In the first eleven chapters of 1 Kings, we find that Solomon becomes the king of Israel after David dies. Before dying, David tells him to walk in God’s ways, and so Solomon asks for wisdom from God, which he receives.
Solomon then begins a huge building project, which includes the building of the temple, which David requested. He began building the temple four hundred and eighty years after the Exodus from Egypt.
Seven years later, the Ark of the Covenant was brought to the temple, and the glory of the Lord descended on it. Solomon then prays, and sacrifices are offered.
Although Solomon was the wisest man around, he did some pretty stupid things, such as worshipping foreign gods, which his many wives introduced him to. It wouldn’t be long after these things happened that his reign would come to an end, and he would die.
In the next eleven chapters of 1 Kings, we begin to read about the end of the united kingdom of Israel. The nation as a whole finds itself in a situation where they have some decisions to make; sadly, they choose the wrong ones.
In 931 B.C., the United Kingdom split into two separate kingdoms, one to the north and one to the south. This was the beginning of the divided kingdom period.
It was during this time that Rehoboam inherited the kingdom and was relentless about enforcing high taxes, which caused the Northern tribes to begin a revolt, and Jeroboam was crowned king of Israel.
Ten tribes became the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin became the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Near the end, we read about how God raises up a prophet named Elijah to warn the evil king Ahab to turn from idol worship and to return to the Lord.
No one knows with any certainty who wrote the Book of 1 Kings, although there are some portions of it and of Jeremiah that are almost identical, 2 Kings 24:18-25:30 / Jeremiah 52:1-34 / Jeremiah 39:1-10 / Jeremiah 40:7-16 / Jeremiah 41:1-10.
There are also many undersigned coincidences between Jeremiah and Kings, 2 Kings 21:1-26 / Jeremiah 7:15 / Jeremiah 15:4 / Jeremiah 19:3, and events recorded in Kings of which Jeremiah had personal knowledge.
These facts support to some degree the tradition that Jeremiah was the author of the books of Kings. But the more probable theory is that Ezra, after the captivity, compiled them from documents written perhaps by David, Solomon, Nathan, Gad, and Iddo and that he arranged them in the order in which they now exist.
It’s not possible to accurately date the book, but some suggest it was written sometime between 561 B.C., when Jehoiachin was released from captivity by Awel-Marduk, and 538 B.C., the date of the decree of deliverance by Cyrus, 2 Kings 25:1-30.
The two books of Kings were formed originally from one book in the Hebrew Scriptures. The present division into two books was first made by the LXX, which now, with the Vulgate, numbers them as the third and fourth books of Kings, the two books of Samuel being the first and second books of Kings.
In the threefold division of the Scriptures by the Jews, these books are ranked among the ‘prophets’. They are frequently quoted or alluded to by our Lord and His apostles, Matthew 6:29 / Matthew 12:42 / Luke 4:25-26 / Luke 10:4 / 2 Kings 4:29 / Mark 1:6 / 2 Kings 1:8 / Matthew 3:4.
Within 1 Kings, we find references to other books, such as ‘the book of the acts of Solomon’, 1 Kings 11:41, the ‘book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah’, 1 Kings 14:29 / 1 Kings 15:7 / 1 Kings 15:23. And finally the ‘book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel’, 1 Kings 14:19 / 1 Kings 15:31 / 1 Kings 16:14 / 1 Kings 16:20 / 1 Kings 16:27.
The most glorious part of the history of Israel was the United Kingdom, so-called to distinguish it from the Divided Kingdom which followed, it lasted from about 1095 to 975 B. C. and included the reigns of three great kings, Saul, David, and Solomon. The story of this period is related in the two books of Samuel, 1 Kings 1-11 / 1 Chronicles 1-2 / 1 Chronicles 9.
You will remember that for about three hundred years, the twelve tribes of Israel had been loosely governed by judges. The last and greatest of these was the prophet, Samuel. But the children of Israel wanted to be like their neighbours; they came to Samuel and asked for a king.
Although God was much displeased with their request, He instructed Samuel to anoint as their king a young man named Saul who stood head and shoulders above the people. The people gathered at Mizpeh and were presented with their new ruler, who was so timid that he hid among the baggage.
Saul began his forty-year reign well. Israel was beset by enemies, and he undertook the task of driving them back. His army defeated the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Moabites, the Edomites and others. Soon, Saul was a popular figure among the people.
But his popularity went to his head, and he ceased to be a humble servant of God. Instead, he became self-willed, bent on doing things the way he wanted them done, regardless of the will of God.
On one occasion, he was commissioned to ‘utterly destroy the Amalekites.’ Instead, he spared the king and saved some sheep and cattle to sacrifice. Because he had thus disobeyed the Lord, Samuel rebuked him with the words, ‘Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams,’ 1 Samuel 15:22.
From that time on, God rejected Saul as king. Saul deeply loved him and selected him as his armour bearer. David quickly rose to prominence by slaying with a sling the champion of the Philistines, the giant Goliath.
The ensuing glory given to David provoked the jealousy of Saul, who began to suspect that David was trying to supplant him as king. From that time on, Saul sought to kill David and for years hunted him as an outlaw over the hills of Israel.
Perhaps the most beautiful friendship in the Bible is that of David and Jonathan, the son of Saul, who, although he realised that David would become king instead of himself, constantly sought to save David from his father’s anger. Saul and Jonathan both fell in battle with the Philistines to prepare the way for David as king.
After Saul’s death, David was crowned king of the tribe of Judah while Saul’s son, Ishbosheth, reigned over the rest of Israel. When his kingdom collapsed after seven years, David’s authority was extended over all of Israel.
David selected Jerusalem as his capital and set about the task of making Israel a great nation. In successive wars, he expanded the kingdom from the Nile to the Euphrates River.
David was truly a man after God’s own heart. The Lord declared of him, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, who shall fulfil all my will,’ Acts 13:22.
The psalms written by David are an expression of his complete devotion to God. This consecration was especially evident in his constant willingness to obey all the Lord’s commands.
We may learn from him that we cannot expect the approval of God unless we are always willing to do what He asks of us without question. Despite David’s success and his faithfulness to God, he made one grave mistake that followed him to his death. He committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, the Hittite.
Some stories have portrayed Bathsheba as a siren who intentionally seduced David. Nothing in the Bible bears out this idea. To cover up his sin, David had Uriah placed in the thick of battle so that he might be slain, and then, when he was dead, took Bathsheba as his wife.
All of this greatly displeased God, and Nathan the prophet was sent to rebuke David by telling him the parable of the ewe lamb, 2 Samuel 12. David repented, but his troubles now began. His son Absalom murdered his brother. Later, Absalom led a revolt against David and died in the attempt. For a time, David was forced to flee.
Adding to his grief, another son, Adonijah, attempted to usurp the kingdom with the help of David’s trusted general, Joab. To forestall the kingdom from falling into the wrong hands, David had his son, Solomon, crowned king while he yet lived. Shortly thereafter, David died, bringing to an end the forty-year reign of a great man of God.
Solomon’s rule was in sharp contrast with his father’s. While David had faced turmoil for almost his entire reign, Solomon’s was one of unbroken peace. He began auspiciously.
In a dream, he asked for God’s wisdom rather than riches and honour, and because of his thoughtful request, he was rewarded with all three. Solomon’s wisdom is known to all. Three thousand proverbs and one thousand and five songs came forth from this sage!
Much of his wisdom is recorded for us in the three books which he wrote and which we will study in another lesson. Politically, he extended the influence of Israel to its greatest height, making it a world power.
The fabulous wealth of Solomon astounds us, even to this day. He had fourteen hundred chariots, twelve thousand horsemen and an annual income of six hundred threescores and six talents of gold. And he didn’t have to pay income tax!
On one occasion, he was given an outright gift of one hundred and twenty talents of gold by the queen of Sheba. When she visited Solomon to see if all the reports of his fame were true, she was so amazed that she exclaimed, ‘Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard,’ 1 Kings 10:7.
The greatest of all Solomon’s accomplishments was his building of the temple of God to replace the tabernacle in which Israel had worshipped since the wilderness wanderings.
Probably no structure in the world’s history has equalled it in cost. Built by one-hundred and eighty-three thousand men in seven and a half years, it cost an immense sum of money to erect.
The great wealth of Solomon eventually led to his undoing. He sought every kind of pleasure and married seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. Most of these were idolaters, and what a time he must have had in trying to please them all. His high cost of living led him to tax the people heavily, much to their dissatisfaction.
His reign had started with wisdom and wealth; it ended with women and idolatry. When his forty-year rule ended, he was a thoroughly disillusioned and unhappy man. In his revelry, he had laid the groundwork for the division of his great kingdom after his death.
The first thing the writer tells us is that David is now very old, 1 Kings 1:1. Some commentators suggest David was in his late sixties or early seventies.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘He was probably now about sixty-nine years of age. He was thirty years old when he began to reign, reigned forty, and died in the seventieth year of his age, 2 Samuel 5:4 / 1 Kings 2:11, and the transactions mentioned here are supposed to have taken place about a year before his death.’
Because of his age and he’s near death his body temperature couldn’t be kept stable, even with covers being placed over him, 1 Kings 1:1. His attendants decide they need a young virgin to serve him and care for him, 1 Kings 1:2. As was the custom of the day a young woman would be brought to lie next to David to give him extra body heat, 1 Kings 1:2.
After an intensive search through Israel, they found a beautiful young woman named Abishag who was from a place called Shunem, 1 Kings 1:2-3. which is located on the western slope of the hill of Moreh, northwest of Jezreel, in the territory of Issachar, Joshua 19:18.
Although Abishag lay next to David to keep him warm, they had no sexual relations together, 1 Kings 1:4. She was there simply to keep David warm in his last days.
While David was being kept warm on his deathbed, Adonijah, whose name means ‘Yahweh is lord’, selfishly decides to go against the will of God by making himself king, 1 Kings 1:5.
Because his mother was Haggith, 2 Samuel 2:4, he may have honestly thought that it was his right to become king. He gets chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him, 1 Kings 1:5 / 2 Samuel 15:1.
It’s clear because his father never rebuked him, 1 Kings 1:6, Adonijah had no respect for any kind of authority when he was younger, and this continued into adulthood, Proverbs 19:18 / Proverbs 29:17.
Joab, David’s nephew, at this time captain of the army, 2 Samuel 8:16, and Abiathar were also old and were in the past loyal to David, but here, they appear to side with Adonijah, 1 Kings 1:7, but the text doesn’t tell us why.
It’s possible, just like Adonijah, they thought that Adonijah was the rightful heir of David. It’s also possible that Joab remembered that David had pronounced a curse upon him, 2 Samuel 3:29, and so if he joins forces with Adonijah, he may well escape the curse.
It’s also possible that Abiathar joined forces with Adonijah because he was jealous of the preference David seemed to have conferred upon Zadok, a rival High Priest.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Joab’s defection on this occasion, after his faithful adherence to David during the troubles caused by Absalom, 2 Samuel 18:2-17, may be accounted for by his fear that Solomon would be a ‘man of rest,’ 1 Chronicles 22:9, and by his preference for the character of Adonijah. He may also have thought that Adonijah, as the eldest son, 1 Kings 1:5, had almost a right to succeed.’
One thing is clear, though, and that is Zadok, Benaiah, Nathan, Shimei and Rei appear to know the will of both God and David, 1 Kings 1:8. As a result, they weren’t invited to Adonijah’s celebration of his supposed rise to the throne, 1 Kings 1:9-10.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Making a royal feast, in reference to his inauguration. As he had Abiathar the priest with him, no doubt these animals were offered sacrificially, and then the guests fed on the flesh of the victims. He had not only a splendid feast, but a great sacrifice, and he gave by this a popular colour to his pretensions, by affecting to receive his authority from God.’
God’s prophet, Nathan, appears to know that God’s choice of who would be king was more important than the firstborn becoming the heir to the throne, Deuteronomy 17:15.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Adonijah was David’s fourth son, 2 Samuel 3:4, and the eldest one living at this time. Evidently, he believed it was more important that the eldest son succeed David, as was customary in the Near East, than that the king of Yahweh’s anointing occupy that position. God had identified Solomon as David’s successor even before Solomon was born, 1 Chronicles 22:9-10. Adonijah’s revolt was primarily against the revealed will of God, secondarily against David, and finally against Solomon.’
He knows if Adonijah becomes king, then the very lives of Bathsheba, who was Solomon’s mother, 2 Samuel 12:24-25, and Solomon himself would be at risk. Because Nathan mentions ‘Haggith’, 1 Kings 1:11, the mother of Adonijah, he knew that this would cause jealousy in Bathsheba, which would motivate her to save not only her own life but also the life of Solomon, 1 Kings 1:12.
Nathan advises Bathsheba to go and speak to David and remind him that he swore that Solomon would be the next king, 1 Kings 1:13.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘It is very likely that David made such an oath, and that was known only to Bathsheba and Nathan. It is nowhere else mentioned.’
Nathan will come into the room when Bathsheba is speaking to David and support her, 1 Kings 1:14. Make no mistake about it, if Adonijah becomes king, then both Bathsheba and Solomon would not have lived. Adonijah’s failure to invite Solomon and his followers to his feast implies that Adonijah knew that David wanted Solomon to become king.
Although David was very old and physically struggling, 1 Kings 1:15, his mental health was still in good order. Notice that Bathsheba bowed down, prostrating herself before David, 1 Kings 1:16.
She reminds David that he swore Solomon would be the next king, 1 Kings 1:17, and David knows exactly what he said concerning Solomon becoming king after David dies. Solomon will become king, and there should be no doubt in the minds of those present what David’s will is, 2 Samuel 7:1-29.
After she tells David everything which has happened and is going on behind his back, 1 Kings 1:18-19. She tells David the eyes of all Israel are on him, to learn from him who will sit on the throne next after him, 1 Kings 1:20.
Bathsheba is concerned about her life and the life of Solomon. She knows that Adonijah would treat her and Solomon like mere criminals, 1 Kings 1:21 / 2 Kings 18:14. In other words, they would be condemned for treason against the throne.
Nathan arrived and went to David, 1 Kings 1:22, and he, too, went before David and bowed with his face to the ground, 1 Kings 1:23. He asks David if he declared Adonijah to be king without telling those close to him, 1 Kings 1:24.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Evidently, God moved Nathan to do what he did here. It was certainly in harmony with God’s will, 2 Samuel 12:1. Adonijah had become king, 1 Kings 1:11, only in the sense that he was the people’s choice at that moment. Perhaps Nathan was trying to shock Bathsheba and David by referring to Adonijah as the king.’
He tells David everything that has been happening, 1 Kings 1:25, and he tells him that those closest to David haven’t even been invited to the feast, 1 Kings 1:26. Not long from now, Solomon will make Zadok High Priest, 1 Kings 1:32-40, and the support which Abiathar gave Adonijah, will result in his removal from the priesthood, 1 Kings 2:27, just as God had prophesied regarding the descendants of Eli, 1 Samuel 2:13-35.
Again, he asks David if he made Adonijah king without telling the people, 1 Kings 1:27.
After hearing what Nathan had to say, David sends for Bathsheba, which implies she wasn’t present when Nathan spoke to David, 1 Kings 1:28. Despite being physically weak, David wastes no time taking action in declaring an oath in which he declared once again, 1 Kings 1:29 / 1 Kings 1:17, that Solomon would become the next king of Israel, 1 Kings 1:30 / 1 Chronicles 29:21-25.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following concerning the words ‘as surely as the LORD lives’.
‘These words were the most common form of oath among the Israelites, Judges 8:19 / 1 Samuel 14:39 / 1 Samuel 19:6. It was unique to David to attach a further clause to this oath, a clause of thankfulness for some special mercy, 1 Samuel 25:34, or for God’s constant protection of him, here and in 2 Samuel 4:9.’
Bathsheba once again bows down with her face to the ground, prostrating herself before David and declares, May my lord King David live forever, 1 Kings 1:31 / 1 Kings 1:16.
After all the talks with Bathsheba and Nathan, David wastes no time and orders Zadok, Nathan and Benaiah to make Solomon king as quickly as possible, 1 Kings 1:32-34.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The combination of the high priest, the prophet, and the captain of the bodyguard, the Cherethites and Pelethites, 1 Kings 1:38, would show the people that the proceedings had the king’s sanction. The order of the names marks the position of the persons with respect to the matter in hand.’
After blowing the trumpet and shouting ‘long live the king, they are to go up with Solomon, and he is to come and sit on David’s throne and reign in his place because David has appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah, 1 Kings 1:34-35 / 2 Samuel 2:9 / 2 Samuel 19:11.
Notice that Benaiah said, ‘Amen, 1 Kings 1:36. This was a legal and hearty response indicating complete approval of David’s action by this great soldier. He has no doubts that God wanted Solomon to be king, and so he prays that Solomon’s rule as king would be even greater than David’s rule, 1 Kings 1:37.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The matter of conducting a business of this kind seems to have been as follows.
1. The king elect was placed on the mule of his predecessor, and caused to ride abroad to one of the public wells, or to a river where there was the greatest concourse of people, that they might see who he was that was appointed.
Solomon was here taken to the river Gihon in order to be anointed; the continual stream or constantly running fountain, denoting the perpetuity of the kingdom.
2. The priest and the prophet anointed him in the name of the Lord; and thereby signified that he should be endued with all the kingly virtues; that he should reign by, under, and for the Lord.
3. The trumpet was then to be blown, and solemn proclamation made that he was anointed king.
4. He was then brought and solemnly placed on the throne, to signify that he had now assumed the reins of government, and was about to administer justice and judgement to the people.
David obviously takes Adonijah’s presumption to be king very seriously, hence why he makes publicly wants Solomon to be anointed quickly, 1 Samuel 16:11-13 / 2 Samuel 5:3.
Zadok, Nathan and Benaiah went down together with the men called Kerethites and Pelethites to Gihon, 1 Kings 1:38. The Kerethites and Pelethites were special guards who came from Crete and Philistia, they were basically soldiers whom people paid to protect the king.
They had Solomon sit on King David’s mule, 1 Kings 1:38. This was significant because only the rightful king could ride on the king’s mule. Zadok took the horn of oil from the tent that David had erected in Jerusalem, 2 Samuel 6:17, and then he poured this oil on Solomon’s head, 1 Kings 1:39. This special ceremony with the oil is called an ‘anointing’, Exodus 31:11 / Exodus 39:38.
It showed how God was acting to appoint Solomon as the king, 1 Samuel 10:1 / 1 Samuel 16:12-13. Adonijah was trying to appoint himself as the king, but God appointed Solomon. And so, as Adonijah’s guests were finishing their party, Solomon received this anointing to publicly become king of Israel.
After the sounding of the trumpet, all the people shouted, ‘long live the king’1 Kings 1:39. This was a time of real celebration as the pipes played and the people rejoiced, 1 Kings 1:40. Notice that ‘the ground shook’, 1 Kings 1:40. This tells us that the response of the people was so great, that they had eagerly accepted Solomon as their new king.
It appears that all those who attended Adonijah’s feast were close enough to Gihon to hear the great rejoicing of the people when Solomon was anointed king, 1 Kings 1:41.
After inquiring what the noise was all about, 1 Kings 1:41, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar, 2 Samuel 15:36, came to Adonijah and Adonijah said, says, come in, a worthy man like you must be bringing good news, 1 Kings 1:42.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Jonathan had acted in a similar capacity, as a carrier of intelligence, in the time of Absalom’s attempt, 2 Samuel 15:36 / 2 Samuel 17:17, but at that time, like his father, he was faithful to David, and ‘a valiant man,’ ‘a virtuous man,’ or ‘a man of worth, 1 Kings 1:52 / Proverbs 12:4.’
Jonathan tells him that Solomon was the newly crowned king of Israel, 1 Kings 1:43. Jonathan explains everything which has happened and explains that’s the reason for the noise that he heard, 1 Kings 1:43-44.
He tells Adonijah that Solomon has taken his seat on the royal throne, and the royal officials have come to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make Solomon’s name more famous than yours and his throne greater than yours!’, 1 Kings 1:46-47. David bowed in worship on his bed, Genesis 47:31 / Hebrews 11:21, and praises God for allowing him to see a successor on His throne, 1 Kings 1:48.
After hearing the news about Solomon becoming king, Adonijah and all his guests became afraid because they realised that the anointing of Solomon as king meant that those who sided with Adonijah were now considered rebels. Their fear led them to flee for their lives, 1 Kings 1:49.
Notice that ‘Adonijah took hold of the horns of the altar’, 1 Kings 1:50 / 1 Kings 2:28. He obviously feels that if he takes hold of the horns, this will somehow protect him from being put to death, because he assumed the role of king.
He pleads for mercy from Solomon, 1 Kings 1:51, and Solomon is happy to show Adonijah mercy, but that mercy would depend upon his future behaviour, 1 Kings 1:52. Solomon would show him mercy if he submitted to Solomon as king; if not, he will die, 1 Kings 1:52.
Solomon sent men, and they brought him down from the altar, and Adonijah came and bowed down to Solomon, and Solomon told him to go home, 1 Kings 1:53. Sadly, for Adonijah, he would soon forget the commitment he made to Solomon at this time, and because of this, it would cost him his life, 1 Kings 2:13-25.