Oh, I'm dry this morning. All right. In 1 Kings, we started into, first of all, introducing the books of 1 and 2 Kings. Sometimes I just refer to them as Kings because In the Hebrew Bible, it's just one book. We have it divided up in ours. Maybe to make it a little more convenient for us or something, I'm not sure. But at any rate, there's a difference there. It's King's. And that's why we'll go through them together. So we tried to introduce this a little bit. I want to take up from where we left off last week. We saw how that there was a conspiracy that started against Adonijah. It's against the throne that's already established, that God put in place. It's against Solomon, who is the one that David had declared would follow him. And it's not just that David declared that, but God declared that. And I'll make mention a little bit about that as we go on. One of the things that, there's so many things we can look at and we do some of the practical aspects of these lessons as we go through this, but one of the things that is a theme that runs all the way through First and Second Kings, First and Second Chronicles, is that God had made a covenant with David. And this is the key element of all of it. God had made a covenant with David that of his seed he would raise up one to sit upon his throne. And we know that's Christ. And then he involved in that, he also mentioned that if his sons after him were disobedient, that he would chasten them with the rod of man. And so what we find out as we go through these, even the best king, God points out their major failure. It doesn't mean they didn't commit other sins, but he points out with every one of them an area that is notable in their life where they failed. So every son of David, failed to be the one that God had declared would sit upon His throne. And so there's so much that's very important. The events that we see in these books are critical to God's plan and God's purpose. And they're critical to understanding what God's done with the nation and to understanding even the coming of Christ and all that is involved in that. all that belongs to him and that he has purchased. You find with Solomon you have the building of the temple. Several things that are key elements, not just in the history of the nation, but pointing forward to the Lord Jesus Christ. With Solomon you have the building of the temple. These are things that are different than you had with David. God wouldn't allow David to build the temple. But he appointed, God appointed, that Solomon would build the temple. During Solomon's time, there was a time of peace and rest that the nation had never seen. God gave David rest from all his enemies, the word of God says, but it wasn't anything like that of Solomon, especially as the time of peace and of rest and prosperity in the nation. And that points forward to the second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. You have the wisdom of Solomon that's mentioned in the New Testament. If you look it up, you'll find that Solomon is mentioned in 10 verses. There's actually, I think, 11 or 12 times his name is used, but 10 different verses in the New Testament where Solomon is mentioned. So you think about that. Why am I saying that? Because here's a man, Adonijah, who determined that he wanted to be on the throne. If that would have been allowed to take place, you wouldn't have a Solomon on the throne. Matter of fact, Solomon would have been killed. You wouldn't have a Solomon. Now, what do you do with all these verses in the New Testament that are fulfillments? You know, the antitype of Solomon. These incidences that the Lord Jesus Christ used to point out truths to the nation of Israel. You wouldn't have those. So God's purpose and plan is going to take place. I would say it has to take place. It does and it's going to. And the person that tries to exalt themselves against the purpose and the plan of God is just bringing nothing but trouble upon themselves. And so what you find that Adonijah did in verse 7 that he conferred, it says. He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest, and they followed Adonijah, or following Adonijah helped him. So he involved the military, the head of the military, and the head of the priesthood. So he had in his mind, well this takes care of the army, militarily, I've got it all under control. As far as the favor of the people is concerned, where did the people receive blessings from God? Well, they had to go to the priest, and the priest offered their sacrifices. The priest was their mediator and their intercessor. And they also, oftentimes, not just the prophets, but also the priests many times, taught the law, taught them the Word of God, taught them what God said. They were a major part of the leadership. You have two major elements of leadership that amounted to really, this is the leadership of the nation. And so you have Adonijah establishing himself as the king, and he has the two major people that are over all of that. Now that's quite a coup, isn't it? But that's what he did. And I thought about him, the Word of God says he conferred with them, took counsel with them how to take the throne. And you think about these men, military leader under David, the religious leader under David, that both of these men had helped him, been with him for years and years and years, all through his reign. the two major interests of the people, if you will. But then on the other side of that, and I wonder about them, why would they do this? Why would they turn against David here? Well, Adonijah, and before I get to that, look at the rest of these. It says in verse 8, but Zadok the priest And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada. Now, so Zadok is the other priest. Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada. And Benaiah was the, he was the captain over all of David's guards. So he would be like in charge of the secret service, I guess, is what you'd say, only it was a military type secret service. So he ignored Zadok and Benaiah and Jonathan, or excuse me, Nathan, the prophet, and then Shimei and Rehi. And the mighty men which belonged to David were not with Adonijah. So those mighty men that are mentioned back in 2 Samuel, he didn't get those. But he got the leadership and he ignored These individuals, Zadok, Benaiah, Nathan the prophet. And you wonder, why would he ignore those people? Well, it's because he knew where the real loyalty in the kingdom was. He knew the people who were genuinely loyal to David. You see, when you look at government officials, when you look at military people, And like I said, it's secret service type people. In our nation, I'm just picking offices in our nation, you look at the FBI. All of those people, where is their loyalty? You don't really know, do you? You find out when things begin to happen. Then you find out where their real loyalty is. There are people in the Secret Service that will put in the same effort to keep every president safe. It doesn't matter who they are. It doesn't matter which party they're in. They will put their life on the line just as much for one as they do for the other. And they won't sacrifice anything for it. I mean, they will sacrifice their own personal well-being. They'll sacrifice time with their families, because they're traveling around the world. And they're traveling all over the country all the time. And they'll sacrifice all of that. But then you have other people. Where's their loyalty? Their paycheck. They're just doing it for the money. Their loyalty is just, they like that kind of work. And they like that more than being a street cop, I suppose, or something like that. It's something to work up to and to achieve. But they're in it for the money. So they're going to go with the money. And some of them have strong political bias. Now, any of them are welcome to have strong political feelings and thoughts in their mind about things when they vote and so forth. But they recognize what their responsibility is. And they recognize how important it is to the security of the nation. And the nation comes first. Others, it's a paycheck. It's a paycheck. So when they're told to do something that is unconstitutional, the ones that are in it for the paycheck, they don't have a problem. They'll go ahead and do it. Doesn't matter if it's against the law, against the Constitution, doesn't matter. They swore to uphold the Constitution, but it doesn't matter. Why? Because they want their paycheck. And they want their advancements. And there are others that will say, no, I won't do that. There's something bigger than you. There's the Constitution, and there's the welfare of the nation, and I won't do that. Fire me if you want to. I won't do that. And you know, that plays out in every area and with every individual. Where is our loyalty really? And it's evident that with Joab, his loyalty was with himself and his position. If he somehow believed that this was going to work out better for him, that's what he would do. And the same thing is true with this priest. So you have people in leadership in the military and in religion that go with the money. They go with the money, they go with the promotions, regardless of what they say they're there for. Now when you look down at the rest of this, you come down to verse 9, it says, and Ed and I just slew sheep, and oxen, and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by Enragel, and called all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, and the king's servants. But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, Solomon and his brother, called not. You know that repeated twice in here. It's important. He knew what he was doing and he knew why he didn't get these other people and he didn't even try to get them because he knew where their loyalty was. And we'll find out what was going to happen to them if he continued. So when you come down to verse 11 then, to verse 27, you have Bathsheba and the prophet Nathan determined to stand for God. Now that's That's why I said these other things, because that's exactly what happens here. When you look at what's said in this passage, the loyalty of Nathan and Bathsheba, there are other issues involved, of course, as well. But that's where Nathan's loyalty was, with God and with the nation. And he challenges Bathsheba about that as well. So she does as well. Now, wherefore Nathan spake unto Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggad doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not? Now look at that. He reigns. There's something that has already taken place. Now think about this. Did the nation as a whole know this? No. The nation as a whole didn't know anything about this. Bathsheba didn't know anything about it. But in reality, they had pronounced Adonijah king, and he was beginning to reign. And for the most part, nobody knew it. Now that's an amazing thing to think about when you think about how coups take place, especially some of these. So Nathan and Bathsheba become involved in a counterplot, if you will. But theirs is conviction. The other one is self-promotion, self-interest. This one is out of conviction. Solomon was supposed to reign. That's not just what you call sibling rivalry between Solomon and Adonijah. That's not what this is about. This is about what God had said. Nathan is a man of God. He's a man of conviction. You remember, how do I know that? What had he done before? Think about the history of Nathan's life. People have a track record, don't they? So what was his track record when it comes to taking a stand with God? Did he ever risk anything to take a stand with God? When? He did about the same thing, now not with the same kind of king, but he did basically the same thing that John the Baptist did. Only John the Baptist did it with Herod, and Nathan did it with David, but you still don't know what the outcome is going to be, because you're dealing with human nature. But Nathan, see here's the difference between Nathan and Abiathar. Nathan was a man of God. And therefore, because he was a man of God and had faith, he had conviction. And he went with his convictions. When I say he was a man of God, that means when God says to preach something, go tell David this, he went and told David exactly what God told him to tell him. He took great risk, both as a friend And as a man of God, a real friend will rebuke you when you need it. And so Nathan had done that. He was a man, in other words, he was a man you could trust because he'd proven himself. He'd already stuck his neck out, risked his friendship, risked his life. If David responded wrong, If he responded like Saul would have responded, he would have lost his life. You see? So he was a man that had conviction. Now, Bathsheba had a special concern. And he points that out. He says, this is what's happened so far. Adonijah is reigning and David, our Lord, doesn't know about it. Somebody's got to let him know. So she's kind of in a similar position with Esther, huh? It's a time. This is the counsel of a man of God. This is counsel from God, in other words. Let me, as God's prophet, give you some counsel. It'll save your life, and it'll save the life of Solomon, your son. You know, it would be such a blessing to people if they'd listen to the counsel of the Word of God. It'd save ruining their life, losing their life sometimes. It doesn't mean life's always going to go easy, It should be a blessing to us and to our families if we just listen to what God has to say with us. And so it says, he also points out to her that, Behold, while thou yet talkest, go in and talk to David. In verse 13, Get thee in unto the king David, and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly, Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne. Why then doth Adonijah reign?" Now that's not every word she was supposed to say, but that's the summary, if you will. This is the message, you know, you're Bathsheba, I'm the prophet, but this is the message you need to get across. Now when you see what she said, she said a lot more than just, she wasn't just going in there and parroting his words. In other words, she had to trust God for the right words, knowing her husband, and reverence him as a king, and she did. He and she had been left out of this conspiracy, and both of their lives were at risk. That's what he tells her in verse 12. That thou mayest save thine own life and the life of thy son Solomon. We've all been left out of this. There's a reason that we've been left out. Because if this keeps going, it's the end of us. Now there's more at stake than that, but that's part of what's involved here as well. When you do the right thing, according to the Word of God, when you stand with the Lord Jesus Christ, you'll be rewarded for it. Yeah, there's risk if you don't. there's even greater risk if you don't. But now, Behold, while thou yet talkest with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words. So in the mouth of two or three witnesses. Now notice what Bathsheba does. Nathan, first of all let me just say this, Nathan knew God's will. I was trying to think here. There's some things I left out here that I wanted to point out. I have 2 Chronicles. Look at 2 Chronicles with me. And I didn't put the verse down. I just got the reference. I know what it is. 2 Chronicles. Chapter 12 and verses 9 and 10. And it might be... No, I think it's got to be First Chronicles. First Chronicles. I don't know why for a second. Ah. Mm. There's something I really wanted to point out about this, and I think I put the wrong reference down. No, it's not synchronical. It's the... Well, look at this with me. This will point it out as well. It'll make the point that I wanted to make to you. 2 Samuel chapter 12. 2 Samuel chapter 12. And verse 25. Yeah. Here was Nathan's involvement prior. to this when Solomon was born. Notice what it says. In verse 24 it says, And David comforted Bathsheba's wife and went unto her, lay with her, and she bare a son. And he called his name Solomon. That is, David called his name Solomon, which means peaceful. And then it says, And the Lord loved him. That is, loved Solomon. The Lord loved Solomon. He was just a baby. He hadn't done good or bad. But God had set His love upon him because God had a purpose for him. Then when you look at verse 25, it says, And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and he called his name Jedidiah. Jedidiah means beloved of the Lord. So the word of God says the Lord loved Solomon. And then the man of God came to David and he named him, we call him Solomon all the time. But Nathan called him, and the Lord called him, Jedidiah, beloved of the Lord. Nathan had been involved in this, as far as Solomon is concerned, clear from the time he was born. Now, I look at what's happening here with Bathsheba. Nathan has to come in under... Nathan knew what was going on, but she didn't know what was going on. And I think about that, and I wonder, why is that? Here's David's wife, and it's her son involved in doing this. I mean, not her son, but one of David's sons. And she doesn't know what's going on. There's something that happens to people too many times. Remember, she's got to be, I think he was 76 when he died. She's got to be up around 60, something like that. She was kind of retirement age. Too many times, people retire from being actively involved, especially when they're wealthy like she would be. They get apathetic. And their affluence, they just kind of rest in that. They get comfortable in that. They're not worried about things. You just get to where after a while you just, well, things are going to take care of itself. No need to worry. No need to pay much attention. It'll take care of itself. That makes people, in other words, unaware of what's going on. And that's where she was. She was at the risk of losing her son, her life, and her honor. And she was oblivious to it until the man of God came along and told her about it. Now, Nathan's counsel basically was, remind David of his oath. Have you not said, David had sworn with an oath? Inform him of the present circumstances. And you know, that's how we should pray. Remind God of his oaths. It would help us so much to learn as we read the Word of God and see the promises of God. Store those in our brain. You know, even stop and pray sometimes. Look at a promise of God and God's covenant and remind God. Not because He needs to be reminded, but because we need to be reminded. And that's how we ought to pray to God. Rehearse with God, God's covenant promises. But don't charge Him with anything. Notice He told her, just ask Him. Just ask Him. Why doth thou deny your reign? And I notice when she goes in in verse 15, it says, Bathsheba went in unto the king into the chamber, and the king was very old, and Abishag, the Shunammite, ministered unto the king. We looked at that verse last week and I want to just make a brief comment about that in just a minute. And Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance unto the king, and the king said, What wouldst thou? I thought about, there's about three things There are two things that she would observe as she walked in, or the Bible tells us to take note of for some reason. King David was very old, so he was extremely feeble, couldn't get warm, he was cold, you know, laying there freezing to death all the time. And in an extremely feeble condition, he wasn't aware of what was going on. He was still king, but he wasn't aware of what was going on in the kingdom. He needed to be reminded and stir him up a little bit. Pay attention to what's going on. But when I look at that, Abishag the Shunammite was there ministering to the king. It tells us that, but Bathsheba didn't say anything about that. It's like she didn't even notice that. Why? Because the big issue is the big issue. Too many times I've seen people, and we've probably all been guilty of it. I know I have. I get involved in the details and forget about the issue. You can't find the forest for seeing the trees. And you forget about the forest. She didn't get caught up in the things she could have said something about or nothing. There's one issue right now, because right now there's an issue that has to do with life and death. And that's what she's concerned about. So in verse 14, Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, Nathan said, I also will come in after thee and confirm thy word. So she goes in. Verse 16, Bathsheba bowed herself and did obeisance to the king. She reverenced him, both as a king and as her husband. The king said, What wouldest thou? She said unto him, My lord, That's the same way Sarah spoke about her husband, both as a king and as her husband. She said, My Lord, thou swearest by the Lord thy God unto thine handmaid, saying assuredly, Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne. And now, behold, so she reminds him of his oath. Now, behold, Adonijah reigneth. And now, my Lord the king, thou knowest it not. In other words, I'm just telling you that you need to know what's going on. "...And he hath slain oxen, and fat cattle, and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host. But Solomon thy servant hath he not called? And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest..." Now, they didn't even know. But the reality of it is, Israel still looked to David as a king. So she's not lying. They look to him. And he has a responsibility to the nations, which is saying, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my Lord, the king, after him. Otherwise, it will come to pass that when my Lord, the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counter defenders. In other words, we'll be considered traitors in the kingdom. If something isn't done, Israel's looking to you to see what should really happen. And if you don't do it, not only will Solomon not be king, but we'll both be slain. And lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in, and they told the king, saying, Behold, Nathan the prophet, when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground. And Nathan said, So he also showed David reverence as a king. Being the man of God didn't cause him to just walk in and demand of David what he ought to do. He showed reverence to him just like Romans chapter 13 says we're supposed to do. Nathan said, He also reminds him of his covenant. For he has gone down this day and has slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance and has called all the king's sons and the captains of the host and Abiathar the priest and behold they eat and drink before him and say God saved king Adonijah. So he adds a few things here that Bathsheba hadn't said but that he also had personal knowledge of. And when they said God saved the king in other words they're treating him as though he is the king. They're announcing him as king. But me, even thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called? Is this thing done by my lord the king? And thou hast not showed it unto thy servant? Who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him? We're gonna stop there for now. But he leaves it with that question. So he confirms her testimony. not hearing what she said, knowing, of course, what the general gist was, tells it from his standpoint, it gains credibility with David. They're doing the right thing by conviction, and they're doing it the right way. I think it's tremendous when I look at this, and Nathan takes the place of a servant. I'm your servant. In other words, I've been your prophet for years. He could have said, you know, we've been good friends. Because in reality, they had been good friends. But he doesn't say that. He says, I'm your servant. I'm not here to plead my friendship. I'm not here to use that against you. I'm here to just say, I'm your servant. But this is what you said, and you said it before God. And now what is it that you really want done? Because if you don't do something about it, it's not going to turn out right. And as I mentioned to start the lesson, it had to turn out right. because God had a purpose for it in eternity and in the Lord Jesus Christ. All right.