Post by alon on Nov 8, 2015 21:09:25 GMT -8
Haftara 1 Kings 1:1-31
1 Kings 1:29-30 (ESV) And the king swore, saying, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity, as I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ even so will I do this day.”
In this haftara reading, David’s final work is to make sure his son Solomon succeeds him. Another son, Adoniyah, was usurping the kingship even though David was still alive. So David again promises Bat-Sheva their son Shlomo (Soloman) would become king. He was old and frail:
1 Kings 1:1a (ESV) Now King David was old and advanced in years.
Adoniyah took advantage of the kings helpless state to try and take the throne in a coup. He first acquitted himself in the trappings of royal power.
1 Kings 1:5-6 (ESV) Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. His father had never at any time displeased him by asking, “Why have you done thus and so?” He was also a very handsome man, and he was born next after Absalom.
Adoniyah was Melech Dovid’s fourth son; however he was probably the oldest surviving son. In vs 6 we see that he was extremely spoiled. A handsom lad, he was probably very full of himself. He gathered his allies, including Avyatar the cohen and Yo’av, commander of the army. They should have heeded the warning in :
Exodus 23:2a (ESV) You shall not fall in with the many to do evil,
Reminiscent of another great userper, hasatan, we can see the Almighties reaction:
Psalm 1-6 (ESV) The Reign of the Lord's Anointed
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
It was due to the quick action and intervention of Bat-Sheva and Natan the prophet that this plot was foiled.
Natan the prophet goes to Bat-Sheva and explains that her life and that of Shlomo is in danger. Adoniyah knew of the promise that Shlomo would be king, and if he succeeded to the throne he would have certainly had his rivals killed, starting with Shlomo.
1 Kings 1:12 (ESV) Now therefore come, let me give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.
Bat-Shevah and Natan go to Melech Dovid, remind him of his promise to have Shlomo succeed him on the throne, and inform him of Adoniyah’s treachery. Once informed, Melech Dovid acts quickly and decisively to set things right.
1 Kings 1:29-30 (ESV) And the king swore, saying, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity, as I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ even so will I do this day.”
David referred to God as the one “who has delivered me out of every trouble.” While he was yet king, Dovid still relied on the Lord to aid in accomplishing His will in His kingdom of Yisroel.
We live now in a world apparently gone mad. Europe and the US has been welcoming in enemies by the thousands. Men who would destroy us and userp both our governments and our religions. We can take a lesson from this, that it will require bold action on all our part coupled with strong, decisive leadership and always praying to and leaning on Elohim Tsevaot to set things right.
Dan C
Sources: JPS Study TNK, W. Wiersby, E. B. Meyer, Rabbi Eckstein, my father and others.