A Time Line within a Time Line
The Six Books
of the Kings of
(I & II Samuel; I
& II Kings; I & II Chronicles)
July 3, 2022
God is Eternal. I surmise that time, per se, means nothing to Him.
He is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Would it startle you
if I said so
are you? We get sidetracked because we allow the body to overwhelm
our soul and spirit. In God’s design of you and me, He meant for the spirit
to control the body! Did not when God breathed into us the
breath o life, you became a living soul? Thus like Him, we shall exist
forever! Like it or not, this cannot be changed.
Explain the title of the lesson.
SANDS OF TIME as a saying.
The accumulated
tiny amounts of time;
time represented by the sand in an hourglass.
The sands of time will make you grow old like everyone else. My only enemy is the
sands of time.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms
The steady, unstoppable advancement of time. Some people despair to see themselves
aging in the mirror as the sands of time slip by, but I relish growing older and seeing
myself change along with the rest of the world.For all that we've learned about these
ancient structures, their true purpose has been lost in the sands of time.
Farlex Dictionary
of Idioms.
Depictions of an
hourglass as a symbol of the passage of time are found in art,
especially on tombstones
or other monuments, from antiquity to the present day.
The form of a
winged hourglass has been used as a literal depiction of the
well-known idiom "time flies". Wikipedia
In life’s struggles, we often wonder how circumstances
can change. A simple phrase such as “This Too Shall Pass” can bring comfort and
sometimes resolution. But why do we find peace and comfort in such a simple
phrase? Most people believe that this phrase came directly from the Bible
itself. Unfortunately, that is not the case at all.
History and Origin: This Too Shall Pass'
According to Rabbi Lisa Rubin, “King Solomon was trying
to humble his wisest servant,
so he asked him to perform a seemingly
impossible task: to find something that did not exist. He requested a magic
ring — one that, if a sad man wore it, he would become happy and if a happy man
wore it, he would become sad.” The story suggests that the servant could not
find anything of such nature. So, King Solomon decided upon himself to go to a
jeweler and design a ring with the inscription in Hebrew saying, “Gam ze ya’avor,”
which means, “This, too, shall pass.”
Over the years, this phrase has been widely used, even by
Abraham Lincoln himself. This phrase has apparently been made famous because he
used it in his speeches. “It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise
men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and
appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words:
"And this, too, shall pass away” (Roy P. Basler
et al.).
A Case of Mistaken Biblical Identity
Although this information is great, this does not seem to
explain why people believe “This Too Shall Pass” is in the Bible. So, I
conducted a search in the Bible to see where people may see that phrase.
In Deuteronomy
28, the phrase, “It shall come to pass” is repeated twice. “Now it
shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to
observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord
your God will set you high above all nations of the earth” (Deuteronomy
28:1). God clearly states that if you obey His commands then all of
these blessings will come to pass.
But God also states in Deuteronomy
28:15, “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the
Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which
I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake
you…” Christianity.com
Moral Ruin in a
Religious Home (1:6)
It is a
notorious fact that the sons of devout men sometimes prove a curse
to their parents,
and bring dishonor on the cause of God.
When sin entered
the
world, it caused the earth, on which flowers had aforetime blossomed,
to
bring forth thorns and briars. This is a picture of a sad truth, known in
the
first home, and in many another since. Eve rejoiced over the fair child
she
had “gotten
from the Lord,” and did not suspect that passions were
sleeping within him which would nerve his arm to strike the fatal
blow
which slew his brother and destroyed his mother’s peace. Such sorrow
has
been experienced in
subsequent history. Isaac’s heart was rent
by the deceit
of Jacob and the self will of
Esau. Jacob found his own sin repeated against
himself, for he who had deceived his father when he was old and
blind,
suffered an agony of
grief for years, because he was falsely told by his sons
that Joseph was
dead.
Probably few have had more domestic sorrow than
David. He experienced, in its bitterest form, the grief of
a parent who has
wished that before his son had brought such dishonor on the home,
he
had
been, in the innocence of his childhood, laid to rest beneath the daisies.
Of David’s sons, Amnon, the
eldest, after committing a hideous sin, had
been assassinated by the order of Absalom, his
brother. Absalom himself
had
rebelled against his father, and had been killed by Joab,
as he hung
helpless in the oak. Chileab (or Daniel)
was dead. And now of the fourth
son,
the eldest surviving, Adonijah, this sad story is
told. Adonijah’s sin
seems so unnatural at first sight that we must try and discover the sources
whence so bitter and desolating a stream flowed. We shall find them in
THREE ADVERSE
INFLUENCES AROUND HIM AT HOME, which
are
hinted at in our text.
·
ADONIJAH INHERITED A CONSTITUTIONAL TENDENCY TO
AMBITION AND SELF CONCEIT. His association with Absalom is not
without significance. The two
brothers were alike in their sin and in the
tendencies which led to it. These were inherited,
Ø The law that “like produces like,” which is proved to demonstration in
the
breeding of lower animals (illustrations from horses bred for speed or
endurance,
dogs for fleetness or scent, pigeons for swiftness or beauty,
etc.), asserts
itself in man. Not only are physical qualities inherited, so that
we
recognize a “family likeness” between children of the same parents; but
mental qualities
are inherited too; statesmanship, heroism, or artistic gift,
reappearing
in the same family for generations. Moral tendencies are
transmitted
too; and Scripture exemplifies it. If Isaac is so luxurious
that he
must
have his savoury dish, we do not so much wonder that
Esau, his son
sells
his birthright for a mess of pottage. If Rebekah,
like Laban her
brother,
is greedy and cunning, her son Jacob inherits her tendency, and
must
live a life of suffering, and present many an agonizing prayer before
he is
set free from his besetting sin. So is it still. The drunkard gives to his
offspring
a craving for drink, which is a disease. In more senses than one,
“The evil that men do lives after them.” Surely, then, when not only future
happiness,
but the destiny of children depends on the choice of a life
partner,
there should be regard paid not merely to physical beauty, or
mental
endowment, or social position, but, above all these, to moral and
spiritual worth.
Ø
It is
argued that this law of moral heritage affects personal
responsibility; that it is
hardly fair to condemn a man for a sin to which he
is
naturally prone. But “shall not the Judge of all the earth do
right?”
(Genesis
18:25) Whatever your parentage, you are
not “committed to do these
abominations.” If the disposition be evil, it need never become the habit
of
life. It is
something you may yield to, but it is something you may resist; for
“He is
faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are
able to bear.” Rather should any tendencies to evil be
recognized as God’s
voice
calling attention to the weak
places of character, that
there we may
keep most
eager watch and ward. And because we are weak, He has sent
His Son to
bring deliverance to the captives, that through Him we may be
inspired
with hope, and fitted with strength, and rejoice in the liberty
wherewith Christ
makes His people free.
________________________________________
·
ADONIJAH WAS MISLED BY ADULATION. “He was also a very
goodly man.” Physically, as
well as morally, he was a repetition of
Absalom. His parents were
guilty of partiality. David loved him the more
because (like the lost boy) Adonijah was
so fair, so noble in mien, so
princely in stature. Courtiers and soldiers (who looked, as they
did in
Saul’s time, for a noble-looking
king) flattered him. Joab and Abiathar
joined the adulators. Intoxicated with vanity, Adonijah set up a royal court,
as Absalom had done (see v. 5).
Every position in life has its own
temptations. The ill-favored child who is the butt at school and the
scapegoat at home is tempted to bitterness and revenge. His
character is
likely to be unsightly, as a plant would be, which grows in a
damp, dark
vault. There can be little beauty if there is no sunshine. On
the other hand, if
the gift of physical beauty attracts attention and wins
admiration, or if
conversational power be brilliant, etc., it is a source of peril. Many a one
has thus been befooled into sin and misery, or entrapped
into an unhappy
marriage, and by lifelong sadness paid the penalty
of folly, or venturing too
far, prompted by ambition, has fallen, like Icarus when his waxen wings
melted in the sunshine. When that time of disappointment and
disenchantment comes, happy is it when such an one, like the prodigal,
comes to himself, and says, “I will arise, and go to my father!”
·
ADONIJAH WAS UNDISCIPLINED AT HOME. “His father had
not displeased him at any time in saying, Why
hast thou done so?” This
refers not only to the special act of rebellion, but to the
tendencies and
habits leading up to it, which David had not checked, for fear of
vexing the
high spirited lad. The weak indulgence of children (such as that which Eli
exhibited) is the cause of untold misery. Not many parents blazon abroad
the story of their domestic grief. Loyal hands draw down the veil over the
discord at home, and that agony of prayer which is heard by “the
Father
who seeth in secret.” You do not see the girl who mars the beauty of her
early womanhood by a flippant disregard of her parents, and whose own
pleasure seems to be the only law of her life. You do not see the child
whose hasty passion and uncontrolled temper are the dread of the
household; who, by his sudden outbursts of rage, gets what he
wishes, till authority
is disregarded and trodden underfoot. You do not see
the son who thinks it manly to be callous to a mother’s
anxiety and a father’s
counsels, who likes to forget home associations, and is sinking in
haunts of
evil, where you may weep over him as a wreck. But, though you
see them
not, they exist. Far otherwise, in some of these sad
experiences, it might
have been. Suppose there had been firm resolution instead of
habitual
indulgence; suppose that authority had been asserted and used in days
before these evil habits were formed; suppose that, instead of
leaving the
future to chance, counsels and prayers had molded character
during
molding time
—(Catholic Church says give me a child till seven years
old and you can have him)
might there not have been joy where now there
is grief? Heavy
are our responsibilities as parents. Yet splendid are our
possibilities! “Train up a child in the way he should go
and when he
is old, he will not
depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) “And
thou shalt teach
them diligently (exert
thyself) unto thy children, and shalt talk of them
when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest
by the way, and
when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” Deuteronomy 6:7)
These children who may prove our
curses may, with God’s blessing on our
fidelity, grow up to be wise, pure hearted,
courageous men of God, who
will sweeten the atmosphere of the home, and purge this nation of its sins,
and make the name of “the King of saints” honored and praised
throughout the world! “Train them up in
the nurture and admonition of the
Lord.” (Ephesians
6:4)
I Kings 2:15
15 And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all
set their
faces on me, that I
should reign:” And he said, Thou knowest that the
kingdom was mine Adonijah evidently made
much of the right of
primogeniture
(compare v. 22), which was not
unrecognized amongst the Jews. There is possibly
in
these words, too, a hint at the part Bathsheba had taken in
defeating his claims]
and that all
upon me all
just before used. Several commentators remark that Adonijah’s
words were not
strictly true. But we hardly
expect to find truth on such an occasion. Adonijah
was
adroit and diplomatic, and puts the case as it best serves his
purpose. In order to
propitiate Bathsheba, he exaggerates his loss and
disappointment, just as in
the
next words, in order to put her off her guard, he plays the
saint and
obtrudes his piety and resignation ]: howbeit [literally,
and], the kingdom is
turned about and is
become my brother’s, for it was his from the
Lord. (So why does Adonijah pursue this? as well as
people of all ages
and especially in our time, do the
same? CY -
2022) [This verse shows pretty
clearly that Adonijah had not renounced his pretensions to the throne.
Despite the pitiful failure of his first conspiracy, and notwithstanding
Solomon’s generous condonation
(the condoning or overlooking of an offense)
of
his treason, he cannot forget that he was, and is, the eldest surviving
son, and
had been very near the
throne. And as to the kingdom being his
brother’s
by
Divine appointment, he cannot have been ignorant of that long ago
(II Samuel 12:25), yet he conspired all the same. And it is not difficult
to read here between the lines, that he has not relinquished his hopes, and
does not acquiesce in Solomon’s supremacy!
17 “And he said, Speak, I
pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he
will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag
the Shunammite to wife.”
And he said,
Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the ring; for he will not say thee nay,
[will not repulse thee. Same words as v. 16. There is a spice of flattery in these
words.
He now exaggerates her influence with the king] that he may give me Abishag the
Shunammite to wife. [We are hardly
justified in concluding, as some commentators
have done,
that love had nothing to do with this request. It is not improbable, on
the
contrary, that a passion for the beautiful Shunamnite,
perhaps the
fairest woman of her time, may have first given a powerful
impulse to
Adonijah’s ambition (see on ch. 1:5). At the same time, he must
have had ulterior motives (see on v. 22).
play off of Genesis 4 -
pre-flood emphasis on beauty and today
vs. 17-26 - the decline of civilization
before the Flood - I
remember studying this when I first came to
in reference to Christ's words about the end of time
being
like in the days before the Great Deluge!
v. 19 - Lamech was the first polygamist of whom mention is
made, the first by whom "the ethical aspect of
marriage,
as ordained by God, was turned into the lust of the eye
and lust of the flesh.
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FOR
THE ADVANCED BIBLE STUDENT:
The Brothers (vs. 22-25)
It may be instructive if, after the manner of ancient
writers, we draw out a
comparison between the two brothers whose history is recorded in part
in
this section, and who here appear as rivals. Their careers were very
different. The one reigned with almost unparalleled magnificence for
forty
years; the other fell in the very May-morn (freshness; vigor) of
his life by the
sword of the executioner. What were the causes which produced
such different
results? Let us consider some few of them.
·
ADONIJAH WAS ENDUED WITH BEAUTY, SOLOMON WITH
WISDOM. The
first had goodliness; the second goodness. Men admired
Adonijah; the Lord loved Solomon (II Samuel 12:24). To the elder
brother the All-wise
exterior advantages — to the latter He gave “wisdom and understanding
exceeding much, and largeness of heart” — the quiet, unobtrusive
adornment of the spirit. Wisdom is better than rubies; yes, and better than
beauties.
·
ADONIJAH WAS AMBITIOUS; SOLOMON WAS PIOUS. The first
loved self, and sought his own advancement. The second “loved the
LORD” (ch. 3:3). Adonijah, by his own showing, resisted and
defied the will of Heaven (ch. 2:15); Solomon “walked in the
statutes of David his father.” Adonijah desired
riches, honors, the life of
his enemies; Solomon
asked for none of these things, but for an
understanding heart (ch. 3:9, 11). Their lives
consequently were
regulated on totally different principles. Adonijah acted as if he were
master (ch. 1:5); Solomon remembered he
was but a servant (v. 9).
And Adonijah lost everything,
even his life, while Solomon gained
everything — the wisdom for which he asked; the “riches and honor”
for which he did not ask. (To each of us
Jesus Christ says, “Seek ye
first the
will be added unto thee.”
Matthew 6:33 - CY - 2022) Verily “...
godliness
is profitable unto
all things, having the promise of the life than now is,
and of that which is to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8).
·
ADONIJAH SOUGHT TO FORCE EVENTS; SOLOMON
WAITED PATIENTLY FOR THE LORD. Adonijah would not wait till
his father was dead; he would snatch the sceptre
from the old man’s feeble
grasp; he would be king at any cost, and at once. (There are a lot of things
in
this world which CAN’T WAIT brings on - especially sex - CY
- 2022)
It is worth noticing that
Solomon on the other hand took no part in the
measures which placed him on the throne. “He that believeth shall not
make haste.” Adonijah sought
to frustrate the designs of
Solomon “committed himself to Him that judgeth righteously.”
Solomon was crowned
and Adonijah was executed.
·
ADONIJAH REBELLED AGAINST HIS FATHER; SOLOMON
REVERENCED HIS MOTHER. Treatment of parents is a test of
character. To honor father and mother is “the first commandment with
promise.” Adonijah repaid his father’s
indulgence with treason against his
throne; Solomon, when
seated on his throne, had a throne set for his
mother. If
he were king, his mother should be queen. He received her with
the profoundest respect, though she was his subject; for he
“counted her
uncrowned womanhood to be the royal thing.” The fortunes of these two
brothers were not more diverse than their characters, as revealed
by their
treatment of their eiders.
And their histories accorded with their
principles;
their lives and deaths illustrated the commandment.
·
GOD CHOSE SOLOMON AND REFUSED
ADONIJAH. As in the
case of Esau and Jacob, as in the case of Manasseh and Ephraim,
the
younger is preferred to the elder. And yet the elder was
apparently the
popular favorite. “Man looketh on
the outward appearance, but the Load
looketh on the heart.” (I
Samuel 16:7) It is the case of David and
his brethren
over again. In all these
cases “the Lord hath set apart him that’s godly for
Himself.” (Psalm 4:3) The meek,
pacific Solomon, the rejected of Joab
and Abiathar, is the accepted of
Jehovah. And the brilliant
and beautiful
Adonijah, his advantages, his influence, his
efforts, ALL THESE
AVAILED HIM NOTHING for “the proud” — and we may add,
the
selfish, the disobedient — “the LORD knoweth
afar off” (ibid. 138:6),
while “the wicked and him that loveth
violence His soul hateth” (ibid. 11:5).
There are nine
men and three women in chapters 1 and 2 of I Kings that
I purpose to look
at in this study over the next few weeks:
Ø Joab, The following taken from Got Questions.com
Joab was a son of Zeruiah, King
David’s sister (1 Chronicles 2:13–17) and was
therefore one of David’s nephews. Joab’s brothers were two of David’s brave
warriors, Abishai and Asahel. Joab was positioned as commander of
David’s
armies because of his victory over the Jebusites,
resulting in the possession
of the city of
“the city of
Joab fought and won many battles for the king, but his personal lack
of
self-control was problematic. In a war against the forces of Ish-Bosheth,
Joab’s brother Asahel was killed by Abner, the commander
of Ish-Bosheth’s
armies. Joab was furious and pursued Abner
to kill him, but Abner escaped
(2 Samuel 2:12–32). Later, after Abner swore allegiance to David, Joab’s
fuse
blew, and his desire
to avenge his brother’s blood drove him to deceive and
murder Abner (verses 26–27). This action deeply grieved David, but
the king
felt unable to bring
justice against the mighty Joab (verse 39). Instead,
David
pronounced a curse over Joab and his future descendants: “May his blood
fall on the head of Joab and on his whole family! May Joab’s
family never
be without someone
who has a running sore or leprosy or who leans on a
crutch or who falls by
the sword or who lacks food” (verse 29).
As the
commander of David’s armies, Joab was provided many
victories
by God, but Joab caused much grief to the king
and to
perhaps the power of his position drove him to poor
decisions at times. In
addition to his murder of Abner, Joab killed his own cousin, Amasa—and
his
betrayal was Judas-style, accompanied by a kiss: “Joab said to Amasa, ‘How
are you, my brother?’ Then Joab
took Amasa by the beard with his right hand
to kiss him. Amasa was not on his guard against
the dagger in Joab’s hand,
and Joab plunged it into his
belly, and his intestines spilled out on the ground.
Without being stabbed again, Amasa
died”
(2 Samuel
20:9–10). Joab disobeyed
King David’s
command to spare Absalom’s life, himself
striking Absalom with
three javelins (2 Samuel 18). David mourned
the death of his son Absalom,
a response that
was sternly reprimanded by Joab (2 Samuel 19:1–8). It was
also Joab who, in accordance with David’s command, placed Uriah the Hittite
at the front of the
battle to be killed, so that David could feel justified in
marrying Uriah’s widow (2 Samuel 11).
Ø Abiathar - the following from Got
Questions. com.
Along
with Zadok, Abiathar served as one of the chief priests during
David’s reign as
king.
Abiathar’s name means “father of excellence”
or “father of abundance” in Hebrew.
Abiathar was the son of Ahimelech,
who served as a priest at Nob
(1 Samuel 21:1; Mark 2:26) until he and the other priests were
murdered by King Saul (1 Samuel 21:1–19). Being the only son
of Ahimelech to escape the massacre
at Nob, Abiathar fled to
David
and was promised protection by the future king
(1 Samuel 21:20–23).
Because Abiathar served David and acted as priest for all of
David’s men in hiding, he was made high
priest along with
Zadok once David began his reign as king (1 Chronicles 15:11).
This
was a natural role for him to take on, as he had kept the
ephod and administered the Urim and Thummin when David
sought direction from the Lord (1 Samuel 23:6; 30:7).
When Absalom rebelled against his father and attempted to usurp
the throne, Abiathar remained loyal to
David. Abiathar was
among those who fled the capital city with David
(2 Samuel 15:24). Zadok and the
Levites carried the ark
of the covenant, “and Abiathar
offered sacrifices until all
the people had finished leaving the city” (2 Samuel 15:24).
Although
David admired the loyalty and faithfulness of the
priests, he ordered them to return to the city with
the ark.
This
proved helpful because they were then able to send
word to David about Absalom’s plans
(2 Samuel 15:27–29; 17:15–16). David was restored to his
throne and Abiathar to his priestly
office.
Things changed as David’s son Solomon took
the throne.
Abiathar was not loyal to the new king. Adonijah, another
one of David’s sons, put himself forward as king with the help
of Joab (one of David’s nephews) and Abiathar
(1 Kings 1:5, 7).
Once the threat from Adonijah was neutralized, King Solomon
dealt with the conspirators. One of Solomon’s actions was to
remove Abiathar from the priestly
office. This fulfilled the
Lord’s word of judgment over Eli and his descendants,
which impacted Abiathar since he was
related to Eli
(1 Samuel 3:12–14; In that day I
will perform against Eli all things
which I have spoken concerning his house: when I
begin, I will also make an
end. For I have told him that I will judge his
house for ever for the
iniquity which he knoweth;
because his sons made themselves vile,
and he restrained them not. And therefore I
have sworn unto the house of Eli,
that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged
with sacrifice nor offering
for ever.
Abishag - the
following from Got Questions.com
Abishag was a Shunammite
woman, a virgin and an exceptionally
beautiful woman whose account can be found in 1 Kings 1 and 2.
She
was connected to King David in a very interesting manner.
As David advanced in years, his health declined.
Eventually,
whether through declining faculties or an illness, he
was unable
to keep warm, even when fully clothed. It seems this ailment
was a particular problem during the night, so David’s servants
devised a plan to keep him warm. They presented their
idea
to David: “Let us look for a young virgin to serve the king
and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord
the king may keep warm” (1 Kings 1:2). King David agreed,
and, in searching for an, they found Abishag,
who was brought
to live at the palace. There she saw to King David’s needs and
warmed him with her body at night. The Bible states there was
no sexual relationship between the two of them; it was a matter
of a caregiver attending her charge (1 Kings 1:4), although it
was assumed that Abishag would become a de
facto member
of David’s harem—a concubine or secondary wife.
Abishag’s story continues after David’s death and Solomon
began his rule, Adonijah approached Bathsheba and requested
that she go before King Solomon and ask him to give Abishag
as a wife (1 Kings 2:13–17). She relayed the request, but
Solomon
saw through Adonijah’s plot. To marry a former
king’s wife was to lay claim to the throne, and, since Abishag
was considered one of David’s concubines (even though they
had never been intimate), Adonijah’s
request to marry Abishag
was full of intrigue. In short, Adonijah
was renewing his bid
for Solomon’s throne. This was the last straw, and Solomon
ordered that Adonijah be
executed immediately (vs. 19–25).
Bathsheba - taken
from Christianity.com
Bathsheba Was a Woman Who Suffered Greatly
Bathsheba suffered the loss of her husband. When Bathsheba
found
herself pregnant, she sent word to the king,
likely in a panic. Not long
after this, her husband was reported dead. It
isn’t clear whether
Bathsheba knew that David killed her husband or
not. But whoever
killed him, her husband was dead, and she was
now a pregnant widow.
Grieving
the loss of her husband was likely augmented by the hormones
raging from her pregnancy. (this I don’t
know much about - CY - 2022)
In her devastated state, King David took
her again, this time as his wife.
There’s no evidence she had a choice. Her
life as she knew it before
her ceremonial bath was gone forever.
Bathsheba’s parentage
A man named Ahitophel
is also mentioned in 2 Samuel 23:34,
and he is said to be the father of Eliam. Since 2 Samuel 11:3
notes that Eliam
is the father of Bathsheba, some scholars
suggest that the Ahitophel
of 2 Samuel 15 may in fact be
Bathsheba's grandfather.
HAGGITH - the following taken from
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07106a.htm
Haggith
was one of David's wives (2 Samuel 3:4). Whose daughter
she was,
we are not
told. The Bible records only that she bore to him Adonijah, the
fourth of
his sons, in Hebron, before he was king
over all Israel. That
she
was an
uncommonly remarkable woman, seems to be suggested
from the
custom of Biblical writers to speak usually of Adonijah as "the son of
Haggith". Although harem intrigues have ever
played a great part in the
East, nothing indicates, however, that
Haggith had anything to do either
with the attempt of her son to secure for himself the crown of Israel
(1 Kings 1:5-53), or with his fatal request, likely also prompted by
political motives, to obtain his father's Sunamite concubine, Abisag,
from Solomon (1 Kings 2:13-25).
BENAIAH - the following taken
from GotQuestions.com
Several men in the Bible bear the
name Benaiah, but one stands out from
the rest. Benaiah,
son of the chief priest Jehoiada, was one of David’s
“mighty
men”—his toughest military troop. The
Bible describes Benaiah
as a fearless warrior noted for his
heroic exploits. This Benaiah is the
brilliant fighter who famously “went down into
a pit on a snowy day
and killed a lion” (1 Chronicles 11:22).
Benaiah was from the southern Judean city of
became king, Benaiah
was making a name for himself through numerous
daring military achievements: “He struck
down
warriors. He also went down into a pit on a
snowy day and killed a lion.
And he struck down a huge Egyptian.
Although the Egyptian had a
spear in his hand, Benaiah
went against him with a club. He snatched
the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and
killed him with his own spear.
Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too
was as
famous as the three mighty warriors” (2 Samuel 23:20–22).
When David fled from King Saul,
he placed Benaiah in command of
“the thirty”
(1 Chronicles 27:6), a select group of warriors second
only to “the three” of highest rank and
bravery. Later, when Joab was
made commander-in-chief, Benaiah was appointed to a high place in
David’s armed forces as commander of
the Cherethites and Pelethites,
an elite mercenary company in David’s
bodyguard from
Benaiah’s loyalty to King David earned him the
rank of third army
commander, with 24,000 men in his division.
This troop served as
part of the army rotation system
established by King David
(1 Chronicles 27:1–6). Benaiah remained devoted to David
during Absalom’s rebellion (2 Samuel 20:23;
see also 15:18)
and also when Adonijah attempted to take control of David’s
throne (1 Kings 1:8).
Benaiah was instrumental in safeguarding the
passing of the royal
succession to Solomon after David’s death and
thus gained the
honor of assisting in Solomon’s coronation
at Gihon
(1 Kings 1:32–40). As Solomon’s supreme army commander
and chief bodyguard, Benaiah was responsible for executing
those who opposed the new king,
including Adonijah, Joab,
and Shimei (1 Kings 2:25, 34, 46).
ZADOK - taken
from GotQuestions.com.
Zadok son
of Ahitub was a Levite priest during the time
of King David.
For a long
time, he was co-high priest with Abiathar. Zadok was a
descendant
of Aaron and a leader over his family of Levites
(1 Chronicles 27:17).
When Absalom conspired
against his father, David, David was forced
to flee
from
and his
co-priest Abiathar and his son Jonathan accompanied
David, with
Zadok
leading a procession of Levites who carried the ark of the
covenant.
As the
people exited the city, Zadok’s Levites set down the
ark, and
Abiathar
offered sacrifices (verse 24). Once the people had vacated
to return
with the ark to
to David
with any news of what was happening in the kingdom under
Absalom.
David had also sent his friend Hushai back to
Absalom’s
plans, and it was through him that Zadok and Abiathar heard
that Absalom planned to seek out David and destroy him and the
people
who were
with him. Hushai, Zadok,
and Abiathar sent Ahimaaz
and
Jonathan to find David. After hiding in a well from Absalom’s
men,
Amimaaz
and Jonathan were able to escape the city and bring the
message to
David: “Do not spend the night at the fords in the wilderness;
cross over
without fail, or the king and all the people with him will be
swallowed
up” (2 Samuel 17:16).
David escaped, and it wasn’t much
longer
before David’s commander, Joab,
killed Absalom
(2 Samuel 18:1–15). Heartbroken at the death of his son, David
returned
to
When Adonijah set
himself up as king, even though David’s other
son Solomon was to take the
throne at David’s death (1 Kings 1:5).
Adonijah
had some supporters, including Abiathar the priest,
but Zadok,
Nathan the prophet, and several other important men supported David’s
choice and
opposed Adonijah (verse 8). Nathan told David’s wife
Bathsheba
what Adonijah was planning and advised her to apprise
King David of the situation. She did so, and David ordered that
Zadok and
Nathan immediately take Solomon to Gihon and anoint
him as
king (verses 32–34).
When Zadok the priest anointed Solomon’s head with oil at Gihon,
a trumpet was sounded, and all the people assembled began to shout
and rejoice (1 Kings 1:39–40).
Even though Abiathar had spurned King David’s wishes and
supported Adonijah, Zadok stayed true to
David and supported
Solomon. Abiathar lost his priesthood as a result, but Zadok was
rewarded
with a position as one of Solomon’s chief officials
(1 Kings 4:4) as well as being recognized as the sole high priest.
Politics - support - to what end?
Ø Shimei -
Ø David
Ø Solomon - all like you and me Players
in History
And then there
are mentioned:
Ø Nathan
Ø Rei
The
following is from J. Vernon McGee’s Walk Thru the Bible
II
Samuel 23:8-39 - Commentary:
But before I do this, this comes from
Spurgeon:
DAVID’S MIGHTY MEN
We
are given a catalog of David’s mighty men in II Samuel 23:8-39
IN David’s muster-roll we find the names of many mighties, and they are
honored by being found there. These men came to David when his
fortunes
were at the lowest ebb, and he himself was regarded as a rebel and an
outlaw, and they remained faithful to him throughout their lives.
Happy are
they who can follow a good cause in its worst estate, for theirs is true
glory. Weary of the evil government of Saul, they struck out a
path for
themselves, in which they could best serve their country and their
God, and
though this entailed great risks, they were amply rewarded by the
honors
which in due time they shared with their leader. When David came
to the
throne, how glad their hearts must have been; and when he went on
conquering and to conquer, how they must have rejoiced, each one of
them
remembering with intense delight, the privations which they had shared
with their captain. Brethren, we do not ourselves aspire to be numbered
with the warlike, the roll of battle does not contain our names, and we do
not
wish that it should; but there is a roll which is now being made up, a
roll of heroes who do and dare for Christ, who go without the camp, and
take up his reproach, and with confidence in God contend earnestly for the
faith once delivered
to the saints, and venture all for Jesus Christ; and there
will come a day when it will be infinitely more honorable to find one’s
name in the lowest place, in this list of Christ’s faithful disciples than
to be
numbered with princes and kings. Blessed is he who can this day cast in his
lot with the Son of David,
and share his reproach, for the day shall come
when the Master’s glory
shall be reflected upon all his followers.
Charles Spurgeon
The spiritual condition of these men is not stated, however
they too,
like you and me must stand before God someday and be judged by
how
we used our lives. God is Judge -
with Him is no variableness,
neither shadow of
turning.
We know that of David it is said he “....served his own generation.”
(Acts 13:36)
Back to McGee’s Walk Thru the Bible
II Samuel 23:8-39 - Commentary:
8 These be
the names of the mighty men whom David had:
The Tachmonite that sat in the
seat, chief among the captains;
the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against
eight hundred, whom he slew at one time
These men, you will recall, came to David during the time
that he was in
exile. When David was being driven by Saul, he was an outcast,
hunted
like a partridge. He had to hide in the dens of the earth. (Hebrews
11:38-40; Revelation 6:12-17)) It was during this time that those who
were
in
distress came to him. They were persecuted and oppressed by Saul, and
they fled to David. Others
also came to him: those who had gotten into debt
and
could not pay, those who were discontented, and those who were bitter
of
soul. In this same way men
come to Christ. They are in distress.
According to their letters, many young rebels were once in
distress.
They write to me and tell me about their experiences with
the Lord.
They came to Christ with debts of sin, and He cancelled
those debts.
Are you discontented with life? If you are living a
fulfilling life and
doing all right, I guess I don’t have any message for you at
all. But if you
are discontented down
deep in your soul, and you want to be saved and
have fellowship with
God, come to Christ. He will remove your guilt
and give you
satisfaction in your life. These men who came
to David were
outstanding men in many ways. They did many remarkable things.
Let us look at a few of them.
In Rabbinical Literature:
According to a Haggadah, Adino the Eznite -
this name is only a designation of
David to denote two of his principal
virtues. On account of his modesty he
is called
'Adino ("pliant like a
worm") because he bowed down and crawled in the dust
before pious men and scholars. For his heroic deeds and his
strength in battle
he
is called Ha-'Eẓni ("the man as strong as
a tree [
]"; M. Ḳ. 16b).
9 And
after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the
three mighty men with David, when they defied
the Philistines that
were there gathered together to battle, and the
men of
gone away:
10 He arose, and smote the Philistines
until his hand was weary,
and his hand clave unto the sword: and the
LORD wrought a great
victory that day; and the people returned after
him only to spoil.
The following came from website of Calvary
Chapel of Jonesboro, Arkansas
One of the problems that every one of us faces in life
is weariness. That universal
problem is exacerbated even more when we are facing battles
in life. This week
I want to encourage you with the actions of a guy with
an interesting name –
but an awesome example. He is an example of how we
all need to respond to a
battle that seems to be more than we can handle – and yet it
was meant to be a
situation where we watch God bring about a great victory.
In 2 Samuel we read about a guy named Eleazar the son
of Dodo. He was one of
the three greatest of David’s mighty men – and a
wonderful example of how to face
a battle that brings you to a point of great
weariness. Let’s take a look at Eleazar and
see how he responded to weariness in the midst of battle.
“ . . . and after him was Eleazar
the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty
men with David when they defied the Philistines who were
gathered there to battle
and the men of
hand was weary and clung to the sword, and the LORD
brought about a great victory
that day . . . ” 2 Samuel 23:9-10 (NASB)
The first thing we learn from Eleazar
is that everyone, even mighty men of God,
grow weary in battle. God did not rebuke him for
growing weary in battle.
That is normal – whether it is a physical battle or a
spiritual one. The real issue
is what we do when we face that weariness.
Eleazar was wielding a sword in the battle against the
Philistines that day. Swords are heavy –
and when you get weary – you just want to drop your
sword. Whether you completely drop
it to the ground – or just drop it and no longer use it,
as a weapon in the battle really doesn’t
matter. The worst thing you could do in the midst of a
battle is to drop your sword. Eleazar
didn’t drop his sword. In fact as he fought that day
he found that as the battle raged – he
clung to the sword that was in his hand. The word
clung means that he held tightly to it.
The imagery of that verse is that he held so tightly
to it that it would have been difficult to
know where hand ended and sword began. It was as if
he was fused with the sword he
drew and held that day. No matter how weary he was –
he clung to the sword and
continued to use it to decimate his enemies. The result
that day was a great victory –
one that was granted by Jehovah Himself!
Whether you realize it or not, you face a sword fight
every day. The way to victory
in your battles is in fighting with the Word of God,
which is referred to in Ephesians
6 as the “Sword of the Spirit.” The lesson that we
need to learn from Eleazar about
the use of swords in a time of weariness though, is that
we need to cling to our sword
until it fuses with us. Eleazar
clung to his sword in the battle with the Philistines –
and we need to cling to ours in our battles as well.
Our problem is that too often we either drop or lay
down our swords when we get weary.
Either of those two choices, dropping our sword or
laying it down, are horrible options
for us. It is in that moment of weariness that the
battle is won or lost. Consider Jesus,
who after 40 days of fasting experienced a weariness that
few if any of us will ever know.
Yet it was in that weary condition that the devil
himself came and tempted Jesus three times.
Even though weary, Jesus did NOT let go of the sword
of the Spirit. Three times He
unsheathed the sword of the Spirit. Three times he
answered the devil’s temptations and
lies with the Word of God. And just like Samuel of
old, when faced with the wicked,
worldly Agag, He hewed Satan to
pieces with that sword. Every temptation was defeated
and the evil one lay slain at His feet. Was that
because He was the Son of God . . . no.
Was that because Jesus had something we don’t have . .
. no. It was simply because Jesus
took the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, and used it
against the enemy. In His
weariness He didn’t drop that sword – He clung to it – fused
with it – and one could not
determine where His hand ended and the sword began.
Oh to have such a strong grasp
– to cling to the Word of God. To do it even
more when we get weary. To cling to the mighty Sword
of God until we cannot see the
end of us and the beginning of Him in us. To speak
that Word with the same confidence
as our Lord – and to hew to pieces every temptation,
every lie, every deceitful desire that
seeks to lead us astray.
The victory in the day of Eleazar
was not attributed to him. You will note in the passage
in 2 Samuel that it says clearly that the LORD brought
about a great victory that day.
We will not be aware of how awesome we are in that
day. We will be glad that we held
fast to the Word of God. We will be glad that we
clung to the sword of the Spirit and
used it as God intended.
Some may say, “Well, that was another day – a much different time.” It
was a time in the past –
but when we see that Jesus used the perfect tense when He
quoted God’s Word – we will see
that the Word He used is just as strong today as it was in
the day He used it. The Greek,
when translated to show the perfect tense, would read this
way. Jesus said, “It stands
written, (having been written at a time in the past with the
reality that it is still written
now, and will be forever written and the same in the
future) man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of
God!” Each time our Lord
quoted the Word of God He quoted it in this way. He
used the perfect tense. That tense
emphasizes that the Word God gave at whatever point it was given
was just as authoritative
in the time Jesus walked the earth – and it speaks with
the same authority and power in
every generation that will ever exist – and even will have
that authority for all eternity.
By the way – that means it has just as much power to
hew Satan and his temptations
to pieces today.
Are you weary? We all get weary in this life. Something you might
want to know as
well is that Satan seems to do his best (or more
accurately stated, worst) work when
we are weary. If you are weary – don’t let go of
the Word of God! Don’t lay
down your sword – no matter how tired and weary you
become. That Word is
your key to victory. Don’t drop your sword – draw
it! Be ready even in your
most weary moment. And when the evil one shows up,
as he will most likely
show up in those moments, take that sword and by quoting,
holding fast, believing,
and becoming fused with (or one with) the Word of God . .
. hew him to pieces to
the glory of God! May the Lord put that sword
firmly in your hands – may you
become more and more skillful in wielding it – and may you
enjoy times of
worshipping God joyfully for the great victory He gives through
it!
The above taken
from Calvary Chapel of
Back to McGee:
11 And after him was Shammah the son
of Agee the Hararite. And the
Philistines were gathered
together into a troop, where was a piece of
ground full of lentiles: and the people
fled from the Philistines.
12 But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and
slew the Philistines: and the Lord wrought a great victory [
Defending a patch of lentils may not seem very important,
but
the
food. It was the custom of the Philistines to wait until an Israelite’s crop
was
ready to harvest, then they would come ravaging, plundering, and
robbing. This year, as usual, everyone ran when they came—except
one man,
Shammah. He stopped, drew
his sword, and defended it. One man against a
troop of Philistines! “And the Lord wrought a great victory.”
The
following is from Wikipedia
Shammah is a name mentioned several times in the Hebrew
Bible.
In the Book of Samuel, Shammah (שַׁמָּה) was the son of
Agee,
a Hararite (2 Samuel 23:11) one of
King David's three legendary "mighty men".
His greatest deed was the defeat of a troop
of Philistines. After the Israelites fled
from the troop of Philistines, Shammah
stood alone and defeated them himself.
He is credited with having single-handedly
defeated these Philistine soldiers at
a lentil patch. It is also possible Shammah
is mentioned in Judges as Shamgar,
who defeated 600 men of the Philistines with an ox goad. This may have been
the same battle of the lentil field mentioned in the Book of
Samuel, though this
event was textually placed several generations before the
version in Samuel.
(Wikipedia)
The following is from https://www.gotquestions.org/who-was-Shamgar.html
Shamgar was the third judge of
in
his period of leadership. Judges 3:31 says,
“After Ehud came Shamgar
son
of Anath, who struck down six
hundred Philistines with an oxgoad.
He too saved
·
Shamgar’s leadership followed Ehud’s,
·
he was the son of Anath,
·
he killed 600
Philistines with an oxgoad, and
·
he saved
Because
the name Anath referred to a Canaanite goddess, some
have suggested
Shamgar was a son
of a mixed Israelite-Canaanite marriage or had some other
connection with the
Canaanites, though the text is unclear.
The Philistines were
a sea-faring people who lived in
the period of the
Judges. Since the Philistines were known as warriors,
the fact that Shamgar killed 600 of them on his own was an amazing—
or even
miraculous—accomplishment.
An ox goad is a wooden tool, approximately
eight feet long, fitted with an iron spike
or point at one end, which was used to spur oxen as they pulled
a plow or cart.
It often had an iron scraper at the
non-pointed end to clear clods of earth from
the plowshare when it became weighed down.
Using
this crude instrument,
Shamgar destroyed the enemies of
Judges 3:31 does not specify whether his success came in one battle
or in a series of
battles. of Shamgar.
Judges
5:6 also mentions Shamgar
and his times. Deborah and Barak’s
song records, “In
the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael,
the
highways were abandoned; travelers took to winding paths.”
From
these words, we discover that in Shamgar’s time
people traveled
carefully and in
much fear due to oppression by the Philistines and possibly
other enemies.
Shamgar’s use of an ox goad shows how low the men of
brought at that time by their oppressors. Later,
the extent that “not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in
Ecclesiastes
12:11 refers to a goad, which is synonymous
with an ox goad:
“The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the
collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.” In this verse, a
comparison is made between the Word of God, its doctrines, and its
effects
upon the heart of man and an ox goad that pricks, drives, and
directs sinners
like oxen. The Shepherd uses the Word to prick our consciences,
drive us
to repentance, and direct us to Christ for salvation.
When an ox was poked with a goad, its
response was sometimes to kick out
at it in resistance. Naturally, kicking back at the goad was
futile, not to
mention painful. Jesus used this as an analogy when He confronted Saul on
the Damascus
Road (Acts 26:14). Jesus asked Saul why
he was persecuting
Him
and reminded him that, just as an ox that kicks against the pricking of
the goad can hurt itself, Saul’s continued resistance to the gospel would only
result in danger to himself. Saul wisely submitted to the goad
and yielded
himself to Christ.
Note the condition of another Saul in I
Samuel 13:19-22:
19“Now
there was no smith found throughout all the
the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make
them swords or spears:
20 But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to
sharpen every
man his share, and his coulter, and his axe,
and his mattock.
21 Yet
they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for
the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen
the goads.
22 So it
came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword
nor spear found in the hand of any of the
people that were with
Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with
Jonathan his son was
there found.”
I submit to you that the words of Solomon then ring true even now in
contemporary
shall be; and that which is done is
that which shall be done: and
there
is nothing new under the sun.”
Does this not sound familiar?
and there are enemies of Christians entering our borders illegally,
and living among us are misguided citizens who are attempting to
disarm us today and relegate us to servitude, if not to prison or
execution as during the Holocaust.
13 And three of the thirty
chief went down, and came to David in the harvest
time unto the
the
the Philistines was then in Beth–lehem. 15 And David longed, and
said,
Oh that one would give me drinkof
the water of the well of
which is by the gate!
David was brought up in
from the well there. I know how David felt. I was raised in a little town in
My dad built our house and dug our well. The water was
“gyp” water. A few years
ago
I went back to that place. I could hardly wait to get a drink of that water. I
lay
down on the ground by the faucet by the well and lapped up that water. My,
it was
delicious! I was raised on it. It took me back to my boyhood. Now
David longed for
water from the well at
him
water, but three of his mighty men broke through the Philistine lines to get it
for
him.
That is the way they became mighty men.
I think of the command that the Lord Jesus gave in Matthew
28:19–20 to go into all
the
world and preach the gospel. Then I think back in the past to the men who broke
through the enemy lines and took the gospel to those who needed to
hear. Think
of
the pioneer missionaries—I don’t like to mention just one man, but think
of
men like the apostle Paul or Martin Luther. A great company of missionaries
followed after them, and they have been breaking through the enemy
lines ever
since and getting out the Word of God. These are mighty men of
David’s greater
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Here is another of David’s mighty men.
20 “And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the
son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel,
who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike
men of
also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of
snow: 21
And he slew an
Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his
hand; but he
went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the
Egyptian’s
hand, and slew him with his own spear. These things did Benaiah the son
of Jehoiada, and had the name among
three mighty men.” This fellow
slew a lion. That is not an easy thing to do, and he did it when there was
snow on the ground. I know a lot of people who won’t even come to church
when there is a little rain on the sidewalk. May I say to you, they could not
have much fellowship with a man like Benaiah. He
was out there when there
was
snow on the ground. He was a tremendous man.
39 “Uriah
the Hittite: thirty and seven in all.” Uriah the Hittite was one of David’s
mighty men. This is the man he sent to the front lines to be
killed. This is the blot
on
the escutcheon of David.
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