“‘Now therefore, as Adonai lives, who has established me, put me on the throne of David my father and set up a dynasty for me, as he promised, Adoniyah will certainly be put to death today.’ King Shlomo commissioned B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada, and he struck him down, so that he died.”-1 Kings 2:24-25
From the Lord’s perspective, was Solomon putting Adoniyah to death the right thing to do?
This is something gentile scholars have struggled with mightily.
We do know that it was common for a new king to eliminate perceived rivals to secure his throne once he came to power.
But that was how the gentile world behaved.
The notion of a ruler as defined by Torah was radically different than the usual way of kings.
Having said that, that does seem to be what Solomon is doing here.
Anyway, that’s beside the point.
Just because a certain practice was customary certainly didn’t make it right.
To address this issue, let’s see what the ancient Jewish sages had to say on the matter.
Their take was that since Adoniyah, in his conversation with Bathsheba, acknowledged that the Lord had made Solomon king, his attitude was similar to Saul’s when he rebelled against David.
Ya see what I mean?
Samuel had made it clear to Saul that David was the Lord’s MASHIACH or anointed one, and that He was ending Saul’s kingship.
What was Saul’s response?
Pure rebellious rage, which led to Saul attempting to destroy David.
Saul was eternally condemned for his behavior.
How did Adonijah come to know that Solomon was chosen by God to become the next king?
I pose this question because the words he spoke to Bathsheba betray his knowledge of the truth.
Here’s my opinion on the matter, and this is just my opinion, so don’t get all bent out of shape if you don’t agree with me.
I believe he was paying lip service to the Lord when he told Bathsheba, “No matter; the kingdom has turned around and become my brother’s, because Adonai gave it to him.”
This ain’t no different than superficially saying to someone, “May the Lord bless you and keep you,” as just a greeting.
My point is, Adoniyah was just being polite here by couching his speech in religious terms.
We also saw Saul exhibit this same kind of false religious piety to show others he cared about the things of the Lord when he could’ve cared less.
The bottom line is that we don’t find the Scriptures condemning Solomon for executing Adoniyah.
I believe this is because, like Saul, Adoniyah attempted to rebel against God’s anointed.
That’s a big no-no.
The lesson to be learned here is that anyone who attempts to defy redemption history will pay for it dearly.
Now, I’ll admit, everything I’ve just explained here ain’t directly stated in the Scriptures.
So how can we come to this conclusion?
The same way we come to any theological conclusion, homie.
Via Torah principles and patterns.
Ya feel me?
Adoniyah’s situation matches the rebellion of Saul, in that he tried to go against the Lord’s anointed.
And he paid for it with his life.
Done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Whoever is not with me
is against me
Blasphemy against the Spirit
will not be forgiven.”
— Matthew 12:30–32
“The one who rejects me
rejects Him who sent me.”
— Luke 10:16
“A fearful expectation of judgment
and of raging fire trampled
the Son of God underfoot.“
— Hebrews 10:26–29
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