Scripture: 1 Kings 2:1-27 (NKJV)
1 Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon
his son, saying: 2 “I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and
prove yourself a man. 3 And keep the charge of the LORD your God: to walk in
His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, 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; 4 that the LORD may fulfill His word which
He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons take heed to their way, to walk
before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, ‘you
shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ 5 Moreover you know also what
Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the
armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he
killed. And he shed the blood of war in peacetime, and put the blood of war on
his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet. 6
Therefore do according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to
the grave in peace. 7 But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite,
and let them be among those who eat at your table, for so they came to me when
I fled from Absalom your brother. 8 And see, you have with you Shimei the son
of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a malicious curse in the
day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I
swore to him by the LORD, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’
9 Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know
what you ought to do to him; but bring his gray hair down to the grave with
blood.”
10 So David rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David. 11
The period that David reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he
reigned in Hebron, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years. 12 Then
Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly
established.
13 Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. So
she said, “Do you come peaceably?” And he said, “Peaceably.” 14 Moreover he
said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Say it.” 15 Then he
said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set their
expectations on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom has been turned
over, and has become my brother’s; for it was his from the LORD. 16 Now I ask
one petition of you; do not deny me.” And she said to him, “Say it.” 17 Then he
said, “Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, that he may
give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife.” 18 So Bathsheba said, “Very well, I
will speak for you to the king.”
19 Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And
the king rose up to meet her and bowed down to her, and sat down on his throne
and had a throne set for the king’s mother; so she sat at his right hand. 20
Then she said, “I desire one small petition of you; do not refuse me.” And the
king said to her, “Ask it, my mother, for I will not refuse you.” 21 So she
said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife.”
22 And King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “Now why do you ask
Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also—for he is my
older brother—for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of
Zeruiah.”
23 Then King Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, “May God do so to me, and more
also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life! 24 Now
therefore, as the LORD lives, who has confirmed me and set me on the throne of
David my father, and who has established a house for me, as He promised,
Adonijah shall be put to death today!” 25 So King Solomon sent by the hand of
Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him down, and he died. 26 And to
Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields, for you
are deserving of death; but I will not put you to death at this time, because
you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David, and because you
were afflicted every time my father was afflicted.” 27 So Solomon removed
Abiathar from being priest to the LORD, that he might fulfill the word of the
LORD which He spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh.
Devotion
Why ask for Abishag as a wife? Yes, she was beautiful, but there were other
beautiful women to be had, especially for an important and wealthy man like
Adonijah. Solomon’s reaction gives us a clue. Solomon reacts with indignation
and declares a death sentence on Adonijah. This seems a bit severe if Adonijah
is just lonely. But Abishag was a way for Adonijah to assert his claim to the
throne again.
According to C.F. Keil: “Although Abishag had been only David’s nurse, in the
eyes of the people she passed as his concubine; and among the Israelites…taking
possession of the harem of a deceased king was equivalent to an establishment
of the claim to the throne.” This explains Solomon’s reaction. Solomon had
already forgiven Adonijah’s sin of rebellion once. There was not going to be a
second pardon.
It is a serious thing to wield the sword as a king, to kill by the authority of
the crown, but it must sometimes be done. The German princes had to put down
the peasants’ revolt. Queen Elizabeth I of England had to execute traitors and
would-be assassins in her land. It seems likely that they struggled with
thoughts of not being forgiven for the killing they had to do, but they could
comfort themselves with the example of King Solomon. Executing dangerous
criminals is part of the burden of the crown. The king is “an avenger to
execute wrath on him who practices evil.” (Rom.13:4). When we are forgiven our
trespasses in the civil realm, we ought to take care to amend our lives and not
become a curse on society.
Posted by The Reverend Jeffrey A. Ahonen on behalf of the Evangelical Lutheran
Diocese of North America, publisher of the Lutheran Herald.
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