1 Kings 1:5: Adonijah's Presumption
“Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.”
- 1 King 1:5 (KJV)
“Exalted himself:” What we know so far of Adonijah, we read in The Second Book of Samuel:
“And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; And his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; And the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron.”
- 2 Samuel 3:2-5 (KJV)
We know that two of the three sons older than Adonijah were dead (Amnon and Absalom), and we suspect that the other older son (Chileab) either also died or was unfit to rule because he is never mentioned after this.
As the oldest living son of David, by many customs Adonijah would be considered the heir to the throne. But the throne of Israel was not left only to the rules of hereditary succession; God determined the next king.
Adonijah violated a basic principle in the Scriptures, that we should let God exalt us and not exalt ourselves.
“ Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck. For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.”
- Psalm 75:5-7 (KJV)
“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”
- James 4:10 (KJV)
“He prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.” Adonijah had a good marketing campaign, and he knew how to present himself as king. He hoped that if he put forth the image of a king, he would become king in reality.
Adonijah was the brother of Absalom, and we see his conduct was much the same if we read the following scripture in The Second Book of Samuel:
“And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.”
- 2 Samuel 15:1
God bless!
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