1 Kings 1:11

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.