Verses 13-25
Adonijah, Abiathar And Joab Plot Against Solomon Who Brings Judgment On Them By Removing Them (1 Kings 2:13-25 ).
At first sight we have here what appears to us to be a quite innocent, and even rather romantic episode. Initially it even appears to be rather sweet, and we begin to wonder why it is mentioned at all. But then, all of a sudden, we discover that underneath the surface things are not quite as they seem. For beneath what appears to us at first sight to be an almost trivial request, we discover that deep plots are to be discerned, which have behind them some of the most powerful figures in the kingdom.
Had just Adonijah and Joab been involved we might have taken what happened ‘at face value’ and have seen it simply as an indication that Solomon was willing to use any expedient in order to get rid of them. But the involvement of Abiathar as well as them, and his subsequent banishment, indicates that much more lies beneath the surface, for apart from his initial support for Adonijah, (a support also demonstrated by the king’s sons and many Judean officials), there had been no hint of any wrongdoing by him. After all Adonijah had appeared to be the natural and genuine successor to David in many people’s eyes. Why then should Solomon suddenly speak out and act against Abiathar so strongly, an Abiathar who was certainly not without considerable religious influence (removing him from acting as priest at the Tabernacle was a huge step) and was an old friend of his father’s? The answer can surely only lie in the fact that Solomon knew more than we do, and that his secret agents were keeping him informed of what was going on, with the result that he was aware of more than appears to lie on the surface and was already on his guard in readiness for a coup, knowing many of the names involved.
There is much to confirm this suggestion. After all Adonijah was no fool. He must therefore have been quite well aware that in asking for Abishag to be his wife he was going outside reasonable bounds and taking a great risk. To seek to marry a dead king’s concubine would undoubtedly be seen by most as an attempt to establish a position from which he could make another bid for the throne. Compare Abner’s similar action in 2 Samuel 3:7-10, and its repercussion, and note Absalom’s action in 2 Samuel 16:21-22. It would seem that he was depending on the young Solomon not being as wise as everyone was saying, and not recognising the sinister motive behind his action, for the fact that he was still dissatisfied at the state of things comes out in his rather bitter words to Bathsheba, ‘you know that the kingdom was mine and all Israel set their faces on me that I should reign’. It was a rather optimistic assessment, for he had not been supported by all Israel, but he seemingly did himself believe it, and clearly felt very disgruntled about the situation. His comment that Solomon had been granted the throne by YHWH was really bringing out that in his view most humans saw the situation otherwise, and was simply a necessary palliative to Bathsheba. To have even made these comments in the circumstances brings out the bitterness of his feelings.
As we soon discover, Bathsheba suspected nothing, and she probably felt even a little sorry for Adonijah. She would not be aware of the undercurrents that Solomon was constantly being primed about by his intelligence service. The writer was also in the same position as Bathsheba. He had only the king’s annals to go by, and they would not necessarily reveal what information had been received by Solomon from his intelligence service. But that Solomon had that intelligence comes out in the fact that the moment that Adonijah’s request was made known to him he linked it without hesitation with the names of Joab and Abiathar. It appears therefore that he had good cause to know that they were involved in the plot.
Adonijah’s guilt is suggested by the following:
1). His very attempt to marry the wife with whom David had been closest in his last days, a woman who had been privy to many state secrets, and whom all the people associated with David, was a prime target for suspicion. In the thinking of those days it could only enhance his right to the throne in the eyes of the people.
2). His approaching of Solomon through Bathsheba. Had he not suspected that Solomon would not approve he would surely have approached Solomon himself and made clear that his request was totally innocent. Thus it would appear that he was fully aware of the incongruity of his request, and was hoping to take advantage of Bathsheba’s innocence and influence in order to get his way without raising suspicions. He could not possibly not have known how significant what he was attempting to do was.
3). The bitterness that he seemingly could not help revealing when he claimed that everyone but YHWH thought that he should have been king brought out what was in his inner thoughts. Had he simply been wanting to marry a beautiful woman he would have been much more conciliatory. He had no need to reveal his open resentment at the situation. It indicated that it was clearly eating him up.
4). The way in which Solomon immediately connected Joab and Abiathar with the attempt suggests that Solomon had intelligence that linked them with the request. It would appear that Joab was still in position as commander-in-chief of the armies of Israel, and that Abiathar was still an acting High Priest. This would suggest that Solomon was continuing to take them at face value and considered that he had no overt reason for acting against them, otherwise he would certainly have moved earlier to replace Joab as commander-in-chief. It was precisely because Solomon had no firm grounds to present to the people that these two still enjoyed their positions. Outwardly therefore they both appeared to the majority of people to be loyal to Solomon. Thus it must have been something out of the ordinary which had alerted Solomon to their present guilt.
5). The removal of Abiathar from the revered position of High Priest, something totally unprecedented apart from in the case of a maddened Saul (and even he did it by execution) demands a very serious cause, especially in view of Solomon’s own genuine expression of appreciation for him. It could only have been brought about by something extremely serious and damaging, certainly more damaging than simply having been involved in Adonijah’s attempt to gain popular support prior to David having made his position clear. It was something that Solomon would certainly have found difficult to do unless he was able to demonstrate very specific grounds for it. And it will be noted that Abiathar made no attempt to defend himself. It suggests that he knew perfectly well why he was being treated in this way.
On these grounds it is our view that Solomon was justified in his actions, and that to suggest that he was just finding an excuse for getting rid of them is to seriously misjudge him.
Analysis.
a Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, “Do you come peaceably?” And he said, “Peaceably” (1 Kings 2:13).
b He said moreover, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Say on.” And he said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom is turned about, and has become my brother’s, for it was his from YHWH” (1 Kings 2:14-15).
c “And now I ask one petition of you. Do not deny me.” And she said to him, “Say on.” And he said, “Speak, I pray you to Solomon the king (for he will not say you nay), that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife” (1 Kings 2:16-17).
d And Bath-sheba said, “Well. I will speak for you to the king.” Bath-sheba therefore went to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah (1 Kings 2:18).
e And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself to her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a throne to be set for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right hand. Then she said, “I ask one small petition of you, deny me not.” And the king said to her, “Ask on, my mother, for I will not deny you” (1 Kings 2:19-20).
d And she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother to wife” (1 Kings 2:21).
c And king Solomon answered and said to his mother, “And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my elder brother, even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah” (1 Kings 2:22).
b Then king Solomon swore by YHWH, saying, “God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life. Now therefore as YHWH lives, who has established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death this day” (1 Kings 2:23-24).
a And king Solomon sent by Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell on him, so that he died (1 Kings 2:25).
Note that in ‘a’ Adonijah claimed to have come peaceably while in the parallel he was executed because his approach had not been seen as peaceable at all. In ‘b’ Adonijah expressed his bitterness at the fact that the kingdom has been taken from him, and in the parallel Solomon sentenced him to death because he recognised that he was out to get it back. In ‘c’ Adonijah asked Bathsheba to request from Solomon that he be given Abishag as his wife, and in the parallel Solomon asked her why she made that request, and pointed out that she might as well have asked for the kingdom for him as well. In ‘d’ Bathsheba promised to make the request, and in the parallel she made the request. Centrally in ‘e’ Solomon revealed his compassionate heart when he assured his mother that he would not withhold anything from her.
‘ Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, “Do you come peaceably?” And he said, “Peaceably.”
Adonijah’s approach to Solomon’s mother clearly indicated that he was wanting to obtain something that he knew that Solomon on his own would not grant. In Israel the queen mother seemingly had great influence, as is evident from the fact that later the queen mother’s name is given at the accession of kings of Judah (e.g. 1 Kings 15:2). But he should have considered that such an approach could only antagonise Solomon and suggest to him that something nefarious was going on. Even Bathsheba was somewhat surprised at his approach and was not sure how peaceable his intentions in approaching her were. It is apparent that harmony had not yet been fully restored in the royal family.
‘ He said moreover, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Say on.”
Then he explained to her that he had a request to make, to which she replied that she was willing to hear what he had to say.
‘ And he said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom is turned about, and has become my brother’s, for it was his from YHWH.”
His next words were hardly conciliatory. They revealed how bitterly he felt the situation. The suggestion that all Israel thought that he should have been king and had supported his cause (certainly an exaggeration) could hardly have been seen by him as likely to endear him to Bathsheba as it reflected on her son. Nor would the thought that Solomon had only become king because it was YHWH’s will, and in spite of the people, have pleased her. Furthermore we have not in the past gained the impression that YHWH’s will was of first importance in Adonijah’s life, and Bathsheba would have known that. It would not therefore have been likely to impress her. It was not really the best way of gaining her sympathy.
His point was, that in his view, the kingdom was due to him because he was the oldest living son of the king, and secondly because the people themselves had accepted him as the natural and rightful heir, and that all had been going swimmingly, until it was all suddenly turned about by David’s action in putting Solomon forward as his heir. But he now wanted her to know that he humbly accepted that that was YHWH’s will, and that it had been given to him by YHWH.
This statement was, of course, intended by the writer to make clear that that was precisely the position. He wanted all to know that in the enthronement of Solomon it was YHWH’s will that had been done, and that Solomon was the chosen and beloved of YHWH (2 Samuel 12:24-25).
Be the first to react on this!
