1 Kings 2:12 - Meaning and Application

Here we have Solomon taking the throne, (1 Kings 2:12). He came to it much more easily and peacefully than David did, and his rule was established much sooner. A kingdom is blessed when one good reign ends and another begins, as it did here.

We also see Solomon’s just and necessary removal of Adonijah, his rival, so that his throne could be firmly settled. Adonijah had once made bold claims to the crown, but he was quickly forced to give them up and throw himself on Solomon’s mercy. Solomon let him go on good behavior, and if Adonijah had stayed quiet, he might have been safe. Instead, he betrayed himself into Solomon’s hands and fell under Solomon’s justice. God left him to himself so he could be punished for his earlier treason and so Solomon’s throne would be secured. Many people ruin themselves because they do not know when they are well off, and sinners, by trusting God’s patience, store up wrath for themselves.

Notice first Adonijah’s treasonous plan. He wanted to marry Abishag, David’s concubine, not because he loved her, but because he hoped to renew his claim to the crown through her. In those days, taking the women of a former king was sometimes seen as a sign of taking over his rule (2 Samuel 12:8). Absalom, David’s son, had thought his own claim was strengthened by lying with his father’s concubines. Adonijah seems to think that if he can succeed David in his bed, especially with one of David’s favored women, he may also succeed him on the throne. Restless and ambitious people always reach high. It looked like a small matter, but he hoped to turn it into a way back to the kingdom, trying to gain by marriage what he could not gain by force.

Next, notice the means he used. He did not dare ask Abishag directly, because he knew she was under Solomon’s authority, and Solomon would rightly resent it if his consent was not first obtained, as Ish-bosheth did in a similar matter (2 Samuel 3:7). He also did not dare go straight to Solomon, since he knew he was under Solomon’s displeasure. So he used Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, hoping she would assume it was a matter of love and not suspect a political scheme. Bathsheba was surprised to see Adonijah in her room and asked whether he had come to harm her, since she had helped stop his recent attempt to seize the throne. He answered that he came peacefully, to ask a favor (1 Kings 2:13-14), and asked her to use her influence with Solomon so he might marry Abishag (1 Kings 2:16-17).

If he could get this, he would gladly take it in two ways. First, he presented it as some compensation for losing the kingdom. He said, in effect, that the kingdom had been his as the oldest son, and that all Israel had looked to him. That was false, since only a few supported him. Still, he tried to paint himself as a man who had been deprived of a crown and so deserved some comfort. If he could not inherit his father’s throne, then at least let him have something valuable that had belonged to his father, and let it be Abishag. Second, he treated it as a reward for giving up his claim. He admitted Solomon had the right to the kingdom, saying it was from the Lord, and that he had been foolish to fight it. He pretended to be pleased with Solomon’s rise to the throne, while doing all he could to trouble him. His words were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart.

Then Bathsheba brought the request to Solomon on his behalf. She promised to speak for him (1 Kings 2:18), and she did so (1 Kings 2:19). Solomon showed her the honor due to a mother, even though he was king himself. He rose to meet her, bowed before her, and seated her at his right hand, in keeping with the command to honor one’s parents. Children, even when they grow up and become great, must still respect and honor their parents. Do not despise your mother when she is old. As another sign of the respect he gave her judgment and authority, he told her he would not refuse her request, meaning, of course, so long as it was right and proper. If it were not, he would show her why it should be denied, and she would then withdraw it.

At last she told him what she wanted: “Let Abishag be given to Adonijah your brother” (1 Kings 2:21). It is strange that she did not suspect treason, and even stranger that she did not hate the sin hidden in the proposal. Perhaps she did not regard Abishag as David’s wife, since the marriage was not completed. Or perhaps she thought the request might be allowed in order to please Adonijah, since he had submitted quietly to Solomon. This was her weakness and foolishness. It was a good thing she was not acting as regent. Those who have access to princes and great men should be careful not to waste that influence, and they must never use it to help sin or support a wicked plan. Princes should never be asked for what they ought not grant. It is not fitting for a good person to promote a bad request or stand on the side of a bad cause.

Finally, see Solomon’s wise and just refusal. Even though the request came through his mother, and she called it a small favor, and perhaps it was the first one she had asked since he became king, he still denied it, without breaking the general promise he had made (1 Kings 2:20). If Herod had not wanted John the Baptist’s head cut off, he would not have felt bound by a vague promise to Herodias. The best friend we have must never lead us into something wrong, whether unfair or foolish.

Solomon first showed his mother how unreasonable the request was and exposed where it would lead, though she had not seen it before. His answer was somewhat sharp: “Ask for him the kingdom also” (1 Kings 2:22). In other words, to ask that Adonijah succeed the king in his bed is really to ask that he succeed him on the throne, because that is clearly what he is aiming at. Solomon likely had information, or at least strong suspicion, that Adonijah was plotting with Joab and Abiathar to cause trouble, and that justified the way he read the request.

Then Solomon convicted and condemned Adonijah for his claims, and he did so with an oath. He made Adonijah’s own words rise up against him (1 Kings 2:23). A person’s own tongue can bring him down, and there is no heavier burden to carry than that.

Bathsheba may have been taken in by Adonijah, but Solomon could not be. He clearly saw what Adonijah was really after, and he concluded, “He has spoken these words against his own life; he has trapped himself by his own lips; now he has shown what he wants.” Solomon sentenced him to die at once: “He shall be put to death this day” (1 Kings 2:24).

God had already sworn that he would establish David’s throne (Psalm 89:35). So Solomon gives the same firm answer to protect that promise by removing its enemies. “As surely as God lives, the One who establishes the kingdom, Adonijah must die, because he would throw it into disorder.” In the same way, the downfall of Christ’s enemies is as certain as the security of Christ’s kingdom, and both are as certain as the existence and life of God, the one who founded it.

The order for execution is signed at once, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, commander of the army, is told to carry it out (1 Kings 2:25). It may seem strange that Adonijah is not allowed to speak for himself. But Solomon’s wisdom saw no need to investigate further. It was clear enough that Adonijah was aiming for the crown, and Solomon could not be safe while he lived.

Ambitious and restless people often prepare the very means of their own ruin. Many have lost their heads by reaching for a crown.