1 Kings 1:11 - Meaning and Application

Nathan and Bathsheba worked wisely and firmly to get David to confirm Solomon’s right to the throne and stop Adonijah’s takeover. David himself did not know what was going on. Disobedient children often think they are safe if they keep their parents in the dark, but hidden sin soon comes out. Bathsheba also lived quietly and knew nothing of it until Nathan told her. Many people get through life without knowing much about what is happening around them.

Solomon likely knew what was happening, but he was silent, like a deaf man who hears nothing. Though he was old enough and wise beyond his years, he did not move to stop Adonijah. Instead, he calmly left the matter with God and with his friends. In Solomon’s psalm, David says that while people work hard and lose sleep chasing the world, God gives sleep to those he loves, meaning he gives them peace and allows them to succeed without restless effort (Psalm 127:1-2).

Nathan the prophet then warned Bathsheba and showed her how to get an order from the king that would secure Solomon’s title. Nathan cared because he knew God’s mind, David’s duty, and Israel’s good. He was the one through whom God had named Solomon Jedidiah, which means “beloved of the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:25), so he could not stand by and watch the throne be seized. Since God now rules kingdoms through ordinary providence, that is, through his regular care and ordering of events, prophets should not meddle in civil affairs as they once did when kings were chosen by direct word from heaven (Daniel 4:32).

Nathan went to Bathsheba because she cared most for Solomon and could reach David most easily. He told her about Adonijah’s move and made clear that David knew nothing about it (1 Kings 1:11). He also warned that if Adonijah succeeded, Solomon and Bathsheba herself might lose their lives. A humble person may be content without a crown, but the duty to preserve life, both our own and others’, requires action. Nathan’s counsel was, in effect, a call to save her life and her son’s life as well (1 Kings 1:12).

He told her to go to the king, remind him of his word and oath that Solomon would follow him, and ask him humbly, “Why is Adonijah reigning?” (1 Kings 1:13). Nathan thought David was not so weak or indifferent that this would fail to move him. He knew that conscience and honor would stir David once he heard the matter plainly. Nathan also promised to come in while she was speaking and support her words, seeming to arrive by chance, which might awaken David all the more.

Bathsheba acted at once on Nathan’s advice. She went to the king with the same kind of urgent purpose Esther had when she approached King Ahasuerus to plead for her life. She did not need to wait for a summons, because she knew she would be welcome. When she came in, Abishag was serving the king, and Bathsheba took no offense at that. She bowed and showed respect to David as both her king and her husband, like a true daughter of Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him lord. Those who want favor from those above them should show respect and act with dutiful humility.

Her speech to David was careful and wise. First, she reminded him of his promise, made under oath, that Solomon would succeed him (1 Kings 1:17). She knew such a promise would weigh heavily with a conscientious man like David. Second, she told him about Adonijah’s action, which David had not known about (1 Kings 1:18). She made it clear that Adonijah was already acting like king, against David’s promise for the future. She also named Adonijah’s supporters and pointed out that Solomon had not been invited, which showed deliberate disrespect and rivalry, not a mere oversight (1 Kings 1:19).

Third, Bathsheba argued that David was in a strong position to stop the trouble at once (1 Kings 1:20). She said, “The eyes of all Israel are on you,” not because a king may simply hand down the people as if they were his property, but because David was also seen as a prophet. Israel knew he was the Lord’s anointed and that the Spirit of the Lord spoke through him (2 Samuel 23:1-2). So they expected David’s word to settle the matter as a divine decision. She reminded him that a king’s judgment can carry great weight. Whatever power or influence people have, they should use it to protect and advance the kingdom of the Messiah, of which Solomon’s kingdom was a picture.

Fourth, she pointed out the danger to herself and Solomon if the matter was not settled while David was still alive (1 Kings 1:21). If Adonijah gained power, with Joab the army commander and Abiathar the priest on his side, then Solomon and his friends would likely be treated as rebels. Usurpers are harsh and cruel. If Adonijah had taken the throne, he would not have dealt as fairly with Solomon as Solomon later dealt with him. Those who stand in the way of people who are forcing their way into power risk everything.

Nathan the prophet then stepped in at the right moment, just as he had promised, and supported her while she was still speaking, before the king had answered.

If David had heard only Bathsheba’s report, his answer might have been delayed. He might have said only that he would think about it. But when two such witnesses agreed, the matter would be settled, and he would give clear orders at once.

The king is then told that Nathan the prophet has come. Nathan was always welcome at court, especially when the king was sick or deeply troubled. In either case, a prophet could be especially helpful. Nathan knew he must honor those to whom honor was due, so he showed the king the same respect now that David was lying in bed as he would have shown if David had been on his throne. He bowed with his face to the ground (1 Kings 1:23).

Nathan speaks a little more plainly to the king than Bathsheba had done. His standing as a prophet supported him, and David’s weakness made it important that he be stirred to action. First, Nathan gives the same account of Adonijah’s attempt that Bathsheba had given (1 Kings 1:25-26). He adds that Adonijah’s group had become bold enough to cry, “Long live King Adonijah,” as if David were already dead. He also notes that they had not invited him to their feast, meaning they had no wish to consult either God or David about the matter, for Nathan knew the mind of both.

Second, Nathan makes David feel how important it was to clear himself from any part in this. “Have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me?’” (1 Kings 1:24), he asks, and again (1 Kings 1:27), “Has this thing come from my lord the king?” If it had, then David was not as faithful to God’s word or to his own word as everyone thought. If it had not, then it was high time to speak against this takeover and declare Solomon as the heir. And if David had known nothing about it, as he surely had not, then Adonijah and his followers were guilty of bold rebellion. Nathan says this in order to move David to act strongly for Solomon’s cause.

Good people would do their duty if someone would remind them of it, press it on them, and show them what must be done. Those who give that kind of reminder do a real kindness, just as Nathan did for David.

David then gives a solemn declaration that he still means to keep his earlier decision, that Solomon will succeed him. Bathsheba is called in (1 Kings 1:28), and the king gives her fresh assurance, speaking for her son. He repeats his earlier promise and oath, saying that he had sworn by the Lord, the God of Israel, that Solomon would reign after him (1 Kings 1:30). He was old, and his memory was failing, but he still remembered this promise. An oath is so holy that its duty cannot be broken, and so serious that its memory ought not to fade.

David strengthens this promise with another oath, because the need was urgent: “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my soul from all distress, I will certainly do this today, without doubt and without delay.” This sounds like the form of oath he often used on serious occasions, as in (2 Samuel 4:9). It also gives thanks to God for bringing him safely through many troubles and hardships. David speaks of these things to honor God, like Jacob did when he was dying (Genesis 48:16). In this way, David confirms from his own experience what the Spirit of the Lord had said through him: “The Lord redeems the souls of his servants” (Psalm 34:22). Dying believers should bear witness for God and speak about him as they have known him.

Bathsheba receives these promises with great respect for the king’s person. She bows to him, while Adonijah and his party had shown him disrespect. She also gives him heartfelt wishes for his life: “Let him live” (1 Kings 1:31). She was far from thinking he had lived too long. Rather, she prayed that he might live on, if that were possible, to honor the crown he wore and be a blessing to his people. We should sincerely want useful lives to be extended, even if that means our own advantages are delayed.