”So Bathsheba went into the chamber to the king. (Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.) And Bathsheba bowed and did homage to the king. Then the king said, “What is your wish?” Then she said to him, “My Lord, you swore by the Lord your God to your maidservant, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ So now, look! Adonijah has become king; and now, my Lord the king, you do not know about it. He has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army; but Solomon your servant he has not invited. And as for you, my Lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my Lord the king after him. Otherwise it will happen, when my Lord the king rests with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders.” And just then, while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. So they told the king, saying, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. And Nathan said, “My Lord, O king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? For he has gone down today, and has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, and the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and look! They are eating and drinking before him; and they say, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ But he has not invited me—me your servant—nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon. Has this thing been done by my Lord the king, and you have not told your servant who should sit on the throne of my Lord the king after him?”“
I Kings 1:15-27 NKJV
a. Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king: This is included to remind us of David’s limited capabilities as king. He needed the help of Bathsheba and Nathan brought to him in the following verses.
b. I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders: Bathsheba began by telling David the facts about Adonijah’s actions. Then she used this tender appeal, reminding David that her life and the life of Solomon were in grave danger if Adonijah became the king.
c. Nathan the prophet came in: The last place we saw Nathan was in 2 Samuel 12, where he rebuked his friend David over the scandal with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. Yet now, at the end of his days, David received Nathan; the sense is that he remained a trusted friend. David did not treat Nathan as an enemy when he confronted him with a painful truth.
i. “So far was David from hatred of the truth, that he loved Nathan the better for his plain dealing while he lived, gave him free access to his bed-chamber, and now nameth him a commissioner for the declaring of his successor.” (Trapp)
d. Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not told your servant: Nathan also stated the facts about Adonijah, and then gave a personal appeal. He asked David - who was his dear and trusted friend – “Is it possible you have chosen Adonijah to be king and have not told me?” (Guzik)
Very Old!
If we are lucky enough to reach a ripe old age will our family ask “What is your wish?” or will they decide our remaining days without our permission?
Our pastor says he doesn’t fear dying, it’s the process he fears!
I agree, because I know my home is in heaven and I look forward to going home but like my pastor I fear the process.
Life is short and the Bible compares our lifespan to a vapor!
”whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.“
James 4:14 NKJV
Are you prepared to meet your maker?
Blessings
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