1 Kings 1:28-40  Click here for Bible Verses

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 1:28-40.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 1:28-31 (NIV) 
28 Then King David said, “Call in Bathsheba.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before him.
29 The king then took an oath: “As surely as the LORD lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble,
30 I will surely carry out today what I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel: Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place.”
31 Then Bathsheba bowed low with her face to the ground and, kneeling before the king, said, “May my lord King David live forever!” 

On verses 29-31:  Despite the fact that many people had already sided with Adonijah, David decides to install Solomon as the new king in place of David.  By doing this, David was fulfilling a promise he had made to his wife Bathsheba to make Solomon the next king (v29-30). In response, Bathsheba bows low before David and blesses him.

What can we learn from this?  Keep your word and fulfill your promises no matter how hard or inconvenient it may seem. When you are committed to keeping your word, you will earn the reputation of being trustworthy, someone others can count on.  Also, you please God and earn the respect of others when you keep your word.

But the opposite is also true: the quickest way to lose someone’s respect is to break your promise.  That promise might seem small, like “I’ll message you tomorrow”.  But if you don’t take your own word seriously, others will not take your word seriously either.  Eventually they’ll start thinking this about you: “When he says he’ll give it tomorrow, don’t count on it.  Or when he says he’ll try, who knows if he’ll actually get to it.  Or whenever he says anything, take it with a grain of salt.”  Don’t commit reputational suicide by failing to keep your word.  Just as the Lord was faithful to His promise to deliver David each and every time (v29), keep your word consistently and you’ll earn others’ respect.

On verses 32-40:  Adonijah had gone to great lengths to garner the support of different royal officials.  He did everything he could in his power to take the throne.  But a single decision and a single statement from King David — “Solomon…shall be king after me and he will sit on my throne in my place” (v30) — changed everything.  By making this one decision and one statement, King David effectively nullified all of Adonijah’s efforts and plans.  David was too weak to hold a sword, but his word could still move a nation.

What can we learn from this?  It helps to be friends with a king.  When the king is on your side, it doesn’t matter who is against you.  Because Solomon had the king in his corner, he didn’t have to lift a finger or say a thing, and he still became king.  (Notice Solomon doesn’t even speak in 1 Kings until verse 52, after he is already king.)

Just as Solomon had David in his corner, you have a king on your side.  His name is Jesus.  And keep this in mind: Jesus is a lot more powerful than David.  In 1 Kings 1, David could hardly take care of himself physically and yet his word could still move a nation.  Jesus is alive and with a single word He can calm the storm, heal the sick, raise the dead and create new worlds.  It’s because Jesus has authority like no other.

So it doesn’t matter who or what you’re up against today.  Jesus, the king of kings and the name above all names, is on your side.  And with one word, one decision, one statement, Jesus can change anything.  

Are you trying to figure it all out by yourself like Adonijah?  Stop it.  Remember you’re like Solomon.  You’ve got the King as your friend.  He has already made great promises about you.  So go to Him and let Him speak the word that will change your destiny and the destiny of those in your care.

Heavenly Father, just as You always keep Your Word and are always faithful to Your promises, may I keep my word and be faithful to my promises as well.   May I be known as someone who keeps their word.  And thank You that, like young Solomon, I got the King on my side.  Because Jesus the King is on my side, it doesn’t matter who or what is against me.  Thank You that it doesn’t depend on what I or others say or do.  It all depends on You, and You are good.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!