DAY 117

DON’T LOOK BACK

1 Kings 1 & 2 and Luke 19:28 – 48

Today we start the 11^th book of the Old Testament; we have read 10 so far!

Today we begin 1^st Kings as we read of the end of King David’s life. David has not yet died and one of his sons seeks to exalt himself to become king. As you read this there are some things that might help to better understand what is going on.

It is easy to understand that King David is cold, but to go and get a woman to lie next to him, well that is interesting medical treatment. Remarkably that is exactly what it is! There is a non-biblical source, Antiquities of the Jews written by Josehpus, that describes this exact treatment. Because David is king they would obviously search for just the right woman, and even though David did not “know her,” she would become his concubine.

We can see Adonijah is somewhat ambitious, a bit full of himself, and quite possibly diluted. After Solomon becomes king we hear from his lips “you know the kingdom was mine.” And to top that, after he runs to the altar of God, grabbing horns, and is pardoned, he makes an unbelievable request. You can tell it will be unbelievable because of the way he makes Bathsheba promise to bring it to Solomon.

His request is to make the woman who was keeping David warm, David’s concubine, his wife. Taking a previous king’s concubine as your wife is an ancient Persian way to establish yourself as king. Bottom line, Adonijah does not keep the terms of his pardon and condemns himself. He is not interested in peacefully letting Solomon be king.

The rest of the reading is Solomon eliminating his threats. Take Joab for example: Joab murdered Abner and Amasa, individuals David had put into position. Joab seems like a very effective general, but I get the sense that he always wanted a little more than he received. Joab tries the same process and Adonijah by going and grabbing the horns of the altar (exodus 21:4) it doesn’t work.

As we come to the end of David’s life, one of the recurring themes is he did not seem to be able to discipline his sons. We have this episode with Adonijah, but there have been other times his sons seem to openly challenge him. One bright spot is David’s word to Solomon at the end of his life…to “keep the charge of God, walking in his ways and keeping his statues, his commandments, his rules…” (2:2-3)

In the New Testament we come to a familiar scene. It is what we call Palm Sunday, what people in Jesus’ day considered as Lamb Selection Day.

In some ways we are reading about three kings. Kings David and Solomon – we will not find two greater kings in the Old Testament, and King Jesus. Both David and Solomon followed God. Solomon will build the first great Temple (we will read about that in a few days). In fact the people Jesus is now speaking with during his time on earth are constantly looking backwards to “the good old days.” They in fact believe the new Messiah will expel the Romans and re-establish the Kingdom just like David did.

Let me ask you a question. If you have been reading the Old Testament with me what do you think about this process of David establishing the nation? Was there much peace? Did it seem godly to you? It was part of God’s plan, and in many ways it was necessary, but the point is just because it was done that way, it does not mean that is what God plans for the future. Jesus is the future.

Jesus’ way of establishing the Kingdom of God is by the Cross. As Solomon ascends to the throne, eliminating all who might oppose him; Jesus is ascending as well. It will be done in a completely different way, and yet, He too will defeat the forces that oppose Him and all that is good and holy.

Our world today often thinks the way King David and Solomon thought…the constant call of King Jesus is to think and act differently…He enables us with His grace, but nonetheless we are to take up our Cross and follow Him.