Treachery, rebellion, deceit, and schism will never be tolerated against the Lord and against His Anointed. Like Absalom, before him Adonijah's rebellion is discovered, forcing King David to make a public declaration that Solomon will be king. This is the second sermon in the series, The Kingdom Established, an exposition on the first book of the Kings and the reign of King Solomon. A Royal Covenant reading coming from 1 Kings 1, the first 30 verses, as we review some of the happenings here, verses 1 through 30, as Solomon ascends to the throne. By inspiration of God, the prophet writes, Now King David was old and stricken in years, and they covered him with clothes, but he got no heat. Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord, the king, a young virgin, and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord, the king, may get heat. So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him, but the king knew her not. Then Adonijah, the son of Haggath, exalted himself, saying, I will be king. And he prepared him chariots and horsemen and 50 men to run before him. And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, why hast thou done so? And he was also a very goodly man. And his mother Behram after Absalom. And he conferred with Joab the sons of Zeruiah and with Abathar the priest, and they following Adonijah helped him. But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rehi, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah. And Adonijah slew sheep, and oxen, and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En-Rogel, and called all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants. But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not. Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggath doth reign, and David our lord knoweth not? Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon. Go and 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? Behold, while thou yet talkest with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words. And Bathsheba went in unto the king, into the chamber, and the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king. And Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldst thou? And she said unto him, 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, Adonijah reigneth. And now, my lord, the king, thou knowest it not. And he hath slain oxen, and fat cattle, and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abathah 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 shouldst tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders. 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. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground. And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? For he has gone down this day, and hath slain oxen, and fat cattle, and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the king's sons, and the captains of the host, and Abathah the priest, and behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save King Adonijah. But me, even me, thy servant, and Sadaq 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, whom should sit on the throne of my Lord the King after him? Then King David answered and said, Call me Bathsheba. And she came in to the king's presence and stood before the king. And the king swear and said, As the Lord liveth that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress, even as I swear unto thee by the Lord God of Israel, saying, Assuredly, Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead. Even so will I certainly do this day. Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth and did reverence to the king and said, Let my lord, King David, live forever. Verse Kings 1, verses 1 through 31. John writing in his first epistle The First Epistle of St. John, the Apostle, Chapter 2, two verses only, 18 and 19. By the same Spirit, John says this. Little children, it is the last time. And as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are there many Antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out, that they might be made manifest, that they were not of us. Thus far is the reading of God's most holy and errant and fondly authoritative word. The grass withers, the flower thereof fades away, but the word of God stands forever, and of course, by his holy word, the gospel is paraded before us this day. Now once again, David is faced with another rebellion. And once again, the rebellion originates within his own house, even by his own son, Adonijah. But this time, rather than the rebelling Adonijah being directed at David, as it was in the case of Absalom, it is more so targeting and directed at Solomon. And like his father before him, Solomon is now challenged by this insurrection. And that is exactly what it was. The Reverend George Barlow comments on this rebellion. He says, quote, rebellion originates in a feeling of intense selfishness. And when it grasps power, it uses its advantage in a free unchecked indulgence of those appetites, which the force of constitutional order had restrained, end quote. Adonijah was all about Adonijah. Even though Adonijah was part of the Davidic family, he had little regard for its cohesion. He wanted to destroy the dynasty of David because of his own selfishness. As a result of this, what I call this narcissistic pride and arrogance, he places the entire family of David once again, didn't learn from his brother, along with the security of both the church and the kingdom in jeopardy. And so Adonijah was not concerned at all with the well-being or the advancement of God's glory or God's kingdom. He was only concerned with his own glory, his own justification that he would be king, and the establishment of his own kingdom. Barlow once again adds this, he says, excessive indulgence lulls the soul into a fatal security. Now we've already been clued into the fact that David did little to discipline Adonijah while he was growing up, which made the boy an undisciplined, proud, even arrogant man. Perhaps Adonijah believed himself to be somewhat special with certain rights and privileges simply because of his birthright, his affiliation with the household of the king, not as a result of any personal merit. He didn't really, up until this point, he accomplished nothing. He showed no productivity at all. Neither was he involved in any of the king's dealings. He parachutes in from nowhere thinking that he should be king because of his affiliation. We see this mindset in our own modern day. No longer is merit the basis for promotion, but rather privilege, either racial privilege, black, brown, white, red, or yellow, political privilege, economic privilege, or even what is known as the victimhood idea. No longer merit is a basis. No longer is merit a basis for honor or advancement. Today, young people, especially, they don't want to be productive. They just want to have whatever they want. This is Adonijah. This is the spirit of Adonijah coming back to haunt us in our own modern America. This is not a new phenomena as we see this in this historical account of this rebellious son of David. It was Adonijah's lack of discipline, his lack of humility, that comes from discipline that led him to this place of arrogance whereby he will, sadly, tragically, be ultimately defeated and ultimately destroyed. Even his life will be taken from him. But Adonijah was not the first to believe that simply because he was a privileged individual that he had the right to be king. This idea is as old as the Garden of Eden and the rebellion of Adam. If anyone was privileged, it was Adam. As the created Son of God, taken from the earth and directly formed by the hand of God, made in the image of God, Adam was a privileged, more than any other human being in the face of the earth, Adam was a privileged human being beyond imagination. Note how God describes Adam through the prophet Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 28.3 and following, Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel. There is no secret that they can hide from thee. With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures. Thou sealest up the psalm full of wisdom and perfect in beauty." Notice, perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God, and every precious stone was Thy covering. The stardust, the topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, the gold, the workmanship of Thy tablets and of Thy pipes was prepared in Thee in the day that Thou wast created. Thou art the anointed sheriff that covereth And I have set thee so that was upon the holy mountain of God that thou was walked upon them up and down in the midst of the stones of fire that was perfect in thy ways from the days that thou was created till iniquity was found in thee. Adam had it all as a result of Adam's beauty. and his position within paradise, his heart was lifted up, believing that he could be the divine king, that he could be God. Note the language, and try to relate it also to both Adonijah and Absalom, both rebels and both the type of Adam seeking to overthrow the throne of the king. Notice verse 6 and 7 of Ezekiel 28. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God. Behold, therefore will I bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations, and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy righteousness. They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas." So here we find that Adam, Adonijah, Absalom, whoever would rebel against God or the true anointed king, will come to ruin. So both accounts of Absalom and Adonijah make mention of their beauty, which fueled their pride and sealed their doom in the same way that Adam saw that he was beautiful, and then he wanted to exalt himself as king and God. So bent upon being king, And that's what Adonijah was. He was bent upon being king. I will exalt myself. He seeks the aid of Joab and Abathah, the priest. He can't do it alone. He needs a confederacy and both agree to help. Now consider just for a moment, once again, the motivation behind Joab and Abathah. Joab's only concern, like the man he was going to support, was for his own position as war chief. And so he confederates with Adonijah, who seems to be strengthening his position. Instead of being loyal to David, Joab is looking out for himself. But to be fair to Joab, he probably thought that Adonijah was the most probable heir since he was now the firstborn after the other brothers before him had died. Joab's problem was that he didn't confer. There was no communication with David as to what David wanted. He was only concerned with himself. Joab was only concerned with what Joab wanted, and he was going to get what he wanted no matter what. But once Joab learned of the refusal to aid Adonijah by Zadok, Benaiah, Nathan, Shimei, Reh, and the mighty men of David's army, which we had listed in 1 Samuel 23, Joab should have, and that was his mistake, Joab should have reconsidered his support. But he didn't. Why? Because he wanted the power. Abbathah's motives, probably less clear. Perhaps he saw an opportunity for his own advancement, even though so many of David's faithful men were against Adonijah. Perhaps he was responding on less than all the necessary information. And yet, when he saw that Zadok and the others were not with Adonijah, he, too, should have reconsidered. He, too, should have said, well, maybe I need to get some more information. But he did not. which leads us to surmise that he, too, wanted a promotion from the presumptive king. So seeing that he had the support of Joab and Abathur, Adonijah makes a public declaration that he will be king by calling his supporters to a royal celebration, and that was his mistake. And there's a lesson here. Never should anyone celebrate a victory before an actual victory is secured. That is sheer folly, and that is sheer pride and arrogance. Note, however, how Adonijah refuses, even though he's going to make this great feast, he refuses to call those that are not in support of him. Especially, he conspicuously omits Solomon, his half-brother. And Adonijah slew sheep, and oxen, and fat cattle by the stone of Zohelet, which is by Enrogal, and called all his brother the king's sons. Notice, all his brothers. And all the men of Judah the king's servants, but Nathan, the prophet, Benaiah, and the mighty man, and Solomon his brother. He didn't call them. He didn't want them there. And so we have to ask the question, why call all of Adonijah's other brothers the king's sons, all younger than Adonijah? but omit Solomon. Well, it's obvious that, at least to me, it's obvious that Adonijah had an idea, perhaps even the confirmation that David had not chosen him, but maybe had chosen Solomon to be king. Then he would have no such thing. He will not go down without a fight. Now, if this is true, which seems more than plausible, that Adonijah had an idea that it was going to be Solomon, though he's trying to get in there before Solomon, This paints a completely different picture for Adonijah's motive in that he is blatantly and publicly going against the king's wishes. This is insurrection. And it was a great evil. But you've got to note, why does God, why does God write anything in the scripture? Why does he give the particulars of where the feast is being held? I find this fascinating. By the stone of Zohelath, which is by Enrogal. Well, traditionally speaking, or just geographically speaking, this was the place where young men would usually come. Traditionally, they would come, they would get together, and they would demonstrate their strengths. It was sort of like a contest area. They would get together, they would demonstrate their prowess, their warfaring prowess. Perhaps Adonijah chose this place to demonstrate to his guests his great strength, since he was the presumptuous king, at least in his mind he was. His brothers would be then happy, all these young brothers of Adonijah, the half-brothers of Adonijah, would be very happy to come and to demonstrate their great strength, perhaps in hope of a place in Adonijah's newly formed army under Joab. It was all about themselves. And yet, The name of the place is quite curious, even though this was traditionally the place where men would, I guess you would call it war games. They would play and see who was able to compete better than the others. The root word for the word Zoheleth is actually the Hebrew word Zechal, which means the crawling of a serpent or the crawling of a worm. Because all names in scripture have meanings. They're not just thrown out there. Saul was turned to Paul. Sarai was Sarah. Abram was Abraham. There's a meaning behind the name. So here we find that the root word of this area, Zohelet, the root word is Zecha. means the crawling as of a serpent. In fact, it is translated literally as serpent in Deuteronomy 32.24 and worm in Micah 7.17. Speaking of the wicked, Moses says this in Deuteronomy 32.24, They shall be burnt with hunger and devoured with burning heat and with bitter destruction. I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them with the poison of serpents of the dust. Also speaking of the wicked, Micah puts it this way, Micah 7, 17, they shall lick the dust like a serpent. They shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth. They shall be afraid of the Lord our God and shall fear because of thee. So these are very negative things. And this is God's intention to show that Adonijah is choosing this place for his celebration, behaving as he was, like a worm in the crawling of a serpent that he is. The stone of Zohelet, was used also as a lookout. It was actually a very high stone, a lookout tower, since it was situated at such an elevation that anyone standing upon the stone of Zohelet could see for miles and miles and miles. Perhaps Adonai just saw himself as king, situated on the pinnacle of that stone, surveying his kingdom, on the pinnacle of the world, surveying his kingdom that he would take dominion over. And this is just so strikingly similar to the temptation that tempted Christ, that he would pledge allegiance to the serpent for all the world to be his as he was placed upon the pinnacle of the temple. So seeing the rebellion taking shape, Nathan goes to Bathsheba to warn her that her life and the life of Solomon is in grave danger. Adonijah wasn't just going to be king and then, okay, everybody will just, now that I'm king, we're going to just unify. No, I'm going to kill Bathsheba, and I'm going to kill Solomon, because they're the ones that were legitimately going to be king. And I've got to get rid of them. Otherwise, there'll be another insurrection. So, wherefore, Nathan spake unto Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggath, doth reign? And David our Lord knoweth it not? Now, therefore, let's plan together. Come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, because it's in danger. and the life of thy son Solomon, because that is in danger as well. And notice the kingdom intrigue, the palace intrigue here. It's incredible, the drama. The question is, what made Nathan think that Bathsheba and Solomon were in danger? Well, because he knew what kind of a man Adonijah was. All of Adonijah's opponents had to be done away with. Adonijah had to rid himself of any contention for the throne. And Nathan, being the wise prophet that he was, knew what was afoot in Adonijah's mind. And this gives us further insight into the ruthless nature of Adonijah, that it was well observable, at least by Nathan. Adonijah's reputation, therefore, preceded him. He was willing to act in this treacherous way to kill his own brother in order for him to be king. Political assassinations were real possible then, as they are today. Whether the claim is made that Christ is king by a legitimate ordination of God the Father, no matter what that claim is, as it is so legitimate, men will still seek to assassinate him and his followers because they want to be king. Man wants to be king. They will have no other king but Caesar. And in the same way as Adonijah is seeking to assassinate his brother, rebellious man is seeking to be king, and they will try to assassinate Christ, who is their brother as well. Since Christ came as man, he is, in effect, man's brother. Matthew identifies the Lord as a brother in Matthew 6.3. Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joseph, and of Judah and Simeon? and are not his sisters here with us? The Hebrew writer states that Christ is not ashamed to identify himself as our brother and we as his brethren in Hebrews 2.11 and 2.17. But Christ came not only as brother but as king in order to establish his rule and not man's rule. And as a response, mankind, who would be king like Adonijah, like Absalom, like Adam, desires to kill any threat to his kingly throne. This is why today, as we stand here today, Christianity is being threatened. As men want more and more to be rulers and kings, to do their own bidding, to have the bans of God, the law of God taken from them, Christianity becomes more and more threatened. So in order to be king, the only way to be king is to kill the threat. But since mankind cannot kill the Lord Jesus Christ, they tried once, it failed. They seek to kill his witness, which is the people of God and the eternal church. Adonijah was a betrayer. Like Adam, like Absalom, Adonijah was a betrayer. Now knowing the treachery of Adonijah, Nathan suspected that Adonijah was plotting to betray his brother Solomon by assassinating him. And it is here where the prophetic word of Christ comes true in Mark chapter 13, verse 12. Now, the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father, the son, and children shall rise up against their parents and shall cause them to be put to death. And while it is not commonplace for brother to kill brother, it's all too common where brothers in the Lord see character assassinations with slander, tailbearing, backbiting, or schismatic tactics. So consider Nathan's counsel to Bathsheba. Go and get thee in unto the king, and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaiden, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? Why then doth Athanijah reign? Behold, while thou yet talkest with the king, I will come and confirm. In other words, there's going to be two witnesses. Nathan reminds Bathsheba that David had already determined who would reign after him, and that she must go and remind the king of his oath. It seems as if David didn't know what Adonijah was doing. It seems as if he was unaware of what was happening in his kingdom. It says very clearly that he was stricken in age. He was feeble. Perhaps he thought that since he had already promised the throne to Solomon, that that's how things would flesh out. Reminding David that there was yet another revolt against his authority would most likely stir up some bitter and hurt feelings in David in light of his dealings with his son Absalom. I feel really sorry for David. He's got to go through this again. But where do we read David's oath to Solomon? Well, we do read David's oath to Solomon. It's not planted here in 1 Kings, but it is recorded for us in 1 Chronicles 22. In 1 Chronicles 22, verse 1, we read this, Then David said, This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel. And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel. And he said, Masons, to you wrought stones to build the house of God. And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails, for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings, and brass in abundance without weight. Also cedar trees in abundance, for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David. And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, beautiful, incredible, of fame and glory throughout all countries. I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared, and this is very important, so David prepared abundantly before his death. Notice, not for himself, but he's preparing for the generations to come. Then, verse 6, he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for the Lord God of Israel. And David said to Solomon, My son, As for me, it was in my mind to build a house unto the name of the Lord my God. But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars. Thou shalt not build a house unto my name, because Thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest, And I will give him rest from all his enemies round about, for his name shall be Solomon. And I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days." Notice, this ordination is not so much David's ordination, but God's ordination. God named Solomon by name. Notice verse 10. He, Solomon, shall build a house for my name, and he shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever. Now my son the Lord be with thee, and thou prosper thee, and build the house of the Lord thy God, as he hath said of thee. Only the Lord give thee wisdom and understanding of the charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the Lord thy God. Then thou shalt prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfill the statutes and judgments which the Lord charged Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and of good courage, dread not, nor be dismayed. So here it is. Now behold, in my trouble, David saying, I have prepared for the house of the Lord and a hundred thousand towns of gold, and a thousand thousand towns of silver, and of brass and iron without weight, for it is in abundance, timber also, and stone have I prepared, and thou mayest add thereto." There are so many lessons to be learned here. First, David is showing his passion and diligence for the kingdom by making incredible preparations for it, not for himself, but for his son and his future generations. This shows us how David is our example, how to be a future thinker. We must be future thinkers. We have to think beyond today, beyond tomorrow, beyond next generation, the generations after that, and the generations after that for 500 years. David was a future thinker. We must prepare for our children and even our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Note how David prepares iron in abundance for the nails and for the doors. The smallest thing he was thinking about, the little things, he wasn't leaving any stone unturned. Joinings, brass in abundance without weight, cedar trees in abundance. For the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David. He was confederating with the Zidonians and those of Tyre. So we know from other passages that in order to secure the necessary resources, David had to make trade agreements as well. He had to have a reputation with people outside of Israel. We also learn this about David. He knew how to spend money. And he knew what he should be spending the money on. Things of intrinsic value, things of useful value. And this also shows us of his wisdom in forging these alliances, these relationships. But it was all for one purpose, only one purpose, for the glory of God. The things that David spent money on were things which had eternal value. not just temporal value. If he spent money on his family, it was so that they would follow in his footsteps for the building of the kingdom of God. For instance, devotionals, libraries, books, things to help them understand God and to begin to build for the kingdom of God. David was also a man who would galvanize others for the task of the kingdom's work. He was able to convince the men of Tyre and the Sidonians that this was a worthy cause that they should now galvanize with David in order for God's glory. He was a man, obviously, who was well-known in the gates of the city, a reputation of integrity, honesty, a man to be trusted. His word was his bond. What about today? You can't trust anybody anymore. A handshake used to be enough. A man's word had to be his bond. Your word must be your bond. It must be your integrity, because that's all you have, is your word. So it was that character trait that enabled David to galvanize others for the work of God's kingdom. But notice verse 2 here, And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel. And then he said, Masons, to you wrought stones to build the house of God. This man, he had at his fingertips, all of the necessary provisions to do the work of God. He wanted to build the best temple that the world had ever seen, which shows us that he did not skimp on his work. He didn't just do it to get it over with. He was a man who did the best because God deserved the best. So you young people, whenever you do a job, whenever you do something, you do it to the best of your ability. Even if nobody is watching, even if nobody cares, God sees it. When Michelangelo was asked why he was so painfully detailed in his paintings on the rotunda of the Sistine Chapel, behind the pillars, where no one would see anything because it was a thousand feet in the air, he told that person, God sees it. Like David. Here was a man that was diligent in his business for the honor of God. Notice verse 5, And David said, Solomon, my son, is young and tender, and the house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceeding magnificent, of fame and of glory throughout all the countries. Perhaps referring to the diligence of his father in preparing for the building of God's temple, Solomon says this in Proverbs 20 to 29, Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings. He shall not stand before mean men. So we are reminded throughout Scripture, especially in the Proverbs, that diligence is a virtue that needs to be cultivated and practiced throughout life. If you're going to do something, do it to the best of your ability. Note Solomon's references. He learned from his father so well. Notice Proverbs 10, 4. He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand. but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. Proverbs 12.24 and 12.27 The hand of the diligent shall bear rule, but the slothful shall be under tribute. The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting, but the substance of a diligent man is precious. Proverbs 13.4 The soul of the sluggard desireth and hath nothing, but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. Proverbs 21.5 The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness, but of everyone that is hasty only to want. 27, 23, and Proverbs 4, 23, be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. I think he's pounding home a lesson. So when you see these pastors have a 20-minute anecdotal sermon, are they being diligent in mining the scriptures for their congregation? Commending a brother to the Corinthians for his diligence, Paul says this, in 2 Corinthians 8.22 and 8.7, And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have oft times proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent upon the great confidence which I have in you. Therefore, as ye abound in everything, in faith, and in utterance, and in knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. Diligence is a grace. Doing things with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, with all your strength unto the Lord is a grace of God. It's a great blessing and a great honor. The Hebrew writer, along with Peter and Jude, refers to diligence as a virtue, a divine virtue. Notice Hebrews 6.11, and we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end. And Peter says this in 2 Peter 1.5, 10 and 2 Peter 3.14, and beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith. Giving all diligence, add to your faith. Giving all diligence, add to your faith. How do you get faith? Faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of God. Reading the Word of God. Reading, studying, and praying, and doing your diligent devotions. Giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue, and to virtue, knowledge. Wherefore, the rather brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you shall never fall. Wherefore, brethren, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace without spot and blameless. Diligence. Because the nature of the Adamic soul is sloth, laziness. David then admonishes his son to continue in the work of God and prays that God would grant him wisdom and understanding in his charge over the nation by advancing the law of the Lord. And we see this in verse 11. Now, my son, the Lord be with thee, and prosper thou, and build the house of the Lord thy God, as he hath said of thee. Only the Lord give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the Lord thy God. So it was very important for Solomon to keep the law of God in order to be profitable and productive and diligent. And this is something we too must think on. As fathers, shouldn't we charge our sons to continue in the advancement of the kingdom in whatever position or profession they undertake? David understood the eternal importance of passing the charge of kingdom advancement to the next generation. We too must impress upon our children the importance of continuing the work of God. It's not like You go to church your whole life and then you get a profession and you forget about advancing the kingdom. It's not like that. We have to have a multi-generational purpose and only by diligence and translating the diligence to our children that we will have a multi-generational purpose for the kingdom of God. David then tells Solomon that if he obeys God will bless him enormously. Then shalt thou prosper. Verse 13. Thou takest heed to fulfill the statutes and the judgments which the Lord charged Moses with concerning Israel. Be strong and of good courage. Dread not, nor be dismayed." Finally, David wants to make sure that Solomon does not simply use the resources that David gave him, but rather that he adds to them. Notice, he is saying to Solomon, I'm going to give you all of these resources. Now you add to them. Invest. Now, therefore, In my trouble I have prepared for the house of the Lord 100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, brass, iron without weight, for it is in abundance. Timber also in stone I have prepared, and thou mayest add thereunto." Add, invest. Don't just say, well, my father gave me this. I'm just going to use it when it's done. It's done. No. Take it, advance with it by investing it. Solomon was to invest his life and his passion so as to add to what David had secured. So now that Nathan and Bathsheba had a plan, they proceed to execute it. Bathsheba goes to the king, and the king says, what will you have of me? And she tells him what she wants. So wise Bathsheba sets down a number of considerations for the king. First, she uses David's love and trust for her as a bargaining chip by asking him to swear to her request. You have to know that David is not talking with anyone else, any of his wives or concubines. He's talking to Bathsheba. It seems as if, from the account, it seems as if David had a very tender heart toward Bathsheba, even to the point of pitying her, perhaps because of all the pain and sorrow he had brought upon her in the past. And so David's relationship with Bathsheba seems to be most intimate and most sincere, deep, deep love toward this woman. We don't read much about any other wives or any other love relationships so tender as this one. And while the account of Abigail seems to be a sincere love relationship, we don't read really anything about it. The relationship that David had with Michal, on the other hand, was a train wreck. But David's relationship with Bathsheba seems to be of the most intimate, albeit unconventional, to the point where he accepted her audience without question. Secondly, she details Adonijah's prideful presumption as king by celebrating without David's knowledge and refusing to call Solomon to the feast. He says, look at what your son Adonijah is doing, sacrificing all these animals as if he's the king and he's a shoo-in. Thirdly, she then exposes Joab and Abathar as conspirators with Adonijah. Fourthly, she reminds David that he is still responsible as king. He's not dead yet. And all of Israel awaits his royal decree as to who is going to sit on his throne after him. Finally, she makes it perfectly clear that her life and the life of her son is in mortal danger if David does not act quickly before he dies by reiterating his oath before God and before Bathsheba and Nathan. Note how he cuts to the chase. And Nathan said, my lord, O king, As thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne. Nathan just cuts to the chase. Did you say that Adonijah would be king? But Nathan's also cunning. He adds insult to injury by telling David that all of David's faithful men, the ones that he loved so much, the ones that he listed at the end of his life, his faithful men were not asked to join in the celebration. insinuating that Adonijah's motives were not pure at all, since he wanted to keep this thing secret from David the king. If David's son Solomon and his royal subjects were bidden to the feast, Adonijah's rebellion would certainly reach the ears of the king, but he didn't want that. That would cause a wrinkle in Adonijah's plan. So he keeps it secret and yet it was exposed. Nathan then asked David if he had changed his mind as to who would be king. and had not told his loyal servant Nathan. But it wasn't so much that David was choosing Solomon. It was that God was choosing Solomon. And so David calls in Bathsheba, in the presence of Bathsheba, in the presence of Nathan. He says, even as I swear unto thee by the Lord God of Israel, saying assuredly, Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead, Even so, will I certainly do this day." That settled the dispute. The king had spoken. Adonijah would not be king. The kingdom would belong to Solomon. Administratively, the rebellion is squashed. It now had to be made public and the perpetrators had to give an account. We will examine that next when we return to our exposition of first kings and the reign of young King Solomon. This we shall do, God helping us, unto the praise and the glory of His grace. Amen.