“Finally, the king said, ‘Blessed be Adonai the God of Israel, who has given someone to sit on my throne today, when my own eyes can see it.’”-1 Kings 1:48
Upon hearing that his son had been crowned the next king of Israel, David, with what little strength he had left, picked himself up from his bed and bowed down before the Lord.
He then thanked him for the privilege of allowing him to see Solomon sitting on the throne before he passed away.
This appears to be a nice, heart-warming, sentimental moment, doesn’t it?
Well, not so fast, homie.
Before we get lost in all this soppiness, remember this.
A mere few hours earlier, David was perfectly cool to just let things play out after he died.
He was perfectly fine to have his sons go to war with each other for the throne.
That’s how self-centered he was.
He was so wrapped up in his own world that he had neglected his children severely.
That’s the ugly truth we’d be remiss to overlook, homies!
If Nathan and Bathsheba had not intervened, a bloody civil war could have very well erupted as David’s children fought for the throne.
Also, there’s another huge misconception that exists out there in gentile Christian land.
A lotta preachers and Bible teachers will say Solomon’s coronation was similar to that of Jacob and his favored son Joseph.
What?
There’s NOTHING similar between these two relationships, other than that one man was the father, and the other was the son.
Why?
Because homie…
In David’s eyes, Solomon wasn’t necessarily a favored son.
We find little enthusiasm in David to wanna make him king.
Ya feel me here?
And to be fair, Adoniyah wasn’t necessarily an evil person.
David simply couldn’t bring himself to support or disappoint one son over the other.
He had to be reminded by Bathsheba and Nathan that Solomon was God’s choice…
Even if Solomon was the product of scandalous circumstances.
It was almost as if David had to be reminded that he, too, was the least likely among Jessie’s household to become king.
Yet he still arose to become king.
Why?
Because he was God’s choice.
That’s the bottom line.
And that leads us to today’s takeaway.
As a follower of the God of Israel, you’ve gotta come to terms with the fact that there’s gonna be times when choices are made for you in heaven.
And you may not like those choices.
You may never marry the girl you were hoping to marry.
Or you may never get married at all (as it was for the prophet Jeremiah).
You may never get the job promotion you so desperately wanted.
You may come down with a deadly sickness that incapacitates you in some way.
You may lose a loved family member to an illness or a tragic car accident.
See, here’s the thing.
When your life falls completely apart, can you still look upward and praise your Father in heaven despite the circumstances?
That’s the test of real faith.
Ya feel me?
Anyone can praise their Father in heaven when things are going well.
But can you still praise Him when you get a stroke that puts you in the hospital for 10 days?
That’s what happened to me, and I consider it one of the biggest blessings in my life because it forced me to focus on what’s really important.
That’s the bottom line.
When adversity strikes, can you be like Job and still say…
“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him…”
That’s the test of real faithfulness.
Ya feel me?
Done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Father, if you are willing,
take this cup from me;
yet not my will,
but yours be done.”
-Luke 22:42
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