1Kings
2:1 ¶ Now the days of David drew nigh
that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2 I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong
therefore, and shew thyself a man; 3 And
keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes,
and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written
in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and
whithersoever thou turnest thyself: 4
That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me,
saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with
all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a
man on the throne of Israel. 5 Moreover
thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he
did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and
unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace,
and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and
in his shoes that were on his feet. 6
Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down
to the grave in peace. 7 But shew
kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those
that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom
thy brother. 8 And, behold, thou hast
with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with
a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet
me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to
death with the sword. 9 Now therefore
hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou
oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with
blood. 10 So David slept with his
fathers, and was buried in the city of David. 11 And the days that David reigned over Israel were
forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years
reigned he in Jerusalem.
King David
is dying. He is going the way of all the earth. He gives his son,
Solomon, a charge, advice and instruction. This is remarkable advice for the
Israelites in general.
3 And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to
walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his
judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou
mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:
Deuteronomy
29:9 Keep therefore the words of this
covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do.
Joshua
1:7 Only be thou strong and very
courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which
Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the
left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
Joshua
22:5 But take diligent heed to do the
commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to
love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his
commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and
with all your soul.
The
condition placed on David’s dynasty in verse 4 has chilling consequences which
we will see in our study of Israel’s history, the individual history of many
Christians in type, if we will hear it so.
David
tells Solomon then to settle scores. This seals the fate of some of David’s
detractors and blesses those who were loyal. This type of thing has been
repeated down through history. Joab, the contentious general and keeper of
David’s darkest secrets and Shimei, the mocker of David, will pay for their
behavior and threats with their lives. David then dies, having reigned for
forty years as a king, seven years over Judah and then over all Israel.
1Kings
2:12 ¶ Then sat Solomon upon the throne
of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly. 13 And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to
Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he
said, Peaceably. 14 He said moreover, I
have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on. 15 And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom
was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should
reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother’s: for it
was his from the LORD. 16 And now I ask
one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on. 17 And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon
the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the
Shunammite to wife. 18 And Bathsheba
said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king. 19 Bathsheba therefore went unto king Solomon,
to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed
himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for
the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand. 20 Then she said, I desire one small petition of
thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on,
my mother: for I will not say thee nay. 21
And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy
brother to wife. 22 And king Solomon
answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite
for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder
brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of
Zeruiah. 23 Then king Solomon sware by
the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken
this word against his own life. 24 Now
therefore, as the LORD liveth, which hath established me, and set me on
the throne of David my father, and who hath made me an house, as he promised,
Adonijah shall be put to death this day. 25
And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he
fell upon him that he died.
The threat
to Solomon’s throne is apparent as the young woman who “ministered” to David,
shared his bed, and was considered a kind of wife or concubine. To possess her
was to have a claim, however tenuous, on the throne through the bed of the king.
The machinations and clever plan of Adonijah is his undoing as the text makes
clear. Solomon will not hesitate to secure his throne from any threat.
1Kings
2:26 ¶ And unto Abiathar the priest said
the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art
worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou
barest the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, and because thou hast
been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. 27 So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being
priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake
concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. 28
Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he
turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and
caught hold on the horns of the altar. 29
And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of
the LORD; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the
son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him. 30
And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus
saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah
brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.
31 And the king said unto him, Do as he
hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the
innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.
32 And the LORD shall return his blood
upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and
slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit,
Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of
Jether, captain of the host of Judah. 33
Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the
head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his
house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD.
34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went
up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the
wilderness.
Solomon
continues to settle scores. Back in 1Kings 1:7 we saw that Joab and Abiathar
united themselves with Adonijah and God will use this to fulfill the prophecy
He made against the priest, Eli’s, house in 1Samuel 2. David had also given a
charge to Solomon about Joab. The text pretty much speaks for itself.
1Kings
2:35 ¶ And the king put Benaiah the son
of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in
the room of Abiathar. 36 And the king
sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in
Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither. 37 For it shall be, that on the day thou
goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that
thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head. 38 And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is
good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt
in Jerusalem many days. 39 And it came
to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away
unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold,
thy servants be in Gath. 40 And
Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his
servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath. 41 And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone
from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again. 42
And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not
make thee to swear by the LORD, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a
certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou
shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is
good. 43 Why then hast thou not kept the
oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with? 44 The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou
knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to
David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own
head; 45 And king Solomon shall be
blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever.
46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son
of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom
was established in the hand of Solomon.
Benaiah
serves Solomon now in the capacity that Joab served David. Zadok is put in position
of priest.
Now, Shimei,
that scoundrel who disrespected King David is given a fair warning. Of course,
as men like Shimei always do, he eventually disregarded the order and paid the
ultimate price for his disobedience or, perhaps, disregarding of King Solomon’s
order.
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