Today’s passage: 1 Kings 1:1-27
Helpful thoughts:
- The first four verses are strange. King David was getting “old” (70 years old) and sick. They brought him a young woman to keep him warm. Evidently, this was a customary medical practice, though it is unclear why they needed to get another woman to do this.
- Abishag would have been considered a part of the king’s official harem, though they never were intimate.
- We are told about Abishag’s place in the king’s harem for a better understanding of a future event.
- The Serpent’s Stone was a previous sacrificial location the Jebusites would have used in their pagan worship. A blurring of lines was going on in this action. Adonijah was willing to bend the rules if it made him king.
- Adonijah knew that even though he was the oldest living son, he would not have an automatic right to the throne, so he took matters into his own hands. If Adonijah had become king, he may have decided to execute anyone else who might try to lay claim to the throne.
Questions to consider:
- Are there any customary practices we have in our time and culture that may not actually be biblical and right? Why is it so hard sometimes to see that? How would we know? How might this distinction be even more difficult during heightened political tensions or as a political leader?
- What would have been better for Adonijah, to become the king through this orchestrated attempt or to be content with whatever role God had for him in this life? (Proverbs 25:6-7) What is God’s view of leadership anyway? (Matthew 23:1-12)
- How can all of this activity remind us of our need for Christ? Are we truly aware of all the sins of which we need forgiveness? Even though we all sin (And have sinned) more than we even realize, what is still true of us if we are in Christ (Romans 8:1)? How should this bring us to a spirit of worship?