TAWG - January 20, 2024 - 1 Kings 2:1-25
January 21, 2024

1 Kings 2:1-25

2:1-9 | A dying man’s final words are significant. David’s charge consisted of instructions on being God’s man and securing the kingdom. The order is also important: fulfilling the second part without the first would render it useless. Christian leaders should always be men and women of “the Book” – ones who do not just read the Word but live it (James 1:22).

2:7 | Second Samuel 17:27-29 and 19:31-39 describe what Barzillai did for David. Eating at the king’s table was the equivalent of having a pension and royal allowance for food and clothing with a house and land to support the guest and his or her family. When David exhorted Solomon to let the sons of Barzillai “eat at [his] table,” he had already provided a pattern for such generosity. Years before, David had made a covenant with Jonathan, the son of Saul, promising that Jonathan’s descendants would always have his protection. After Jonathan was dead, David discovered his crippled son, Mephibosheth, living in exile and fear in the wilderness. David brought Mephibosheth into his royal household and promised him, “you shall eat bread at my table continually” (2 Sam. 9;7). Solomon learned firsthand from his father what it meant to honor those to whom honor was due.

2:10-12 | King David’s death marked the end of a momentous 40-year reign in Israel’s history. But the line of David would continue on Israel’s throne, eventually culminating in the birth of the Messiah.

2:15-18 | For Adonijah to say, The kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set their expectations on me, was an exaggeration with the intent to undermine Solomon and manipulate Bathsheba, the queen mother.

2:19-34 | Women in antiquity were often considered political capital. Adonijah wanted Abishag so he would have a claim to the throne. It was a foolish request that proved him a traitor and cost him his life. Solomon also killed Joab, further removing any threat to his throne from Adonijah’s circle. The search for Joab took them to an outlying area of Israel (Shunem), southeast of Mount Carmel.