The American Wisdom Series 
 http://www.americanwisdomseries.com

Presents 
I Kings
Chapter 1

Caution to students of God's Word - Please remember two things when using our studies: #1. Our commentary is not God's Word. It is only our interpretation or understanding of "His Word" and even though we try our best to be accurate we may or may not be correct. #2. The King James translation, or any other translation, of the original Hebrew text has some words which were given different translations at different places probably because of the interpreters preconceived ideas of what they think God meant to say. For example: According to the notes in the "Drake's Annotated Reference Bible" the Hebrew word hayah in the KJV is Trans. (became) 67 times, (becamest or came to pass) 505 times, (become) 66 times, and (come to pass) 131 times, but for some reason in Genesis 1:2 it is translated (was)! That sure changes the way a person perceives the original creation of the earth, doesn't it?  Gen. 1:2 And the earth was (became) without form, ... Having said that, let us continue with our "Key Knowledge" lessons. These are pamphlets containing knowledge, we believe, you must have to fully and accurately unlock and understand the Word of God.

John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:13-14
[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. [14] He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

This Bible Study was originally written by Roger Christopherson,
 published at http://www.theseason.org/ 

Without the leading by the Holy Spirit, there is no understanding of the truths, for all the truth of the Scriptures are revealed to us by God's Spirit.

 Now here is our revised study of:

THE FIRST BOOK OF THE KINGS

Chapter 1

"David, Length of Years [1-4]."
"Solomon, Wrongful Succession [5-10]."
"Nathan and Bath-sheba, Counteraction [11-27]."
"Solomon, Rightful Successor"
"The Proclamation and Anointing [28-53]."

Though this book is called "The first book of Kings", in most Bibles that come from the Latin translations, it is referred to as the "Third book of Kings". Thus the books of First and Second Samuel are considered the First and Second books of Kings. There should be no problem with this, for the rest of the translation within these books are the same. In the time of the original writings, The books of the kings were all one book.

We learned in the study of the books of Samuel that God wanted to be the King over Israel, only Israel wanted a man to rule over them. Someone that they could see, talk to, and was human just like they were. All the nations around them had their kings, and those heathen nations had someone to give their devotion to. Prior to the time of king Saul, God ruled Israel through the priesthood, and the priesthood had both the responsibilities for the religious duties of the sacrifices and teaching; as well as that of the judge and governing the people. These are what we would call, "Church" and "State" today.

Israel had thirteen priests that governed over them, from the time of coming out of the wilderness, to the time of Eli the last Judge. When Eli became very old, his sons set their own standards and requirements, and violated the laws that God set down at the mouth of Moses. Because of this the people cried out for a king, and God granted them their wish. When Eli died, Samuel became the priest and assumed the duties of transferring the duties of State from the priesthood to a Monarchy, and Samuel anointed Saul as God's choice to be the king of His people.

The book of I Samuel dealt with the establishing of the separation of Church and State, and the reign of Saul's monarchy. It ended with the death of Saul and Jonathan, his son in battle. Saul was a bad king while he ruled, and thus Samuel anointed another man to be king, for God told Saul that his son's would not assume the throne at his death. Thus at the start of the Book of II Samuel we see David assuming his anointed role as king over all Israel.

David is called a man after God's heart, and though he made a few mistakes, David always tried to please God in all that he did. The book of II Samuel was written about the family of David, and it did not withhold any of the gruesome detail of David's family troubles. In David's life he caused many men to be killed by his sword, and that killing started with the giant Goliath, and continued on the battle field with thousands being killed. Thus God did not allow David to build his temple. The books of Samuel closed out with David a very old man, and that is where this "First book of Kings" starts.

The important thing that we must remember is that God made a promise to David, that another King would come through his lineage, and that King is Jesus the Christ. The time frame of the two books of Kings covers a time period of approximately 455 years. It starts in the year 1015 B.C., and when you consider the one hundred and ten year correction as laid out in the Companion Bible in Jeremiah 25. It is basically history, however, when Father spoke there was an inner meaning of wisdom or type that students of the Word are to pay attention to. So lets now go into the book of First Kings.

I Kings 1:1 "Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat."

These clothes that they covered David with were bed clothes. David was a very old man at this time, and it was very difficult to keep his body temperature up.

I Kings 1:2 "Wherefore his servants said unto him, "Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat."

These "Servants" were the medical people that tended to David. Believe it or not, this was how the Medical mind thought for that day. When a strong younger person was near an older person, the older person would draw strength from the younger. This line of thinking just isn't taught that any more. So it was determined that a young virgin should be brought in to give warmth comfort to David in his aging years.

I Kings 1:3 "So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king."

We will see in later verses that this girl was a very beautiful young lady. We will see that she will cause David's fourth son a lot of trouble. So David now has his bed warmer.

I Kings 1:4 "And the damsel was fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not."

Though this damsel was to share the bed of David, she was there to give warmth and comfort to David only. This relationship was never considered a binding marriage, nor consummated as the relations between a husband and wife. Her duty was to wait on David, and give the king warmth when it was required. It will come up again, and it is an important point that this was not a marriage.

I Kings 1:5 "Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king:" and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him."

"Adonijah" is pronounced "Adoni-yah", and takes the sacred name of our Heavenly Father. It means "my Lord is Yah [God]". Adonijah wanted to become king, and so he is going to set up an illusion before the public that he will be the new king when his father dies. After all David is old and about to die, and Adonijah is the fourth son of David. Remember that the first three sons of David; Amnon, Caleb and Absalom are now dead, and this leaves room for the fourth son of David to assume the role of king. However, David had made other promises and commitments that the throne would go to Solomon at his death.

I Kings 1:6 "And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, "Why hast thou done so?" and he also was very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom."

As Adonijah paraded around the town of Jerusalem presenting himself as the next king, David did not say one word that this would not be. The main reason that David said nothing about this as it was being done, was that David did not know about it. Absalom was the next in line to be king, but Joab had killed Absalom in battle as he hung by his hair from a tree. So by all reasonable thought to Adonijah and those that watched this spectacle of fifty men going before him where ever he went, Adonijah would be the next king. What this verse is stating is that Adonijah was the oldest son at this time, that was living.

I Kings 1:7 "And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him."

Joab was the nephew of David, the son of Zeruiah the sister of David. Joab was with David from the time David was on the run from king Saul, and he was the general of David's armies when David became king. Adonijah went to Joab the military man, and to Abiathar the priest and showed them his plan to assume the throne at David's death. It sounded very sound in that Adonijah was the son next in line, and David was about to die. Joab had the authority over most of the army at that time, and Abiathar was in a position to anoint Abiathar as the next king, at the death of David. This shows us a power play to take the throne before the rightful time. Adonijah knew that the priesthood had to be behind his moves to make them successful, however God was not and there would be no anointing of Adonijah.

I Kings 1:8 "But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah."

"Zadok" in the Hebrew means "the upright, or the just". So here we have a priest and a prophet, and a military man, all close to David who did not back the take-over by Adonijah, nor were they willing to back Adonijah as their new king. They did not want any part of this movement to place Adonijah on the throne. It was up to the anointed king to chose who would rule after his death, and not some plot to subvert the throne. These men were loyal to David, and would not go against David's wishes at any time.

I Kings 1:9 "And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En-rogel, and called all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants:"

"Zoheleth" in the Hebrew tongue is "serpent", while "En-rogel" means the "fount of the fuller". The "fuller" is like a lye soap used for cleaning clothes. The "fountain of the fuller" in this day and time is called "the fountain of the virgin". So there are two men striving for the kingship, and one of them is having a party down at the place called the "stone of the serpent".

Even at our time you had better know the true King [Jesus Christ] from the one that is the fake [Satan in the role of Antichrist]. The first to present himself as king is not the king, but one that tries to assume that role by himself. Adonijah took fifty men to go out before him, and present himself as the king, and many of the people saw the pageantry and believed Adonijah to be the next king. However, the true king would come later, at God's appointed time, and with the anointing of the Father. 

Satan, just like Adonijah will present himself as the Christ and most of the people will believe him to be Christ. They will not know the mind of the Father, and in their ignorance, they will go to that feast where Satan will make his abomination of desolation [declaring himself to be God], and claim their souls. Satan's children [the Kenites] will lead the flock to the slaughter, and in ignorance the sheep will go right into Satan's party, and become part of the Satan's one world system.

People that are living in our generation had better know who their true King is, and the events that surround the coming of our King. There is no surprise to those events that shall happen prior to the coming of both of these kings, for it is clear that the false king comes and puts on a show prior to the coming of the True King, Jesus the Christ. Satan will come just as Christians expect Christ to return, in Jerusalem, and bring peace and prosperity with him. Satan will have supernatural powers because God will give him his supernatural power and authority to use it, to test those that are on the earth in their flesh bodies at that time. This supernatural power and authority is detailed in Revelation 9.

When we take the full translation of this verse, there is more to it than just a man having a party to celebrate a position that he will soon assume. It is a matter of determining a true King from a fake, and paying attention to the events that are going on during that time. This applies even to our generation.

I Kings 1:10 "But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not."

"This Nathan" is not the son of David, but the prophet of God. Notice that those men that are close to David and trusted by David are not given an invitation to Adonijah's feast, but only those that are known to be at odds with the king. David has already claimed who his successor would be in I Chronicles 22:9, that it would be Solomon, and Adonijah did not want these men around his father David to mess up his party.

I Chronicles 22:9 "Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all is enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days."

I Chronicles 22:10 "He shall build an house for My name; and he shall be My son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.' "

These writings were in the king's records from before the birth of Solomon, yet Adonijah his brother was trying to take over Solomon's throne. David promised Bath-sheba that Solomon her son would be his heir to the throne, because God revealed it to him even before Solomon was born.

It is also interesting that this name "Nathan" would also show up here. Though Solomon's throne was to last forever, the birth of Jesus Christ did not come through Solomon, but through another son of David's, Nathan. This is given in the genealogy of Mary as given in Luke 3:31.

Luke 3:31 "Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David,"

Remember that this is the lineage of Joseph's in-laws, for "which was", in the Hebrew text, is what we call "by law" today. It is "the in-laws" of the one stated, who in Luke 3:23; "..(As was supposed) the son of Joseph." This is Jesus mother's lineage: Mary's lineage being carried all the way back to Adam, and the promise that God gave to Eve in the garden of Eden, in Genesis 3:15. Christ came through Nathan, and there is much more stated here for those willing to do a little study on it.

Sure Solomon's throne will last forever, for the lineage of the kings and queens of England, as well as lineage of other kings and queens of Europe can also be traced through the lineage of Solomon.

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However when Jesus Christ returns at the seventh trumpet, he will assume the throne of David, not Solomon, for the Millennium age. Mary's lineage goes through David, not Solomon, however that throne of David is forever. Though these events are history, it is still God way of teaching us the deeper meanings within His Word. These things that happened once before are exactly how they shall happen again. Paul told us that they are "ensamples" to us living today, and "there is nothing new under the sun, and that that has been shall happen again." The Christ child would come from neither of these men, Solomon, nor Adonijah, but from their brother Nathan.

I Kings 1:11 "Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon, saying, "Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not?"

Nathan the prophet is speaking here, and Nathan is aware of the promise that was made by God years before, that the throne of David would be passed on to Solomon. When Nathan heard of the feast being given by Adonijah, he alerted Bath-sheba what was taking place at the feast, and the fact that Adonijah was plotting to take the throne, and that David knew nothing of the matter.

I Kings 1:12 "Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon."

God has a way of using his prophets to mold the events of the day. God is using Nathan to give counsel to Bath-sheba, and give her the instruction as to what she should be doing. At stake here is not only her life, but that of her younger son Solomon, and Nathan is going to see to it that David's wishes will be kept.

I Kings 1:13 "Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, `Didst not thou, my lord, O king, sware unto thine handmaid, saying, `Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?' why then doth Adonijah reign?' "

Nathan told Bath-sheba to ask specific questions that get right to the heart of the problem. "...why then doth Adonijah reign?" The promise was given that Solomon would reign, as we read earlier from I Chronicles 22: 9, 10, yet Adonijah is out there making plans and celebrating his victory.

I Kings 1:14 "Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words."

Nathan is telling Bath-sheba that while she is making these statements, he will come in right after her, and confirm and be the to the second witness to David promise and Adonijah's actions. It is a witness from God Himself.

I Kings 1:15 "And Bath-sheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king."

Though by today's standards, it might not be considered that old, however in that day it was very old. David was about seventy years old when this happened. Remember that David had a very hard life, not only on the battle field and in his fleeing from Absalom, but also within his own family. As Bath-sheba his wife entered into the bed chamber, here Abishag the young virgin was administering heat to the old king. She was waiting on David and serving him to make him warm.

I Kings 1:16 "And Bath-sheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, "What wouldest thou?" "

When David saw Bath-sheba enter into the chamber, she bowed to give respect to David's office of the king. David loved her very much, as most of David's problems in his life came from the fact of what David did to get Bath-sheba for his wife. David had granted many requests to her down through the years.

I Kings 1:17 "And she said unto him, "My lord, thou swarest by the Lord thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, `Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.' "

Remember that the first child born to the David and Bath-sheba died shortly after it's birth.

I Kings 1:18 "And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not: "

While David is in his chamber thinking he is the king, his other son Adonijah is out there proclaiming himself to be the king. He is down there at "the serpent rock" having a party with the rest of the clan, making plans for the new king and his kingdom. However, now David is aware of what is going on right under his nose. Adonijah even had a priest there to anoint him as king when the party was over.

I Kings 1:19 "And he hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host: but Solomon thy servant hath he not called."

Bath-sheba is telling David everything that is going on, and the fact that all of David's sons were there except for Solomon. So for Nathan to say that this would save the life of herself and Solomon was correct, for when Adonijah became king, the first thing that he would do would be to eliminate Solomon and Bath-sheba's life. They would be threats to Adonijah's throne. The heir apparent could not survive, if the illegal son is to sit on the throne.

I Kings 1:20 "And thou, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him."

Bath-sheba is telling David that all of Israel is watching you to see if you are going to keep your word and place Solomon on the throne after you. You must speak out now, she is pleading with David.

I Kings 1:21 "Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders." "

In other words, Bath-sheba is saying that when you die and your soul has gone to be with your fathers, both Solomon and I will be counted as sinners, and of course that offence was death. To challenge the throne when another king sits on it.

I Kings 1:22 "And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in."

So here comes the second witness, and this is covert activity as ordered by God to allow God's plan to be carried out.

I Kings 1:23 "And they told the king, saying, "Behold Nathan the prophet." And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground."

I Kings 1:24 "And Nathan said, "My Lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?"

Nathan is getting right to the point here, for he knows exactly what has just been presented to the king. Bath-sheba's words were placed in her mind by Nathan himself, and he is now making a point to David that something has to be done right now. The party is going on, and when it is over, all Israel will accept Adonijah as their king, and there was even a priest there present to do the anointing of that king. Nathan knew that David had promised that it would be Solomon that would sit on his throne.

I Kings 1:25 "For he is gone down this day, and hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the king's sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save king Adonijah.' "

Adonijah is jumping the gun here, and is trying to cause things to happen that are not his right to do. He is giving the order to the priest and telling them what to say, when that is the priests duty when it comes from God. Once the anointing takes place, it is the time of the official change of office. Adonijah was the one determining when the anointing takes place, when in fact that was the duty of the David, or the priest after the death of David. When the party is over, Adonijah will declare himself to be the king. This action went against David's wishes, and Nathan is calling what is going on as a second witness to what Bath-sheba has just told him. Adonijah is trying to take the kingship while his father David is still living and on the throne.

I Kings 1:26 "But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called."

By not calling those that were the most trusted in David's cabinet, gave the appearance that all that was happening was not above board. Those that gave counsel of David were not invited.

I Kings 1:27 "Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewed it unto thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?" "

Nathan is asking David, have you done this thing without telling the prophet that has been so faithful to you?

I Kings 1:28 "Then king David answered and said, "Call me Bath-sheba." And she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king."

When Nathan arrived, Bath-sheba had stepped out of the chamber, to let Nathan give the second witness to statement. And now she is called back into the room, to stand before the king.

I Kings 1:29 "And the king sware, and said, "As the Lord liveth, That hath redeemed my soul out of all distress,"

The Lord had redeemed David's soul out of distress many times in his life.

I Kings 1:30 "Even as I sware unto thee by the Lord God of Israel, saying, `Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead;' even so will I certainly do this day." "

David is going to make the change right now, this day, David is going to step down from his duties, and turn the throne over to Solomon. David drew up the strength and courage to do this thing immediately. David would not sit by while his son abused his authority, and have his wishes being taken from him. David was a man of his word and would keep his word right to the end.

I Kings 1:31 "Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, "Let my lord king David live for ever." "

In God's eyes David does live forever. Our heavenly Father is not the God of the dead, but the Father of the Living. This is speaking spiritually

I Kings 1:32 "And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada," And they came before the king."

These are the leaders of the nation, the rightful choice of the king, and they stood before David to perform this duty of anointing the successor to the throne.

I Kings 1:33 "The king also said unto them, "Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:"

I Kings 1:34 "And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye the trumpet, and say, `God save king Solomon.' "

Once the anointing has taken place and the trumpet of the king has sounded, and also the saying has been declared, then it is official in all the land. Solomon will be the king over all the tribes of Israel.

I Kings 1:35 "Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah." "

After you do this right now, today, then you bring Solomon to me so that he can sit on my throne, and reign in my stead. Then all Israel will know that I have appointed him to be ruler over all Israel, Judah as well as the other tribes.

So how does this all apply to us today. Even though David had picked Solomon, Solomon was now also the one that our Father would have picked. The question is where do you seek your wisdom? It should not be after some human king, but from the King of Kings, the Son of God, Jesus the Christ. The seed line that brought the true eternal king was the other son, Nathan. God's choice for the throne was Nathan, however Solomon was David's choice given through his love and desire for this woman Bath-sheba. It is possible for all people to be taken in at times, yet in God's Word we see that the throne of the flesh went in one direction, in the lineage of Solomon, while throne that will be everlasting, will come through the lineage of Solomon's brother Nathan.

I Kings 1:36 "And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, "Amen: the Lord God of my lord the king say so too."

I Kings 1:37 "As the Lord hath been with my lord the king, even so be He with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David." "

Solomon grew to be a very wise man, for as a youth, he wrote the book "The Song of Solomon", as well as "the book of Proverbs" that man should learn to live their lives by. In Solomon's latter years, he wrote "the book of Ecclesiastes", telling us the wisdom as to how to live our lives in these flesh bodies. The purpose of Ecclesiastes is to give us peace of mind while we are here on earth in the flesh living our lives.

I Kings 1:38 "And Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and cause Solomon to ride upon king David's mule, and brought him to Gihon."

I Kings 1:39 "So Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon, And they blew the trumpet; and all the People said, "God save king Solomon." "

Zadok the priest took the anointing oil from the tabernacle, for the house of God, and he anointed Solomon. They blew the trumpet, and they all said at the same time, "God save king Solomon", just as David had instructed them to do. Solomon was now the king of all Israel, and the party of Adonijah is still going on strong. Gihon is both near Jerusalem, and close in to the serpent's rock [Zoheleth, the stone of the serpent]. It is interesting that David ordered that the anointing take place in a place that when it was over, those attending the party would hear the trumpet blowing, and the people shouting, "God save the king Solomon".

I Kings 1:40 "And all the People came up after him, and the People piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them."

The celebration that went on after Solomon was made king, was far greater than the party down there at the "serpent's rock" [Zoheleth].

I Kings 1:41 "And Adonijah and all the guest that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, "Wherefore is this noise of the city being in an uproar?" "

Joab is sitting at the party, and he is the captain of the army of David the king. A major event is going on, and he knows nothing about it. Joab wants to know what the uproar is all about.

I Kings 1:42 "And while he yet spake, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came: and Adonijah said unto him, "Come in; for thou art a valiant man, and bringest good tidings."

Remember the priest that was invited to Adonijah party was Abiathar, and he was to have anointed Adonijah as the king. While he was there, Abiathar's son Jonathan come in and announced the news with joy. Jonathan had not known what was going on at the party, so the news that he would tell would send a shock wave throughout all that were there at the party. Adonijah was wrong again for Solomon could now claim the head of Adonijah for simply challenging the throne of Israel.

I Kings 1:43 "And Joanthan answered and said to Adonijah, "Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king."

I Kings 1:44 "And the king hath sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king's mule:"

This is very bad news for everyone that has attended this party of Adonijah, for it could mark them as traitors to the throne of Solomon.

I Kings 1:45 "And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard."

Jonathan told them that this has already happened, and Solomon is now the king. David has stepped down, and we have a new king over all Israel. That is why the city rang out with rejoicing and it is the noise that ye can now hear. This is very bad news for those drinking and parting at serpent's rock. This is a type also of how it shall be when another King comes to take his authority, for many will be having their parties and drinking of another cup at serpent rock, in our generation. Though technology and the forms of many things have changed, human beings nature is the same today as it was then.

I Kings 1:46 "And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom."

I Kings 1:47 "And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, 'God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne.' And the king bowed himself upon the bed."

Even here on David's death bead, David has given his approval to Solomon's throne.

I Kings 1:48 "And also thus said the king, `Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, Which hath given one to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing it.' "

I Kings 1:49 "And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way."

This was real trouble, for each person that attended that party at serpent rock knew that they were there to confirm Adonijah to be the next king of Israel, and that just was not going to happen now. You talk about a scattering of sheep, every person there made tracks and headed for the bushes to get as far from Adonijah as they could. Their great joy had turned into sadness, then folly, and in the end instantly to terror and great fear. They all now knew what a wicked thing that they all became a part of.

The fear that these people had when they heard of David's death will not start to compare to the fear that the people of this generation will have when the see what they have done in committing themselves to the wrong christ. When they finally realize that they have given themselves over to Satan and attached themselves to the false king at the end of this earth age. It is important that we keep focused on the events of the generation we live in, and not be deceived into following the false king of our day.

There will be a great rejoicing also on that day, when we see the true King of Kings coming to set up His kingdom here on earth. So will many scatter and wish the mountains to fall on them, those that waited for the true King, Jesus Christ will be rejoicing and shaking the old world. Christ is coming in our generation, and His feet will touch down on the mount of Olives.

I Kings 1:50 "And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar."

Many men had been killed in the past over who should be rightfully sitting on the throne. Adonijah had a fear within him, for he knew that just of word from Solomon now could separate Adonijah from his head. When everyone is heading for the bushes, Adonijah is heading for the horns on the altar of God. It is time to do some serious praying.

I Kings 1:51 "And it was told Solomon, saying, "Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, 'Let king Solomon sware unto me to day that he will not slay his servant with the sword.' "

"Horns" in the scripture always signify power, and Adonijah was calling on the power of the Lord to save his sneeky little mind. This is the prayer of Adonijah to the Lord God, that Solomon would spare his life.

I Kings 1:52 "And Solomon said, "If he will shew himself a worthy man, there shall not an hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die."

When a person takes the role of leadership, it is serious that the little things be tended to; that little things not be allowed to slip in and cause major trouble later on. God intends that in our prayers we pay attention to all matters, and be straight on according to His Word. Solomon is letting his brother live, however, in the living of his life Adonijah must prove that he is a worthy man all the days of his life. If he stays focused on proving himself a worthy man, than Solomon will even protect him in his life.

I Kings 1:53 "So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, "Go to thine house." "

Solomon went to the tabernacle and talked to his brother, and sent him home. However Adonijah has been given the order that as long as he lives the life a worthy man, he shall live in peace. If Adonijah shows one sign of trying to take the throne over, to subvert Solomon's authority, than Adonijah will lose his head.

 Kings Chart

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