David's Charge to Solomon — Chuck Smith

Welcome to the Word for Today, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California. Pastor Chuck is currently leading us on a verse-by-verse venture through the entire Bible.

And on today's edition of the Word for Today, we'll be continuing with David's charge to Solomon, as we pick up in 1 Kings 2, verse 5. And now, with today's message,.

David’s Final Charge Concerning Joab, Shimei, and Barzillai

Here's Pastor Chuck Smith. And so we find David saying, You know what Joab the son of Zariah did to me, what he did to the two captains of the host of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amas of the son of Jether, whom he slew and shed the blood of war in peace.

There wasn't any war, these guys had come peaceably. And he put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and on his shoes that were in his feet. When he stuck them with the spear, the blood came out and covered Joab, his girdle, and on down to his shoes.

Do therefore according to thy wisdom, but don't let his gray head go down to the grave in peace. But show kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite. Let them be of those that eat at your table, because they came to my aid when I was fleeing from Absalom your brother.

And now there's this other guy Shimei, the son of Gerah, a Benjamai de Barhurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I swear to him by the Lord, saying, I'll not put you to death with the sword.

When David was fleeing from Absalom, this is the guy you remember that came out and cursed David, threw dirt in the air, threw rocks at David, and David's general wanted to go up and take his head off.

He said, let me go up, David, I'll take that guy's head off for cursing you like that. And David said, no, let him curse. Maybe God said go out and curse David. And so David let him go. Now when David was coming back, people were coming down to bring David back, Absalom was put to death.

And so Shimei was down there, he said, oh David, you know, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, you know. David said, that's okay, you know, it's all right, forget it. But in reality, this man had cursed the anointing of God, and thus there was that penalty of the law, which David had not meted out.

And so he is telling Solomon to take care of him. Now therefore hold him not guiltless, for you're a wise man, you know what you ought to do unto him. But his gray head, bring it down to the grave with blood.

David’s Heart After God

So, last words, David slept then with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. The end of the illustrious career of this man David, the psalmist of Israel, a man after God's own heart. An interesting testimony of God concerning David, it gives us an interesting insight into the heart of God and the kind of men that God is seeking.

David was not a perfect man, far from perfect. God doesn't use just perfect men, because perfect men do not exist. And if God only used perfect men, he couldn't use anybody. God uses imperfect men, but men whose hearts are towards the Lord.

The real thrust of my life is to please God, to do His will. I may fail, I do fail, but the main thrust of my heart is towards the Lord, deep love, respect that I have for God. A man after God's own heart, because when he did wrong, he was willing to confess it and to seek the pardon, the mercy of God.

He said, I have sinned. The prophet said, God has forgiven your sin. A man who praised the Lord, as he said, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. A man who sought the Lord, a man whose heart was after God.

Not perfect, no, not by a long shot. But these other characteristics in David's life are things that God saw. And God said, that's the kind of man I like. I've often said the man after God's own heart is a man who is after the heart of God, seeking after the heart, the will of God.

Solomon’s Kingdom Is Established

So David slept with his fathers, buried in the city of David. And the days that David reigned over Israel were 40 years. He was seven years in Hebron and 33 years in Jerusalem. Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David, his father, and his kingdom was established greatly.

He became firmly established in the kingdom. Now, Adonijah, his brother, who when David was dying, tried to, with a conspiracy, establish himself on the throne. Joab and the others, he gathered together, Abiathar the priest, and they sought to set up Adonijah upon the throne.

But when Nathan the prophet heard of it, he came to David, you remember last week, and told David, hey, I didn't know that Adonijah was supposed to take over the throne. I thought that Solomon was. And did you know that Adonijah established himself as the king?

And David then said, take Solomon down, anoint him with oil down there at the spring of Gehon, and then let him ride on my mule and let them proclaim Solomon is king. King. Adonijah then, when Solomon was established, and people all began to rejoice and everything else, and those that had conspired with him sort of faded into the woodwork, Adonijah ran to the altar of God, grabbed hold of the horns of the altar of God, and Solomon said, hey, just tell him that go home and if he'll behave himself, there'll be no problems.

Adonijah evidently did not behave himself. And we get the story now of a continued conspiracy. Joab and Abiathar probably still joining with him in the conspiracy. The idea now is that he should take the latest entry into David's harem, this Abishag who was brought into David's harem at the end of David's years.

David had not known her in a physical way. Adonijah, it says, was a very handsome man, and she was a very beautiful woman, probably the most beautiful in the kingdom. Now, according to the oriental customs, and really the customs of that day, when a king succeeded to the throne, he usually took the harem of the previous king.

And so, in the asking that Abishag be given to him as a wife, it's probably an endeavor to bring a division among Israel and saying, hey, wait a minute, Adonijah is the oldest son, and now look, he has a part of David's harem and was perhaps a thrust on the part of Adonijah to get into the throne.

Adonijah’s Request for Abishag

Bathsheba didn't see it. She was innocent. But in verse 13, Adonijah came to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, and she said to him, are you coming in peace? And he said, in peace. And he said, I have somewhat to say unto you.

And she said, speak up. And he said, you know that the kingdom was mine, and that all of Israel had set their faces on me that I should reign. How be it? The kingdom is turned about. Now, Bathsheba had a very important part in the kingdom being turned about.

It was Bathsheba that came to David and said, David, I thought that you promised that Solomon, my son, was going to be able to reign. So Bathsheba had a very important part in turning the kingdom from Adonijah unto her own son, Solomon.

Now, you remember that Adonijah was planning to put Solomon and Bathsheba to death once he was established on the throne. Now that Solomon's on the throne, he's coming through the back door to Bathsheba, and he's saying, you know how the kingdom was really mine, and it's turned about, it's become my brother's, for it was his from the Lord.

Now, whether or not he really felt that is not known. That may be just a part of his ploy, or it may be that he really recognized, but it would seem like he just is expressing that as a part of his whole ploy.

Now I ask one petition of you. Don't deny me, she said. Say on. And so he said, speak, I pray, thee unto Solomon the king, for he wouldn't say no to you, that he would give me Abishag, the Shunammite, as my wife.

And Bathsheba said, well, all right, I will speak for thee unto the king. So Bathsheba therefore went unto King Solomon to speak unto him for Adonijah. And as she came in, the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother, and she sat at his right hand.

So Bathsheba came to Solomon, he was there in his throne, all of his glory. He rose up to greet her, had them bring a chair next to him on his right side, and she sat down. She said, I desire a small petition of you, and I pray that you would not say no.

And so he said unto her, ask on my mother, for I would not say no to you. And she said, let Abishag, the Shunammite, be given unto Adonijah, your brother, as his wife. King Solomon saw through it immediately.

And King Solomon answered and said unto his mother, and why do you ask Abishag, the Shunammite, for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also. In other words, that's just like turning the kingdom over to him, mom.

For he is my older brother, even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of. So he saw that Abiathar and Joab were probably behind this kind of a conspiracy still to overthrow Solomon from being king.

Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, God do so to me and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life. I mean, he's written his own death sentence. Now therefore, as the Lord lives, which has established me and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day.

And King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah, who was his head over his army, chief bodyguard, the son of Jehoiada, and he fell upon him that he died. And unto Abiathar he called him in, realized that Abiathar was a part of this conspiracy with Adonijah.

Abiathar’s Removal from the Priesthood

But because he was a priest, he respected him, did not put him to death. But he said, get to Anathoth and back to your farm, man. You know, you're not going to be serving as the priest anymore. You're worthy of death, but I'll not at this time put you to death, because at one time you carried the ark of the Lord before David my father, and because you have been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.

Abiathar was faithful to David when Absalom rebelled against him, and in respect to the fact that he had been a priest of God, had carried the ark of God, he said, though you're deserving to die, I won't put you to death, but you go back home to Anathoth, and man, you're going to work on your farm.

But you know, he took him out of the priesthood from the place of of influence and authority. So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord, that he might fulfill the word of the Lord which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

Now Eli's sons were wicked, and Eli did not correct them. So there was a prophecy that was given to Eli that his house would cease from the priesthood, and this is actually the fulfillment of it, as Abiathar was a descendant of Eli, and he is the last priest from the house of Eli, and Zadok now becomes the king, and he comes from a different line other than Eli.

Joab’s Judgment for Innocent Blood

Then tidings came to Joab concerning Adonijah being put to death and Abiathar being thrown out, for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom, and Joab fled to the tabernacle of the Lord, and he caught hold on the horns of the altar.

And it was told King Solomon that Joab was fled into the tabernacle of the Lord, and behold he is by the altar. So Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada saying, go and fall on him. And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the Lord and said unto him, thus saith the king, come forth.

And he said, no, I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again and saying, thus said Joab, and thus he answered me. And the king said unto him, do as he hath said, fall upon him and bury him, that you may take away the innocent blood which Joab shed from me and from the house of my father.

And the Lord shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men who were more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, and my father David not knowing of it, and to wit the men Abner the son of Ner, the captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, the captain of the host of Judah.

And their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab and on the head of his seed forever, but upon David and upon his seed, upon his house, upon his throne, shall there be peace forever from the Lord.

So he's the guilty one. Put him to death. If he wants to be put to death there at the altar, slay him at the altar. For the crime of first degree murder, there was no protection. God had provided cities of refuge.

If a person killed someone by accident, they could flee to a city of refuge where they could be protected from the avengers of blood until their case could be heard in court. If they were a guilty of first degree murder, as was Amner, there was no place of protection, not even the altar of God.

And so Solomon ordered him slain there, that his guilt, the blood that he had shed, come upon his own house, and that there might be peace upon the house of David. So Ben-Ananiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell on him and slew him, and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

Actually, he had come from the area of Tekoa, which is still a very much of a wilderness area east of Bethlehem. And the king put Ben-Ananiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the host, and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.

So he replaced these two men who were conspirators with Adonijah. Now the king sent and called for this other fellow, Shimei, and he said unto him, build a house in Jerusalem and dwell there and don't go forth anywhere.

For it shall be that on the day that you go out and pass over the brook Kidron, you shall know for certain that you will surely die. Your blood shall be upon your own head. So he sort of put him under house arrest.

He brought him to Jerusalem, said build your house here in Jerusalem, live here in Jerusalem. The day you leave across the brook Kidron, you're signing your own death warrant. So Shimei said unto the king, your saying is good.

As my Lord the king has said, so will your servant do. And Shimei built in Jerusalem and he dwelt there in Jerusalem for many days. Actually came to pass after three years that two of his servants ran away to Achish, the king of Gath.

And it was told Shimei saying, behold, your servants are in Gath. So Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, went to Gath, to Achish to seek his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath.

And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back again. And the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, did I not make thee to swear by the Lord and protested unto you saying no for certain that on the day that you go out and walk abroad anywhere that you shall surely die.

And you said unto me, the word that I have heard is good. Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord and the commandment that I have charged thee with? And the king said, moreover to Shimei, you know, all of the wickedness, which your heart is privy to that you did to my David, my father, therefore the Lord shall return your wickedness upon your own head.

King Solomon shall be blessed. The throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever. So the king commanded Benaniah, the son of Jehoiada, which went out and fell upon.

Him that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon. We'll return with more of our verse by verse study through the book of first Kings in our next lesson, as we follow the unwise marriage of Solomon.

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That's right here on the next edition of The Word for Today. Now, once again, here's Pastor Chuck Smith.

I pray that the Lord will give you just a wonderful week. You'll have an exciting time as you walk with Jesus. That He'll bring you into a fuller understanding of His love for you and of His plan for your life.

God might speak to your heart through His Word and in other ways. But to be sensitive, above all, obedient, and following after Him in Jesus' name.

Do you want to know a great story about gang members, drug addicts, mental patients, society's rejects, and how God turned their lives around to use them mightily? It's all right here in the book Harvest.

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