12-12-13. 1 Kings 2:13-46. GOD ESTABLISHES SOLOMON’S RULE – my devotional

Key Verse: 2:44b-45                                                                                                                                                                   Kevin E. Jesmer

“…So the Lord will bring back your harm on your own head. 45 But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” (ESV)

    Dear Lord God Almighty, thank you for word that sustains our souls. Thank you for being our life source and our comfort and our security. I come to you and your word. It has been a week since I wrote daily bread. I miss this time thinking about your eternal truth in the word of God. Fill my heart with you wisdom and knowledge. I pray that you bless the Cancer Society, luminary vigil tonight. May you bring hope and comfort to all who attend. Grant Pastor Steve wisdom on how to speak. May the name of Jesus be glorified and may an outpouring of support occur for those in the battle against cancer. Grant me your word at this time. I pray in Jesus’ holy name. Amen!

Part 1: Dealing With Wickedness (13-25).

The Death of Adonijah

Verses 13-25, “Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, “Do you come peacefully?” He said, “Peacefully.” 14 Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” She said, “Speak.” 15 He said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign. However, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, for it was his from the Lord. 16 And now I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me.” She said to him, “Speak.” 17 And he said, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.” 18 Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak for you to the king.” 19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat on his throne and had a seat brought for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right. 20 Then she said, “I have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Make your request, my mother, for I will not refuse you.” 21 She said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as his wife.” 22 King Solomon answered his mother, “And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my older brother, and on his side are Abiatha the priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah.” 23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “God do so to me and more also if this word does not cost Adonijah his life! 24 Now therefore as the Lord lives, who has established me and placed me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today.” 25 So King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he struck him down, and he died. So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.”

Solomon had spared Adonijah’s life. This was Adonijah’s opportunity to genuinely repent and support God’s chosen one, Solomon. But Adonijah did not truly repent. He lived because of Solomon’s grace, but he took advantage of that grace and began to maneuver politically. He tried to use Bathsheba’s naiveté to get Abishag as his wife. This was a serious affront to Solomon’s throne for Abishag had been David’s concubine. He saw this as Adonijah’s initial attempt to take over the throne. Solomon discerned Adonijah’s wickedness, and how he was tryuing to maneuver in order to seize the thrown, and had him executed. He dealt with this attack very decisively.

We need to deal with sin in our lives as decisively. God has his will in our lives. It is to grow us and mature us into servants of Christ. It is to draw us near to him. It is to bear great fruit for his glory while we live our lives in this world. Sin is so serious. It separated us from God. It attempts to ruin the fruit that God is growing in our hearts. Sin not only destroys our relationship with God, but also our relationship with one another. It is diabolical and must be dealt with immediately and decisively. Jesus teaches us this principle in Matthew 5:29-30, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” (ESV) Colossians 3:5-6 reads, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.” (ESV)  Wow! Tear it out, throw it away, cut it off, put to death. These words show how serious it is to deal with our sins. God really wants nothing to come in the way of our relationship with him.

Dealing with sin can be very painful. However, it is necessary lest it cause the downfall of many people or even a nation. Sin will cause our own personal downfall, a community’s downfall and a nation’s downfall. There are whole communities, where the power of sin is so rampant, that the town is on the verge of complete failure. I even heard of a town being emptied and leveled because of addictions of the populace. Whole nations are considered failed nations, because of the power of sin. What can be done? Only decisive action; repentance unto God and holding onto the Gospel of Jesus Christ can bring about the salvation that we desire. Then restoration can occur. It may take generation for healing and regeneration to occur, but it will occur if we are decisive with our sin.

Such decisive dealing with our sin is worth it. Maintaining a deep and personal relationship with Jesus is worth it. Dwelling with Jesus in his kingdom is worth it. This is the ultimate goal of our repentance, to be one with Christ and dwell in his love. What can be better? Why do we linger and tarry in our sins? We should be decisive and strength the bond with the Lord who loves us so.

Part 2: God Secures Solomon’s Throne (26-46).

       Abiathar Defrocked

Verses 26-46, “And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your estate, for you deserve death. But I will not at this time put you to death, because you carried the ark of the Lord God before David my father, and because you shared in all my father’s affliction.” 27 So Solomon expelled Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling the word of the Lord that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.  

                                                              The death of Joab

28 When the news came to Joab—for Joab had supported Adonijah although he had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and caught hold of the horns of the altar. 29 And when it was told King Solomon, “Joab has fled to the tent of the Lord, and behold, he is beside the altar,” Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.” 30 So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “The king commands, ‘Come out.’” But he said, “No, I will die here.” Then Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.” 31 The king replied to him, “Do as he has said, strike him down and bury him, and thus take away from me and from my father’s house the guilt for the blood that Joab shed without cause. 32 The Lord will bring back his bloody deeds on his own head, because, without the knowledge of my father David, he attacked and killed with the sword two men more righteous and better than himself, Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33 So shall their blood come back on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever. But for David and for his descendants and for his house and for his throne there shall be peace from the Lord forevermore.” 34 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck him down and put him to death. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

                                                              The Death of Shimei

35 The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab, and the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar. 36 Then the king sent and summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there to any place whatever. 37 For on the day you go out and cross the brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall die. Your blood shall be on your own head.” 38 And Shimei said to the king, “What you say is good; as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days. 39 But it happened at the end of three years that two of Shimei’s servants ran away to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And when it was told Shimei, “Behold, your servants are in Gath,” 40 Shimei arose and saddled a donkey and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants. Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath. 41 And when Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and returned, 42 the king sent and summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and go to any place whatever, you shall die’? And you said to me, ‘What you say is good; I will obey.’ 43 Why then have you not kept your oath to the Lord and the commandment with which I commanded you?” 44 The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your own heart all the harm that you did to David my father. So the Lord will bring back your harm on your own head. 45 But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” 46 Then the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him down, and he died.”

Adonijah’s subtle threat prompted Solomon to take further action. First, Solomon stripped Abiathar of his priestly duties but graciously spared him from death because his past. Next, Solomon had Joab executed. Joab’s past treacheries and close association to David had stained the royal family’s name. Then, Shimei agreed to lifelong house arrest. But he later broke the agreement and was also executed.

Human struggles resulted in bloodshed and tragedy. But God worked, even this environment to establish the kingdom in Solomon’s hands. His plan to usher in the kingdom of God can not be thwarted. God is in control. Our lives may spiraling out of control. Our world may be full of political intrigue and social turmoil, but God is control. Nothing can stop God from what he is fulfilling in our lives. Jesus will come again and the kingdom of God will be ushered in as prophesied. Concerning our lives, we can be sure of one thing. Philippians 1:6 reads, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (ESV) This is important to me at this time in my life. I realize I am into middle age. I want God to work through me and family so much. But I also realize I have 25-50 years left. When you get my age one realizes that is not much time left. I could despair, thinking, “It might have been” or I can trust God, that he will accomplish through me, what he wills. I must also realize that much more may be accomplished for the glory of God, through my death and not just through my long life. I need to accept that too. Anyway, I pray that as long as I live I may be used by God to strength marriages across our land, introduce people to Christ, and be used to form a missions movement to the North.

God wants to establish his kingdom firmly in this world. And he is working to do that. Look verses 33b and 45, “…But for David and for his descendants and for his house and for his throne there shall be peace from the Lord forevermore.”  …“45 But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.”  Only in Jesus can there be this kind of assurance. Only in Jesus can we know that there will the rock solid kingdom of God. Only in Jesus can there be that peace that we all long for in our lives. Only in Jesus can there be the peace that we long for in our communities.

Prayer: Lord, you establish nations and leaders. Please help us to trust in your will to unfold and your kingdom to come.”

One Word: Be decisive and repent. Our relationship with Jesus is worth it.