”Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. So she said, “Do you come peaceably?” And he said, “Peaceably.” Moreover he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Say it.” Then he said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set their expectations on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom has been turned over, and has become my brother’s; for it was his from the Lord. Now I ask one petition of you; do not deny me.” And she said to him, “Say it.” Then he said, “Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife.” So Bathsheba said, “Very well, I will speak for you to the king.”“
I Kings 2:13-18 NKJV
a. Do you come peaceably: This was a valid question. Adonijah attempted to succeed David as king over Israel, but was kept from establishing his reign when Nathan and Bathsheba warned King David of Adonijah’s attempt. Adonijah had reason to wish revenge on Bathsheba.
b. You know that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set their expectations on me, that I should reign: Adonijah seemed to suffer from delusions of grandeur. He imagined that there was widespread popular support for him as king. In reality, he only had a handful of influential malcontents to support him, and they quickly deserted him when it was evident that David favored Solomon (1 Kings 1:49).
c. That he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife: In all likelihood, Abishag was a concubine of David’s and therefore legally bound to him. David’s death broke that bond, and now Adonijah wanted to take the concubine widow Abishag as wife.
i. We can surmise that Adonjiah wanted more than Abishag’s beauty (1 Kings 1:3-4). In 2 Samuel 16:20-23 Absalom, the brother of Adonijah, asserted his rebellious claim on David’s throne by taking David’s concubines unto himself. Adonijah wants to declare or build a claim to Solomon’s throne by taking David’s widowed concubine as his wife.
ii. This idea has historical examples. Among the ancient Persians and Arabs, the new king took the harem of the previous king. (Guzik)
Delusions Of Grandeur!
Adonijah suffered from delusions of grandeur believing that the kingdom was his!
In today’s society we seem to have a lot of people suffering with delusions of grandeur. I believe social media contributes to this problem as people become addicted and influenced by it.
But there is hope through prayer and meditation on the word of God. If you know someone suffering from delusions of grandeur encourage them to seek help and pray for them.
Pray as the Bible says, without ceasing.
Blessings
“Prayer pulls the rope below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so languidly. Others give but an occasional pluck at the rope. But he who wins with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls
continuously, with all his might.” Spurgeon
No comments:
Post a Comment