January 11 Daily Discovery
January 11 Daily Discovery
Read I Kings Chapter 1
Don't Exalt Yourself
5 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
6 And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom.
7 And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him.
8 But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.
1 Kings 1:5-8
Adonijah was ambitious. He was one of David's sons, so he was in the kingly line to potentially become King. However, he took a foolish risk to succeed David as king that eventually resulted in his death.
10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
~ Matt. 23:10-12
When God chose Saul, he was "little in his own sight." (1 Sam. 15:17) When God called David, he was humble. After he was anointed by the prophet Samuel, he returned to taking care of the sheep that his father had entrusted to his care. (1 Sam. 16)
Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
~ 1 Pet. 5:5
We should HUMBLE ourselves!
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
~ James 4:10
Adonija's Presumption
Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
~ Psa. 19:13
The decision of who would become the next king would have been made by the present king and ultimately, God.
Since David was old and drifting towards death, and had not yet made a public declaration of his choice for the throne, Adonijah saw this as his opportunity to seize the throne. He knew what he was doing was underhanded, which is why he left out David's closest and loyal advisors from his public announcement.
He arranged to have some of his political followers proclaim him as king and have him seated upon the throne.
Adonija's Mercy
Initially, Adonija received mercy from Solomon after he was anointed king by Nathan the prophet and Zadok the high priest.
Of course, Adonija feared for his life and fled to the tabernacle and held onto the horns of the altar, hoping to achieve mercy.
The word got back to Solomon, and he sent messengers back to Adonija that if he proved himself worthy he was safe, but if wickedness was found in him, he would die.
Adonija's Judgment
Read 1 Kings 2
Adonija was executed after he had asked to have Abishag the Shunammite, a young virgin that attended King David in his final days.
Solomon saw this as an attempt by his disloyal elder brother to usurp his throne after David's death and so, he had him executed.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
~ 1 Pet. 5:6
Do not be presumptuous. Don't try to maneuver things to your advantage. Be faithful and trust God. Let him promote you when it is time.
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Continue Your Search
In this chapter, do you see any: Commands to Obey, Warnings to Heed, Promises to Claim, Examples to Follow, Vices to Avoid, Praises to Emulate, Prayers to Use, Principles by which to Live, Questions to Ask or Actions to Take?
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