Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / Adonijah or Solomon - The Book of 1 Kings

Transcript

Adonijah or Solomon - The Book of 1 Kings · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And Jonathan answered and said to Ananias,
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Verify our Lord King David hath made Solomon king. 1
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Kings 1.43 Dear Heavenly Father, I will greet this new
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: day with a new excitement and expectation. I will praise you, Lord,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: because in your faithfulness you've declared the unspoken promotion over
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: me like Solomon. As you increase the wisdom and mind
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: of Solomon, I thank you that you are increasing my
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: mind and influence so that I can walk into a
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: new season full of assurance that my position is secured
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: at the table of success. I declare that I have
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: been chosen by God to accomplish great things for His kingdom,
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: and I decree that nothing or no one will be
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: able to dethrone who you've appointed to impact and influence
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: the world. Today I put all of the plans of
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: the enemy on notice, that they will not prevail, and
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: that through the power of the Holy Spirit, I will
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: own my throne and succeed at my life calling. In Jesus' name.
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: Amen.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with us today. Continue your time
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: with God by listening to today's Bible story. Brought to
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: you by BibleInAYear.com.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: Adonijah or Solomon In our last story, we witnessed David's
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: poor decisions in light of his pride. The man once
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: responsible for protecting Israel had put them in distress and
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: taken improper ownership over them. However, David's heart was always
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: quick to conviction, and he repented before God and the people.
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: Now it is time to crown a new king, a
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: brother of favor and a brother of jealousy, rival for
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: the throne, and the same story since Cain and Abel
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: has threatened to repeat itself. Inspired by the book of
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: 1 Kings.
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: Hello, this is Jack Graham with today's episode of the
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year. In our previous reading, we saw
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: how David fell to insecurity and a need for control
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: rather than trusting God. He ordered a census of the people,
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: but this grieved the Lord, and though he repented, David
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: was given a choice of three punishment, and he chose
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: a punishment that would affect his own people rather than
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: himself alone. As a result, thousands of Israelites died because
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: of David's disobedience. But David saw his sin and cried
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: out to the Lord and interceded for Israel and asked
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: that God would stay his hand of judgment. And once again,
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: he is trusting God and is shepherding his people God's way. Today,
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: we'll hear about the choice of David's successor. Two brothers
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: very different from each other stand as candidates for the
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: role of the king of Israel. Once again, as we've
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: seen again and again, since the first brothers, Cain and Abel,
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: walked on the earth, that jealousy and rivalry threatens all
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: that is good. Let's listen now to today's reading.
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: Despite the warm summer night laying over Israel like a blanket,
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: David shivered in his bed. His bones creaked and his
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: body was continually cold. At night he moaned and shifted,
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: doing anything to keep warm. No matter how many blankets
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: covered him, he could not heat himself up. His advisors
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: took pity on their aging king, and sent for some
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: young servant girls to lay beside him to keep him warm.
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: They found a beautiful young girl named Abishag. Her beauty
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: was unmatched, and she was kind to the king. David
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: had no sexual relations with her. She was his caregiver,
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: and he honored her as such. David's time as king
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: was coming to a close, and there was a restlessness
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: among Israel. Solomon was David's choice to take over the throne.
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: He was about nineteen at the time, but displayed attributes
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: David found noble in a king. He was wise, humble,
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: and merciful. He loved the Lord and drew close to
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: Him day by day. He was not a warrior like
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: David was. No, Solomon spent most of his time among scrolls,
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: reading history, poetry, and great literature. Instead of training with
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: a sword, Solomon would often debate in the halls with prophets, priests,
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: and scholars. David knew that Solomon would lead Israel into
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: a new era of flourishing. Instead of being a warlord,
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: he would be a great politician, governor, and aid to
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: the world. However, not all were thrilled to see Solomon
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: become king. David's older son, Adonijah, exalted himself among his friends.
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: If the throne is not given to me, I shall
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: take it, Adonijah said. He gathered chariots and fifty men
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: to posture in front of David. Adonijah stood over his
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: father and told him of what he was doing. David
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: could hardly sit up on his bed. let alone refute
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: his son who was trying to become king. Years of
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: battle had weakened his bones. Why are you doing this?
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: David asked. Adonijah said nothing to David. Instead, he left
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: the room, leaving his father to sulk helplessly. David had
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: accomplished many great things in his life. He had conquered kingdoms,
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: slain giants, and brought an entire nation into a period
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: of prosperity and safety. However, David was an absent father.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: and poor disciplinarian. Just like Absalom before him, Adonijah was
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: doing what was right in his own eyes. He cared
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: not about what his father thought. An ancient evil once
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: again lurked in the corners of Adonijah's mind, the heart
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: of Cain. Adonijah was going to kill his brother Solomon.
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: Adonijah took Joab, David's general, and Abiathar, one of the priests.
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: The two of them agreed to support Adonijah in his
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: efforts to become king. However, David's council, Zadok and Nathan,
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: the priests, Benaiah, Shammai, and David's bodyguard refused to support him. Instead,
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: they vowed to protect Solomon. Adonijah gathered some of the
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: richest men in Israel for a sacrifice and coronation. However,
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: he left out Nathan, Benaiah, and the bodyguard. Nathan caught
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: word of Adonijah's coronation as king and went straight to Bathsheba,
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: Solomon's mother. Adonijah is making himself king in front of
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: the nobles of Israel. Your husband does not know anything
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: about it. Bathsheba froze where she stood, afraid of what
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: would befall her and Solomon if Adonijah became king. You
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: need to go to David and have him vow before
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: the council that Solomon is to become king. Bathsheba did
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: not cry, nor did she worry. Instead, with confidence, she
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: drew near to the king's bedroom. The two of them
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: had not spoken in quite some time. She slowly opened
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: the door. The room smelled of cedar and incense. She
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: looked around the room and found Abishag patting David's head
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: with a warm cloth. Bathsheba looked at David. His hair
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: was gray and his face cracked like worn leather. She
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: looked at David's chest. His once strong and broad chest
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: was now struggling for each breath. Tears slowly dripped down
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: Bathsheba's face as she looked at her husband. She bowed
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: beside him and held his hand. David opened his eyes
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: and turned his head to see his wife beside him.
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: They looked at one another. David wore a handsome grin
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: on his face when he looked at her. What can
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: I do for you? David whispered. Bathsheba touched his face
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: and held his hand. My lord, you made a vow
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: that Solomon would become king after you. However, Adonijah is
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: making himself king right under your nose. All the nobles
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: gather with him for a celebration. She rose to her
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: feet and looked down at David. The kingdom is waiting
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: for you to announce who is king. If you do
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: not act, Solomon and I will be killed. David stared
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: at Bathsheba for a moment. Then a knock on his
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: door came from the entrance of the room. Nathan the
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: prophet poked his head in through the door and slowly
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: entered in. My lord, he said bowing, have you appointed
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: Adonijah as king? He is holding a celebration now. He
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: has not invited me or any of your officials. Have
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: you really not told us? David sat up in his
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: bed and stood to his feet. His legs shook and
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: his body trembled. David raised his chin up high and
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: puffed out his chest. As my Lord and Savior lives,
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: Solomon will be the next king of Israel. Bathsheba bowed
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: to him and thanked him. After this, David ordered Zodak
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: the priest and Benaiah to come forward. He summoned them
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: from Adonijah's party and they came before the king. David
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: looked at them with a piercing gaze. David stretched out
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: his arm and pointed to them, saying, You will take
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: Solomon and all my officials down to Gihon Spring. He
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: will ride on my mule, and you will anoint him
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: as king with Nathan. You will summon men to blow
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: ram's horns and shout, Long live King Solomon! Then you
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: will bring him back here to sit on the throne.
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: David paused for a moment and said one final time,
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: He is the new king of Israel. So the two
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: men left and gathered all the people for Solomon's coronation
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: as king of Israel. Adonijah was enjoying his feast among
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: his friends. Music, dancing, and lewdness filled the halls as
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: Adonijah basked in his own glory. He struck handsome smiles
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: at the women in attendance, drank his wine, and sat
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: back to enjoy his future escapees. The entire city stood
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: in awe. Solomon gave a humble shrug and waved to
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: the people. His smile was different than his brother's. While
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: Adonijah's smile was filled with self-love and smugness, Solomon genuinely
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: cared about the people he was present with. The news
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: of Solomon's kingship caused panic in the party of Adonijah.
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: They went from celebrating their king to feasting his traitors.
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: They scattered, and Adonijah watched as his fame disappeared before
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: his very eyes. Fear filled his mind, and he ran
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: with all of his might to the altar of God
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: and clung on to the horns at the altar as
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: a symbol of sanctuary. He cowered in fear, not leaving
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: the corner of the room. He knew that no one
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: could harm him as long as he remained there. The
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: priests approached him, but Adonijah spat and yelled, Nobody touch me!
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: I will not leave unless King Solomon swears he will
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: not kill me! Word came to Solomon, He thought deeply
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: for many moments. Solomon was young, but incredibly wise and thoughtful.
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: He knew that execution would make him seem petty and insecure.
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: He also knew that he could not trust his brother fully.
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: So Solomon gave Adonijah a proposition. If he serves me loyally,
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: not a hair on his head will be touched. However,
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: the second trouble arises out of him, his head will
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: fall onto the floor. Adonijah respected Solomon's wishes and left
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: into solitude at Solomon's dismissal. The sun slowly set over
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: the empire of David, the giant slayer and anointed one
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: of God. Tomorrow, a new day would arise, a day
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: of worship, wisdom, and a willingness to expand Israel's influence
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: beyond the east. Solomon was young, even younger than his
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: father when he became king. However, he was not without
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: a deep counsel of knowledge. Solomon's mind would prove to
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: be an excellent tool in the hands of God to
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: create a new era in Israel. David the warrior would
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: soon be dead. Now it was time for Solomon the philosopher.
• 12:31
  Speaker 3: We begin today's scripture with an old and failing King David.
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: His body is not what it used to be and
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: he could barely keep himself warm in his bed. But
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: his mind was still sharp and his heart was still
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: dedicated to the Lord intent to fulfill God's plans for Israel.
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: He knows that it's time for a changing of the guard,
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: time for a new king to rise. And his young
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: son Solomon is his top pick. You see, even though
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: Solomon was very young, just 19 years of age, he
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: had already displayed wisdom beyond his years. And David knew
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: that what Israel needed now was not a warrior king,
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: but a wise one. Of course, it wouldn't be that easy. Adonijah,
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: David's oldest living son, wanted the throne for himself, and
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: he felt it was his right, and he saw an
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: opportunity to seize power now that his father was old
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: and bedridden. So he made plans to essentially crown himself
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: king as soon as he had the opportunity, and he
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: gathered support for himself from among David's armies and priests.
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: Adonijah's attitude was one of entitlement, and he was ready
• 13:41
  Speaker 3: to subvert God's plans to get his own way, much
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: like his brother Absalom had done years before when he
• 13:47
  Speaker 3: tried to overthrow his father David. Sadly, this was very
• 13:52
  Speaker 3: much the fruit of David's own failure to be a
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: faithful parent. Listen to what 1 Kings 1.6 says of
• 14:00
  Speaker 3: David's relationship with Adonijah, his son. his father had never
• 14:06
  Speaker 3: at any time displeased him by saying, why have you
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: done thus and so? For all of his greatness as king,
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: perhaps David's greatest failing was as a father. He was
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: definitely not a strong leader for his family, and he
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: did not train up his children as a father should,
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: disciplining them when they did wrong and encouraging them when
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: they did what was right. And so, His sight set
• 14:32
  Speaker 3: on the throne, Adonijah planned a feast to celebrate his coronation.
• 14:37
  Speaker 3: It's interesting when you read who was on the invite
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: list and who wasn't. Adonijah left out Nathan the prophet,
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: Solomon and his mighty men, and David's bodyguard. If there
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: was any doubt that Adonijah's actions were malicious and underhanded,
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: even murderous, this put those questions to rest. When Nathan
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: told Solomon's mother Bathsheba what was going on, she was
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: understandably troubled. She knew that if Adonijah became king, her
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: life and especially her son's life would be in grave danger. Solomon,
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: after all, was God's choice to be king and Adonijah
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: knew this. So Solomon would be a threat that would
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: need to be removed. Nathan advises Bathsheba to go to
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: David and have him reaffirm his vow to make Solomon king.
• 15:27
  Speaker 3: He would also go to David to confirm that Adonijah
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: was trying to rise to power. Bathsheba went to David
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: and did just as Nathan advised. And when Nathan came
• 15:37
  Speaker 3: and asked David if he really intended for his oldest
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: son to be the king, David gathered his strength to
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: protect God's kingdom one more time. He not only reaffirmed
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: the calling of Solomon, but took swift action to crown
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: his young son as king and announce it loudly for
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: all the kingdom to hear. So while Adonijah and his
• 16:00
  Speaker 3: friends celebrated a feast, they heard the trumpet blast and
• 16:03
  Speaker 3: the loud rumbling of the people rejoicing and shouting, Long
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: live King Solomon. His plan, Adonijah's plan, had failed. His
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: power evaporated like the morning dew at sunrise. And now
• 16:17
  Speaker 3: he feared for his life. Solomon would surely have him killed,
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: or so he thought. So he fled to the altar
• 16:24
  Speaker 3: of God and took sanctuary there until Solomon promised not
• 16:27
  Speaker 3: to kill him. In his wisdom, the young king promised
• 16:31
  Speaker 3: that if his brother acted in a worthy manner, he
• 16:33
  Speaker 3: would be safe. But if he provoked wickedness, then he
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: would die. A new era had dawned, and now Solomon
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: would rule not as the warrior like his father, but
• 16:45
  Speaker 3: as the wisest man who ever lived, according to the Scripture.
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: Dear God, we thank you for the powerful stories of
• 16:52
  Speaker 3: the Bible, for your Word, which is infallible, inerrant, true,
• 16:57
  Speaker 3: and trustworthy. May we live by your word. May we
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: love your word. May we lean into your truth every
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: single day. May we find in you wisdom and strength
• 17:08
  Speaker 3: to serve you. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you so
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: very much for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: We are so very grateful for the millions of people
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: who have downloaded this podcast. I'm Pastor Jack Graham. And
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: when you download the Pray.com app and make it a
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: priority in your life to listen to God's Word, your
• 17:29
  Speaker 3: life truly will be changed. We're hearing reports from so
• 17:33
  Speaker 3: many of the power of God's Word in their lives.
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: So let me encourage you to pass this podcast on
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: to others, to share it with someone you know, someone
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: you care about, because the Word of God truly will
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: change lives. And if you want more resources on how
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: to experience God's power in your life, be sure to
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: visit jackgram.org. We would love to connect with you and
• 17:59
  Speaker 3: for you to connect with us. Again, that's jackgram.org. God
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: bless you.