Theological Commentary: Click Here
Discipleship Focus: Challenge
- Challenge: God does not merely wish us to be in relationship with Him as we are. He challenges us to grow, stretch, and transform as we take on the mantle of being His representatives to this world.
I was
reminded of something that I desperately needed to hear about Solomon as I read
1 Kings 2. You see, it is very easy to
read this chapter and think of Solomon as an incredibly cruel man. He has several men slain in this
chapter! As forgiving as David was when
people around him make mistakes, Solomon seems inherently cruel.
However,
I was reminded of some words I said three years ago when I studied this
passage. Each of the men who are killed
in this chapter had been extended grace already. Solomon had already given them parameters in
which they could continue to live and not have issues with Solomon. But they all discard Solomon’s grace. They all scorn Solomon’s forgiveness.
Adonijah
tries to steal the kingdom through another means: political shenanigans via the
harem of King David. Shimei was allowed
to live so long as he stayed in Jerusalem, and he violates this contract. Joab had killed during peacetime and David
knew he was living on borrowed time.
Yes,
Solomon’s consequences are harsh. The
fact that he has three people killed is not an easy thing to overlook. But in
extending grace to them Solomon had challenged them to rise above their earlier
behavior. He challenged them to rise
above their human nature and choose a better and more godly path. But the challenge wasn’t accepted. These three men remained the men they always
had been.
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