11-29-13. 1 Kings 1:28-53. A CRITICAL DECISION-my devotional

Key Verse: 1:30                                                                                                                                                                 Kevin E. Jesmer
“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.” (ESV)

Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for satisfying my heart with your grace and truth. You are indeed living water to my soul. In you I lack no good thing. With you I am contented always. Those who drink from the waters of this world will always be wanting for more. For them, it is like drinking salt water, they can never be satisfied, and in the end suffer loss. But those who drink of the living water, Jesus Christ, will be satisfied forevermore. Thank you for this gift. Thank you that you are there to satisfy the deep longings of my heart. You are there to make me feel whole. Thank you that you are there to serve up your life giving truth each and every day. May the people of this land find their greatest source of satisfaction in Christ and the Gospel and not in material things. Fill my heart with your word this morning. I pray in the soul-satisfying name of Jesus Amen!

Part 1: David Rises To The Occasion (28-40).

Verses 28-40, “Then King David answered, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king. 29 And the king swore, saying, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity, 30 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.” 31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground and paid homage to the king and said, “May my lord King David live forever!” 32 King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king. 33 And the king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon. 34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet there anoint him king over Israel. Then blow the trumpet and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35 You shall then come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, for he shall be king in my place. And I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.” 36 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, “Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say so. 37 As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.” 38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule and brought him to Gihon. 39 There Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!” 40 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.” (ESV)

David was decisive at this critical moment in Israel’s history. Look at verse 28a, ““Then King David answered, “Call Bathsheba to me.”  and also verse 29b, “‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ even so will I do this day.” David had to overcome weakness and the social inertia of coup that Adonijah had begun. He needed to act quickly and decisively and that is what he did. He called Bathsheba and vowed to make Solomon the next king. David kept his promise before the Lord. David proactively obeyed God. He gave instructions to have Solomon installed as king. Solomon was anointed and then sat on David’s throne. When these people acted decisively, in faith, God worked through Bathsheba, David and David’s servants to turn the nation away from a legacy filled with coup d’état’s and  political intrigue to be kingdom that fulfills God’s promises and brings glory to God.

We need people who can have spiritual eyes to see the times and sense the movement of the spirit of God and act, decisively. We need to seize the day with the discernment that comes from God. How can I act decisively in this moment? Well, I need to make some decisions about committing my life more to the mission to the North and in strengthening the family unit. This could involve a winter road trip to a community in the remote areas of N. Ontario. I need to decisively live a life if prayer for this wonderful missions movement to unfold. I need to decisively support the two missionary families poised to visit a remote community. This support needs to happen now! I need to decisively find ways to serve the “Art of Marriage” to others.  I need to be a spiritual leader in my family revealing the gospel to my wife and kids each day and also to those God has brought into my life. I need to be acutely aware of the limited time I have in this world and use up my “vapor” for the right cause, for the glory of Christ. I pray that God may raise up servants of God with the spirit of discernment who are able to see what God is doing and stand up, in faith, and act by faith.

Part 2: The Party Is Over (41-53).

Verses 41-53, “41 Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished feasting. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “What does this uproar in the city mean?” 42 While he was still speaking, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. And Adonijah said, “Come in, for you are a worthy man and bring good news.” 43 Jonathan answered Adonijah, “No, for our lord King David has made Solomon king, 44 and the king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites. And they had him ride on the king’s mule. 45 And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon, and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you have heard. 46Solomon sits on the royal throne. 47 Moreover, the king’s servants came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon more famous than yours, and make his throne greater than your throne.’ And the king bowed himself on the bed. 48 And the king also said, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has granted someone to sit on my throne this day, my own eyes seeing it.’” 49 Then all the guests of Adonijah trembled and rose, and each went his own way. 50 And Adonijah feared Solomon. So he arose and went and took hold of the horns of the altar. 51 Then it was told Solomon, “Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon, for behold, he has laid hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’” 52 And Solomon said, “If he will show himself a worthy man, not one of his hairs shall fall to the earth, but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” 53 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.”

Despite of Adonijah’s best efforts to upsurp the king, his plans failed and God’s plans prevailed. Adonijah and his guests heard the noise from Solomon’s celebration. Abiathar’s son reported what had happened. Adonijah’s party had immediately become an act of treason, punishable by death. The conspirators all scattered. Adonijah grabbed the horns of the altar as a plea for mercy. I can see here that the best laid plans of man, can never interfere with the plans of the Lord. God really wanted to uphold David’s kingdom. He really wanted to make Solomon the next king. The devil did not want this to happen, for David’s kingdom would be a foreshadowing of the Kingdom of Christ, and his kingship would reflect Jesus’ kingship in so many ways. Jesus, 900 years later, would come from the house and the line of David as was prophesied. Adonijah’s rebellion just could not succeed.

God is the victor. God’s plans prevail. His plans for the Second Coming of Jesus are a done deal. Jesus is coming again. His plans to fill the kingdom of God with the redeemed are a done deal. Praise God. The spread of the Gospel in peoples’ hearts around the world, even in countries in the Middle East etc, a done deal, it is happening right now and nothing, not even the threat of torture and death, can stop God’s plans from coming to fruition. The promise of the resurrection of believers is something that will happen. No matter what this world throws at me I know that there will be a resurrection and by the grace of God, I will be part of it. Yes there will be times of trouble and suffering and there will be times when the devil seems to have won a battle, but God’s plans will prevail.

Solomon revealed the mercy of the Lord. Look at verses 50-53, “And Adonijah feared Solomon. So he arose and went and took hold of the horns of the altar. 51 Then it was told Solomon, “Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon, for behold, he has laid hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’” 52 And Solomon said, “If he will show himself a worthy man, not one of his hairs shall fall to the earth, but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” 53 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.” Solomon could have executed his brother, which would surely have happened to him if Adonijah had succeeded. But Solomon gave Adonijah an opportunity to repent. Here we see the grace of God. Adonijah deserved to certain punishment for leading this coup d’état. He asked for forgiveness and he was granted forgiveness.

Solomon is reflecting God’s heart here. Jesus is full of forgiveness. He forgives anyone who comes to him and asks for it. You may not even have to ask for it, but come to God crying out for God’s mercy. That is the way God worked in my life when I was 22. I was so despaired of life, that one day I cried out, “O God!” Then he started sending other Christians into my life. One month later at a Bible conference I repented of my unbelief and I was miraculously born again. God’s spirit dwelt in my heart and I was born again. I didn’t ask for forgiveness. I repented of my unbelief. And I was forgiven. Do you know how I know? It was because the Holy Spirit of God dwelt in my heart. God’s spirit is a holy spirit. It can not dwell in unholy places. My heart was an unholy place that I could never make holy on my own. But it was made holy by the forgiveness of God. Now, the Holy Spirit of God can come to dwell in it. That is how I know I was forgiven. (Also, because the Bible says so.)

I pray that I can practice the grace of God, like Solomon did. I want to reflect Christ in my life and in my home and in my family.

Prayer: Lord, help me to discern the times and have the faith to act decisively. Please raise up Christians who can have the faith and love for you to do this. May these Christians reflect Christ in the world.

One Word: Courage and faith to support the movement of the Holy Spirit