Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Kings 1.

So, I started this daily devotional ten years ago today.  It has accomplished the purpose which inspired me to start writing: it motivates me to read some of the Bible each day (well, most days).  Sometimes I do entries for more than one day at a time, particularly when I know I have something coming up which will prevent me from writing a devotional for a day or more.  I was hoping that I might develop a following, but that does not appear to have been God’s plan.

The first thought which crosses my mind when I read this passage is about what caused the divide among King David’s most loyal retainers over the succession.  On the one hand, why did Joab and Abiathar the priest support Adonijah’s claim to the throne, while Zadok the priest, Nathan, Benaiah, and Shimei did not?  We can make some guesses, but the passage does not really tell us the answer.    The most likely reason that Joab and Abiathar supported Adonijah’s claim to the throne is that Adonijah was apparently the eldest of David’s surviving sons at this point.  We might believe that the others did not support Adonijah because they were aware of David’s promise to Bathsheba that Solomon would sit on his throne after him.  Except that this passage is the first time the Bible mentions that promise, and only by telling us that Nathan told Bathsheba to tell David that he had done so and then that Bathsheba told David that he had done so.  Nowhere does the passage, or any other that I am aware of, tell us that David had made such a promise.  We also know that Adonijah clearly considered Solomon his rival for the throne, since Adonijah had invited all of his other brothers to his coronation, but not Solomon.

I find it interesting that Adonijah did not intend this as a coup, since it becomes obvious he did not have any military force with him at his attempted coronation.  We know this to be the case because everyone with him scattered as soon as they heard that David had had Solomon crowned king.  All of this leads me to suspect I know the answer to why those who did not support Adonijah’s claim to the throne did not…those involved with running the government knew that Solomon was David’s chosen successor, and quite possibly Solomon was already acting as regent for King David.  Even if Solomon was not acting as regent, he was likely already making many of the decisions normally reserved for the king to make.  Which would also explain why Adonijah acted when he did.  Adonijah was hoping that by declaring himself king while David yet lived he could make it a fait accompli which no one would be able to reverse.  As I read this, if Adonijah had not acted at this point, upon David’s death Solomon would have just stepped into the role of king.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.