👑 1 Kings 2 : The death of David and the closing of his grievances

👑 1 Kings 2

The death of David and the closing of his grievances

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📖 Where chapter 1 left off

King David, grown old and frail

And Adonijah, taking advantage of the moment, tried to make himself king

But the outcome was that, just as David had sworn before the LORD, Solomon took the throne

👉 David's charge and final words to Solomon, as death approaches

Be strong, and show yourself a man (words of encouragement..)

(Your God) Keep the charge of the LORD, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, commandments, rules, and testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn

v. 3

David also tells him what the LORD promised: if your sons take heed to their way, and walk before him in truth with all their heart and all their soul, you shall never lack a man on the throne of Israel...

➡️ When David spoke to the LORD God, he was a man who confessed (my God)...

➡️ In v. 3, by saying 💎(your God), he seems to stress that Solomon must serve him as 'his own God'.

📌 Instructions to Solomon

1. Concerning Joab (vv. 5-6)

Because of Abner and Amasa, whom he killed, shedding the blood of war in time of peace, do not let him go down to Sheol in peace

2. Concerning the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite (v. 7)

Show them kindness. David recalls that they helped him when he fled from Absalom.

3. Concerning Shimei of the house of Saul (vv. 8-9)

Do not hold him guiltless for cursing with a grievous curse; bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood

✔️ The death of David

Then David rests with his fathers and is buried in the City of David. (v. 10)

David reigned over Israel 40 years: seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem.

➡️ With Solomon seated on the throne, it is said that his kingdom was firmly established.

👉 Adonijah's overreaching request and his end

Adonijah asks Bathsheba to present his request to King Solomon

His request: to be given Abishag the Shunammite as his wife

Bathsheba goes to Solomon and conveys Adonijah's request...

Solomon asks why she requests Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah, and says...
Ask for the kingdom for him as well
Ask also for Abiathar the priest and for Joab... and he answers her sternly.

v. 22

✔️ Then, swearing by the LORD, he declares that Adonijah will lose his life. (vv. 23-24)

✔️ Solomon sends Benaiah, who strikes him down, and he dies. (v. 25)

📌 Abiathar and Joab, who sided with Adonijah

Solomon's hand also reaches Abiathar and Joab, who had stood with Adonijah.

➡️ Abiathar (vv. 26-27)

Deserving of death, but because he had carried the ark of the Lord GOD before David and shared in his father's afflictions, he is only removed from the priesthood, fulfilling the word the LORD spoke concerning the house of Eli

➡️ Joab (vv. 28-34)

Solomon sends Benaiah, and, as David had charged, Joab is put to death for the blood he shed without cause.

After this, King Solomon:
appoints Benaiah commander of the army in place of Joab
and Zadok the priest in place of Abiathar. (v. 35)

📌 The end of Shimei, the last one remaining

➡️ Solomon tells Shimei to build a house in Jerusalem and live there, warning him that on the day he goes out and crosses the brook Kidron he will surely die. Shimei answered, "What you say is good; as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do," accepting the condition. (vv. 36-38)

➡️ Three years later, however, Shimei went to Gath to look for two runaway servants, and word of it reached the king. Solomon reminds him that he had made him swear and had warned him, holds him to account, and Shimei also dies, bringing all of David's charge to completion. (vv. 39-46)

The final verse of chapter 2, closing all of this, records: so the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

✍️ Closing thoughts - 1

Adonijah's brazenness cut his life short.

Adonijah had said the kingdom was his. ❌

He also said all Israel had set their faces on him to make him king. ❌

Neither of those claims was true 💎

📌 His greatest wrong was asking for Abishag the Shunammite, who was as good as his father's concubine. This amounted to dishonoring King David, and Solomon responded, "Ask for him the kingdom also." (v. 22)

An interesting point
➡️ Ish-bosheth, who succeeded Saul as king, and Abner fell out over a similar matter (2 Sam 3:7)

🔎 When Solomon heard Adonijah's request and brought up (Abiathar and Joab), asking why she did not ask for them too... it shows he intended to punish not only Adonijah but also Abiathar and Joab, who were with him. 💎

🔎 In Joab's case, David had left the charge (do not let him die in peace) because of what he did to Abner and Amasa... Following Adonijah is what set the judgment in motion. 💎

✍️ Closing thoughts - 2

Chapter 2 is where everything David charged Solomon with before his death is brought to completion.

It is also the chapter in which Solomon punishes all the wrongs of Adonijah, who had tried to make himself king before Solomon took the throne.

Had he simply lived quietly, he might not have died... But enticed by the great beauty of Abishag the Shunammite (1 Kings 1:4), he spoke rashly, and it shortened his life. Already in 1 Kings 1:52, Solomon had said: "If he shows himself a worthy man, not one of his hairs shall fall to the earth, but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die."

💎 Interesting points

1. David (2 Sam 11:2)

Sinned because of Bathsheba. In 2 Samuel 11:2 as well, the woman bathing is said to have been very beautiful to look upon.

2. Adonijah (1 Kings 1:4)

His son Adonijah, likewise, is put to death because of a very beautiful woman.

3. Solomon (1 Kings 11)

Later, Solomon too, because of many women, came to bow down to idols, which led to the division of Israel.

📌 We see that the house of David suffered hardship because of women.

4. Shimei (vv. 36-46)

He was given the chance to preserve his life on the condition that he stay in Jerusalem, but whether forgotten or not, the result of failing to keep the sworn condition was heavy.

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