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I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. (I Kings 3:13) |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :The Story of Solomon (2) Bible Verse:1 Kings 1:11-30 (The Message) "Nathan went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, “Did you know that Adonijah, Haggith’s son, has taken over as king, and our master David doesn’t know a thing about it? Go immediately to King David. Speak up. While you’re there talking with the king, I’ll come in and corroborate your story.” Bathsheba went at once to the king in his palace bedroom. He was so old! Abishag was at his side making him comfortable. Bathsheba bowed low, honoring the king. “My master,” she said, “you promised me in God’s name, ‘Your son Solomon will be king after me and sit on my throne.’ And now look what’s happened — Adonijah has taken over as king, and my master the king doesn’t even know it! He has thrown a huge coronation feast, inviting all the king’s sons, the priest Abiathar, and Joab head of the army. But your servant Solomon was not invited. My master the king, every eye in Israel is watching you to see who will sit on the throne of my master the king after him. If you fail to act, the moment you’re buried my son Solomon and I are as good as dead.” Abruptly, while she was telling the king all this, Nathan the prophet came in. “My master the king,” Nathan began, “did you say, ‘Adonijah shall be king after me and sit on my throne’? Because that’s what’s happening. He’s thrown a huge coronation feast. They’re having a grand time, eating and drinking and shouting, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ Is this something that my master the king has done behind our backs?” King David took action: “As God lives, the God who delivered me from every kind of trouble, I’ll do exactly what I promised in God’s name, the God of Israel: Your son Solomon will be king after me and take my place on the throne.” " Message:
First, a procedural note. In recounting the history of the Hebrew Empire, we are going to use different translations, some of them modern, and frequently will edit the passages extensively; otherwise, 1 & 2 Kings is simply going to be too long for our limited space. Nothing important will be left out, and we will always have a link to a full version. But using today as an example, it is important to present this entire scene at one sitting, and 20 verses is too long.
King David icon
King David
After many decades, Bathsheba still has David’s heart. For a quick bit of backstory, “It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful.” (2 Sam 11:2) He was utterly smitten. He had her summoned, and seduced her, even though she was married to Uriah the Hittite, one of his soldiers. She even became pregnant. David arranged to have Uriah — a good and faithful soldier — put at the very front of an assault on a fierce enemy without proper support, so that he was killed.
David suffered much for this terrible sin; in fact, it speaks volumes of God’s love for him that David was not deposed and/or killed. Even though God forgave David, He took the life of the child Bathsheba was carrying as retribution, for “sin requires blood”; and it weighed on David the rest of his life. But at least his love was true: He married her, and Solomon was her second pregnancy.
It was not clear in verses 1-10 just how far Adonijah had gone; it seemed that he was rallying support for his coronation at David’s death, but the passage begins with Nathan’s startling news that Adonijah was already acting as king. Moreover, Adonijah has a large and powerful force on his side. Joab, especially. Joab was the general of David’s army, and army generals are often the single deciding factor in civil war. Nor was Joab just an old hack sitting at the top of the chain of command; he was an excellent fighting general in the prime of his power.
David, so old that he cannot get warm — at death’s doorstep — is served well by the loyal Bathsheba and Nathan. They are able to rally him to take action. We might infer that this was difficult for all involved, that David had gotten so old that both mind and body were but a flickering light.
Meditation : Prayer : May the God of endurance and encouragement grant us to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together we may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ............Amen |
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