Theological Commentary: Click Here
At first
glance, 1 Kings 1 reads much like Absalom’s rebellion. One of David’s sons rises up to try and
become king when David isn’t paying attention.
Adonijah steps up to take his place upon the throne.
There are a
couple of lessons to be learned here.
First of all, we should learn that we must be vigilant. There are always people looking to step up
into our roles. There are always people
who see us as the stepping stone to their next claim to fame.
This story
also teaches us the importance of friends.
It isn’t David who saves the kingdom, it is Nathan the priest among a
few others. The kingdom is saved because
there are people looking out for David.
Everyone needs people in their life who can help out.
However,
this isn’t really a story like Absalom’s rebellion. When Adonijah and his guests hear that
Solomon has been chosen to be the next king, Adonijah goes to the altar and
pleads for mercy. Absalom stood up in
revolt and forced the issue. War broke
out and it cost Absalom his life. In
this story, Adonijah sees his error and seeks – at least publicly – to be
forgiven and granted grace.
We can learn
something from this part of the story as well.
Sometimes mistakes happen. We
must be prepared to wrestle against those who would force themselves upon
us. We must also be prepared to accept
when others make a mistake and ask for grace or mercy. We should be quick with grace and mercy when
we see repentance as Absalom is here with his own brother.
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