Solomon, the New Man: Dissecting Solomon’s Accession to the Throne In 1 Kings 1 David’s hold on the kingship is weaker than ever. Marked by his affair with Bathsheba, Nathan’s parable, and the inevitable effects of aging, the king is now unfit to rule the land he once worked so hard for. However, despite being bedridden, it is implied that David still has not thought about which one of his sons he would like to be the new heir. Naturally, Adonijah, the eldest son, assumes he will take the throne and begins to campaign for kingship without David’s knowledge. One might think these events create a faultless equation-- for who else could naturally assume the throne besides Adonijah, especially during a time when the king cannot leave his bed? …show more content…
Though, the likeliness of this promise seems low, as letting Solomon, one of his younger sons, succeed him would be going against the normal order of the court. Regardless, the circumstance in which this promise is revealed to David, as well as the reader, is peculiar enough to warrant doubt. The prophet Nathan, who Baden notes “only appears three times” ( Baden 234) in the biblical text, instructs Bathsheba to remind David of this promise (1 Kings 1:11), telling her that confronting David will “save…[her] life… and the life of…[her] son Solomon” (1 Kings 1:12)-- introducing the notion that somehow Adonijah’s kingship would be a threat to their livelihood, though this is no evidence for this, especially considering Solomon is young enough that he bears no threat to obtaining Adonijah’s crown. Because of the lack of evidence in the alleged promise, it is possible that Nathan and Bathsheba wanted to take advantage of the king’s declining mental state in order to make Solomon king. For instance, Solomon’s kingship would benefit Bathsheba, as it would give her power after David essentially destroyed her relationship with her husband out of lust. Regardless of the reason, the aftermath of Solomon’s crowning is reason enough to doubt the historicity of 1 Kings 1, as it is noted that “all of the people went up after him [Solomon], playing pipes and rejoicing greatly…” (1 Kings 1:40). However, it seems unlikely that Solomon, a younger son of the king, could amass such a large following, when the natural successor Adonijah had to use “chariots and horses” (1 Kings 1:6) in order to prove his
Different women, but each was powerful in their own way. When Nathan realized David’s throne was being seized by a usurper, he went to Bathsheba. No where does it mention Solomon’s involvement in any of this intrigue until he is put on David’s mule and anointed king by Zadok the priest. When Adonijah (the usurper) realized his life was in danger he pleaded his case to Bathsheba. Although this turned out badly for him (1 Kings 2: 18-15) he recognized her power. She was a dominant force David’s life and loved and respected by Solomon.
Bonnie and sherry both good post. Solomon shows us that even if you’re the wisest person in the world if you are not abiding in the Lord then the vines of the world are going to choke you out. God allowed Solomon to make this choice to disobey as he does with us. “So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant.’” (1 Kings 11:11 NASB). God displayed mercy to Solomon for David’s sake “Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.” (1 Kings 11:12 NASB). How faithful and patients God is with us is just amazing.
In 1 Kings 1-12 we start off by learning that David is becoming old and cold, for this reason his son Adonijah believes he is ready to take the throne. Nathan asks David if it’s truth about Adonijah becoming King and then David pronounces Solomon as King. Now that David had died and given some orders to Solomon, Adonijah wants Abishag as his wife, but Solomon refuses. Solomon now wants to construct a house in the name of the Lord and asks Hiram for help. Solomon gathers the congregation of Israel and then says some words in respect to the God of Israel and his love for them. Now that Solomon is dead, Rehoboam is next to become king, but Jeroboam and the assembly ask him not to be like his father.
1 Kings 1:16–17: 16 Bathsheba bowed, and did obeisance to the king, and the king said, “What do you wish?” 17 She said to him, “My lord, you swore to your servant by the LORD your God, saying: Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne.
1 Kings 1-14 – At this point in Scripture, David is very old and the debate over who will succeed him as king over Israel is at the fore. In a cunning move, Bathsheba and Nathan collaborate to convince David to appoint his son Solomon over Israel and not Adonijah. After Solomon establishes his new kingdom, Israel experiences a golden age with the building of the Temple for YHWH, as well as the peace that they experience in the land, along with the accumulation of wealth on the part of Solomon. Peace and prosperity do not last for Solomon, however, because some of the women that he has joined himself to turn him away from following YHWH wholeheartedly. As a punishment, YHWH strips the throne from Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, and leaves him with
God has placed David in the present of King Saul even through David has been anointed by Samuel as king of Israel; God still allows the people’s King as his own servants raise David above their King through
11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees,which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12 Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13
Solomon may have introduced foreign trade and increased the nation income, but he increased an oppressive policy and grew heavy of the people. Many of the issues that Solomon had were economic such as, building projects, military fortifications, ship construction, and foreign trade which needed men. Different foreigners were used for labor as well as Israelites as military service. Solomon’s pride and selfishness contributed to his issues. He added tax to supply for his “wasteful court.” He wanted to be a king that was admired by all the other kings. Samuel prophecy concerning kingship and was fulfilled in Solomon. Now this wasn’t necessarily a good thing, He put burdensome taxes on the people, he took over the basic sources of wealth and more. The people of the northern tribes wanted to
The bible says, “7 That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you...12 therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have” (Bible 2 Chronicles 1:7-12). God allowed Solomon to have whatever he wanted and he choose knowledge. This knowledge allowed him to become the richest
I Kings 11: 9-11 the lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this matter, that he should not follow other gods, but he did not observe what the Lord commanded. Therefore the lord said to Solomon, since this has been your mind and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant. The Deuteronomistic History talks about the kingship of David, Saul and Solomon but portrays the monarchy as corrupt, improper and always bringing calamity to the people.
He waited for his time to become king and ruled well with few exceptions. David is rewarded by becoming the king, albeit it was divine will for him to the king. The tale of David is a unique rag to riches story. As it's not the usual grueling tale of handwork and crawling your way to the top, he still had to work, but he had the will of god siding with him. David was able to go from being a shepherd for the rest of life to being the king of a nation.
Shepherding his father’s flocks (1 Sam. 16:19), playing music for King Saul (1 Sam. 16:23), and striking down Goliath (1 Sam. 17:50), were steps in the journey David undertook before his eventual rise to the throne. After many years of struggle between him and Saul, David finally took hold of the crown and became king of Israel (2 Sam. 3:9-10). Through all of David’s strife, we do not see a time where David falls out of God’s will, until we reach the grisly narrative of David and Bathsheba. At the beginning of the tragic account, David is regarded as absent from battle, where kings were to be at this time of year (2 Samuel 11:1), reminding us that from the start that David was not where he should have been. Instead, David was caught lounging on his couch until he decided to walk on to the roof.
Solomon was the son of David. When king David died, Solomon became king. Under king Solomon "the kingdom was established" in peace (I Kings 2:12,45-46; I Chronicles 22:9). "Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king" (I Chronicles 19:23) and "built a temple for the name of the Lord" (II Chronicles 2:1). For Jesus to be greater than Solomon He would have to ascend the throne of God and build the house of God, with all His enemies no longer making trouble. Matthew records Jesus the King saying to His disciples "I will build My church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18); later, having ascertained that the Messiah is a Son, the Son of David, Jesus shows that even king David calls the Messiah "Lord" (Psalm 110:1 and Matthew 22:41-45). Jesus is therefore the King of kings.
King David wrestled with sin, such as adultery, family disorder, and rebellion on a national level, however he also experienced great accomplishments as well. One great achievement was the unification of Israel. "Then all the tribes of Israel went to David at Hebron and told him, "We are all members of your family. For a long time, even while Saul was our King, you were the one who really led Israel. And the Lord has told you, "You will be the shepherd of my people Israel. You will be their leader" (2 Samuel 5:3). It is here that David makes a covenant with the leaders and becomes anointed as the
Throughout history there have been many different types of leaders. There have been kings, emperors, pharaohs, presidents, dictators, and tyrants who have led many countries and nations. Rulers can be beneficial, malevolent, kind, brutal, or completely ineffective. King Solomon was a very rich, wise, and famous king of ancient Israel. He was the son of King David and Bathsheba. Bathsheba wanted her son to rule, so David had Solomon anointed king before he died. David’s older son, Adonijah, wanted his father’s kingdom and threatened Solomon’s throne. So Solomon sent a messenger to kill Adonijah and his allies, thus securing his throne. Solomon overcame the last potential threats to his kingdom by killing his brother and his brother’s allies. King Solomon then secured his throne by appointing his friends to high positions of power.