“Succession Planning” – FBC Morning Light (4/25/2024)

Well, a good Thursday morning to you, hope your week has gone well thus far. So today in our Bible reading, we're reading 1 Kings 1 and in 1 Chronicles 22 -23. We're reading in 1 Kings 1 one of the complications that the Scriptures often reveal regarding polygamous relationships, polygamous homes.

David had multiple wives, and this was really a travesty in the part of his kingdom. But he had multiple wives, and with those multiple wives, the typical scenario is that there's jealousy and rivalry between the wives and then between their children.

Adonijah’s Claim to the Throne

And this comes out here in 1 Kings 1. So we have the account of this one son of David named Adonijah, who is declaring himself to be the successor to the throne. David is old, it's not long before he's going to pass off the scene, he's finding it more and more difficult to manage the affairs of state, and Adonijah has basically said, I'm going to be the next king, I'm going to be a successor.

And there's a sense in which just by virtue of the normal way things would work, he would have a claim to the throne. Here's why. We read of David's sons back in 2 Samuel 3, where verse 2 says, to David's sons were born in Hebron.

Now remember, when David became the king, he reigned first for seven years in Hebron before the whole nation took him as the king, and then eventually he moved his throne to Jerusalem. So for these seven years he was in Hebron.

And so 2 Samuel 3 verse 3 says that sons were born to David in Hebron. The first born son was Amnon. You remember the story of Amnon. Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar, and Tamar's brother Absalom executed Amnon in return.

So the first born son is off the scene. Second son was Celiab, also named Daniel, and he was born to Abigail. Abigail, remember, was the wife of Nabal. Nabal died. David took Abigail as his wife, and they had a son.

His name was Celiab. There's nothing else ever mentioned about him, so it is presumed that he probably died young. So there's no Daniel, Celiab. The third son is Absalom. Absalom, of course, tried to take over the throne in rebellion, and he ended up dying in that rebellion.

The fourth son then is Adonijah. So all of the potential successors prior to him have passed off the scene. So there's a sense in which, all things being equal and the way things normally worked among royalty, Adonijah would have a right to the throne.

Solomon as David’s Chosen Successor

The problem is that David has already taken the step to declare that Solomon would succeed him as the king. Of course, that seems awfully odd from the standpoint of those who would be potential successors, because after all, Solomon was a Johnny-come-lately, if you will.

It wasn't until after David was in Jerusalem for a number of years that he had that adulterous relationship with Bathsheba. The result of that relationship was Solomon. But God told David that Solomon was going to replace him as the king.

David was therefore obedient to that revelation and had made a promise to Bathsheba and to some other close counselors that Solomon was going to be his replacement. So Adonijah is out of line, and he has to be dealt with.

That dealing with him actually takes place here in 1 Kings 1, as David makes the public declaration that Solomon is to succeed him as the king. Besides all of the other problems, relationship problems, and challenges to the throne, etc., that's going on here in chapter 1, one of the principles that we can learn here is that there's great wisdom in securing a successor in leadership before the current leader passes off the scene.

The Wisdom of Succession Planning

The wisdom in that is illustrated here, because without that kind of planning and preparation ahead of time, somebody who's got some charisma, who's suave and calculating, and can make an argument for being the successor, might find success in being the successor when he really has no place doing so.

So it is wise to plan ahead, to think ahead, to look to the future, and anticipate the time when current leadership will pass off the scene, and new leadership will need to take over the reins of that ministry or that organization.

Well, let's look to the Lord in prayer and thank him for the wisdom and the guidance that his word gives us. So Father, we do thank you for this passage today. We thank you for the warnings that we get from all of these relationship problems that we see here in this passage, and I pray that we would heed these warnings and gain wisdom from them, and we ask these things in Jesus' name and for his sake, amen.

All right, well listen, have a good rest of your Thursday. May the Lord bless you in it.