count as criminals, and that would cost them their lives.
Her speech is a model of how to bring urgent news to someone in authority.
Bathsheba speaks with respect and boldness. She shows David that he does not know the danger. She reminds him that he had already settled on a successor who would be a king according to God's heart. She also points out his responsibility towards her, her son, and the people, since all Israel was watching to see whom he would name to sit on his throne after him. The truth is in the heart of this woman, as it is in the heart of the prophet — a lovely example of the spirit in which we should treat one another.
The question "who shall sit on the throne?" already had an answer, and everyone knew it. That is why Adonijah's move was worse than ordinary ambition.
It was well known in the house of David, and in the land of Israel, that God chose David from among his brothers. In the same way, He was pleased to appoint Solomon to the throne of Israel… So Adonijah's sin was not just ambition. It was not even just rebellion against the king, against David. It was rebellion against the Lord. It was a direct act of setting himself against the declared and revealed purpose of God.
David had already sworn an oath about it.
The Lord had already revealed His mind about Solomon to David. He knew it very well. There was a reason why the Lord had given David's son the name Jedidiah, Beloved of the Lord. He knew the mind of the Lord on this so well that he had sworn to Bathsheba, by the Lord God of Israel, that Solomon her son would reign after him and sit on his throne in his place. It was enough to remind this man of faith of his oath for him to see the path to take.
Before she ever spoke to David, Bathsheba had gone to Nathan. The place a person turns for counsel reveals what they actually want.
She went to the one who, above all, could give the mind of God — to Nathan. He was the man who had rebuked the king when the king was at the height of his power. He had the courage to speak for God whatever it cost… we always show where our heart is by whom we trust. Suppose a man is going wrong in his will. He is sure to ask for advice in exactly the place where he should not.
The answer she asked for comes at once, once someone finally puts the question to him.
But someone had to urge the aged king to reveal his secret. He decides at once. All his energy returns when it concerns the Beloved. He promises to do exactly that, this very day.
Adonijah had staked everything on the idea that an old man cannot act.
Adonijah thought David was too old and worn out to have any power left as king. But the God who had brought David through all his troubles was still God. He could enable David to use again the moral and spiritual power that had carried him through much opposition before. God always backs up what is His own work.
The joy that followed Solomon's anointing was real, but small next to what it pictures.
The priest anointed him king and the people rejoiced with great joy. But what joy will come to this earth when One greater than Solomon takes His throne and receives His great kingdom! Solomon's glorious reign is only a faint picture of it.
- Watched. David did not know what was happening. God did, and He was already sending Nathan with the word that would save the throne.
- Named. The throne was never open. God had chosen Solomon and David had sworn it, so Adonijah's grab was rebellion against God's revealed purpose, not just ambition.
- Asked. Bathsheba speaks with respect and boldness. She tells the king the truth about the danger, his promise, and his duty to her, her son, and the people.
- Answered. The old king's energy returns the moment the throne of the beloved son is at stake, and he acts that same day.
- Coming. Solomon's crowning brought great joy, but it is only a faint sketch. The throne question ends with One greater than Solomon on the throne.
Otherwise it shall come to pass when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted offenders.
Bathsheba stands before an aged king and spells out what will happen the moment he dies. If Adonijah's crowning stands, she and her son Solomon become the criminals. Her words turn a palace plot into a matter of life and death, and they push David to act on the oath he swore long before.
Being "counted offenders" is not about lost standing. Under a rival king, the rightful heir and his mother are the ones marked for death.
She told David also that the eyes of all Israel were on David, waiting to see what he would do now. For if he let the crowning of Adonijah stand, then Bathsheba and Solomon would be counted as offenders, and for that they would be killed (v.21).
She does not flatter David, and she does not attack him. She lays out what he does not know, what he had already decided, and what he owes to her, to her son, and to the nation.
Bathsheba speaks with respect and boldness. She shows David that he does not know the danger (v. 18). She reminds him that he had resolved on a king according to the heart of God as his successor (v. 17). She also points out his responsibility towards herself, her son, and the people. The truth is in the heart of this woman, and in the heart of the prophet too — a lovely example of the spirit in which we should treat one another.
David was too weak to guard his own throne. God was not, and He had already sent the prophet to Bathsheba — and with him a reminder of the oath David had sworn.
The king was weak with age and shut up in his palace. He did not know what was happening. Thankfully, God was keeping watch for him. God has the glory of His Son and His kingdom in view, and He does not let the usurper's plans succeed. To this end He sends the prophet to Bathsheba with a word of wisdom. You can be sure of this: in the Word of God we will always find the means to glorify Christ and to keep ourselves safe from the enemy's traps. The king had to be made aware of the danger. He had to be persuaded to act firmly for God. The mind of the Lord about Solomon had already been revealed to David, and he knew it well. He had sworn to Bathsheba by the Lord, the God of Israel, that her son Solomon would reign after him and sit on his throne in his place (vv. 17, 30). It was enough to remind this man of faith of his oath for him to see the path to take.
Her fear was real, yet the rebellion achieved the opposite of what it aimed at. It did not delay Solomon's crowning; it brought it forward.
Well then, Bathsheba showed her own confidence in the will of God — her faith in short — by coming to Nathan. She went to the right place... The result was that the king, old as he was, showed he was fully awake to how serious the moment was. He saw the crisis coming and judged it. Adonijah's conspiracy did not hold Solomon back; its only effect was to bring him to the throne of Israel. Without the conspiracy, Solomon would surely have waited for the king to die. Instead the plot secured the throne for him, and secured it at once. So it is that if we are only calm, God always accomplishes His purpose.
Later, with Solomon on the throne, Adonijah came to Bathsheba with a favour to ask. Her caution traces straight back to this verse.
"Do you come peacefully?" asks this godly woman, who has her doubts about Adonijah, the son of Haggith. In fact she knew that if he had succeeded in his plans, she and her son Solomon would be "counted offenders" (1 Kings 1:21).
Look at who is standing in that room, and where their story began.
How marvelous the grace! What a recovery, and it is God's doing! Think of David now. Think of Bathsheba now. Think of Solomon now. Remember who Bathsheba had been, and who Solomon was born of. How wonderful the grace of God! And what a comfort, dear friends, for anyone who has to look back with bitterness on a past that was most humiliating and most painful.
- Danger. Under a rival king, the rightful heir becomes the outlaw. Let Adonijah's crowning stand, and Bathsheba and Solomon die.
- Truth. She speaks with respect and boldness. She names the danger, David's own resolve, and what he owes to her, her son, and the people.
- Watchfulness. The king did not know the danger. God did, and He sent the prophet with a word of wisdom.
- Reversal. The plot meant to block Solomon only hurried him onto the throne. Stay calm: God always accomplishes His purpose.
- Grace. Remember who Bathsheba had been — and that this is the mother now pleading for the promised king. Comfort for anyone with a bitter past.
And behold, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in.
David is old and failing, and Adonijah has already declared himself king at his feast. Bathsheba is at his bedside, reminding him of his oath that Solomon would be king, when Nathan the prophet walks in.
Nathan did not stumble into the room. His arrival was the second half of a plan.
When Adonijah made the bold move of proclaiming himself king, Nathan the prophet took a wise course. He advised Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, to tell David at once that Adonijah had proclaimed himself king. Adonijah had done this even though David had sworn to Bathsheba that Solomon would be king (vv. 11-13). Then Nathan would come in with the same message to confirm it (v. 14). That would make the urgency of the situation clear to David.
But the plan did not begin with Nathan. One writer traces the rescue back to God's own watchfulness.
On the day this great danger threatened Israel, no one had taken a single step to ward it off (vv. 11-31). The king, weakened by age and shut in his palace, did not know what was happening. Yet God, in His goodness, was keeping watch for him. God, who has the glory of His Son and His kingdom in view, does not allow the plans of the usurper to succeed. To this end He sends the prophet to Bathsheba with a word of wisdom. Be sure of this: in the Word of God we shall always find the means to glorify Christ and to keep ourselves safe from the traps of the enemy.
A staged entrance could be a trick. This one is not. The same writer sets it beside an earlier scene, when Joab worked on the king through a woman from Tekoa.
What a contrast between Nathan's mediation and that of Joab through the woman of Tekoa (2 Sam. 14)! There everything was trickery and lying. The aim was to work on the king's feelings, flatter his hidden leanings, and in the end put a deceitful and violent man on Israel's throne in David's place. Here prudence points to the right course, without wavering in the least from the truth.
He also names what Adonijah had left out of his calculations:
No doubt Adonijah had counted on his father's failing powers to seize the kingdom. But he had not reckoned on God, on the prophet, or on the truthfulness of the king's heart. Bathsheba speaks with respect and boldness... Truth is in this woman's heart, and in the prophet's heart too. It is a lovely example of the spirit we should show one another.
Before Bathsheba entered the king's room, she had gone to Nathan. Another writer treats that choice as a test of her heart, and as a warning about how we choose advisers.
She went to the one who, above all, could give the mind of God — to Nathan. He was the man who had rebuked the king at the height of his power. He was the man with courage to speak for God whatever the cost. She goes to Nathan. And let me say, dear friends, this is worth putting into practice: we always show where our heart is by whom we trust. Suppose a man is going wrong in his own will. He is sure to look for advice in the one place where he should not.
Two people stand in David's room. A crowd feasts with Adonijah outside.
Notice that it was those willing to be at a distance from David who were moved to follow Adonijah. They were not near to David as Bathsheba and Nathan were. What a lesson for every believer! Only staying near to the Lord keeps us from that danger. Otherwise we risk dishonouring Him by following what looks appealing but is in fact disobedience.
Nathan's arrival wakes the old king to the crisis. The rebellion then produces the opposite of what its leader wanted.
The result was that the king, old as he was, proved wide awake to the seriousness of the moment. He saw and judged the crisis that was coming, and the only effect of Adonijah's conspiracy was not to hinder but to hurry Solomon to the throne of Israel. Without the conspiracy, Solomon would no doubt have waited for the king to die. Instead the plot secured the throne for him, and secured it at once. So it is that if we are only calm, God always accomplishes His purpose.
- Danger. David did not know. Adonijah was taking the throne while the old king lay helpless, and no one had lifted a finger to stop it.
- Word. God did not leave the gap unfilled. He sent the prophet with a word of wisdom, and His Word still shows us how to glorify His Son and stay safe.
- Two voices. Bathsheba first, then Nathan with the same message. It was a plan, but an honest one — never Joab's trickery.
- Nearness. Those who kept their distance from David drifted to Adonijah's feast. God used the two who stayed near.
- Throne. The rebellion did not delay the true king by a day; it hurried him to his throne.
And 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.
David is old and failing. Adonijah has already thrown his own coronation feast, and Bathsheba stands in the king's bedroom pleading for her son's life. Then a servant announces that the prophet has arrived. The verse records one act of court protocol, yet Israel's future turns on the message Nathan carries in.
Nathan does not come with a private opinion. Commentators see his entrance as God taking the matter in hand.
God uses His prophet, the witness to His will, to carry out that will. Solomon is proclaimed king, and installed as king before the eyes of David himself.
Adonijah's feast went ahead without him. One writer names the men who stayed away, and what Nathan was among them:
"Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet," the man who was the interpreter of the mind of God — these, as well as "Shimei, and Rei, and David's mighty men, were not with Adonijah."... A departure from the mind of God is always apt to succeed at first. It was a widespread rebellion, and it seemed a shrewdly planned one. And faith can rest in only one place — on God's word.
Nathan chose the order of the two visits. Bathsheba went in first, and he came in behind her.
Then, to confirm this to David, Nathan would come in with the same message (v.14). That way David would see how urgent the situation was.
David knew nothing of the plot. One writer shows who was watching over him, and how unlike Nathan's approach was to an earlier scheme in that same court:
The king, weakened by age and shut up in his palace, did not know what was happening. But God was keeping watch for him. God, who has the glory of His Son and His kingdom in view, does not let the usurper's plans succeed. To this end He sends the prophet to Bathsheba with a word of wisdom... What a contrast between Nathan's mediation and Joab's, through the woman of Tekoah (2 Sam. 14)! There everything was trickery and lying, to work on the king's spirit and flatter his hidden leanings... Here wisdom suggests what should be done, without wavering in the least from the truth. The king must be told of the danger closing in. He must be persuaded to act firmly for God.
A bow like this was ordinary courtesy in that part of the world.
An act of respect between one person and another, very common in the East, as when Abraham bowed down before the people of the land when he bought a burial place for his dead (Gen. 23:7, 12). It is also an act of reverence to God (Ps. 95:6), but it is forbidden before an idol or image (Ex. 20:5), and there it counts as an act of worship.
What makes it striking is who receives it. David is dying, and another son has already claimed his crown. Nathan still goes to the floor. One writer ties the courtesy and the counsel together:
We have seen in this chapter that the counsel of Nathan was according to God and according to the respect due to the king... This is not human counsel but divine wisdom. It sets out to keep the prophet-king from a fall, and to defend the honour of Solomon, the Lord's anointed, after his father's death.
When Nathan speaks, he does not lead with Adonijah's ambition. He leads with the names left off the invitation list.
Nathan comes in his turn, and in his own talk with the king he stresses two things. Adonijah had invited none of the Lord's faithful servants. Above all, he had set Solomon aside on purpose. What can you expect from a man who gives no place to the Lord, to the true King, in his plans or in his life?
One writer draws a dividing line through the whole chapter. Nathan's bow puts him on one side of it.
Notice that it was those who were willing to be at a distance from David who were moved to follow Adonijah. They were not near to David as were Bathsheba and Nathan. What a lesson for every believer! Only by staying near to the Lord will we be kept from dishonouring Him by following what looks appealing but is really disobedience.
- Near. Those who stayed close to David stayed loyal. Distance from the king made Adonijah's offer attractive.
- Sent. God sent him. He comes in not with advice of his own, but as the witness to God's will and the interpreter of His mind.
- Low. His first act inside the room is to go face down, showing the respect due to the king even when the king is powerless.
- True. His plan is wise, but never deceitful like Joab's appeal through the woman of Tekoah. It wakes David to the danger instead of flattering him.
- Named. The heart of his message is the guest left out. A man who plans with no place for the true king shows what he is.
And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne?
David is old and bedridden. His son Adonijah has already thrown his own coronation feast. Into that room walks the prophet Nathan — not with an accusation, but with a question: had the king himself given the throne away? Nathan knew the answer before he asked, and that is what makes the question worth studying.
The question was a tool, and commentators read it as a deliberate one:
Nathan knew that David had nothing to do with making Adonijah king. Still, he asked David whether he had ordered this without telling Nathan (v. 27). Nathan meant the question to stir David to act, and it worked.
A question forced David to answer for himself. He had to say out loud who would follow him on the throne.
Nathan's question names two claims: that Adonijah would reign, and that he would sit on David's throne. Nathan then points to who was missing from the feast. One absence carries the weight of his case:
Nathan comes in his turn. In his own talk with the king he stresses that Adonijah had invited none of the faithful servants of the Lord — and, above all, that he had deliberately pushed Solomon aside. What can you expect from a man who gives no place to the Lord, to the true King, in his plans or in his life?
Leaving Solomon out was no oversight. Adonijah knew whose presence would have ruined the feast.
Nathan planned his approach. Bathsheba went in first, and he followed with the same message. That was strategy, but commentators keep it clear of manipulation. Years earlier the same court had seen persuasion of another sort, run by Joab through a woman from Tekoa:
What a contrast between Nathan's mediation and Joab's, carried out through the woman of Tekoah (2 Sam. 14)! There everything was trickery and lying, meant to work on the king's feelings and flatter his hidden leanings, so that in the end a deceitful and violent man would replace David as king over Israel. Here prudence points out what should be done, without straying from the truth in the least.
Bathsheba's part is read the same way. Commentators set her honesty beside the prophet's as a pattern worth copying:
Bathsheba speaks with respect and boldness. She shows David that he is unaware of the danger (v. 18)... Truth is in this woman's heart, and in the prophet's too — a lovely example of the spirit in which we should treat one another.
Nathan's concern was not court politics. Commentators see something far larger at stake in this quiet exchange:
We have seen in this chapter that Nathan's counsel was according to God, and according to the respect owed to the king... This is divine wisdom at work. It aims to keep the prophet-king from a fall, and to defend the honour of Solomon, the anointed of the Lord, after his father's death. Above all, it aims to set the king of glory on his throne. Of all this the world sees and hears nothing.
Nathan's words landed. David had been too weak to notice a rebellion, yet he acted at once. The plot itself put Solomon on the throne sooner:
The result was that the king, old as he was, showed himself fully awake to how serious the moment was. He saw the coming crisis and judged it. Adonijah's plot did not hold Solomon back at all; it only carried him forward to the throne of Israel. Without the plot, Solomon would surely have waited for the king's death. Instead the plot secured the throne for him, and secured it at once.
The old king's weakness was not the end of him. One subject brought his strength back:
But the aged king had to be urged to reveal his secret. He decides at once: all his energy comes back when the matter concerns the Beloved. He says he will certainly do it that very day (v. 30).
- The question stirs. Nathan asked what he already knew, and the asking moved a bedridden king to act.
- The question exposes. Adonijah left Solomon off the guest list. That one absence told David everything.
- The question stays honest. Nathan planned his approach, but he never bent a fact — unlike Joab's scheming through the woman of Tekoa.
- The question defends a throne. The real matter was not court rivalry. It was the rightful king's place on the throne — and the crowd outside saw and heard nothing of it.
- The question wakes love. David's strength returned the moment the subject was his beloved son. The rebellion only hurried Solomon to the throne.
For he is gone down this day, and has sacrificed oxen and fatted cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king's 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!
Nathan reports the scene to King David in plain words. Animals killed in quantity, a guest list of princes, generals and a priest, and a shout that a new king already reigns. But what does a feast prove when the one God has chosen was never invited?
The report opens with slaughtered animals, which sounds like worship. One writer reads that detail as deliberate staging, borrowed from an older brother who had also used religious language to mask a bid for the throne.
Adonijah gives the meeting at En-rogel the false appearance of a peace offering. He follows the footsteps of his brother Absalom, who had said that he wished to pay a vow to the Lord... How many of these "king's servants" do we see today running after people who hide their hatred of Christ behind a show of godliness?
A priest on the guest list made the staging work. Another writer links the sacrifices to Abiathar's presence.
His plans were well thought out. He wanted God counted as one of his supporters, so he sacrificed sheep, oxen and fatted cattle near Jerusalem, in the Kidron valley. Having Abiathar as priest, he could consider these sacrifices appropriate for his purpose. Also, he invited all his brothers, the kings' sons and many servants of David. He marshaled all the support he could possibly find.
Nathan names three groups at the table: the king's sons, the army commanders, and the priest. Read together, those names form a pattern far bigger than one palace quarrel.
In these three men we see, in Adonijah the authority of the world, in Joab the executive power, in Abiathar the religious power, all combined against Christ. They are the representatives of the three great moral forces of the world.
The shout of "Long live King Adonijah" sounds like a settled matter. One writer warns that a wrong move often succeeds at first, and points to where faith can rest instead.
Adonijah might have his feast and invite all his brothers the king's sons! A departure from the mind of God is always likely to succeed at first. Every step of unfaithfulness gets a great result in the world where there is ability, and where everything that works on people's minds is lined up behind it. No doubt this was well planned. Joab would influence a certain set. Abiathar the priest would have his religious name and reputation... "But he did not call Nathan the prophet, or Benaiah, or the mighty men, or Solomon his brother." And there is just where faith can rest — on God's word.
Nathan's list is as striking for who is absent as for who is present. Those closest to David had nothing to gain from the man at the centre of the feast.
Surrounded by such a fair show, no wonder Adonijah becomes the gathering point for the crowd. He is no such centre for faith. What can faith find in the company of the usurper? Zadok, Benaiah, Nathan, and the mighty men of David are not present with Adonijah... The priest looks to God, the prophet to the Spirit of God, the servant to David, to Christ. Do they need anything else? Those mighty men found their strength in David. Will they go after Adonijah, who cannot give it to them?
One name was left off the list on purpose.
He invites all his brothers, with one exception: Solomon, the only one with a right to the throne according to the will of God and of his father. He must keep out of his feast the one whose presence would condemn it and bring all his plans and ambitions to nothing. Christ is the last to be invited by the world; more than that, the world is unwilling to invite Him.
The feast does not get to finish. One writer reads the noise that breaks into it as a picture of a far bigger interruption still to come.
But what an awakening! What trouble overwhelms those at his feast! Suddenly, while they were feasting, the false king, Joab, and all the guests hear the trumpet. They hear such cries of joy that the noise of Solomon's procession seems to split the earth. "Why," says Joab, "is the city in such an uproar?" So the public establishment of the reign of Christ will surprise the world and deeply trouble it. Then "He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision... As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill."
- Cover — The sacrifices dress the gathering up as a peace offering, copying Absalom's earlier vow.
- Coalition — Adonijah, Joab and Abiathar stand for the authority of the world, the executive power and the religious power. All three are joined against God's chosen king.
- Crowd — A departure from the mind of God tends to succeed at first. Ability, reputation and numbers can all line up behind it.
- Contrast — Solomon is the one brother left off the list, and Zadok, Benaiah, Nathan and David's mighty men stay away. Faith finds nothing in a usurper who cannot give it strength.
- Collapse — The uproar of Solomon's crowning breaks into the feast. The God who has set His King on Zion turns the party into fear.
But me, [even] me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, he has not invited.
Nathan ends his appeal to David by naming the men left off the guest list at Adonijah's feast: himself, Zadok the priest, Benaiah, and Solomon. Those four missing names prove the feast was a rebellion, and they show where every man stood.
Adonijah did not forget these men. He knew which of them would refuse him, and he kept them away from his feast.
However, he did not invite Nathan the prophet, a faithful man of God. He did not invite Benaiah, a fully devoted servant of David, nor other mighty men like Benaiah, nor Solomon his brother (v.10). Why did he not invite these men? Because he knew he could not count on their support. Everyone knew that David had decided Solomon was to be king. But Adonijah seemed to think David was now too old to enforce this choice, and that popular opinion would favor him. Sad blunder!
These men were not simply left out. They had nothing to look for in Adonijah, because each of them was already looking elsewhere.
What can faith find in the company of the man who is taking a throne that is not his? Zadok, Benaiah, Nathan, and the mighty men of David are not there with Adonijah. There is the true priest. There is the prophet, the messenger of God. There is Benaiah, the true servant who walks in his master's footsteps. What do these men have to do with Adonijah? The priest looks to God, the prophet to the Spirit of God, the servant to David, to Christ. Do they need anything else? Those mighty men found their strength in David. Will they go after Adonijah, who cannot give them any strength at all?
Benaiah already held a high place in David's service. What marks him out is not that place but what he wanted from it.
Benaiah is of special interest to us. In David's time he already held a leading place in service (1 Chr. 27:5). Is he not worthy? He had followed his master's footsteps in everything, step by step, and he later became chief captain over the whole army. Still, this man has no ambition except to stay faithful to his king and to be like him. He is not like Joab, who seized the stronghold of Zion to win first place. No, he is humble, because his whole aim is to reproduce David in the way he lives.
Every other son of David was at the table. The one name left out was the one name God had chosen. Commentators see that gap as a picture of how the world treats Christ.
He invites all his brothers, with one exception. He leaves out the only one who has a right to the throne by the will of God and of his father: Solomon, the one who is to become the king of glory. Clearly he has to shut out of his feast the one whose presence would judge it, would condemn it, would ruin all his plans and all his ambitions. The world invites Christ last of all; more than that, the world is unwilling to invite Him.
On paper, Adonijah had won. The absent four looked like a handful of men on the wrong side of the crowd.
Adonijah might have his feast and invite all his brothers, the king's sons! Here is another thing we have to notice. Turning away from the mind of God is always likely to succeed at first. Every step of unfaithfulness has a great result in the world where there is ability, and where everything that can sway people's minds is lined up. No doubt this was well calculated. Joab would influence one group. Abiathar the priest would bring his religious name and reputation... The rebellion was widespread, and it seemed to be shrewdly planned. "But he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the mighty men or Solomon his brother." And that is just where faith can rest — on God's word. That was what gave Solomon his weight. There was nothing very remarkable known about Solomon at this time, if we leave God out. Yet that is really the root of all his blessing, for there is no real blessing except where the call of God is.
- Uninvited. Adonijah left out Nathan, Zadok, Benaiah and Solomon because he knew he could not count on them. The guest list itself exposes the plot.
- Unbought. No one could buy these men, because each already had his object: the priest looks to God, the prophet to the Spirit of God, the servant to David.
- Unambitious. Benaiah had long held a leading place in service. Yet he wanted nothing except to stay faithful to his king and be like him. Joab grabbed at first place; Benaiah did not.
- Unwanted. Adonijah shut Solomon out because his presence would have condemned the whole feast. In the same way, the world is unwilling to invite Christ.
- Unshaken. Unfaithfulness often looks successful at first, and this rebellion was well planned and widely backed. But Solomon's weight came from the call of God, so faith rests on God's word, not on numbers.
Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewn to thy servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?
Nathan ends his appeal to the dying David with a question, not an accusation. Did the king order this himself, and leave his own servants in the dark about who would take the throne? Behind the question lies a crisis. Adonijah has crowned himself while David lies weak in his bed, pushing aside the son God had chosen.
Nathan was not looking for information. He already knew the answer. He asked because a question can move a man where a plain report cannot.
Nathan knew perfectly well that David had nothing to do with making Adonijah king. Even so, he asked David whether he had ordered this himself without telling Nathan (v.27). Nathan meant the question to stir David to action, and it worked.
Skilful speech to a king can slide into manipulation. Joab had once used a woman from Tekoa for that, working on David's feelings by trickery. Nathan is shrewd too, but every word he says is true.
What a contrast between Nathan's mediation and that of Joab through the woman of Tekoa! There everything was trickery and lying. The aim was to work on the king's spirit and to flatter his hidden leanings. In the end it was to put a deceitful and violent man on the throne over Israel in David's place. Here prudence suggests what is to be done, without wavering in the least from the truth. The king must be made aware of the imminent danger. He must be persuaded to act resolutely for God.
Nathan's question lists who was not invited to Adonijah's feast, and the list ends with Solomon. That omission, not the discourtesy to Nathan himself, is the point he drives home.
Nathan comes in his turn. In his own talk with the king he stresses two things. None of the faithful servants of the Lord were invited — and above all, Solomon was deliberately set aside. What must one expect from a man who gives no place to the Lord, to the true King, in his purposes or in his life?
Those who joined the rebellion, one writer observes, were those already content to keep their distance from David.
Notice that it was those who were willing to be at a distance from David who were moved to follow Adonijah. They were not near to David as were Bathsheba and Nathan. What a lesson for every believer! Only in being near to the Lord shall we be preserved from the danger of dishonoring Him by following what seems to be appealing, but is actually disobedience.
David already knew who should sit on his throne after him. He had sworn it, and one reminder was enough.
The Lord had already made His mind about Solomon known to David. He knew it very well. There was good reason why the Lord had given David's son the name Jedidiah, which means Beloved of the Lord (2 Sam. 12:25). David knew the Lord's mind on this so well that he had sworn to Bathsheba, by the Lord God of Israel, that Solomon her son would reign after him and sit on his throne in his place. It was enough to remind this man of faith of his oath for him to see the path to take.
The sting of the question is that the king's own servants did not know his mind about the throne. Nathan wants the secret said out loud. One writer contrasts that silence with what believers now enjoy.
Nathan also points out that the true servants of the king did not know the king's plans (v. 27). Certainly such is not the case with us! God has "made known to us the mystery of His will" (Eph. 1:9), which is to gather together in one all things in Christ. But someone must urge the aged king to reveal his secret. He decides at once, and all his energy returns when it is a matter of the Beloved. "Even so," he says, "will I do this day" (v. 30).
More hangs on Nathan's question than a quarrel inside the palace. Commentators see two kinds of counsel at work here, and only one of them comes from God.
Here it is not a matter of human counsel, as when this same Nathan said to David, "Go, do all that is in your heart" (2 Sam. 7:3). It is a matter of divine wisdom. That wisdom aims to keep the prophet-king from a fall, and to defend the honour of Solomon, the Lord's anointed, after his father's passing. Above all, it is a matter of the establishment of the king of glory upon his throne. Of all this the world neither sees nor hears anything.
The clever men had arranged everything except the one thing that mattered.
Solomon, the elect of God, who held his rights from God, did not suit them. But after all, man's prudence fails before the judgment of God. God arranges events so that, sooner or later, He shows the most prudent men in their true light. On the surface all goes on well, but the thought of God, or His will, had no place there.
- Danger. David did not see the danger closing in, so Nathan set out to make him aware of it and move him to act for God.
- Truth. Nathan's question was shrewd but honest — prudence that never wavered from the truth, unlike the trickery used on David before.
- Omission. The real complaint is not that Adonijah skipped Nathan, but that he set aside Solomon — the one God loved and David had sworn would reign.
- Disclosure. David's servants did not know who would take the throne. Believers stand in the opposite place: God has made the mystery of His will known to them.
- Outcome. Once the word reached him, the failing king acted at once, and human scheming collapsed before the purpose of God.