Bathsheba went in to the king in his room. The king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king. Bathsheba bowed, and showed respect to the king. The king said, “What would you like?”
She said to him, “My lord, you swore by Yahweh your God to your servant, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ Now, behold, Adonijah reigns; and you, my lord the king, don’t know it. He has slain cattle and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has called all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the army; but he hasn’t called Solomon your servant. You, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be considered criminals.”
Behold, while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in. They told the king, saying, “Behold, Nathan the prophet!” When he had come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.
Nathan said, “My lord, king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne?’ For he has gone down today, and has slain cattle, fatlings, and sheep in abundance, and has called all the king’s sons, the captains of the army, and Abiathar the priest. Behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and saying, ‘Long live king Adonijah!’ But he hasn’t called me, even me your servant, Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon. Was this thing done by my lord the king, and you haven’t shown to your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”
Then king David answered, “Call Bathsheba in to me.” She came into the king’s presence and stood before the king. The king swore, and said, “As Yahweh lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity, most certainly as I swore to you by Yahweh, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place;’ I will most certainly do this today.”
Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and showed respect to the king, and said, “Let my lord king David live forever!”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv18, 21, 23, 25, 27, 30 The king being worn with age, could not attend…
The king being worn with age, could not attend to the affairs of the realm, and also Adonijah had many flatterers which kept it from the king.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv15–31 1Ki 1:15 And Bathsheba went in unto the king…
1Ki 1:15 And Bathsheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king.
Ver. 15. And the king was very old.] Yet little more than half so old as a plain countryman whom I spoke with yesterday, being May 15, A.D. 1656, at Stratford-upon-Avon, who assured me, and gave good proof of it, that he was a hundred and twenty-eight of age, being born A.D. 1527. He is still hearty and healthy, living at Bedworth in Warwickshire, Thomas Egerton by name.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 26, 27, 28, 31 Thou swarest by the Lord thy God; to whom…
Thou swarest by the Lord thy God; to whom thou art highly obliged, whose name thou justly fearest and honourest; and therefore thou wilt not pollute it by perjury, but make conscience of thy oath.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv15–31 And Bathsheba went in unto the king into the…
And Bathsheba went in unto the king into the chamber,.... Where he lay, being bedridden; she took Nathan's advice, and directly went to the king's apartment:
and the king was very old: and decrepit, borne down with the infirmities of old age, though but seventy years of age:
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and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king; she was then waiting upon the king, and serving him with what was necessary and proper for him; and perhaps there was no other in the chamber at that time.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv26, 27, 28, 29, 31 But me - Whom he knew to be acquainted…
But me - Whom he knew to be acquainted with thy mind, and with the mind of God in this matter: and therefore his neglect of me herein gives me cause to suspect that this is done without thy privity.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv20, 21, 28 Verse 20. That thou shouldest tell - who shall…
Verse 20. That thou shouldest tell - who shall sit on the throne] This was a monarchy neither hereditary nor elective; the king simply named his successor. This obtained less or more, anciently, in most countries.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv19, 26, 28, 31 1Ki 1:19-20. Solomon thy servant — She speaks very…
1Ki 1:19-20. Solomon thy servant — She speaks very submissively, and calls herself his handmaid, and her son his servant. The eyes of all Israel are upon thee — This she said that she might free him from all fear of such a rebellion as Absalom raised; the people not being yet joined to Adonijah, but continuing in suspense till the king had declared his mind about his successor.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 24, 29, 31 Into the chamber - The “bed-chamber” or “inner chamber.”…
Into the chamber - The “bed-chamber” or “inner chamber.” Abishag was a disinterested witness present, who heard all that Bath-sheba said to David.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv16, 18, 20, 21, 25, 28 Worshipped. Protestants, "did obeisance." Hebrew, "fell prostrate on the…
Worshipped. Protestants, "did obeisance." Hebrew, "fell prostrate on the ground before the king," (Calmet) without any danger of idolatry. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv20, 21, 28 the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that…
the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne--When the kings died without declaring their will, then their oldest son succeeded. But frequently they designated long before their death which of their sons should inherit the throne. The kings of Persia, as well as of other Eastern countries, have exercised the same right in modern and even recent times.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 28, 29 15. Into the chamber — Into the bedchamber, where,…
15. Into the chamber — Into the bedchamber, where, on account of his age and infirmities, the king was obliged to keep himself.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 15–21. Bath-sheba before King David (Not in Chronicles)
15–21. Bath-sheba before King David (Not in Chronicles)
15. and the king was very old] This sentence is in explanation why Bath-sheba went into the bedchamber of the king. David was too feeble to go forth, and those who would see him must come there for audience.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv21, 24, 25, 29 (21) Shall sleep with his fathers.—Here this phrase, so…
(21) Shall sleep with his fathers.—Here this phrase, so constantly used in the record of the death of the kings, occurs in these books for the first time. (It is also found in the message of promise by Nathan. 2Sa_7:12, relating to the succession of the son who should build the Temple.) We find corresponding expressions in Gen_15:15; Deu_31:16. Without connecting with the use of this phrase anything like the fulness of meaning which in the New Testament attaches to “the sleep” of the departed servants of God (as known to be a “sleep in Jesus”), it seems not unreasonable to recognise in it, at least, a rudimentary belief in death as rest and not extinction. The addition, “with his fathers,” has probably a reference to “the tombs of the kings;” especially as we find that it is not adopted in the cases of Jehoram (2Ch_21:20) and Joash. (2Ch_24:25), who were not buried therein.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv15–31 And Bathsheba went In unto the king into the…
And Bathsheba went In unto the king into the chamber lit. inner chamber, qalamov, cubiculum penetrale, Buxtorf. Same word 2Sa_4:7 2Sa_13:10 and the king was very old the repetition (see ver. 1) is not idle or unmeaning. Here the word refers to feebleness rather than age. It is mentioned to explain David"s confinement to his chamber and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king. This is introduced to show the king"s helplessness. It does not prove that "there was a disinterested witness present" (Rawlinson), for she may have withdrawn, as Bathsheba did presently (ver. 23), and Nathan (ver. 32). It is a graphic touch, painted probably from the life, and by the hand of Nathan, from whom this narrative is derived. And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream That is to say, this passed while Solomon slept; but it was more than a dream. The same words are used of Pharaoh (Gen_41:7) when God showed him what He was about to do (vers. 25, 28, cf., Gen_40:8) and this was such a dream as Pharaoh"s and as Joseph"s. (Mat_1:20 Mat_2:19) It was a dream, i.e., in which a Divine revelation was made to him. Wordsw. refers to Solomon"s words, "I sleep, but my heart waketh (Song of Son_5:2), and "He giveth to his beloved (Jedidiah) in sleep". Psa_127:2 And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant the other sanctuary of that period (2 Samuel 1Ch_16:37-40 and offered up burnt offerings probably in continuation of the sacrifices of Gibeon, ver. 4, and offered peace offerings in testimony of his thankfulness for the signal favour recently vouchsafed to him and made a feast lit., a drinking. After the example of David, 1Ch_16:3. Cf. 1Ki_8:65. It was not exclusively a symposium. The flesh of the animals offered in sacrifice was eaten by the worshippers and their Guests. (Lev_7:15, Lev_7:31; 1Sa_2:16; 1Co_8:13) This was "a sacrificial meal of the (Keil). See on ch. 1Ki_8:63 to all his servants.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v22 Nathan the prophet also came in.
1Ki_1:22-27
Nathan the prophet also came in.
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Solomon succeeding David
I. The trouble arising from lack of home discipline. Many a parent sows seeds of sorrow by over-indulgence of the children. Nothing is more prophetic of grief to come, for the parent, and calamity, for the child, than failure to insist upon obedience. There is to be a throne and something of parental sovereignty in every home. God requires of all parents, for their own sakes, the childrens sake, and the sake of society, that they should govern their household.
II. The sin of disregard for parents. Adonijah knew that his father had designated Solomon as his successor. Finding his father feeble and at the point of death, he conspired against him, influenced all he could to join him in the conspiracy, and aid him in accomplishing his purpose. In the ambition of his heart to reign over Israel he was ready for any intrigue, any injustice. Ambition is the cause of much of this worlds crime. It consumes all the better feelings of our nature; makes men regardless of tenderest relations and deepest obligations. There are no duties diviner than those we owe to our parents. In their old age, especially, parents have supreme claim on the affection and protection of their children. None but he who is lost to all sense of the claims of love, and is far gone in sin, can wilfully make sad a parents heart. In all tenderness, and all solicitation for the joy and comfort of their parents, children should hand them down to their graves, making, if it may be, their last days the sunniest and most restful.
III. The sacredness of human pledges. David had assured Bathsheba that her son Solomon should succeed to the throne. Human pledges are sacred, especially when made in the fear of God, and according to His conscious will. No difficulties should ever turn men aside from fulfilling their vows. There should be no delay when danger threatens. All men have many interests in their hands. It will cost, of time, strength, and exposure, it may he, to guard these interests; but they should be guarded, whatever the cost. David acted promptly, thus he succeeded. Delays are often fatal. Decision is demanded for emergencies. While men fear and hesitate it often becomes too late. Truth is to be done. Neither God nor man excuses falsehood. Faithlessness is full of annoyance. Our lives should be worthy of trust. There may be impossibilities in the way; these alone should prevent the keeping of our pledges.
IV. The faithfulness of friends. Adonijah would have been crowned as king, had not the friends of David and Solomon revealed the conspiracy. But these friends were true; and their haste in acquainting the king of what was transpiring gave him time to avert the calamity. Faithfulness to friends is one great want of the world. None is safe from attack on the part of the ambitious and designing. Neighbours are in danger of being injured in person or position without knowing it, or being able to avoid the snare. Society is full of secret schemings to rise on the ruin of others. Character is assailed; property imperilled; all sacred things put in jeopardy by the unscrupulous. Often serious and irreparable injury is done before the parties affected dream of anything evil in the air. In business, in politics, in the whole range of human plans for personal advancement, or right doing on any line, men are liable to be maligned and harmed. It is duty in all cases and at all hazard to give warning or counsel, and to interpose for the protection of others. We are not to be busybodies, but we are to be our brothers keeper.
V. The patience of faith. Solomon likely knew of the conspiracy of Adonijah; but he was as a deaf man that heard not. He seems to have quietly composed himself, leaving it to God and his friends to order all. God had a will as to that succession to the throne. Solomon understood it, and he could wait. Faith is patient. There may be delays and disasters. Enemies may seem to succeed against us. Providence may seem to be opposing. It may be wholly dark and ominous. But we are to compose ourselves and wait.
VI. The sovereignty of God. Adonijah considered the kingdom his by birthright, after the death of Absalom. He had, however, been set aside by Divine appointment. He had been welcomed with the cry: God save King Adonijah! Shall that conspiracy succeed? God had planned otherwise. No plan formed against the Almighty can permanently prosper. Wickedness may prevail for a time. Wicked men may come to crowning. There may be long bafflings and delayings in the fulfilment of prophecy. But God reigns. His word shall be accomplished. Here is our hope in reference to this lost world. We have only to find our place and do our work. The day is to dawn. There are to be turnings and overturnings. Kingdoms and empires are to rise and fall--all unto the end of the setting up of the kingdom of Christ on the earth. The day of jubilee is to be ushered in. (Monday Club Sermons.)
Solomons succeeding David
This presents before us the last of those three equal reigns, of forty years each, which seem to be typical of the three dispensations: the Hebrew Church with its apostasy; the Christian Church during its militant period; and the millennial reign with its triumphant glory. If Solomon was thus the type of the Prince of Peace, the fact that he ascended his throne only by displacing a usurper may find its correspondence in the usurpation of authority over this world, Christs rightful realm, by the prince of darkness. Yet how sure stands the unchanging word, I have set my King upon my holy hill of Zion! Adonijah, who is mentioned fourth among Davids sons, as his mother, Haggith, is fourth among Davids wives, was a curious compound of physical beauty and grace with boundless conceit and impudence, arrogance, and ambition. He was a spoiled child: we are quaintly told in this chapter that his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? Of his mother, Haggith, we get no glimpse, except as the record reveals that at Hebron, not long after Absaloms birth, she became the mother of this her only child, Adonijah. Her name in the Hebrew tongue means dancer, and she was probably a gay, light, unprincipled woman, lacking both intellectual force and moral depth of character. This son certainly resembled this probable portrait of his mother. He was a goodly man; that is, of attractive personal presence--what, in our corruption of pure English, we would call a handsome man. Yet his youthful passions were stronger than his principles, and his impulses trampled upon his convictions. As often happens in such cases, this son, who by reason of his mothers laxity and his own waywardness, needed a fathers restraint the more, was subject to no parental authority or discipline whatever, and under no sceptre of family government. His ambition was reckless. Ordinarily, however much the favourite of his father, he could not have aspired to succeed him on the throne, for Ammon, Chileab, and Absalom would each in turn prefer the clash of primogeniture; but the death of these three elder brothers left Adonijah the eldest living son, and therefore a claimant to the royal succession. The throne was, however, pledged to Solomon, his younger brother, a child of promise, beloved of the Lord, and better qualified every way for a wise and just ruler. Adonijahs ambition was not to be so easily thwarted. He saw with secret exultation the visible and rapid decline of his fathers strength, and that the time had come to seize by force a crown which he could not secure by favour or procure by merit. Let us not forget the lessons moral, which touches both parents and children. Parental authority and filial obedience are among Gods unchanging decrees. A Divine curse for ever alienated from Elis house the sacred privilege of the priesthood; and this is the ground of the curse: Because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. Yet he did inquire into their conduct and severely rebuked it, and so was a better father than David, who did not even investigate Adonijahs course. How grand is the contrast of Abraham, who commanded his children and his household after him to do justice and judgment! There may be an indulgence which is innocent. To deny to a child the gratification of a proper and natural desire whose indulgence would work no harm to the child nor injustice to others may be unjust; capricious refusal may provoke to wrath a child who is disposed to obedience, and stir up mischief, if not malice. But promiscuous indulgence leaves children to grow up selfish, sensual, and reckless. One of the laws of the Mosaic code required every builder of a house to put a battlement around the roof; and that battlement, in the building of the household, is parental law. Where that exists a child falls into ruin only as he climbs over the battlement. Without pressing this lesson to the extreme of a fanciful typical interpretation, we may lawfully find in it illustrations of some most important truths: first of all, the secret of prevailing prayer. Bathsheba went before King. David with confidence, for he had given his royal word of promise: Surely Solomon thy son shall sit on my throne. There was no presumption in her plea; she was emboldened by the kings word: it was the confidence and courage of faith. And so she got her request, and the answer was immediate as well as sure: Even so will I certainly do this day. What is our encouragement in prayer? The promise of the immutable God. No capricious moods make Him liable to repent or change His mind; no old age and failing faculties render Him liable to forget. We have to do with the eternal, unchanging God, whose word is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. A second illustration may be gathered from this lesson as to the providence of God overruling the evil designs of men and accomplishing His purposes. Everything seemed against Solomon when Adonijah, surrounded by his fellow-conspirators, was saluted as king. His throne was at risk, and even his life was in peril But there was an old man, not yet dead, in whose feeble hands the sceptre still rested, and who had sworn that Solomon should be heir to the kingdom. A few words spoken by him unseated the usurper, dispersed his minions, and placed the child of promise upon the throne. How often all things seem against us, while all things work together for our good. The god of this world has usurped the kingdom, and a host of followers rally round his standard. The apparent successes of the god of this world in seizing the reins of empire and oppressing the saints of the Most High shall make his ultimate defeat only the more overwhelming, complete, and final (A. T. Pierson, D. D.)
Solomon succeeding David
I. A royal advising.
1. Visiting the king
2. Honouring the king.
(1) In advancing a good cause a little quiet planning may accomplish excellent results, and not be dishonest. Nathan and Bathsheba had made their arrangements beforehand.
(2) In advancing a good cause, a good action or good advice wins much in efficacy by being skilfully performed or given.
(3) In advancing a good cause a respectful demeanour toward those in authority costs nothing, and usually accomplishes much.
(4) In advancing a good cause a good name is of the first importance. David knew at once that Nathans plea was not for anything bad.
II. A royal usurper.
1. Treacherous sacrifices.
2. Treacherous treatment.
3. Treachery suspected.
(1) In advancing a bad cause, it is natural to have good things to eat.
(2) In advancing a bad cause, its promoters are always forward in appealing to the Divine protection, God save King Adonijah.
(3) In advancing a bad cause, its promoters are generally exclusive in their friendships. Of course, Nathan was not admitted to a share m proceedings upon which he would have frowned.
(4) In combating a bad cause, it is always best to come to a clear understanding of exactly who are its friends, and who its enemies. That is what Nathan sought in questioning David.
(5) In combating a bad cause, the more care that is exercised the better. Every bad cause has at least one very skilful promoter, whose mere tools Adonijah and Abiathar and all the rest of them are. The devil keeps a close watch over his own interests.
III. A royal ruler.
1. His mother summoned.
2. His father promising.
(1) By the Lord, his Redeemer.
(2) To establish Solomon.
3. His mother rejoicing.
(1) In act.
(2) In word.
4. His reign established.
(1) When a man must go forth to leave the duties of his earthly station, it is becoming that he should carefully consider in whose hands he shall leave them.
(2) When a man has an important question to decide, he seldom loses anything by inviting his wife to assist at the conference.
(3) When a man is called to the test, he ought not to be long in making good his promises, if it is in his power to do so.
(4) When a man is nearing the point of death, it is folly to defer doing as he has promised until the future. So will I certainly do, this day.
(5) When a man has humbled himself to do, it will seldom harm his wife to humble herself to thank him.
(6) When a man is nearing the point of death, such a cry as Let my lord King David live for ever, has its very serious aspects. (Sunday School Times.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv15, 22 1Ki_1:16. Bowed and did obeisance—The latter word denoting the…
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
1Ki_1:16. Bowed and did obeisance—The latter word denoting the prostrate attitude customary in the East before kings.
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1Ki_1:21. Shall be counted offenders—Counted is not in the Hebrew, though implied in the connexion; they will be חַטָּאִים—i.e., guilty of a capital crime, treated as traitors deserving death.
HOMILETICS OF 1Ki_1:15-21
THE PERSUASIVE PLEADING OF AN ANXIOUS MOTHER
I. Is profoundly deferential. Bathsheba hesitates not to venture at once into the inner chamber of the aged and dying king. Her maternal instincts and concern for her son’s future render her courageous. Her presence pleaded eloquently, but her speech, tremulous with the conflicting emotions of the wife and mother, was overwhelming. “Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance unto the king” (1Ki_1:16). She paid every respect due to David as her prince and husband. If we would find favour with superiors, we must show them becoming respect. We should cherish a dutiful regard towards those from whom we expect kindness. Nothing is ever lost by sincere politeness. It evidences a refined and gentle spirit. It propitiates the most morose, and often wins a favourable reception in the most difficult suit. It succeeds where an unmannerly brusqueness fails. It is irresistible in a true woman. Life is not so short but there is always time enough for courtesy.
II. Urges the religious obligation of an oath. 1Ki_1:17, “Thou swarest by the Lord thy God.” A conscientious man is morally bound by his promised word; but an oath is inviolable. We are engaged if we have promised; if we have sworn, we are bound. Neither heaven nor earth has any gyves for that man who can recklessly shake off the fetters of an oath. Such a man has no regard for that God whose awful name he dare invoke to a falsehood. He who cares not for God will not care for man. It is a powerful leverage to move a man to right action when we can remind him of his solemnly pledged word. An oath should be religiously remembered and conscientiously fulfilled. It is a duty we owe to both God and man. Even the highest in authority should be faithfully reminded of this duty, and warned as to the consequences of a careless repudiation of trust. A faithful friend in a palace is rare.
III. Graphically depicts the distraction of rebellion (1Ki_1:18-19).
1. The throne is seized by an ungrateful son. “Adonijah reigneth.” Without waiting for the death of his father, or seeking his sanction, and even without his knowledge, the presumptuous son assumes all the authority and external display of royalty. Had his right to the succession been ever so good, such conduct was undutiful and treasonable. An unprincipled ambition corrupts natural affection: it acknowledges obedience to none but its own imperious will.
2. Excessive festivity prevails. Indulgence is often provocative of vain boasting, extravagant designs, and riotous conduct. It leads to cruelty and disaster.
3. The members of the royal family and the true friends of the aged king are seduced from their allegiance. There was disorder in the household. The children of David repaid his paternal kindness with unfaithfulness and wild rebellion. The ingratitude of children, for whom so much has been sacrificed and endured, is one of the sharpest pangs of a disappointed parent’s heart. Polygamy, in however limited a degree, is a prolific source of domestic trouble. Any violation of the moral order carries with it its own Nemesis. The infidelity of Abiathar and Joab—men with whom he had repeatedly trusted his life—was a severe blow to David. Little does the renegade friend think of the anguish caused by his treachery. Confidence in human nature is shattered.
4. The king-designate is ignored. “But Solomon thy servant”—not thy sovereign, as Adonijah affects to be—“hath he not called.” He is evidently regarded as a rival, and every attempt is made to prevent his gaining the throne. It is not an oversight, but a contempt of the act of settlement, which had been made sufficiently public, that Solomon is neglected. All the fondly cherished plans of David are threatened with a rude and ignominious overthrow. The scene of confusion created by the rebels, thus graphically presented, was calculated to deeply affect the dying monarch—as the husband, the father, and the king.
IV. Earnestly advocates the pressing claims of the nation (1Ki_1:20). The rebellion had not gone so far as that of Absalom’s in stealing away the hearts of the people. There was a grave pause in the kingdom. The people hesitated what to do, until the royal intention was publicly proclaimed. David was too firmly seated in the affections of his subjects to allow them to act without the knowledge of his declared will. This ominous silence of the national voice was Nathan’s opportunity and Adonijah’s doom. In troublous times the nation looks to the king. In him is vested supreme authority. He is the guide and defender of the empire. The interests of all are in his keeping; and his power should ever be exercised on the side of justice, equity, and peace. A divine sentence is in the lips of the king. “That thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne.” This some princes love not to do—Queen Elizabeth, for instance. A false Jesuit wrote that she wished she might, after her death, hang awhile in the air, to see what scuffling there would be for her kingdom. Men should use whatever power or influence they possess, not in compassing their own selfish ends, but in advancing the kingdom of the Messiah.
V. Is full of genuine pathos.
1. A mournful contingency is referred to (1Ki_1:21). “When my Lord shall sleep with his fathers.” Here the heart of the wife speaks out. It was evident David’s end was near; and Bathsheba could not contemplate that event without deep emotion. Death is compared to a sleep. Beautiful simile! Such a view robs death of its terror, and soothes the sorrow of the bereaved. Death is but the gentle sinking of the tired and spent body into the lap of rest. Silently it reposes among the hallowed dust of bye-gone generations, until the last great trumpet shall wake it into newness of life.
2. A tender allusion is made to threatened personal peril. “I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.” Here the heart of the mother speaks out. It is suggested by some commentators that, probably, Adonijah had spoken slightingly of Bathsheba as an adultress and of Solomon as illegitimate, and, therefore, not fit to be king. The reputation of mother and son was in danger, and must be protected. Not only so: if Adonijah succeeded, they would both be reckoned traitors and public enemies, and their lives sacrificed. Adonijah would not have dealt so mercifully with Solomon as Solomon did with him. He who usurps a throne will stop at no cruelty to secure himself in it. If anything will rouse the soul into earnest concern, it is the peril to which those dear to it are exposed.
LESSONS:—
1. The mother exerts a powerful influence on the destiny of the family.
2. It is an unspeakable advantage for a youthful prince to have a wise and capable mother.
3. The eloquence of a mother’s heart is irresistible.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1Ki_1:15-21. Bathsheba before the king. She reminds him of his duty—
1. Towards God, before whom he had sworn. What one has vowed before God, according to God’s will, one must hold to under all circumstances; of this one must remind kings and princes.
2. Towards the people, whose well-being and whose woe were in his keeping. The great responsibility of him towards whom all eyes are directed.
3. Towards the wife and son, whose happiness and life were at stake. Woe to the father through whose guilt wife and children, after his death, fall into contempt and wretchedness.—Lange.
1Ki_1:16. “What wouldest thou?” A question the King of Heaven is ever asking—
1. The perplexed enquirer.
2. The penitent suppliant.
3. The complaining sufferer.
4. The solitary mourner.
5. The ambitious self-seeker.
1Ki_1:18. “Thou knowest it not. The isolation of the aged and infirm—
1. Presents a melancholy contrast to the joyous excitement of an active life.
2. Renders them oblivious of the most important events of the outside world.
3. Ignorant of the calamities that threaten their dearest interests.
4. Familiarizes their minds with suffering and approaching death.
5. Calls for the kindly attention and sympathy of loving hearts.
1Ki_1:20. The grave responsibilities of the monarch. 1. All eyes are turned to him in times of national distress.
2. He is expected to promptly and effectually crush rebellion.
3. The best interests of his subjects should be his chief concern.
4. He should make the wisest arrangements for the future peace and stability of the kingdom.
5. He is accountable to God, from whom he derives his authority.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v28 1 Kings
1 Kings
DAVID APPOINTING SOLOMON
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1Ki 1:28 - 1Ki 1:39.
The earlier part of this chapter must be taken into account in order to get the right view of this incident. David’s eldest surviving son, Adonijah, had claimed the succession, and gathered his partisans to a feast. Nathan, alarmed at the prospect of such a successor, had arranged with Bathsheba that she should go to David and ask his public confirmation of his promise to her that Solomon should succeed him, and that then Nathan should seek an audience while she was with the king, and, as independently, should prefer the same request.
The plan was carried out, and here we see its results. The old king was roused to a flash of his ancient vigour, confirmed his oath to Bathsheba, and promptly cut the ground from under Adonijah’s feet by sending for the three who had remained true to him-Nathan, Benaiah, and Zadok-and despatching them without a moment’s delay to proclaim Solomon king, and then to bring him up to the palace and enthrone him. The swift execution of these decisive orders, and the burst of popular acclamation which welcomed Solomon’s accession, shattered the nascent conspiracy, and its supporters scattered in haste, to preserve their lives. The story may be best dealt with, for our purpose, by taking this brief summary and trying to draw lessons from it.
I. It points anew the truth that ‘whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.’ As Absalom, so Adonijah, had been spoiled by David’s over-indulgence {1Ki 1:6}, and having never had his wishes checked, was now letting his unbridled wishes hurry him into rebellion. Nor was that fault of David’s the only one which brought about the miserable squabbles round his deathbed, as to who should wear the crown which had not yet fallen from his head. Eastern monarchies are familiar with struggles for the crown between the sons of different mothers when their father dies. David had indulged in a multitude of wives, and his last days were darkened by the resulting intrigues of his sons. No doubt, too, Solomon was disliked by his brethren as the child of Bathsheba, and the shame of David’s crime was an obstacle in his younger son’s way. Thus, as ever, his evil deeds came home to roost, and the poisonous seed which he had sown grew up and waved, a bitter harvest, which he had to reap. Repentance and forgiveness did not neutralise the natural consequences of his sin. Nor will they do so for us. God often leaves them to be experienced, that the experience may make us hate the sins the more.
II. The sad defection to Adonijah of such tried friends as Joab and Abiathar has its lesson. The reason for Joab’s treachery is plain. He had been steadily drifting away from David for years. His fierce temper could not brook the king’s displeasure on account of his murders of Abner and Amasa, and his slaying of Absalom had made the breach irreparable. No doubt, David had made him feel that he loved and trusted him no longer; and his old comrade in many a fight, Benaiah, had stepped into the place which he had once filled. Professional rivalry had darkened into bitter bate. Joab commanded the native-born Israelites; Benaiah, the ‘Cherethites and Pelethites,’ who are now generally regarded as foreign mercenaries. They were David’s bodyguard, and were probably as heartily hated by Joab and the other Israelite soldiers as they were trusted by David. So there were reasons enough for Joab’s abetting an insurrection which would again make him the foremost soldier. He wanted to be indispensable, and would prop the throne as long as its occupant looked only to him as its defender. Besides, he probably felt that he would have little chance of winning distinction in a kingdom which was to be a peaceful one.
Abiathar’s motives are unexplained, but if we notice that he had been obliged to acquiesce in the irregular arrangement of putting the high-priest’s office into commission, we can understand that he bore no goodwill to Zadok, his colleague, or to David for making the latter so. Self was at the bottom of these two renegades’ action. The fair fellowship, which had been made the closer because of dangers and privations faced together, crumbled away before the disintegrating influences of petty personal jealousies. When once self-regard gets in, it is like the trickle of water in the cracks of a rock, which freezes in winter and splits the hardest stone. No common action for a great cause is possible without the suppression of sidelong looks towards private advantage. Joab and Abiathar tarnished a life’s devotion and broke sacred bonds, because they thought of themselves rather than of God’s will. Surely they must have had some pangs as they sat at Adonijah’s feast, when they thought of the decrepit old king lying in his chamber up on Zion, and remembered what he and they had come through together.
III. We may note the pathetic picture of decaying old age which is seen in David. He was not very old in years, being about seventy, but he was a worn-out man. His early hardships had told on him, and now he lay in the inner chamber, the shadow of himself. His love for Bathsheba had died down, as would appear both from her demeanour before him, and from her ignorance of his intentions as to his successor. She was little or nothing to him now. He seems to have been torpidly unaware of what was going on. The noise of Adonijah’s revels had not disturbed his quiet. He had not even taken the trouble to designate his successor, though ‘the eyes of all Israel were upon him that he should tell who was to sit on his throne after him’ {1Ki 1:20}. Such neglect was criminal in the circumstances, and brings out forcibly the weary indifference which had crept over him. Contrast that picture with the early days of swift energy and eager interest in all things. Is this half-comatose old man the David who flashed like a meteor and struck swift as a thunderbolt but a few years before? Yes, and a like collapse of power befalls us all, if life is prolonged. Those who most need the lesson will be least touched by it; but let not the young glory in their strength, for it soon fades away; and let them give the vigour of their early days to God, that, when the years come in which they shall say, ‘I have no pleasure in them,’ they may be able, like David, to look back over a long life and say, with him, that the Lord ‘hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity.’
IV. We note the flash of fire which blazed up in the dying embers of David’s life. The old lion could be roused yet, and could strike when roused. It took much to shake him out of his torpor. Nathan’s plan of bringing the double influence of Bathsheba and himself to bear was successful beyond what he had hoped. All that they desired was a formal declaration of Solomon as successor. They knew that the king’s name was still dear enough to all Israel to ensure that his wish would settle the succession; and they would have been content to have left the actual entrance of Solomon on office till after David’s death, so sure were they that his word was still a spell. But the old king, shaking off his languor, as a lion does the drops from his mane, goes beyond their wishes, and strikes one decisive blow as with a great paw, and no second is needed. Without a moment’s delay, he sends for the trusty three, and bids them act on the instant. So down to Gihon goes the procession, with the youthful prince seated on his father’s mule, in token of his accession, the trusty bodyguard round him with Benaiah at their head, and the great prophet Nathan, side by side with the high-priest Zadok, representing the divine sanction of the solemn act.
It would take stronger men than the spoiled Adonijah and his revellers to upset anything which that determined company resolved to do. The lad is anointed with the holy oil which Zadok as high-priest had the right to bring forth from the temporary sanctuary. That signified and effected the communication from above of qualifications for the kingly office, and indicated divine appointment. Then out blared the trumpets, and the glad people shouted ‘God save the king!’ What thoughts filled the young heart of Solomon as he stood silent there his vision in Gibeon may partly tell. But the distant roar of acclaim reached Adonijah and his gang as they sat at their too hasty banquet.
They had begun at the wrong end. The feast should have closed, not inaugurated, the dash for the crown. They who feast when they should fight are likely to end their mirth with sorrow. David’s one stroke was enough. They were as sure as Nathan and Bathsheba had been that the declaration of his wish would carry all Israel with it, and so they saw that the game was up, and there was a rush for dear life. The empty banqueting-hall proclaimed the collapse of a rebellion which had no brains to guide it, and no reason to justify it. Let us learn that, though ‘the race is not always to the swift,’ promptitude of action, when we are sure of God’s will, is usually a condition of success. Life is too short, and the work to be done too pressing and great, to allow of dawdling. ‘I made haste, and delayed not, but made haste to keep Thy commandments.’ Let us learn, too, from Adonijah’s fiasco, to see the end of a thing before we commit ourselves to it, and to have the work done first before we think of the feast.
Nathan and Bathsheba and David all believed that God had willed Solomon’s succeeding to the throne. No doubt, the reason for their belief was the divine word to David through Nathan {2Sa 7:12}, which designated a son not yet born as his successor, and therefore excluded Adonijah as well as Absalom. But, while they believed this, they did not therefore let Adonijah work his will, and leave God to carry out His purposes. Their belief animated their action. They knew what God willed, and therefore they worked strenuously to effect that will. We may bewilder our brains with speculations about the relation between God’s sovereignty and man’s freedom, but, when it comes to practical work, we have to put out the best and most that is in us to prevent God’s will from being thwarted by rebellious men, and to ensure its being carried into effect through our efforts, ‘for we are God’s fellow-workers.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v29 Exo 14:30; Isa 59:20. (See Scofield "Exo 14:30"). See…
redeemed
Exo 14:30; Isa 59:20. (See Scofield "Exo 14:30"). See Scofield "Isa 59:20".
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v28 2. The Anointing of Solomon and Adonijah’s Submission
2. The Anointing of Solomon and Adonijah’s Submission
CHAPTER 1:28-53
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1. The renewed promise to Bath-sheba (1Ki 1:28-31)
2. The anointing of Solomon commanded (1Ki 1:32-37)
3. Solomon made king (1Ki 1:38-40)
4. The consternation of Adonijah (1Ki 1:41-49)
5. Adonijah’s fear and submission (1Ki 1:50-53)
Bath-sheba had withdrawn while Nathan was before the king. She is called back and David once more assures her that Solomon her son should reign after him. Then David commands that Solomon be anointed king without further delay. His instructions are at once carried out. Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah caused Solomon to ride upon King David’s mule and brought him to Gihon. The priest anointed him king and the people rejoiced with great joy. But what joy will come to this earth when He who is greater than Solomon will be enthroned and receive His great kingdom, which is only faintly foreshadowed in Solomon’s glorious reign! All David did was according to Jehovah’s will and purpose. Solomon was a mere youth when he was anointed. In 1 Chronicles 28 and 29 where the most impressive scene is fully described which followed Solomon’s anointing, we find David’s own words concerning him, “Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen is yet young and tender, and the work is great” (1Ch 29:1). We shall follow the remarkable utterances of King David at that occasion when we reach the Chronicles. Like Saul and David, King Solomon was likewise anointed a second time. “And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him unto the LORD to be the chief governor, and Zadok to be priest” (1Ch 29:22). And while the people were rejoicing in Gihon over God’s true King, Adonijah’s feast was about ended. Abiathar’s son Jonathan appeared on the scene. Adonijah said, “Come in; for thou art a valiant man, and bringest good tidings.” And the tidings he brought were good tidings for God’s people: “Solomon sitteth on the throne of the Kingdom.” Fear and consternation took hold on Adonijah and his guests and while the people gathered around Solomon, Adonijah and his company scattered. When another One, the greater Son of David, is enthroned and the glad tidings flash forth, He has taken His throne, all His enemies will be scattered and be made the footstool of His feet. Adonijah took hold of the horns of the altar (Exo 21:12-14). Solomon promises him that his life would be spared, “but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die.” Mercy shown and righteousness demanded were the first acts of King Solomon. In this he is a type of Him who will reign in peace and execute mercy and righteousness on the earth. Righteousness will reign in the millennial Kingdom and evil doers will be cut off.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v28 Solomon Anointed King
Solomon Anointed King
v. 28. Then King David, now thoroughly aroused to the danger of the situation, answered and said, Call me Bathsheba. And she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king, awaiting his pleasure.
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v. 29. And the king sware, with a very solemn oath, and said, As the Lord liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress, giving David evidence of His mercy and truth in so many great dangers, for which reason this word of praise was all the more appropriate,
v. 30. even as I sware unto thee by the Lord God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon, thy son, shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead, even so will I certainly do this day. He was evidently deeply moved, and saw the necessity for quick and decisive action.
v. 31. Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord, King David, live forever. It was an expression of her heartfelt gratitude.
v. 32. And King David said, Call me Zadok, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, who had also retired from the king’s presence after his interview, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king. David now showed that he was still strong in mind and will in spite of his bodily weakness.
v. 33. The king also said unto them, they were to act as his representatives in the matter which he had in mind, Take with you the servants of your lord, the king’s own body-guard, and cause Solomon, my son, to ride upon mine own mule, this being an actual declaration that the latter was king, and bring him down to Gihon, a place west of Jerusalem, with a spring of water which fed two reservoirs,
v. 34. and let Zadok, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, anoint him there king over Israel, the investiture being emphasized as taking place by divine right; and blow ye with the trumpet, as was done on solemn occasions, and say, God save King Solomon!
v. 35. Then ye shall come up after him, in a procession befitting the importance of the occasion, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead; and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah, over the united nation, as David had twice consolidated the tribes.
v. 36. And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, upon whom rested the responsibility for the outward arrangements, answered the king and said, Amen; the Lord God of my lord the king say so too, a prayer that God might permanently establish the throne of Solomon as the successor of David.
v. 37. As the Lord hath been with my lord the king, even so be He with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord, King David, since this growth and establishment depended upon the gracious blessing of Jehovah.
v. 38. So Zadok, the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, the body-guard of the king, went down, according to David’s command, and caused Solomon to ride upon King David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon.
v. 39. And Zadok, the priest, took an horn of oil out of the Tabernacle, for the oil of holy ointment was kept in the tent in which the Ark of the Covenant was stationed, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save King Solomon!
v. 40. And all the people came up after him, full of happiness over David’s decision, and the people piped with pipes, flutes being used on festival occasions, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent, resounding mightily, with the sound of them. The anointing of Solomon is a type of the anointing of that greater Son of David, Jesus Christ, whom the Lord has set as His King on His holy hill Zion.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv15, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28 the king's room
the king's room
"the room in which the king slept"
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Abishag the Shunammite
This is the young virgin that King David's servants had brought to care for him. See how you translated this in 1 Kings 1:3.
bowed and prostrated herself before the king
"bowed close to the ground in front of the king"
What do you desire?
"What can I do for you?"
you swore to
The form of "you" here is emphatic. AT: "you yourself swore to"
your servant
Bathsheba speaks as if she were another person to show David that she respects him. See how you translated this in 1 Kings 1:13. AT: "me, your servant"
Yahweh
This is the name of God that he revealed to his people in the Old Testament. See the translationWord page about Yahweh concerning how to translate this.
he shall sit on my throne
Sitting on the throne is a metonym for being king. See how you translated this in 1 Kings 1:13. AT: "he will be king just as I was" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
bow
Yahweh
God
throne
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv28, 31 1:28-30 David reassured Bathsheba that Solomon would be the…
1:28-30 David reassured Bathsheba that Solomon would be the next king by repeating his earlier vow in God’s name (see 1:17).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.