After a lapse of 13 years, from 2011 to 2024, where no one was executed in South Carolina, in the last six weeks, two convicted murderers received capital punishment in Columbia. Freddie Owens was executed 25 years after being found guilty of cold-blooded murder of a convenience store clerk in Greenville and then killing a fellow prisoner. Richard Moore was executed 23 years after being found guilty of murder also of a convenience store clerk. Nobody says these things gleefully. This is one of the hardest things about being a civil magistrate, namely the exercise of ultimate and final justice. What I want to do tonight is I want to demonstrate to you as we continue to expound consecutively the life of Solomon. If you have a Bible, you will need it open to 2 Kings. What we are doing is we are committed to preaching the whole counsel of God. We're told to do that in Acts chapter 20. And so there's nothing that we can skip. You need all of that because our goal, according to Ephesians 4, is to present you mature before the throne of God. And so that means you need all of the scriptures. You need every doctrine, every book. all of the issues taught in Scripture. Well, tonight we're going to be looking at, in the life of Solomon, the role of the civil magistrate to be a judge, to exercise righteous justice. If you're going to understand that rightly, you need to keep a finger here at 1 Kings and turn over to Genesis 9. I should tell you, in terms of expository preaching, real biblical preaching, that makes men mature isn't just engaging in rhetoric and oratory and it's sweeping over you. It involves you digging into the scriptures deep, being a Berean, seeing if these things indeed are so. And so you'll need your Bible. If you look at Genesis chapter 9, this is the Noahic Covenant. And among the elements dealt with in the Noahic Covenant is the institution of capital punishment. and the affirmation of life. Look at what the Lord says to Noah in Genesis 9 in verse 5. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning. From the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man's brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed. For in the image of God he made man." Notice in Genesis 9-5, human lifeblood is immediately zeroed in on. God says that men will be held accountable for the taking of a human life. There are almost 20 capital crimes in the Old Testament, but none has such attention as murder. Indeed, the principle of capital punishment, if you look at Genesis 9-6, is instituted in direct connection with this idea of the life blood. The idea of capital punishment is grounded in the doctrine of man made in the image of God. That's what we're told in Genesis 9. Look again at the first phrase of Genesis 9-6. Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed. Now in this passage, the shedding of blood is stated not simply as a fact. It's not that, well, if you kill, you may be killed. The statement is a statement of directive. Look carefully at the words. His blood shall be shed. If a man takes another man's life, the one who's the taker of life must forfeit his own. This is a directive to establish order and peace in the creation immediately after the flood. By the way, this verse, Genesis 9-6, also indicates that even after the fall, man is still in the image of God. Look at the text in Genesis 9, 6. God, because He takes human life so seriously, institutes capital punishment. We often hear this argument. If you evangelicals were consistently pro-life, you'd be against war and you'd be against the death penalty. That's not the logic of Genesis 9.6. The logic of Genesis 9.6 is the one who has the high view of human life is the one ready to bring the sanctions of the death penalty against the one who unlawfully takes human life precisely because of a high view of life. Life must be given for life when it's unlawfully taken. Now certainly, I will quickly say, we live in a day when there are judicial abuses and the death penalty is sometimes, although rarely, wrongly administered. Such abuses are an abomination. Woe to a nation that wrongly administers justice. But to argue against the death penalty on humane grounds is to argue against God's Word. The death penalty exists because of God's humane concerns. This was and is God's Word to a violent world. To ignore God's teaching on this subject ensures that a culture will descend deeper and faster into a culture of violence, and our nation is evidence of that. God, look at Genesis 9, verse 5, says He demands a reckoning for those who have been slain. Now notice who explicitly is to execute murderers. Look at verse 6, Genesis 9. By man his blood shall be shed. Specifically, what we will see is by the civil magistrate. Because man is to take and exercise dominion and judicial authority, men are called upon to execute the judgment of God upon murderers. The institution of civil government, one of its functions is to enforce God's creation mandates and moral laws. To be pro-death penalty is not like other policy views. This is not mere human law. It's astonishing how many evangelicals who profess to uphold a high view of scripture are opposed to the death penalty as a punishment for murder. They seem to forget that this has the command of God behind it. The nation that forgets this has turned justice upside down and may expect implosion and the judgment of God. Now what we're going to see tonight in our text, we're going to see King Solomon who is the ultimate civil magistrate. He's a king. We'll see him exercising capital punishment in his office as the magistrate. Look at our text in 1 Kings 2, verse 12. The text has almost brackets around it. At the beginning in verse 12, we are told that Solomon's role, his seat on the throne is firmly established. And then at the end of the context in verse 46, his kingdom is firmly established. Now, the new king, Solomon, had been prepared by his father, David. If you remember back at the beginning of chapter 2, when we were last in this, David is on his deathbed, and it sounds like that scene out of The Godfather, and David is telling Solomon who to deal with as a judge. And he tells him in verse 5 and 6, you deal with Joab. And he says in verse 8 and 9, you deal with Shimei, you'll know how. But the first leadership crisis that Solomon has to deal with came out of left field. Now I'm going to show you four cases. And in three of those cases, Solomon exercises capital punishment. In one, he exercises mercy. And you're going to say, why does he exercise capital punishment in these cases? We're going to look very carefully because this is a guide for magistrates. The first leadership crisis in the case that he didn't think he would be dealing with is the case of his half-brother Adonijah. Solomon thought that the Adonijah problem had been solved. Look back at 1 Kings 1 where Adonijah makes a grab for the throne and he's put down and he's set aside. Solomon thinks that case is over. Now Adonijah makes a second run at the throne in 1 Kings 2. And for those of you who think that Solomon is, by the time we finish our context, is ruthless and bloodthirsty, remember, Solomon is the Lord's appointed magistrate. He's the one who is tasked with administering justice. He's been properly crowned. It's necessary for his kingdom to be established by biblical justice. So we're going to need the help of the Lord to understand this text. Right, it's a difficult text. It has four different personalities you might wanna chart this, but this will help guide you through the rest of the scriptures as you see a magistrate functioning properly, even in the exercise of capital punishment. Let's seek the Lord's help now. O sovereign Lord, source of all light, by your word give light to our souls and our minds. Pour out on us the spirit of wisdom and understanding that our hearts and minds may be open. Take away all distractions. Give us concentration and even holy remembrance. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. The first person that Solomon deals with, the first capital case is Adonijah. Look in our text at verses 12 through 25. Who's Adonijah? Now, you'll remember, you're thinking, hasn't this already been dealt with? After attempting a coup and being spared in 1 Kings 1, Adonijah should have gone to the back of the bus and just been thankful that he was spared and quietly lived out his days. Look at chapter 1, verse 52 and 53, where Solomon says, okay, Adonijah had run into the tabernacle and grabbed ahold of the horns of the altar and basically said, spare me. And so Solomon says, In verse 52 and 53, if Adonijah proves himself a worthy man, not one hair of him shall fall to the earth. So what does Adonijah have to do to live? Behave. Be a decent citizen. Don't try to overthrow the government. That's it. That's all he has to do. Look at the command of Solomon the magistrate. If Adonijah, this is his stepbrother, half-brother, if he proves himself a worthy man, not one hair of him shall fall to the earth. But if wickedness is found in him, he shall die. He should have, as I said, gone to the back of the bus, lived all his days like the royal family in England where they go on lots of trips and wear fancy clothes and they live out a long, peaceful life. He could have been that as a member of the royal family. Being a recipient of mercy and forgiveness should have been enough. He had tried one coup, it didn't go, he was spared. Okay, I'll live out my life and be a model citizen. So the players in this first court case are Adonijah and Bathsheba. Who is Bathsheba? Originally the wife of Uriah the Hittite, later married to King David. She's the mother of Solomon. And so Adonijah comes to her. He's very sneaky, filled with intrigue. He's forgotten all about. As soon as he promised his half-brother Solomon, the new king, oh, I'll behave. You'll never hear another word from me. Maybe it's a week, maybe it's a month. He's plotting his next coup attempt. Look at chapter 2, verse 13-17. Haradnaja comes to Bathsheba. Solomon's mother. He doesn't go directly to Solomon, but he involves a lot of deceit. He's thinking Bathsheba might not be too sharp politically. She may not have been watching the opinion polls. And so look what he says in verse 13. He comes to Bathsheba, and at least she had the sense to say, do you come peaceably? And he said, peaceably, which is a lie. His intention was the violent overthrow of Solomon's government. Moreover, he said, I have something to say to you. She said, say it. He said, you know that the kingdom was mine. Well, no, it never was. And all Israel had set their expectations on me. Well, actually, very few people had. that I should reign. However, the kingdom has been turned over and has become my brother's, for it was his from the Lord." And so, Adonijah here is either lying or delusional, probably a little of both. He never had a big following and it was well known that the Lord had chosen Solomon. So when he says, the kingdom was mine, Bathsheba should have said, no it wasn't, it was never yours. It was always intended for Solomon. But accuracy with the facts doesn't trouble men like this. The deceiver is never at a loss for arguments. And in addition, Adonijah is deceitful when it comes to his intentions. Look when Bathsheba asks in verse 13 if he comes peaceably, Adonijah should have said, no, I come with intention of violence. I'll gladly overthrow Solomon. Well, Adonijah's request, look what he asked for. He asked if Abishag, David's concubine, could be given to him as his wife. Now this is shrewd. Leviticus 18, by the way, forbade a son taking his father's wife. And so what he's asking is, he's asking Bathsheba to approve of incest. Incest, according to Leviticus 18, was a capital crime. That's the first thing you should know about Adonijah, is he's asking, this is intended capital crime. He's asking Bathsheba, oh, by the way, it seems innocent enough, could I have the hand of Abishag, my father's concubine? Well, Solomon, when he comes back, look at verse 18 and following, he sees right through Adonijah's request. He is, after all, the wisest man who ever lived. He knows that obtaining the previous king's wife or consort was tantamount to claiming that king's throne. For example, when David succeeded Saul, he took all the wives of Saul. When Absalom tried to overthrow his father David, he seized David's concubines and slept with them on the palace roof. Solomon was wise enough to know that this is Adonijah making another move to seize the throne. Adonijah, if you remember back in chapter 1 of 1 Kings 1, had been spared on the condition that he would act uprightly and with loyalty towards Solomon and that he would behave. That condition had now been violated. So look at what happens in verse 23. in 20 through 25 of our chapter. Solomon has him executed that day by the executioner Benaiah. Adonijah was guilty of treason, trying to overthrow the government, and a violation of the fifth commandment he didn't submit to lawful authority. This is not a man who simply disagreed with Solomon's fiscal policy. He wanted to take him off the throne by deceit and violence. Ralph Davis in his magnificent commentary. Ralph Davis used to sit right back there. Ralph Davis sums this up in his commentary. He says, the security of the kingdom requires the elimination of its enemies. The kingdom must be preserved from those who try to destroy and undermine it. Now, a brief application about this first saga. As I said, there are four cases that Solomon will deal with a wise judge. Three of them end up being death penalty cases. One is a case for mercy. This is the first. An application about the Adonijah case. Adonijah, we will see the root of his problem. Look back at 1 Kings 1 verse 6. We looked at this a few weeks ago. Adonijah, we are told his father, that is David, had not rebuked him at any time by saying, why have you done so? He was also very good looking, just like his brother Absalom. This is someone who's never been told no by dad, permissive parent. And so when he was refused the first time in first Kings one, when he made his first attempt at a coup, he was not about to accept that because no one had ever told him no. He was the conniving manipulator who would try and try and try until he got his way. Parents, this is why it's so vital that your children learn to humbly hear and receive no at the earliest age. Because if they don't, you will raise a self-willed Adonijah. Nor do you want to have a child who always seeks the highest place, as Adonijah did. You see what Adonijah's problem is? It's this deadly combination. He was dashingly handsome, and he has never been told no, and here's the death knell, and he always wants the highest place. He was repeatedly scheming, not for the vice president's job, he wants the crown on his head. You need to hear a sturdy dose of Pauline preaching. In lowliness of mind, let each of you regard others better than himself. Paul says it again in Romans 12 that every man should not think more highly of himself than he ought. Another application. Look at what Adonijah says he knows in chapter 2 verse 15. He's talking to Bathsheba at this moment and he says he knows that the Lord has ordained the kingdom for Solomon to be on the throne. He says the kingdom has been turned over and has become my brothers for it was his from the Lord. Do you know who Solomon is acting most like in this moment? Like Lucifer. Adonijah says, I know that Solomon has been destined for the throne, then why is he seeking to take it? He knows that God sets up kings and removes them. Just as the evil one knows that God has ordained the triumph of the greater Solomon, but the evil one keeps on trying. That's what we see with Adonijah. If there's only, if there's one character trait you can give it to him is, he certainly does persevere. He's executed. This isn't bloodthirsty Solomon. This is Solomon, the civil magistrate, exercising the death penalty. Now, one thing I do have to say, and this is laid into our constitutional documents in our nation, I think it's been forgotten, and that is that the person is accused has a right to a speedy trial. As I said a moment ago, the death penalty was actually exercised in the last six weeks in South Carolina, 25 years after they were convicted and 23 years after they were convicted. Solomon doesn't fall into that. You notice when he exercises the death penalty the first time that day. If you're going to have the death penalty used to be a deterrent to crime, it should be exercised swiftly. Look at the second case in verse 26 and 27. This is the case of Abiathar. Solomon's act of banishing him rather than executing him can seem arbitrary if you don't know your Old Testament history. Abiathar was a priest, son of Ahimelech, a faithful priest, a loyalist to David. Abiathar's father, Ahimelech, was slaughtered by King Saul. Abiathar himself barely escapes with his life. He flees to David, and when David intercepts him, David makes these promises of safety to him in 1 Samuel 22. David says, Stay with me. Do not fear. With me you shall be safe. The only survivor of the bloodbath by Saul was Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech. He'd been left by his father at the tabernacle to take care of it and the holy things when all the rest of the priests answered King Saul's summons and they were slaughtered, massacred in cold blood. Abathur knew that his only hope was to flee to David, so he grabbed the priestly garments, united with David, sought his protection. This Abiathar would become the chief priest during King David's reign. Abiathar's escape is important for it's a sign of how the sovereign lord always protects a remnant even during the worst holocaust. Think of in Exodus 2 when Pharaoh mandates the killing of all Egyptian children. But Moses was preserved alive. Think about Matthew chapter 2 when Herod tries to kill all the toddlers in Bethlehem. Jesus safely escapes. The evil one may attempt to wipe out the holy ones of God, but he can never fully succeed. So, during Absalom's treason, Abathar stays faithful to David as king. But as an old man, Abathar begins to drift. Look at 1 Kings 1. And we're suspect about this because he's been loyal all his life to David. But we read in 1 Kings 1, verse 7 and verse 19 that Abathur begins to side with Adonijah when Adonijah attempts his coup. So now Solomon must make a decision. what to do with Abiathar. Abiathar had faithfully served his father David for decades, and perhaps Solomon is thinking, Abiathar now is old, he's elderly, maybe he has dementia. And so Solomon spares him, as is his right to do as the judge. But he banishes him to his home in Anathoth, a small village three miles northeast of Jerusalem, sending him into retirement. Why did Solomon spare Abiathar? Look at verse 26, and this may provide a clue. To Abiathar the priest, the king said, Go to Anathoth to your own fields, for you are deserving of death, but I will not put you to death at this time, because you carried the ark of the Lord God before my father David, and because you were afflicted every time my father was afflicted. And so what Solomon is saying is Abiathar's career was marked by faithful service, shared affliction during all the Saul persecutions and the Absalom rebellions. And Solomon's loyalty to Abiathar was cemented by the fact that he shared suffering with David. Abiathar's father, even Ahimelech, was killed for David's sake. And so Solomon says, I'm going to remember you in your better days. I'm going to remember how loyal you were to my father, that you were the one who was so consistent in carrying the ark and in leading worship for Israel. I'm going to remember that. Just go to your farm. Don't cause any more trouble. We never hear from Abiathar ever again. Look at the third case, and this is the most heinous case. And once again, we're thinking about it, and I hope there are some of you here who are budding civil magistrates. I hope there are some of you who will run for office, and I hope these words will be emblazoned upon your ears and your heart. And understanding what the functions of a righteous civil magistrate are is to exercise true justice, to punish the wicked and reward the righteous. So notice in the case of Joab, this is the quickest case in verses 28 through 34. Remember, David gave deathbed instructions to Solomon about Joab. Look at chapter 2 verses 5 and 6. David barely breathing, barely whispering out his words now as he's almost dead, but he wants to make sure that Solomon knows exactly what the sentence should be for Joab. And so look at what David tells him on his deathbed in verse 5 and 6. Moreover, you know also what Joab the son of Zariah did to me and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel. To Abner the son of Ner, Amasa the son of Jether whom he killed, he shed the blood of war in peacetime." Do you hear that? That's a judicial statement. He shed the blood of war in peacetime. And he put the blood of war on his belt that was around the waist and on his sandals that were on his feet. In other words, Joab always seemed to be walking in blood. And so David says, do according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace. In other words, Solomon, you better give him the death penalty. Now, who is Joab? Look at verse 28, 34. These are his last moments. Joab is David's nephew, Solomon's cousin. the commander of David's armies. And he was trouble to David all throughout David's reign. He was insubordinate to David on a number of occasions. He killed Absalom contrary to David's orders. He brutally killed Abner and Amasa. He'd been a traitor. He had joined David's rebel son Adonijah in a coup attempt. David recognizes on his deathbed he had not done well to spare Joab. He should have cleaned this mess up before he died. The murders that Joab had committed were while in the service of King David and they reflected poorly on David. As soon as Joab hears that David has died and Solomon is king and he's the new sheriff in town, look what Joab does in verse 28. Joab panics. He runs in fear to the temple and he grabs hold of the horns of the altar. Where did he get such an idea? He just watched Adonijah do this in chapter 1 verse 50. God's instructions, if you weren't here a few weeks ago when we looked at this, God's instructions for the altar of the Lord. The construction of the altar specified that there would be horns. on the four corners of the altar, and they provided a refuge for fugitives. Those who made it to the tabernacle and grabbed hold of these horns were granted asylum. And Joab thought that since he had conspired with Adonijah, Solomon would spare him the way he'd initially spared Adonijah. The altar was that place of atonement for sinners, symbolizing reconciliation between the holy God and guilty sinners. So David's general, look at the difficulty this creates for him in verse 29 and 30. Benaiah doesn't want to carry out the execution in the courts of the tabernacle. He walks into the tabernacle and there's Joab hanging for all his life under the horns of the altar. And he's been given the order, execute him. Benaiah has reservations because he doesn't know the law of God well enough. The relevant law in Exodus 21, and this is why Solomon was king, he knew his Bible. He's the wisest man on earth and he knew his Bible. The relevant law in Exodus 21 only provides sanctuary for unintentional killing. The law says in Exodus 21, but if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor to kill him by treachery, you shall take him from my altar that he may die. You could die hanging onto the horns of the altar if you were a premeditated murderer. So Solomon, who knows the law of God, explicitly justifies the order, look at verses 28-34, to take Joab from the altar and execute him. Benaiah comes now in verse 34 and he executes Joab. This is not a murder by hitman. There are some of you who come and you think, oh, Solomon is so bloodthirsty. No, what he's doing is he's a judge and he's cleaning up the cases his father should have done. These are all legal cases. This isn't a murder by a hitman, this is the execution of capital punishment for a cold-blooded killer. Joab had murdered several, Absalom, Amasa, Abner, and several others, no doubt. So it's important to understand that Solomon wasn't simply acting in revenge in the place of his father, David. Solomon explains, and this is what we need to get deep into our understanding if we're going to understand the Bible's view of capital punishment. Look carefully at chapter 2, verse 31. Solomon explains that the death of Joab took away the stain of innocent blood. In verse 31, then the king said to him, do as he has said and strike him down and bury him that you may take away from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood which Joab shed. Do you know how much innocent blood there is in America today? At minimum, 69 million cases of innocent blood. The words of Genesis 4 says that that cries out to God for vengeance. In Numbers 35, it says the shedding of innocent blood pollutes the land. Now the cities of refuge, if they're thinking, wasn't there a place for Joab in the city of refuge? Those were for people who had accidentally killed somebody. They could flee to one of those six cities and be protected until the elders investigated the case. But murderers like Joab were not to be given any mercy, but were to be executed so the innocent blood they'd shed would pollute the land no more. So now that's the third case. David's orders, the last orders he gave to Solomon, had been carried out when he said, you make sure Joab dies as a criminal. If Solomon hadn't dealt justly with Joab, giving him the punishment his crimes deserved, then he, Solomon, would become guilty. For it's his responsibility as the magistrate to see that the wicked are punished and the righteous are blessed. Only then could his kingdom be established in peace. The fourth case and the most difficult is Shimei. Look at verse 36 through 46. Just before his death, when King David is counseling his son Solomon on how to handle judicial matters, David brings up the difficult case of Shimei. Look at verse 8 and 9 of our chapter. David says, again, on his deathbed, whispering out, he says, See, you have with you Shimei, the son of Gerah, a Benjamite from Baharim, who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, I, I will not put you to death with a sword. Now therefore do not hold him guiltless." This is still David to Solomon. For you're a wise man and you know what you ought to do with him. But bring his gray hair down to the grave with blood. So who is Shimei? For those of you who don't know him. The best way that I can state it, as I've said it several times about Shimei, he's the Ernest T. Bass of the Old Testament. If you don't know who Ernest T. Bass is, you're probably in the wrong church. David and his men were on the run, fleeing Absalom when Absalom was trying to stage a coup against his father. And out of the village of Baharim comes Shimei. This heavily armed group of men with David, David's mighty men, and he picks up rocks and dust and begins to throw them at David. And by doing this, Shimei symbolically stoning David for his lawless behavior. And he taunts David over the coup. He says, Hey, David, the Lord has delivered the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. And Shimei begins to curse David. Why? Because Shimei is a Benjamite. He's from Saul's tribe. He's never transferred his loyalty even though David has been on the throne 20 years. He's never transferred his loyalty to David as king. Talk about a root of bitterness. His hatred is irrational since David did nothing to overthrow Saul but was loyal to Saul until the day Saul died by his own hand. He curses David, Shimei does, as David and his men are walking by. This is forever burned into David's brain. Shimei is cursing David for being a man of violence. Perhaps the reason David doesn't retaliate is because Shimea is right. David is a bloodthirsty man. He executed his dear friend Uriah. David's mighty man and his nephew is standing right there, Abishai, and he says, that's it. Enough of this trash talk from the crazy angry man. David, let me go over and slice off this crazy man's head. I've noticed that people without heads don't curse anyone anymore. But David will have none of it. David reasons, standing on the road outside the village, that he should be lenient on Shimei because his actions may well be the Lord's doing. And why should David be angry? This is how he reasons about Shimei's sin of disrespect against him when he's actually guilty of murder and adultery. This is God's way of putting David's problems in their true perspective. For God had certainly not chastised David as his sin deserved. Why should David complain about a few rocks and curses when he knew he was an adulterer and murderer who should have died? David doesn't defend his honor in the least against Shimei. And in so doing, he's just like his greater son, the Lord Jesus Christ. David triumphs. He's reinstalled back on his throne in Jerusalem. And who is the first person who shows up to praise David? Shimei. Shimei is waiting for David as soon as David sets foot on Israelite land. He falls down and begins cleaning up his mess. He's repenting as fast as he can. David, you're not going to hold that little business a few months ago against me, are you? Is he sincere? David refuses to settle any scores that day. David had said, Shimei, I will not put you to death. But David on his deathbed turns to Solomon and says, Solomon, you're not bound by that. You're not bound by my personal oath. I never promised that my successor would keep that promise. And since Shimei was a lawbreaker, cursing a ruler broke God's law. Shimei's pardon was not meant to be perpetual, but only a temporary reprieve. And so David says with his dying breaths, Solomon, you're wise. You'll know what to do. When I've gone away, you'll know what to do with Shimei. Solomon wants to be merciful to Shimei as his father David had been. So look at the restrictions he places Shimei under in verse 36 and 37. The king sent and called for Shimei and said to himself, build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there. Do not go out from there anywhere for it shall be on the day you go out and cross the brook Kidron. No, for certain you shall surely die. Your blood shall be on your own head. Now this is actually a sweet deal. This one who had cursed David, who'd been a rebel, Solomon says, listen, all you have to do to stay alive is behave. stay inside of Jerusalem. That's the topographical boundaries he gives him. He couldn't leave Jerusalem. He had to stay where Solomon could keep an eye on him. This is the first ankle bracelet in judicial history. So even when his slaves ran away, Shimei didn't need to go get them himself. His slaves did run away. He could have hired someone, but he thought Solomon was weak and wouldn't follow through with justice. Show me I was caught outside the city and so look at the judicial pronouncement in verse 44 and 45. Solomon says to Shimei, you know as your heart acknowledges all the wickedness you did to my father David. Therefore, the Lord will return your wickedness on your own hand, on your own head. The King Solomon shall be blessed and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever. So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and he went out and struck him down and he died. Thus, the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon. So what we see here is the king exercising his prerogative as civil magistrate. So the first thing I want you to notice is this, is I want you to notice how, and this will shock you, how merciful Solomon is. For example, with Abiathar. elderly Abiathar. Even though we're told in chapter 2 verse 26 he's deserving of death, Abiathar is simply stripped of his priesthood and sent home to his farm where he lives out his life in peace. He incited with Adonijah the rebel, but Solomon has mercy upon him. Then second, Adonijah on his first attempt to stage a coup has spared and simply told to behave or else, the mercy of Solomon. Shimei is allowed to live in Jerusalem and could have died of old age. And he took an oath in verse 42 that he would obey. Only Joab, the repeat offending murderer, is immediately executed without some possibility of clemency. We can't castigate Solomon for being harsh when he gave Abiathar, Adonijah, and Shimei all the opportunity to live a quiet, peaceful life. What this is is a picture of the greater Solomon, the long-suffering Jesus Christ. He is patient with sinners. But his patience, like the lesser Solomon, does come to an end. At one point, all of his enemies will be destroyed. The second application I would have you convinced that the death penalty, as we see it enforced, is never, when it's lawfully executed, is never an act of private vengeance. Solomon is acting in his role as judge appointed by God. The final application I want to have you see is the security of the kingdom. If Solomon doesn't address these cases, there will be pockets of rebellion happening everywhere, and so the security of the kingdom requires the elimination of its enemies. And in so doing, Solomon sets us up. He's a type of the greater Solomon. What does he do with his enemies, the enemies of the kingdom? Listen to these words from Matthew 13. At the end of the age, the son of man will send out his angels and they'll gather out of his kingdom all things that offend and those who practice lawlessness and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the son in the kingdom of their father. Let's pray together. Our Father, we thank you for the moral clarity that your word brings. Oh Lord, we thank you that you are very clear in terms of the sanctity of life and what must happen to those who are murderous. And so Lord, we pray that week by week, month by month, sermon by sermon, you would strengthen and grow our discernment so that we might think your thoughts after you, that we would love what is righteous and hate what is wicked. We pray in the name of Jesus.