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The Death of David
1 Kings 2.10-46 and 3.1-14
Good News Translation (GNT)
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The Death of David
10 David died and was buried in David's City.
11 He had been king of Israel for forty years,
ruling seven years in Hebron and thirty-three
years in Jerusalem.
12 Solomon succeeded his father David as king,
and his royal power was firmly established.
The Death of Adonijah
13 Then Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith,
went to Bathsheba, who was Solomon's
mother. "Is this a friendly visit?" she asked.
"It is," he answered,
14 and then he added, "I have something to ask
of you." "What is it?" she asked.
15 He answered, "You know that I should have
become king and that everyone in Israel
expected it. But it happened differently, and
my brother became king because it was
the Lord's will.
16 And now I have one request to make; please
do not refuse me."
"What is it?" Bathsheba asked.
17 He answered, "Please ask King Solomon - I
know he won't refuse you - to let me have
Abishag, the young woman from Shunem, as
my wife."
18 "Very well," she answered. "I will speak to
the king for you.
19 So Bathsheba went to the king to speak to
him on behalf of Adonijah. The king stood up
to greet his mother and bowed to her. Then he
sat on his throne and had another one brought
in on which she sat at his right.
20 She said, "I have a small favour to ask of you;
please do not refuse me."
"What is it, mother?" he asked. "I will not
refuse you."
21 She answered, "Let your brother Adonijah
have Abishag as his wife."
22 "Why do you ask me to give Abishag to him?"
the king asked. "You might as well ask me
to give him the throne too. After all, he is my
older brother, and Abiathar the priest and
Joab are on his side!" [c]
23 Then Solomon made a solemn promise in the
Lord's name, "May God strike me dead if I
don't make Adonijah pay with his life for
asking this!
24 The Lord has firmly established me on the
throne of my father David; he has kept his
promise and given the kingdom to me and my
descendants. I swear by the living Lord that
Adonijah will die this very day!"
25 So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah,
who went out and killed Adonijah.
Abiathar's Banishment and Joab's Death
26 Then King Solomon said to Abiathar the priest,
"Go to your country home in Anathoth.
You deserve to die, but I will not have you
put to death now, for you were in charge of
the Lord's Covenant Box while you were with
my father David, and you shared in all his
troubles."
27 Then Solomon dismissed Abiathar from
serving as a priest of the Lord, and so made
come true what the Lord had said in Shiloh
about the priest Eli and his descendants.
28 Joab heard what had happened.
(He had supported Adonijah, but not
Absalom.) So he fled to the Tent of the Lord's
presence and took hold of the corners of the
altar. [d]
29 When the news reached King Solomon that
Joab had fled to the Tent and was by the altar,
Solomon sent a messenger to Joab to ask him
why he had fled to the altar. Joab answered
that he had fled to the Lord because he was
afraid of Solomon. So King Solomon sent
Benaiah [e] to kill Joab.
30 He went to the Tent of the Lord's presence
and said to Joab, "The king orders you to
come out."
"No," Joab answered. "I will die here."
Benaiah went back to the king and told him
what Joab had said.
31 "Do what Joab says," Solomon answered.
"Kill him and bury him. Then neither I nor any
other of David's descendants will any longer
be held responsible for what Joab did
when he killed innocent men.
32 The Lord will punish Joab for those murders,
which he committed [f] without my father
David's knowledge. Joab killed two innocent
men who were better men than he: Abner,
commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa,
commander of the army of Judah.
33 The punishment for their murders will fall on
Joab and on his descendants forever. But the
Lord will always give success to David's
descendants who sit on his throne."
34 So Benaiah went to the Tent of the Lord's
presence and killed Joab, and he was
buried at his home in the open country.
35 The king made Benaiah commander of the
army in Joab's place and put Zadok the priest
in Abiathar's place.
The Death of Shimei
36 Then the king sent for Shimei and said to him,
"Build a house for yourself here in Jerusalem.
Live in it and don't leave the city.
37 If you ever leave and go beyond Kidron Brook,
you will certainly die - and you yourself will be
to blame."
38 "Very well, Your Majesty," Shimei answered.
"I will do what you say."
So he lived in Jerusalem a long time.
39 Three years later, however, two of Shimei's
slaves ran away to the king of Gath, Achish
son of Maacah. When Shimei heard that they
were in Gath,
40 he saddled his donkey and went to King
Achish in Gath, to find his slaves. He found
them and brought them back home.
41 When Solomon heard what Shimei had done,
42 he sent for him and said, "I made you promise
in the Lord's name not to leave Jerusalem.
And I warned you that if you ever did, you
would certainly die. Did you not agree to it and
say that you would obey me?
43 Why, then, have you broken your promise and
disobeyed my command?
44 You know very well all the wrong that you did
to my father David. The Lord will punish you
for it.
45 But he will bless me, and he will make David's
kingdom secure forever."
46 Then the king gave orders to Benaiah, who
went out and killed Shimei.
Solomon was now in complete control.
Footnotes
1 Kings 2:5 Some ancient translations
innocent men; Hebrew men in battle.
1 Kings 2:5 Some ancient translations
I bear - and I suffer; Hebrew
he bears - and he suffers.
1 Kings 2:22 Some ancient translations
and Abiathar the priest - on his side;
Hebrew unclear.
1 Kings 2:28 See 1.50.
1 Kings 2:29 One ancient translation
Solomon sent a messenger - sent Benaiah;
Hebrew Solomon sent Benaiah.
1 Kings 2:32 will punish - committed;
or will kill Joab, because he committed those
murders.
1 Kings 3
Solomon Prays for Wisdom
1 Solomon made an alliance with the king of
Egypt by marrying his daughter.
He brought her to live in David's City until he
had finished building his palace, the Temple,
and the wall around Jerusalem.
2 A temple had not yet been built for the Lord,
and so the people were still offering sacrifices
at many different altars.
3 Solomon loved the Lord and followed the
instructions of his father David, but he also
slaughtered animals and offered them as
sacrifices on various altars.
4 On one occasion he went to Gibeon to offer
sacrifices because that was where the most
famous altar was. He had offered hundreds of
burnt offerings there in the past.
5 That night the Lord appeared to him in a
dream and asked him, "What would you like
me to give you?"
6 Solomon answered, "You always showed
great love for my father David, your servant,
and he was good, loyal, and honest in his
relation with you. And you have continued to
show him your great and constant love by
giving him a son who today rules in his place.
7 O Lord God, you have let me succeed
my father as king, even though I am very
young and don't know how to rule.
8 Here I am among the people you have chosen
to be your own, a people who are so many
that they cannot be counted.
9 So give me the wisdom I need to rule your
people with justice and to know the difference
between good and evil. Otherwise, how would
I ever be able to rule this great people of
yours?"
10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had
asked for this,
11 and so he said to him, "Because you have
asked for the wisdom to rule justly, instead of
long life for yourself or riches or the death of
your enemies,
12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you
more wisdom and understanding than anyone
has ever had before or will ever have again.
13 I will also give you what you have not asked
for: all your life you will have wealth and
honour, more than that of any other king.
14 And if you obey me and keep my laws and
commands, as your father David did, I will give
you a long life."
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Taken from 'word-on-the-web' supplied by the
Scripture Union
The Death of David etc.
1 Kings 2.10-46 and 3.1-14
Different leaders bring different skills to their roles.
David was obviously not good at dealing with challenges to his authority, so he asks Solomon to deal with unfinished business.
David, the hero of yesteryear, has now died and Solomon sits on his throne.
The establishment of Solomon, whose name means 'peace', emphasises that, despite the schemes of others, including David, Solomon is God's choice.
Even Solomon's coronation doesn't stop others from scheming.
Joab has a history of shady dealings and now Adonijah is on manoeuvres.
Solomon will need all his charisma, wisdom and skill to navigate the difficult terrain of a new monarchy.
He ruthlessly deals with Adonijah who, by requesting Abishag, puts himself in David's place.
'Solomon, the man of peace, initially dealt mercifully with the rebels - Adonijah, Abiathar, Joab and Shimei (who had rebelled against David earlier).
He agreed not to execute them, but imposed strict conditions on them - and everyone held their breath to see what would happen.
'Adonijah was the first to show his hand - it seems he still wanted the throne himself and thought he could undermine Solomon's authority if he "inherited" David's pretty young wife.
'Joab cracked next. He thought he could ignore all his past deceit and treachery and gain asylum by holding on to the Lord's altar.
'It looked for a while as if Shimei had settled down and accepted Solomon's terms, but then he broke the terms of his agreement with Solomon.
Had he forgotten?
Did he feel that he had served his time and could now do what he liked?
Did he feel that his personal situation was exempt from Solomon's conditions?
'Whatever the reasons that each one broke the terms of his conditions, Solomon showed he was ruthless in enforcing them.
He was not going to make the same mistakes as his father in giving rebels enough room to cause more trouble!'
Solomon continues to consolidate his position by confronting those who had previously opposed him.
Abiathar the priest had sided with Joab and Adonijah and is banished.
The consequence is that he can no longer function as a priest.
Once more, the writer sees the hand of God providentially working in human history, stating that Abiathar's fate is a fulfilment of that promised to the house of Eli.
Although Abiathar is spared death, his living is withdrawn by his being banished from the sanctuary, so he is in a difficult position.
What saves him is his previous faithful service to David and his sharing in David's troubles.
Joab flees and seeks refuge in the sanctuary at the altar, but this can't expunge his guilt: he has been guilty of at least two murders.
Solomon replaces the old guard with his people.
His positioning of Benaiah and Zadok means that both governance and spirituality are cared for, leading ultimately to peace in the land.
Shimei (who previously cursed David) had agreed to his confinement but, fearing economic ruin by losing his servants, he breaks his promise.
Solomon ensured his long tenure by liquidating all his enemies early in his reign.
How different was the action of this son of David compared to Jesus, 'the Son of David', who brought life to everyone and taught us to love our enemies!
However, there was at least one thing that Solomon definitely did do right.
God said to him, 'Ask for whatever you want me to give you'.
His response demonstrated humility and a recognition of his need for God.
Solomon prayed, 'Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong'.
God was delighted with Solomon's response.
He said to him, 'Because you have asked for this and haven't grasped after a long life, or riches, or the doom of your enemies, but you have asked for the ability to lead and govern well, I'll give you what you've asked for - I'm giving you a wise and mature heart.
There's never been one like you before; and there'll be no one after.
As a bonus, I'm giving you both the wealth and glory you didn't ask for - I'll also give you a long life'
In effect, by praying for wisdom, Solomon was seeking first the kingdom of God.
God said to him that as a result, all the other things would be his as well.
The offer of wisdom does not just apply to Solomon. James writes,
'If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you' (James 1:5).
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