Solomon Anointed as King Over Israel
1Kings 1:1-53
INTRODUCTORY NOTES TO 1KINGS:
q 1Kings covers the period from the anointing of Solomon as king over Israel (about 970BC) to the end of the reigns of Ahab in the northern kingdom of Israel and of Jehoshaphat in the southern kingdom of Judah (about 850BC), a period of about 120 years.
q Key events of the book include:
o The reign of Solomon
o The building of the temple
o The division of Israel into two kingdoms
o The ministry of Elijah
o The evil reign of Ahab and Jezebel
q When the kingdom divides (with Rehoboam taking Judah and Jeroboam taking Israel), the book of 1Kings follows the events of both kingdoms by switching back and forth between the two. Often the reigns will overlap in ways that make the story difficult to follow. The list of kings below will help. NOTE: 2Chronicles covers basically the same time period as 1Kings and 2Kings, but it does so exclusively from the viewpoint of the kingdom of Judah.
q In 1Kings, after the reign of Solomon, you have the following lines of kings in the two kingdoms:
o In the southern kingdom of Judah
§ Rehoboam 17 years evil reign
§ Abijam 3 years evil reign
§ Asa 41 years good reign
§ Jehoshaphat 25 years good reign
o In the northern kingdom of Israel
§ Jeroboam 22 years evil reign
§ Nadab 2 years evil reign
§ Baasha 24 years evil reign
§ Elah 2 years evil reign
§ Zimri one week evil reign
§ Omri 12 years evil reign
§ Ahab 22 years evil reign
§ Ahaziah 2 years evil reign
I. ABISHAG PROVIDED WARMTH FOR KING DAVID (1:1-4)
A. David’s Problem (1:1)
1. He was stricken in years
2. He gat no heat
B. His Servants’ Solution (1:2)
1. To seek out a young virgin
2. To let her give of her warmth to David
C. The Ministry of Abishag (1:3-4)
1. She was found for the king (v.3)
2. She was brought to the king (v.3)
3. She cherished the king (v.4)
4. She ministered to the king (v.4)
5. The king knew her not (v.4)
II. ADONIJAH PREPARED TO TAKE THE KINGDOM (1:5-10)
A. Adonijah Sought to be King (1:5-6)
1. He exalted himself (v.5)
2. He said, “I will be king” (v.5; compare Isaiah 14:12-15)
3. He prepared him chariots and men to run before him (v.5; compare 2Samuel 15:1)
4. David did nothing to discourage him (v.6)
5. He was a goodly man (v.6)
6. He was the younger brother of Absalom (v.6)
B. Adonijah Made Arrangements to be King (1:7-10)
1. He made an ally of Joab (v.7)
2. He made an ally of Abiathar the priest (v.7)
3. He left out Zadok, Benaiah, Nathan, and the mighty men (v.8)
4. He made a great feast in Zoheleth (v.9-10)
a. He slew sheep and oxen
b. He called his brethren the king’s sons
c. He called all the men of Judah
d. He did not call certain key men (v.10)
(1) Nathan the prophet
(2) Benaiah the captain
(3) The mighty men
(4) Solomon his brother
III. NATHAN PLANNED FOR SOLOMON’S ACCEPTANCE (1:11-27)
A. Nathan Worked the Plan Out with Bathsheba (1:11-14)
B. Bathsheba Gave Her Report to David (1:15-21)
C. Nathan Confirmed the Report of Bathsheba (1:22-27)
IV. DAVID PLACED SOLOMON ON THE THRONE (1:28-40)
A. David Promised that Solomon would Reign (1:28-31)
B. David Gave Instructions to Anoint Solomon (1:32-37)
1. He called in some key men (v.32)
a. Zadok the priest
b. Nathan the prophet
c. Benaiah the captain
2. He gave instructions to them (v.33-34)
a. Take the servants of king David (v.33)
b. Cause Solomon to ride on David’s mule (v.33)
c. Bring Solomon down to Gihon (v.33); the closest natural spring to the city of Jerusalem, on the south side of the city (2Chronicles 32:30; 33:14)
d. Have Zadok and Nathan anoint him as king (v.34)
e. Blow the trumpet and say, God save king Solomon (v.34)
3. He confirmed his choice of Solomon as king (v.35)
a. He shall sit on the throne of David
b. He shall be king in David’s stead
c. He is appointed by David to be ruler of Israel and Judah
4. Benaiah expresses his pleasure with David’s choice (v.36-37)
C. Solomon is Anointed as King Over Israel (1:38-40)
V. ADONIJAH PREVENTED FROM TAKING THE KINGDOM (1:41-53)
A. Adonijah Received News of Solomon’s Anointing (1:41-48)
B. Adonijah Responded with Fear for his Life (1:49-51); NOTE: the horns of the altar was seen as a place of forgiveness and mercy (Leviticus 4:24-26).
C. Solomon Sent Adonijah to his House (1:52-53)
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Antioch Baptist Church Knoxville, Tennessee