- [Narrator] How the son of King David destroyed his life,
Solomon executed him.
Adonijah was King David's fourth son.
After his dad died,
Adonijah is best known for his failed attempts
to usurp the throne of Israel.
Being the son of a king
usually comes with a unique platform,
some privileges and an elevated position.
Still, sometimes expectations can be cut short
by our mistakes, choices, or decisions.
Adonijah's story shows the pitfalls
that await anyone who isn't focused,
wise or patient, no matter who they are.
Adonijah was described as a very handsome man
and he had a knack for showmanship.
On the other hand, he had poor manners.
1 Kings 1:5-8:
"Then Adonijah,
the son of David's wife, Haggith, exalted himself saying,
'I, the eldest living son will be king.'
So following Absalom's example,
he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen
and 50 men to run before him.
His father, David, had never rebuked him
at any time by asking, 'Why have you done this?'
Adonijah was also a very handsome man
and he was born after Absalom.
He had conferred with Joab, the son of Zeruiah,
David's half sister, and with Abiathar, the priest.
And they followed Adonijah and helped him.
But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada,
Nathan the prophet,
Shimei, Rei
and David's knows formidable warriors
did not side with Adonijah in his desire to become king."
Adonijah, like his brother Absalom before him,
collected an army and put himself forth
as a candidate for the throne
when David was old and on his deathbed.
This occurred despite the fact
that David had already designated Solomon
to succeed him as king.
Adonijah assembled his followers
and offered a great number of sacrifices
as part of his coronation ceremony.
Nathan heard of Adonijah's activity,
and he approached Solomon's mother
and David's wife Bathsheba,
encouraging her to go before the aged, ailing king
and apprise him of the situation.
1 Kings 1:9-40:
"Adonijah sacrificed sheep
and oxen and fattened steers by the Stone of Zoheleth,
which is beside the well, En-rogel.
And he invited all his brothers,
the king's sons, and all the men of Judah,
the king's servants to this feast.
But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah,
the most formidable warriors or his brother Solomon.
Then Nathan spoke to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon,
"Have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith,
has become king and David, our Lord, does not know about it?
Come now, please let me advise you,
and save your life and the life of your son, Solomon.
Go at once to King David and say to him, 'Did you not,
my lord, oh king, swear to your maid servant saying,
'Solomon your son shall certainly be king after me,
and he shall sit on my throne?
Why then has Adonijah become king?
Behold, while you are still there speaking with the king,
I will come in after you and confirm your words.'
So Bathsheba went to the king in his bedroom.
Now the king was very old and weak,
and Abishag the Shunammite was attending the king.
So Bathsheba bowed down and paid respect to the king.
And the king said, 'What do you wish?'
She said to him, 'My lord,
you swore by the Lord your God to your maidservant saying,
"Solomon your son shall certainly be king after me
and he shall sit on my throne.
But now, behold, Adonijah is acting as king
and now as things stand, my lord the king,
you do not know it.
He has sacrificed oxen and fattened steers
and sheep in abundance,
and has invited all the king's sons and Abiathar the priest
and Joab the commander of the army to a feast,
but he did not invite your servant Solomon.
Now as for you, my lord the king,
the eyes of all Israel are on you,
waiting for you to tell them
who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
Otherwise, it'll come about
when my Lord the king lies down in death with his fathers,
that I and my son Solomon
will be considered political enemies.
While she was still speaking with the king,
Nathan the prophet came in.
The king was told, 'Here is Nathan the prophet.'
And when he came before the king,
he bowed before the king with his face to the ground.
Then Nathan said, 'My lord the king,
have you said Adonijah shall be king after me,
and he shall sit on my throne?
Because he has gone down today to En-Rogel,
and has sacrificed oxen and fattened steers
and sheep in abundance,
and has invited all the king's sons,
the commanders of the army,
and Abiathar the priest to this feast,
and right now they are eating and drinking in his presence
and they say, 'Long live King Adonijah.'
But he has not invited me, your servant,
nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah the son of Jehoiada,
nor your servant, Solomon.
If this thing has been done by my lord the king,
why have you not shown your servants
who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?'
King David answered, 'Call Bathsheba to me.'
And she came into the king's presence and stood before him.
Then the king swore oath and said, 'As the Lord lives
who has redeemed my soul from all distress,
even as I swore to you by the Lord,
the God of Israel saying, "Solomon your son
shall certainly be king after me,
and he shall sit on my throne in my place,
I will indeed do so this very day."
Bathsheba bowed down with her face to the ground,
and laid herself face down before the king and said,
'May my Lord King David live forever.'
Then King David said, 'Call Zadok the priest,
Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada to me.'
And they came before the king.
The king told them, 'Take the servants of your lord with you
and have Solomon, my son, ride on my own mule,
and bring him down to the spring at Gihon
in the Kidron Valley.
Let Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet
anoint him there as king over Israel.
Then blow the trumpet and say, "Long live King Solomon."
Then you shall come up to Jerusalem after him,
and he shall come and sit on my throne
and he shall reign as king in my place,
for I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.
Benaiah, the overseer of the king's bodyguards,
the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said,
'Amen, so be it,
may the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say so too.
Just as the Lord has been with my lord the king,
so may he be with Solomon,
and make his throne greater
than the throne of my lord King David.'
So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet,
Benaiah the son of Jehoiada,
the Cherethites, and the Pelethites,
the king's bodyguards went down from Jerusalem
and had Solomon ride on King David's mule,
and brought him to the spring at Gihon.
Zadok the priest took a horn of olive oil
from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon.
They blew the trumpet, and all the people said,
'Long live King Solomon.'
All the people went up after him,
and they were playing on flutes
and rejoicing with great joy,
so that the earth shook
and seemed to burst open with their joyful sound."
As Adonijah's entourage was finishing their meal,
they heard trumpets sounding in Gihon,
and Adonijah inquired as to the meaning of the noise.
Jonathan, a priest,
informed at Adonijah of Solomon's anointing.
1 Kings 1:41-48:
"Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him
heard it as they finished eating.
When Joab heard the trumpet sound he said,
'Why is the city in such an uproar?'
While he was still speaking,
behold Jonathan the son of Abiathar, the priest arrived.
And Adonijah said, 'Come in,
for you are a valiant and trustworthy man
and you bring good news.'
But Jonathan replied to Adonijah, 'No, on the contrary,
our Lord King David has made Solomon king.
The king has sent him with Zadok the priest,
Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada,
the Cherethites, and the Pelethites,
and they have had him ride on the king's own royal mule.
Also, Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet
have anointed him king in Gihon,
and they have come up from their celebrating,
so the city is in an uproar.
This is the noise which you have heard.
Besides, Solomon has taken his seat
on the throne of the kingdom.
Moreover, the king's servants came to bless,
congratulate our lord King David saying,
'May your God make the name of Solomon better,
more famous than your name,
and make his throne greater than your throne.'
And the king bowed himself before God upon the bed.
The king has also said this,
'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who was granted one of my descendants
to sit on my throne today and allowed my eyes to see it.'
Adonijah's followers dispersed swiftly,
and the man himself, in terror for his life,
ran to the temple.
There, he grabbed hold of the horns of the altar
and begged for forgiveness from the priests.
And Adonijah feared Solomon,
and he got up and went to the tabernacle on Mt. Zion
and took hold of the horns of the altar seeking asylum.
Now Solomon was told, 'Behold,
Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon,
and behold, he has grasped the horns of the altar
seeking God's protection saying,
'King Solomon must swear to me today
that he will not kill his servant with the sword.'
Solomon said, 'If he proves he is a worthy man,
not even one of his hairs shall fall to the ground,
but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.'
Solomon allowed Adonijah to come before him peaceably
and promised him safety, as long as he was found worthy.
However, Solomon warned,
'If evil is found in him he will die.'
Adonijah was then allowed to return home.
Despite obtaining mercy, Adonijah did not stop scheming.
After King David's death,
he came to Bathsheba and begged her to ask Solomon
to give him the hand of David's former nurse,
Abishag, in marriage.
1 Kings 2:13-17:
"Now Adonijah, the son of David and Haggith,
came to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon.
She said, 'Do you come in peace?'
And he said, 'In peace.'
Then he said, 'I have something to say to you.'
And she said, 'Speak.'
So he said, 'You know that the kingdom belonged to me
as the eldest living son,
and all Israel looked to me and expected me to be king.
However, the kingdom has passed from me,
and became my brother's,
for it was his from the Lord.
So now I am making one request of you, do not refuse me.'
And she said to him, 'Speak.'
He said, 'Please speak to King Solomon
for he will not refuse you,
ask that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.'
Solomon was infuriated because this request demonstrated
that Adonijah still harbored ambitions
to replace him on the throne.
It was that very day
that he gave the order for Adonijah to be executed,
and the punishment was carried out.
Solomon took action against Adonijah's supporters as well,
dismissing Abiathar from his position as a priest
and executing Joab.
1 Kings 2:23-25:
"Then King Solomon swore by the Lord saying,
'May God do the same to me and more also
if Adonijah has not requested
this deplorable thing against his own life.
So now, as the Lord lives,
who has established me and set me on the throne
of David my father,
and who has made me a house as he promised,
Adonijah shall indeed be put to death today.'
So King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada,
and he struck at Adonijah and he died."
He tried everything to grasp at straws and gain power,
but he eventually lost everything.
Life will always put our patience
and contentment to the test.
How we respond to it
will determine our promotion or lack thereof.
We must never let our ambitions drive us into trouble,
or cloud our ability to think clearly.
Adonijah's story demonstrates the dangers that await anyone
who isn't focused, wise or patient,
no matter who they are.
Two things greatly helped Solomon
in his succession to the throne of Israel.
Both gave him the authority he required to rule.
First, God chose him to be the next king.
Second, David chose him as his successor.
Transitions in leadership often cause significant problems
for groups and organizations.
Notice what David did to smooth the transition process
in his kingdom.
He made a public commitment.
He brought key influencers into the process.
He gave Solomon some of his own resources,
easily recognizable to the people.
He set up a public commissioning for Solomon.
He publicly endorsed Solomon's leadership.
He initiated a celebration
to transition the leadership to his successor.
Let us pray:
"Father, thank you for your words
that constantly guide me towards peace and rest.
I am grateful for the lesson on patience and focus
that I've learned through Adonijah's story.
In the name of Jesus,
I ask for inner strength to wait for your timing,
plans and purpose,
because they are always for good and not for evil,
to give me an expected end.
Amen."