To Love Jesus Is To Love His Family

1 Kings  2:13-27   (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 2:13-27.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 2:13-18 (NIV)
¹³  Now Adonijah, the son of Haggith, went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. Bathsheba asked him, “Do you come peacefully?” He answered, “Yes, peacefully.”
¹⁴  Then he added, “I have something to say to you.” “You may say it,” she replied.
¹⁵  “As you know,” he said, “the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the LORD.
¹⁶  Now I have one request to make of you. Do not refuse me.” “You may make it,” she said.
¹⁷  So he continued, “Please ask King Solomon–he will not refuse you–to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”
¹⁸  “Very well,” Bathsheba replied, “I will speak to the king for you.”

On verses 13-18:  Here Adonijah goes to Bathsheba the king’s mother with a request: he asks Bathsheba to convince his son King Solomon to give him Abishag the Shunammite as his wife.  Why?  It’s not because Adonijah was in love with Abishag.  Rather it was a political move.  Remember that Abishag was effectively David’s last concubine.  Abishag lived with David, took care of David, slept in the same bed as David, though she never had sexual relations with David (see 1 Kings 1:3-4). Back in David’s time, whoever controlled the king’s harem was viewed as controlling the kingdom.

That’s why back in 2 Samuel 16:22, when Absalom sets himself up as king in place of David, Absalom’s first move was to sleep with all of David’s concubines in public.  It was Absalom’s way showing he had control over the kingdom.

The significance of Adonijah’s request is not lost on King Solomon.   In verse 22 Solomon responds to Adonijah’s request, saying, “He might as well request the kingdom!”  Solomon recognized Adonijah’s request to marry Abishag as another attempt by Adonijah to seize the throne.

What can we learn from this?  Just as Adonijah wanted to bind Abishag to him as his wife, our enemy Satan fights hard to capture and bind people today.  It’s because we are the bride of Christ, and if Satan can get us, he’s one huge step closer to getting the kingdom.  So be on guard against Satan’s underhanded tactics in your life.  Praise God that we belong to Jesus and that we are safe in His hands.

(By the way, why does Bathsheba agree to bring Adonijah’s request to Solomon?  See my comments below regarding verses 20-21.)

1 Kings 2:19 (NIV) 
¹⁹ When Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, the king stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought for the king’s mother, and she sat down at his right hand. 

On verse 19:  Notice that when King Solomon sees his mother, he stands to meet her, bows down to her, and has a throne brought for her so she can sit at his right hand.  Here was the king of Israel showing honour to his mother.

We too are to honour our parents (Ephesians 6:2-3).  How well do you honour your parents?  One measure of a person’s maturity in Christ is in how they treat their parents: not by worshiping them, not by vilifying them, but by showing them appropriate honour and respect. 

1 Kings 2:20-21 (NIV) 
²⁰ “I have one small request to make of you,” she said. “Do not refuse me.” The king replied, “Make it, my mother; I will not refuse you.” 
²¹ So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given in marriage to your brother Adonijah.” 

On verses 20-21:  Here Bathsheba goes to King Solomon with Adonijah’s request to marry Abishag.  Why did Bathsheba agree to do this for Adonijah?  One theory is that Bathsheba was stupid or naive, but I don’t think that was the case.  Remember that Bathsheba of all people must have been especially sensitive to any potential threat to her son.  I believe Bathsheba agreed to bring Adonijah’s request to Solomon because Bathsheba knew how Solomon would respond to such a request.  I believe Bathsheba saw this as an opportunity for Solomon to finally deal with the threat of Adonijah.  Rather than dealing with the threat herself, she wisely decided to let her son the king deal with it.

What can we learn from this?  Part of empowering those you lead and setting them up for success is trusting them to make decisions for themselves when they are old enough.  It’s about giving them the freedom to choose, even if it means letting them make mistakes and letting them learn from their decisions.

1 Kings 2:22-25 (NIV)
²²  King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? You might as well request the kingdom for him–after all, he is my older brother–yes, for him and for Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah!”
²³  Then King Solomon swore by the LORD: “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if Adonijah does not pay with his life for this request!
²⁴  And now, as surely as the LORD lives–he who has established me securely on the throne of my father David and has founded a dynasty for me as he promised–Adonijah shall be put to death today!”
²⁵  So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he struck down Adonijah and he died.

On verses 22-25:  King Solomon responds to Adonijah’s request with anger and indignation.  Previously King Solomon had shown Adonijah great mercy.  Instead of executing him for his treasonous actions (1 Kings 1:53), King Solomon decided to give him Adonijah another chance.  In 1 Kings 1:52 he would say about Adonijah, “If he shows himself to be a worthy man, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground; but if evil is found in him, he will die.”  After Adonijah requests to marry Abishag, King Solomon sees that Adonijah is still intent on usurping the throne.  Unwilling to let Adonijah cause any more trouble, Solomon has Adonijah executed.

What can we learn from all this?  Adonijah never learned his lesson.  He continued his underhanded, self-promoting ways and tried repeatedly to seize the throne from Solomon.  As a result, his life came to an abrupt end.

Similarly, it is silly and foolish to keep rebelling against God and God’s plan, to keep insisting on grabbing the throne that belongs to another Son whom God has chosen (Jesus).  True happiness comes not from grabbing for power that is not yours, but embracing the calling and identity God has for you.

1 Kings 2:26-27 (NIV)
²⁶  To Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not put you to death now, because you carried the ark of the Sovereign LORD before my father David and shared all my father’s hardships.”
²⁷  So Solomon removed Abiathar from the priesthood of the LORD, fulfilling the word the LORD had spoken at Shiloh about the house of Eli.

On verses 26-27:  Abiathar the priest had been with David ever since David fled from Saul (1 Samuel 22:20-23).  But now Abiathar had become one of Adonijah’s biggest supporters.  So Solomon has Abiathar removed as priest, fulfilling a prophecy that the prophet Samuel had spoken decades earlier about Abiathar’s family (1 Samuel 2:30).  However, Solomon does not have Abiathar killed given how long he had walked with his father David.

What can we learn from this?  Solomon took into account how Abiathar treated his father when deciding how he would treat Abiathar. Similarly, I believe Jesus takes into account how a person treats His family when deciding what to do with that person.  To love Jesus’ family is to love Jesus.

Father, may I not be like Adonijah, who took the mercy he was shown for granted, who kept trying to promote himself, who kept grasping for a throne that did not belong to him, and who never learned his lesson.  Thank You that my happiness does not come from grasping for that which is not mine, but in embracing the calling and the plan You have for me.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!