Reading: 1 Kings 1-3, Psalm 94

We have made it to the book of Kings! Not that kings are anything new at this point, as we have just spent the majority of the book of Samuel reading about the reigns of Saul and David. The “voice” in the book of Kings appears to be the same as that in the book of Samuel, and the story proceeds pretty directly from one to the other. Like the books of Moses, Judges, and Samuel, Kings is a book with a point to make in addition to being a history. Kings is a history of the royal line of David and the various, often usurping lines which rule the northern half of the nation for a time. More than that, though, it is a record of the obedience or rebellion of the king, and the consequences of that for the nation as a whole. We are going to continue to see how the office of king is frightfully important- it is the king’s actions that will determine the judgment of the nation.

We open our story with David as an old man, and lo and behold his children are fighting over the throne. What a shock. Adonijah, the eldest remaining son after Amnon and Absalom were killed, assumes he will be king and begins setting himself up as such, with the support of much of the establishment, including our powerful friend Joab and one of the priests, Abiathar. David, though, had already named Solomon as his successor, though apparently not in public. Nathan and Bathsheba make sure David knows about these happenings, such that Solomon accedes to the throne with the support of David personally. David’s direct support causes Adonijah’s crowd to dissolve, and he runs to the tabernacle, fearing for his life.

The setup for the reign of Solomon follows the second half of the reign of David from the book of Samuel, which is not the best sign ever. We are told that David never checked the behavior of Adonijah, which recalls the failure of Eli to discipline his children. We aren’t given any real insight into David’s influence on Solomon except the little speech he gives on his deathbed, which isn’t great. It is basically a warrant to carry out the acts of vengeance that David should have done himself, particularly on Joab. That this is the end of David’s life and his chief concern is who to eradicate and who not to is an unfortunate end for the great king.

Solomon proves to be an astute king from the get go. He manages the attempted coup of his brother well, allowing Adonijah the opportunity to mend his ways and serve well. He does not use the opportunity well. Here we can look at the odd practice surrounding Abishag, the beautiful young woman who was assigned as David’s nurse in his last days. This was pretty clearly an application of the ancient belief that youth and vigor were transferable, and that fact that David never consummated a relationship with Abishag is deliberately called out in the story. But now Adonijah asks Solomon to allow him to marry her. What is the deal? Well, given Solomon’s reaction, we know it was something significant. In the ancient world, authority and property were transferred by marriage, even the lower status marriage known as concubinage. Thus, if Adonijah married Abishag, he would assume some of the authority of David, even though she was only a concubine. While this wouldn’t be enough to usurp Solomon by itself, we already know Adonijah has his eye on the throne, and Solomon sees how this is a threat to his authority. Realizing that Adonijah is not going to let his claim to the throne go, Solomon has him killed for his presumption.

Following shortly after, Solomon deals with Joab, who also flees to the altar. Solomon sees that as no problem, as Joab deserves to die under covenant law, so he has him killed right in the tabernacle. This is a bit of a hint that Solomon does not really respect the purpose of the tabernacle, which will come back later. Finally, he deals with the remaining remnants of his father’s reign: the rebellious priest Abiathar, who is exiled, and Shimei of the house of Saul, who is killed. Solomon has carried out David’s vengeance and secured his throne.

Now we come to what is probably the most well known story of Solomon’s reign. He has followed his father’s last instructions and is secure as king, but he is smart enough to know what he doesn’t know. We are given a story about him going to sacrifice at the “high places,” which is not the correct thing to do under the covenant law, but he is doing so in an attempt to honor the God of Israel, and God honors his efforts. He asks God for the wisdom to rule well, and God is pretty impressed with this, granting him not only wisdom but wealth and long life as well. We are then treated to the story about Solomon applying his wisdom in the story of the two prostitutes and the one baby. This showcases his understanding of human nature more than his analytical skills, though we will later learn that he was quite a polymath.

The reign of Solomon is starting off well, but like Saul and David, there are some hints of less than great things to come. He marries the daughter of Pharaoh, a people group Israel was not to marry, and in the process brings foreign worship to Israel. He also shows an ignorance of the covenant law, in stark contrast to his knowledge of a great many other things. This will, later in his life, cause major problems for the kingdom.