Introduction: 1 Kings is written about events that happened about 1000 BC. Life was very different
then which makes some of what we read in 1 Kings hard to understand and relate to. Even so, there is much that we can learn from this historical book of the Bible. In it we see the story of decline of a nation. They go from a being a wealthy favored nation to losing it all and becoming slaves.
Vs. 1-4 The Bible does not make an attempt to explain away people’s sin. It just lays it out there and says this is the way it was. What happened may not have always been right and approved by God, but the Bible tells like it was. Here we see them following what was the cultural practice of the day, to bring a young warm body virgin to lie with an old man. But David did not have relations with her. This was probably only because he could not because of the age of his body.
The Bible records some great things that David did but also stories of his sins and failures. We will see there are some things that David did not honor God with and those things come back to bite him.
Vs. 5 Adonijah is proud and arrogant and sets himself up as king.
Vs. 6-14 David had never really corrected Adonijah’s pride and arrogance when he was growing up. He did not discipline him. He should have been exposing his son’s heart. Our culture is struggling with this as well. We try to be friends with our children instead of establishing authority and proper respect for authority. Friendship should be our future goal for when they are grown. We have to establish authority over them early instead of making our children our little idols and letting them rule us.
Vs. 15-18 Bathsheba goes to David and tells him what Adonijah is doing and reminds him of the promise of Solomon as king.
Vs. 20-21 All of Israel was waiting for David to move and make a decision. They wanted him to act. David was not leading and he needed to move forward. Bathsheba steps forward to confront his lack of action.
Men need women to partner with them to confront their passivity. Bathsheba confronted David. She does so by being kind and respectful in the process. She confronts him in private instead of talking with others. She is not just nagging but is helping him move. There are certain things that men can do and sometimes a woman needs to move him to do that thing.
Men –Passivity is not about personality. Man’s core sin of passivity is manifest differently in different personalities but it still is there in all men. David was a great military leader but passive in his family.
Personality drives how we deal with passivity.
Single Guys – It has become a trend to be good at nothing and not accomplish much, but this is just passivity and self-indulgence. We are to be moving and even if you don’t know what you want to do you have to be moving. You have to put yourself out there and take risks.
Sitting –brings pain but little blessing Moving-sometimes brings pain but also blessing
Single Girls - You don’t want a guy who is not moving. You want a guy who is going somewhere. Don’t think he will change after you marry him. He is portraying his best when he is in pursuit of you.
Vs. 22-26 Nathan is bold and confronts the king for clarity sake. (He had done this before when David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband killed) Nathan is a true man. He is on mission and not being passive. We all have something to say to others and must say it to confront their sin. We are lying to them if we let them be deceived.
Ch. 2: 1-4 David is dying and he reminds Solomon of God’s promise to him. He is giving him the charge to lead the people in God’s ways. He tells Solomon that he must kill off some people that were opposed to God and the kingdom. There is a tension for us here in understanding this. We must realize that this is a physical kingdom of God and this is the expression of God establishing his kingdom. God is establishing his kingdom by the death of the enemy. Our kingdom is a spiritual kingdom and it has been established through the death of our king (Jesus). In the end the two will be merged and Jesus will rule both and there will be a judgment.
Adonijah makes a terrible mistake. He plots to make a claim to the throne by trying to get Solomon to let him marry one of Solomon’s wives that would give him a claim to the throne. Solomon recognizes his plan and becomes angry with him.
Phillip Ryken quote “We all have a little Adonijah in us. We don’t want God to rule over us. We want to put ourselves on the throne.” When our expectations are not met we get angry and try to take matters into our own hands.
Thoughts to consider:
For the non-Christian: We are faced with the decision of who is going to rule our lives. Jesus died for you but he is still king. Will you submit to his rule?
For the Christian: We are constantly fighting to remain on the throne of our lives. In the moment of Israel’s greatest success the foundation is a shaky and will eventually come apart.
Gal 6: You will always harvest what you plant. The brokenness and sin in my life will always come forth at some time.
Questions for Discussion:
1) How can we make applications from a book like 1 Kings that shows a culture that is from such a different cultural context than our own?
2) In what ways do you see people in our culture living like David and not disciplining children?
3) In what do we see our men struggle to own responsibility and move?
4) How do each of us try to ascend the throne and unseat the rightful ruler of our lives?
5) How have you seen small issues/sins turn into huge issues over time in peoples lives? How have you seen this in your life?
