One of the things we’re prone to do is to believe God’s promises for circumstances in which we do not currently find ourselves. So, you may find it easy to exhort the brother who is going on the mission field, spending his life amidst dangers left and right, to believe that the Lord who has called him will provide for him, remind him that everything that comes to him has been measured out in the Lord’s hand, and encourage him to a life of worship and trust despite what he sees around him. While at the same time, you fret and wonder if your choice of where to go to college has forever left you in a position where getting a husband is impossible, as if somehow the location of your alma mater has had the effect of binding the Lord’s hands. Or we can look at the widow, who is praised by the Lord for giving all she has and declare that God will care for her, all the while fretting that if we are a bit too generous in our giving that somehow we will sabotage our ability to serve the Lord faithfully in our later years. I know that is far too often true for me. Sometimes the hardest person to preach to is yourself, and thus it is easier to believe in God’s promises and to trust his care in every other circumstance but the one you’re in.
Perhaps one reason that’s the case is because, in our minds, there’s a categorical difference in other people’s situations and ours. That is, we might look at the missionary and think, “Certainly God is going to give him the strength and wisdom to preach the gospel to those who have never heard, but my struggles in disciplining my children is just my own issue and really something of great importance in God’s purposes.” And if that is our thinking, it is good to consider the book of 1-2 Kings. After all, these books, which cover the establishment of Solomon’s reign over a united kingdom to the fall of Jerusalem and exile to Babylon about 370 years later, contain the narratives of individual men, facing individual problems, making individual decisions, while at the same time giving us the grand story of how God faithfully fulfilled his promise and prepared the way for the coming of God the Son into the world.
And this dual nature of individual lives and of God’s grand purposes being fulfilled and worked out is specifically evident in the opening two chapters of 1 Kings. After all, 1 Kings 1-2 can be scene as the story of the establishment of God’s kingdom in accord with his promise to David in 2 Samuel 7 that he would have a son reigning on the throne of his kingdom forever. In this sense, it is the story of God’s purposes and plans being carried out on the grandest of scales. This is the story of how ultimately God brought about David’s greatest Son, our Lord Jesus Christ to reign over all of creation.
On the other hand, however, 1 Kings 1-2 can be seen as the story of an old man who failed to discipline his sons throughout his life, whose negligence as a father led to rebellion by his son against him (again) at a crucial time when he was weak and old, and to one son killing another son (again). That is, 1 Kings 1-2 is simultaneously the story of family discord as a father grows weak and faces death and the story of God establishing the kingdom he promised David years prior, a dynasty through which he would bring his Son into the world.
And the reason I want you to see that this story is both of those things is because I think it helps destroy the false dichotomy that we create concerning “ordinary” issues and kingdom issues, between God’s global purposes and caring for your home, between your issues and struggles and others’ issues and struggles. I want us to see from these two chapters this morning two things: 1) some principles that are true and trustworthy at all times and in all situations in life, and 2) that God has already proven his word true and reliable so that we have no room to doubt him.
The first principle that I want us to recognize in these first two chapters is that the Lord is not dependent on our strength to carry out his purposes.
We might also state this principle by saying that our weaknesses cannot thwart God’s plan. I say that because 1 Kings 1 starts on a note of weakness. The first four verses picture not the powerful David who has slain tens of thousands of Israel’s enemies but an old and frail David who cannot even get warm. They covered him with clothes, but it wasn’t enough. So, they get the bright idea of bringing in a beautiful young woman, who might lie in the arms of this aging king. And they bring in a lady named Abishag. But the author tells us that though the woman was very beautiful, “the king knew her not” (1:4). Now, we don’t know if this is a note just to let us know that they brought her in just to be close to him or if it’s a note to let us know that the one who had gotten himself into trouble because he couldn’t resist a beautiful woman (whether married or not) was now so weak and frail that he was unable to be intimate with her. Either way, however, it is a sad picture of a weak and frail king, residing over a vulnerable kingdom.
But the readers are not the only ones who can perceive that this is a vulnerable time for the kingdom, as David faces death and no one has been anointed king in his place. His son, Adonijah also sees this. And in verses 5-10, he makes his move for the throne. Adonijah is presented as everything that David is not at this point. He is powerful, handsome, ambitious, and willing to take steps to make sure that he becomes king. Worse, David had contributed to the formation of Adonijah’s rebellious character and inability to exercise restraint because David had never been willing to confront him or question his actions (v. 6). And this was a trend in David’s life with his sons. He seems to equate loving them with refusing to discipline them (see 2 Samuel 13). And this is yet another reminder that it may seem like those willing to confront you do not love you, when in reality, they are the only ones truly want your good. Even our heavenly Father disciplines those whom he loves, but those who are not his do not receive such discipline, and such a lack of discipline should be seen as a terrifying sign.
But back to our story … Adonijah sees David’s weakness and apparent negligence to proclaim publicly who would sit on the throne after him as an opportunity to make himself king. So, he gathers around himself the things of a king – chariots, horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. Then, he gets two men who had been the closest of associates to king David – Joab and Abiathar. Abiathar had been one of David’s oldest associates and Joab was his right hand man. And they agree to follow Adonijah and help him. So they sacrifice sheep, oxen, fattened cattle, and invite all the king’s sons and the royal officials of Judah. But there were a few important people that they intentionally ignored, namely, Solomon, Nathan the prophet, and David’s mighty men. That is, they knew that Adonijah’s ascendency to the throne was not in David’s plans. So, they tried to keep the party a bit low-key.
But word got out. And when Nathan heard about it, he went to Bathsheba (Solomon’s mother) and mentioned to her that David did not know what was going on in his own kingdom. While David was focused on trying to get warm, the kingdom was in jeopardy. So, they concocted a plan. Bathsheba would first go to David and ask why David was allowing Adonijah to become king when he had promised her that Solomon would reign on the throne. Then, while she was still speaking, Nathan would come in and confirm the events, asking if he had been left in the dark since Adonijah had made himself king. And that’s exactly what they did, saying to this old, frail, shivering man, “The eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him” (1:20).
And just when you might be thinking that David was too weak to carry on, he responds to the task at hand. He calls Bathsheba to himself and says, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity, as I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ even so will I do this day” (1:29-30). Then, he calls Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah to come before him, and tells them to have Solomon ride on David’s mule, along with David’s servants, to Gihon where they will anoint him as king, blow the trumpet, and have Solomon sit on David’s throne.
But not only did this do all of this, they made sure everyone head it. It was the opposite of the secretive party by Adonijah. In fact, verse 40 tells us, “And all the people went up after him, playing on pipes, and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth was split by their noise.” It was so loud that Adonijah and all his guess heard it and wondered what was going on. But they didn’t have to wonder long, for a man named Jonathan came and said to Adonijah, “Our Lord King David has made Solomon king” (1:43), so “all the guests of Adonijah trembled and rose, and each went his own way” (1:49). They scattered, and Adonijah was afraid of Solomon, so he went to the altar, no doubt thinking that Solomon would not kill him there. But instead of killing him, Solomon said, “If he will shown himself a worthy man, not one of his hairs shall fall to the earth, but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die” (1:52). Then, we read, “So King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and paid homage to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, ‘Go to your house’” (1:53). And so ends chapter 1.
Now, as I’ve mentioned, I think that one clear point from this first chapter is that God gives us at every point what we need to obey and, thus, is not dependent on our strength to carry out his purposes. After all, 1 Kings 1 is not a picture of a strong, wise, and crafty king. It is the picture of a weak, feeble king, who can’t get warm, who doesn’t know what’s going on around him, and who is about to die. If he doesn’t make the right move, the situation regarding the kingdom could be disastrous. Yet, notice what happens. Those individuals closest to David, Nathan and Bathsheba, come to him, give him the information he needs, makes his path clear, and exhorts him to act in a certain way. You see, from the human perspective, everything was at a fragile point. But there was no doubt in God’s purposes and plans that Solomon, not Adonijah, was going to be king. God was not dependent on David’s physical strength, wisdom, or craftiness to carry out his plan. He was going to ensure that Solomon sat on the throne.
Now, you might say, “Well, actually this chapter says very little, if anything, about God acting. Therefore, shouldn’t we talk about the wisdom of Nathan and Bathsheba instead of God?” And that’d be a fine observation that the main actors in the chapter are Nathan and Bathsheba and (because of them) David. And it is odd that at this crucial moment, God is seemingly absent, at least in action. But notice, after Solomon is appointed king, what David says in 1:48. He says, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who has granted someone to sit on my throne this day, my own eyes seeing it.”
You see, in David’s eyes, God had been the one who had brought this about. He knew that God did everything necessary to ensure that Solomon was anointed king. In this particular situation, it involved Nathan and Bathsheba pointing out that something was happening that was contrary to David’s will, and David knew what to do from there.
But I think it’s another reminder to us that God gives us at every point what we need to obey him. What looked like a desperate situation in our eyes was never a desperate situation in God’s eyes. As Paul says in Acts 17:25, “Nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”
But the temptation for us is to think that our lives are quite different here. That is, we look at 1 Kings 1 and say, “But that’s David, and that concerned plans God established for Solomon to sit on the throne.” Meanwhile, our anxieties stem from many other things, but not who’s going to reign over God’s kingdom. And so, if that is your thinking, let me encourage you to consider that Psalm 139:16 reminds us that God had every one of your days written in his book before you had lived any of them, that Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that God has prepared good works for you to walk in from before the foundation of the world, and that Romans 8:28 reminds us that God is working all things in your life together for your good, no doubt, meaning more conformed to the image of his Son. Therefore, let me ask you, “Is your feebleness and frailty any more of a threat to short-circuit God’s purposes and plans than David’s feebleness and frailty?” Of course not. Is God so contingent on you making every right move that his plans for your life hang in the balance? Again, of course not. God will give you what you need at every step to obey him. Let me say that one more time for my benefit and yours: God will give you what you need at every step to obey him. We see it with David and the transition of the throne from him to Solomon, and the teaching of Scripture does not allow us to affirm anything less in our own lives. That is a crucial reminder that I would imagine many of us need this morning.
However, it is fair to ask, “What then do I focus on doing?” After all, trusting in the sovereignty of God is never an excuse to sit idly and do nothing. But, we are also reminded of this answer in 1 Kings 2:1-4. In these first four verses of chapter 2, David gives some final instructions to Solomon. The instructions actually go all the way to verse 9, but I want to pause here first because I want us to see what David saw to be of first importance in instructing his son at this crucial juncture. And we see that he says to him, “Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, that the LORD may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel’” (2:2-4). This, I think, is the answer to our question.
Brad Green pointed out a number of weeks back, as he preached here, that the phrase “the will of God” in Scripture is almost always (if not always) a reference to what God has revealed in his Word. Yet, for some reason, we are so tempted to want to ignore what God has revealed and set our concern on what he hasn’t. But consider this. Solomon has just been made king over Israel. He is going to face greater challenges simply in day-to-day matters than many of us may focus over the course of our entire lives. And when David has a chance to tell him what to do, what does he say? He tells him to obey the commands of God revealed in the Law of Moses. He says, “Obey the Scripture.”
So, in our lives, the great responsibility we have is simply to obey the will of God. Obey the Scripture. If you focus on doing that, you don’t have to worry that God is somehow in the heavens saying, “He’s just so focused on what I’ve clearly commanded him to do that he’s going to miss some great plans I have for him in life.” That is foolish thinking. It would have been foolish for Solomon to respond that way, and it would be foolish for us. So, focus on knowing the Word and obeying it. Focus on the gospel and believing it. That is the key responsibility the Lord calls us to, and if you are battling thoughts that this is somehow risky, then remind yourself of the truth we were reminded of in chapter 1: The Lord will give you at every step what you need to obey him. And then, after reminding yourself of that, turn your attention back to obeying the Lord.
Finally, there’s one other reminder in these two chapters that I want us to see. We’ve already seen that God will give you at every step what you need to obey him and that your responsibility is simply to focus on obeying his Word. But there’s one command, one piece of obedience, that I want to highlight for us this morning, and it is this: Along your way in life, share with others how they might be reconciled to God.
This command is not necessarily found in 1 Kings 2:5-46, but it is a command that exists because of a truth that is so clearly revealed to us again in 1 Kings 2:5-46. That truth is that everyone who refuses to be reconciled to Christ will face the judgment of God.
Psalm 2 is an enthronement psalm. What that means is that most likely when David’s sons were enthroned as king, Psalm 2 would have been read at their enthronement. It is a psalm which reminds them that they are to reflect and resemble their God as they rule. It is also a psalm which reminds everyone else that they are to serve the Lord and obey his king. If they don’t, the psalm warns them that they will face his wrath. This is scene clearly in 2 Kings 2.
After exhorting Solomon to obey the commands of the law, David tells him that he must deal with those enemies who will not be reconciled to him as their king. He tells Solomon that he must eliminate his enemies. Then, in verses 10-12, we read that David dies. So, what then does Solomon do? Well, the rest of chapter 2 records how he eliminated four men: Adonijah (13-25), Abiathar (26-27), Joab (28-35), and Shimei (36-46).
Each episode is interesting. Adonijah had been told that if he showed himself a worthy man, that he would be spared. However, it doesn’t take too long for his nature to reveal itself. He ends up coming to Bathsheba and asking her to ask Solomon to give him Abishag as his wife. Now, it might seem innocent at first. Perhaps he just wants a wife and Abishag is not taken. However, two things reveal his evil here. First, note that he is clearly not repentant about his rebellion against David and Solomon. He says to Bathsheba in verse 15, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign. However, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, for it was his from the LORD.” That is far from a statement of saying, “I tried to rebel and am humiliated, but I now ask for grace.” This is clearly a statement that says, “You and I both know that I should be king” and worse, that is his heart though he knows it is contrary to God’s will. Second, Abishag is not just some girl. She was David’s, brought to him in the last days of his life. Therefore, marrying her would be like taking a step toward stating some claim to the throne.
So, what happens? Bathsheba shares the request and Solomon sees it as a ploy for the throne, saying, “Now therefore as the LORD lives, who has established me and placed me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day” (2:24). And so Benaiah went out and killed Adonijah.
But what about Abiathar, who had supported Adonijah’s attempt to claim the throne? In verses 26-27, we read that he was expelled from being a priest. And Joab? When he hears of Adonijah’s death, knowing that he had supported him as king, Joab flees to the altar, thinking Solomon would not kill him there. But he was wrong, and so verses 28-35 tell us of how Benaiah went to the altar and struck him down and put him to death.
Finally, the king addressed one other enemy – Shimei. He had opposed David, and so Solomon warned him to stay in Jerusalem and not leave, otherwise he too would be killed. And he did that for three years, but one day as his servants got out, he defied Solomon’s prohibition and went after them. And when Solomon heard, he brought Shimei to him and reminded him that though Shimei did not keep his word, Solomon would keep his. And he ordered Benaiah to kill Shimei as well, and he did. And so the chapter ends, “So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon” (2:46).
In this chapter, we are reminded of the danger of not being reconciled to the king. In the end, the king of Israel was to picture the Lord over the people, and one way he was to picture the Lord was in judging his enemies. Therefore, though this chapter perhaps makes us cringe a bit, it is a healthy reminder to us that men without Christ will face judgment. Just as Solomon was true to his word to Shimei and didn’t say, “Well, you weren’t that bad,” so in the end, God will be true to his word and cast into hell those who were not reconciled to him through his Son.
And yet there’s also a reminder of good news. 1 Kings 2 also tells us of a man named Barzillai, and how he was blessed because of his commitment to the king. It is a reminder that there is good news for us today as well. And the good news is that God has made a way to be reconciled to him if men will repent and believe in Christ who lived perfectly, died for our sins, and was raised on the third day. So, this chapter reminds us yet again of the seriousness of our need to plead with others to be reconciled to God, sharing with them what God has done to make this possible.
1 Kings 1-2 is a reminder to us that God will provide what we need to obey him at every step, that our responsibility is to obey his revealed will, and that one of those commands God has given us is to make clear to others how they might be reconciled to God, lest they face his judgment.
But these two chapters scream for us to remember something else as well. After all, we know the rest of the story. We know that Solomon does not obey the Scriptures. We know that no king from Solomon onward pictures the Lord’s perfect reign over his people. We know that every time Psalm 2 would have been read as another one of David’s sons took the throne that the sad feeling in the room would have been the understanding from everyone in the room that Psalm 2 was not fitting for this king, for he would eventually show himself to be a sinful man. And that happened again and again and again and again, until eventually God judged his people and led them into exile. These chapters grab our attention most importantly so that they might point us to one beyond Solomon, to David’s greatest Son, Jesus of Nazareth. He came and did obey God’s commands perfectly. He was the perfect picture and reflection of God. It was fittig for him to be called God’s Son. And he was given the ends of the earth as his possession, as Psalm 2 promised, when God raised him from the dead and gave him all authority in heaven and on earth. 1 Kings 1-2 reminds us that God’s promises are sure because one who represented his people lived perfectly for us before God, died to pay for our sins, and was raised so that we might live and reign with him. Therefore, as we remember these lessons concerning how it is that we are to walk before God, let us remember that our obedience is only possible because God has already credited the perfect righteousness of Christ to all who believe in him. Let us them rejoice as we come to the table. Amen.