Alrighty, so let’s get our bearings.
Here’s the bottom line.
The curse of Adam has finally caught up with David, and his health is failing.
His spiritual condition isn’t that much better either.
The king of Israel is on the verge of passing to the next world.
And he hasn’t named a successor.
Naturally, everyone around him is starting to panic.
And it didn’t help that David was never the type of ruler who predictably did things in the first place.
So it was anyone’s guess who he would name to be the next king.
Or if he would name anyone at all?
Maybe he would kick the bucket and let his sons fight it out after he was gone.
Well, Adoniyah, knowing he was the next in line to be king, wasn’t gonna sit around like an idiot.
Adoniyah was the son of David’s wife, Haggit.
So, citing the rights of primogeniture (rule of inheritance), he decides to take matters into his own hands.
He presents himself as the next King-in-Waiting (a NAGGID in Hebrew) by hosting a lavish banquet to let all of Israel know who the next head homie was gonna be.
Adoniyah even included sacrifices at his party to give the appearance that what he was doing had religious backing.
To be clear, Adoniyah wasn’t necessarily staging a rebellion per se.
He hadn’t declared himself King (even though Nathan thought he did).
Again, he was just presenting himself as the next prince-in-waiting.
Now, as time passed, David had become increasingly secluded.
He was more concerned about his personal comforts than caring for his kingdom at this last stage of his life.
But let’s face it.
Even when he was younger and healthier, David never really did exercise proper discipline in the household.
That’s probably why his kids grew up to be rascals.
Anyway, back to the context.
So Adoniyah is holding a grand banquet right under his father’s nose, and David has no idea about it.
But Nathan, David’s prophet, soon catches wind of it.
He springs into action real quick and enlists Bathsheba to make sure Solomon doesn’t lose the throne.
Now you may be thinking, why in the world didn’t Nathan just go to David himself?
He was already recognized as a legitimate prophet of God.
Surely, David wouldn’t have questioned his authority.
Well, yes and no, actually.
Here’s the thing.
If Nathan went to the king alone, David might think Nathan was pushing his own agenda and trying to make Solomon king so his prophecy would come true.
There was a lot on the line for Nathan, actually.
See, in ancient Israel, if a prophet got even just one prophecy wrong, he didn’t just lose his job.
He lost his life!
So Nathan was wise to enlist Bathsheba’s participation.
And believe me, Bathsheba was a willing participant.
After all, this was her son we’re talking about.
On top of that, Bathsheba was no stranger to David’s impulsive behavior, having experienced it firsthand herself.
So following Nathan’s close instructions, she goes to David and tells him Adoniyah is about to beat Solomon to the throne unless something is done quickly.
So that’s where we’re at for today.
Alrighty, let’s switch over to the takeaway.
Here’s what’s coming to me.
The Lord had declared that Solomon would be the next king.
This was a divine proclamation.
It was set in stone.
This means there was no force in heaven or on earth that would be able to stop it.
Well, if that’s the case, then why was Nathan getting all hot and bothered to the point where he thought he had to take matters into his own hands?
This reminds me of how Abraham and Sarah also took matters into their own hands by having Abraham mate with Hagar so they could produce a son despite the Lord’s promise that a son would come from Abraham’s own loins.
That’s your lesson for today.
It’s to trust that if the Lord makes a promise, it’s gonna happen, no matter how much circumstances may seem otherwise.
So stop getting all bent out of shape whenever life turns topsy-turvy.
Am I saying that Nathan did the wrong thing by taking swift action to ensure Solomon would be king?
No.
But I am saying…
If he was all worked up and in a tizzy over what was happening because he was afraid that if he didn’t do something, the Lord’s promise wouldn’t happen, then yeah, I would say he wasted a lot of mental energy over nothing.
God may ask for our cooperation, as He did with Noah in building the ark, but He does not need our assistance to accomplish His will.
And all the worry in the world also isn’t gonna help anything.
Ya feel me?
Done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“And we know that all things
work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are
called according to his purpose.”
-Romans 8:28
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