1 Kings 1:11-14

I. THE COUNTER-MEASURES OF NATHAN 1:11-27

Adonijah's designs might have succeeded had it not been for the swift action of Nathan and Bathsheba. In narrating how the throne was made secure for Solomon, the author reports (1) Nathan's wise counsel to Bathsheba (1 Kings 1:11-14); (2) Bathsheba's impassioned plea to David (1 Kings 1:15-21); and (3) Nathan's confirmatory speech before the king (1 Kings 1:22-27).

A. NATHAN'S WISE COUNSEL 1:11-14

TRANSLATION

(11) Therefore Nathan said onto Bathsheba the mother of Solomon: Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith reigns, and David our lord does not know it? (12) Now therefore, come, let me, I pray you, give you counsel, that you may save your life and that of your son Solomon. (13) Go immediately unto King David and say unto him, Did you not, my lord, O king, swear unto your handmaid, saying, Surely Solomon your son shall reign after me, and shall sit upon my throne? Then why does Adonijah reign? (14) Behold while you are yet speaking there with the king, I also will come after you, and will confirm your words.

COMMENTS

When Nathan heard of Adonijah's coronation festivities, he took prompt and energetic action to thwart the conspiracy. To this prophet of God, Adonijah's actions were an attempt to deliberately set aside the divine will. Very likely it was Nathan who had communicated to David that God had selected Solomon to be his successor, and hence he was properly anxious that the purpose of God should be fulfilled. Immediately he contacted Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, and informed her of the new developments. Already, it seems, Adonijah had announced his succession, or at least Nathan assumed this to be the case (1 Kings 1:11). Bathsheba was sought out as being the person, next to Solomon, most directly concerned, and also because she was, it seems, the favorite wife of the king. Nathan stressed the urgency of the situation by suggesting that unless the plot could be successfully countered, the life of both Bathsheba and Solomon would be in jeopardy (1 Kings 1:12). Nathan was not using scare tactics. Not inviting Solomon to his feast showed Adonijah's feeling toward the latter, and indicated that he wanted no peaceful coexistence with his younger brother. Thus there was ample reason to believe that should the usurpation be a success, the lives of Solomon and all who supported him would be in grave danger. The custom of kings to secure their thrones by a massacre of their rivals is illustrated at least three times in the subsequent history of the kings.[91]

[91] 1 Kings 15:29; 2 Kings 10:7; 2 Kings 10:14; 2 Kings 11:1.

Nathan's skillfully arranged plan called for Bathsheba to approach the king first, and, with her womanly appeal, present the danger from the human standpoint. By means of a rhetorical question she was to remind her husband of a solemn oath which he had made to her, that her son Solomon would succeed him. This oath to Bathsheba is mentioned here for the first time. It is uncertain when David made that oath, but Nathan knew of it, and doubtlessly others at the court knew of it also. When David acknowledged that oath, she was by means of a second rhetorical question to inform him that Adonijah had already commenced his reign (1 Kings 1:13). Lest David think that Bathsheba had exaggerated the intentions of Adonijah and misrepresented his activities, Nathan would come in on her heels to confirm what she had told the king (1 Kings 1:14). The use of the expressions my lord the king (i.e., you) and your maidservant (i.e., I) are indicative of the usual polite and deferential address used when speaking to an Israelite king.