- there are 70 faces to 
Post by alon on Feb 11, 2022 17:40:50 GMT -8
This Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Genesis 23:1-20
Haftara- 1 Kings 1:1-31
D’rash: My dad used to call death “That debt we all have to pay.” And we see here in our parashah not only does Sarah die, but in this and the next few chapters we will see Avraham as a man getting his affairs in order. He will arrange for a wife for Yitz’chaq, give instructions for the distributions of his assets, send his sons to their own destinies, then he too will die. But that’s getting ahead of ourselves. Here he purchases a tomb in which not only Sarah, but himself, Yitz’chaq and Rebekah, and Ya’akov and Leah will be buried. Yoseph will have his bones carried there centuries after his death in Mitzrayim (Egypt: Gen 50:25).
Hebron is in the hill country south of Yerushalayim overlooking a region known as the Shephalah; one with many lush valleys running from the hills to the Mediterranean, which also makes them trade routes for goods going overland between the Gulf of Aqaba and the Mediterranean. Located as it (Hebron) was on the crest of the hills overlooking the Rift and Dead Sea to the east and high, steep slopes to the west it would not have been on a major trade route itself. However as the first seat of Melech Dovid’s kingdom it could block trade from Yerushalayim southward and would have been a threat to the major routes just south of Hebron. Those trade routes were hotly contested as they generated a lot of wealth.
After Yericho, the only lowland city on a major trade route taken when the Hebrews first came into ha’eretz, all they could take was the hill country. Primarily being agriculture and animal husbandry based, and living in small, isolated communities these early Hebrews tended to be very conservative, and very religious; and very dependent on God to send the rains in season (Lev 26:4,41). In this region where every major trade route in the world at that time converged, they were a stark contrast to the wealthier, more worldly pagan populations of the lowland cities. They were as God intended a shining example, a “light unto the world (Is 49, Prov 4:18, Mat 5:14).” It wasn’t until later when Melech Dovid had captured so many of these lowland cities with lush agriculture, industry, and most important sitting on trade routes that Israel started to have serious problems. Many turned from their God to the pleasures of the world wealth buys, as they saw pagan caravans enjoying their respite, drinking and engaging in worldly pleasures such as bedding prostitutes. Money and sex, a sure combination to make one turn from his God to other, more “understanding” gods. Then there is ‘power,’ an irresistible siren for some. Which brings us to our haftara:
1 Kings 1:1-4 Now King David was old and advanced in years. … , he could not get warm. Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman be sought for my lord the king, and let her wait on the king and be in his service. Let her lie in your arms [in your bosom], that my lord the king may be warm.” … Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. The young woman was very beautiful, and she was of service to the king and attended to him, but the king knew her not.
Note it makes a point of saying he “knew her not.” He had no relations with her. He had wives who could have done this service better, so why this Shunamite woman? Some hypothesize his servants did not want the king to waste himself further by having intercourse. He did however prove there was some life left, because when Bathsheva and Nathan came to him with the news:
1 Kings 1:11- Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, … let me give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. … So Bathsheba went to the king in his chamber … She said to him, “My lord, you swore to your servant by the Lord your God, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ And now, behold, Adonijah is king, although you, my lord the king, do not know it. … And now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. …” While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in. … And Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? For he has gone down this day and has sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king's sons, the commanders [Joab the commander] of the army, and Abiathar the priest. And behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ But me, your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he has not invited. Has this thing been brought about by my lord the king and you have not told your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”
He immediately took action:
1 Kings 1:29-30 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.”
Melech Dovid was feeble with old age, and so no longer a commanding presence as king. This may have encouraged rebellion and treachery in his trusted commanders and courtesans. Also Adoniyah may have thought the king was having relations with the Shunamite woman and might produce another heir to challenge him for the throne. Whenever the king is weak the royal household, the court, and the kingdom as a whole become one big chessboard.
Adoniyah’s older brothers Ammon, Avsalom, and Chileav had died, leaving him “next in line.” Proud and vain, he may have thought it his right to inherit the throne. Certainly he had a good claim. However primogeniture, the elevation of the oldest surviving son to the throne was never instituted in Yisroel. As the oldest he would have received a double share of Dovid’s considerable wealth and property. But he coveted the throne; the power, prestige, and honor associated with “being in charge.”
He also found others who possibly were unhappy about their own positions, but for whatever reasons supported him. We’ve all known men who covet titles and power over others; who have no scruples about how they acquire and maintain their position.
Tradition has it that Adoniyah was as good looking as Avshalom before him; and very spoiled. This along with a sense of entitlement caused him to act as rashly as Avsalom had:
1 Kings 1: 5-7, 9 Now Adonijah … 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. He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest. And they followed Adonijah and helped him. Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened cattle by the Serpent's Stone, which is beside En-rogel, and he invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the royal officials of Judah, …
Adoniyah festooned himself with all the embellishments of power and declared himself king.
1 Kings 1:8,10 But Zadok the priest and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and Nathan the prophet and Shimei and Rei and David's mighty men were not with Adonijah. … but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the mighty men or Solomon his brother.
Like all malefactors, he tried to hide his actions until too late to be reversed, so he did not invite those loyal to Melech Dovid. He wanted to present this as a fait accompli, a done deal which, if the populace fell in line with the first to be laureled with the title “king” would be difficult if not impossible to reverse. But the news got out and these and later efforts were thwarted. Shlomo was anointed king at the Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley beneath the east wall of the lower city. Melech Dovid had turned the tables, presenting Adoniyah instead with the coup as:
1 Kings 1:42-49 … Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. And Adonijah said, “Come in, for you are a worthy man and bring good news.” Jonathan answered Adonijah, “No, for … David has made Solomon king, … they had him ride on the king's mule. And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon, and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. Solomon sits on the royal throne. Moreover, the king's servants came to congratulate our lord King David, … And the king also said, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has granted [one of my offspring] to sit on my throne this day, my own eyes seeing it.’” Then all the guests of Adonijah trembled and rose, and each went his own way.
And as always, the rats desert a sinking ship. But these events occurred after the conquest of the lowlands and the accumulation of great wealth for Yisroel. The king and nation as a whole more and more became dependent on the standing armies this wealth afforded and less on Melech ha’M’lechim, the King of Kings (Rev 19:16). The character of the nation was changing from the faith/trust in God exhibited by Avraham, Yitz’chaq, Ya’akov, and Yoseph and those early, more conservative Hebrews scraping a living from the land.
Mekorot: All scripture from the ESV unless otherwise noted; JPS Study TNK; CJB Study Bible; Dr C Parker of the IBC; W Wiersbe; my father and others.
Next Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Gen 24:1-41
Haftara- Jud 19:10-21
Apostolic references will be given in the darashot
Parashah- Genesis 23:1-20
Haftara- 1 Kings 1:1-31
D’rash: My dad used to call death “That debt we all have to pay.” And we see here in our parashah not only does Sarah die, but in this and the next few chapters we will see Avraham as a man getting his affairs in order. He will arrange for a wife for Yitz’chaq, give instructions for the distributions of his assets, send his sons to their own destinies, then he too will die. But that’s getting ahead of ourselves. Here he purchases a tomb in which not only Sarah, but himself, Yitz’chaq and Rebekah, and Ya’akov and Leah will be buried. Yoseph will have his bones carried there centuries after his death in Mitzrayim (Egypt: Gen 50:25).
Hebron is in the hill country south of Yerushalayim overlooking a region known as the Shephalah; one with many lush valleys running from the hills to the Mediterranean, which also makes them trade routes for goods going overland between the Gulf of Aqaba and the Mediterranean. Located as it (Hebron) was on the crest of the hills overlooking the Rift and Dead Sea to the east and high, steep slopes to the west it would not have been on a major trade route itself. However as the first seat of Melech Dovid’s kingdom it could block trade from Yerushalayim southward and would have been a threat to the major routes just south of Hebron. Those trade routes were hotly contested as they generated a lot of wealth.
After Yericho, the only lowland city on a major trade route taken when the Hebrews first came into ha’eretz, all they could take was the hill country. Primarily being agriculture and animal husbandry based, and living in small, isolated communities these early Hebrews tended to be very conservative, and very religious; and very dependent on God to send the rains in season (Lev 26:4,41). In this region where every major trade route in the world at that time converged, they were a stark contrast to the wealthier, more worldly pagan populations of the lowland cities. They were as God intended a shining example, a “light unto the world (Is 49, Prov 4:18, Mat 5:14).” It wasn’t until later when Melech Dovid had captured so many of these lowland cities with lush agriculture, industry, and most important sitting on trade routes that Israel started to have serious problems. Many turned from their God to the pleasures of the world wealth buys, as they saw pagan caravans enjoying their respite, drinking and engaging in worldly pleasures such as bedding prostitutes. Money and sex, a sure combination to make one turn from his God to other, more “understanding” gods. Then there is ‘power,’ an irresistible siren for some. Which brings us to our haftara:
1 Kings 1:1-4 Now King David was old and advanced in years. … , he could not get warm. Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman be sought for my lord the king, and let her wait on the king and be in his service. Let her lie in your arms [in your bosom], that my lord the king may be warm.” … Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. The young woman was very beautiful, and she was of service to the king and attended to him, but the king knew her not.
Note it makes a point of saying he “knew her not.” He had no relations with her. He had wives who could have done this service better, so why this Shunamite woman? Some hypothesize his servants did not want the king to waste himself further by having intercourse. He did however prove there was some life left, because when Bathsheva and Nathan came to him with the news:
1 Kings 1:11- Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, … let me give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. … So Bathsheba went to the king in his chamber … She said to him, “My lord, you swore to your servant by the Lord your God, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ And now, behold, Adonijah is king, although you, my lord the king, do not know it. … And now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. …” While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in. … And Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? For he has gone down this day and has sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king's sons, the commanders [Joab the commander] of the army, and Abiathar the priest. And behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ But me, your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he has not invited. Has this thing been brought about by my lord the king and you have not told your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”
He immediately took action:
1 Kings 1:29-30 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.”
Melech Dovid was feeble with old age, and so no longer a commanding presence as king. This may have encouraged rebellion and treachery in his trusted commanders and courtesans. Also Adoniyah may have thought the king was having relations with the Shunamite woman and might produce another heir to challenge him for the throne. Whenever the king is weak the royal household, the court, and the kingdom as a whole become one big chessboard.
Adoniyah’s older brothers Ammon, Avsalom, and Chileav had died, leaving him “next in line.” Proud and vain, he may have thought it his right to inherit the throne. Certainly he had a good claim. However primogeniture, the elevation of the oldest surviving son to the throne was never instituted in Yisroel. As the oldest he would have received a double share of Dovid’s considerable wealth and property. But he coveted the throne; the power, prestige, and honor associated with “being in charge.”
He also found others who possibly were unhappy about their own positions, but for whatever reasons supported him. We’ve all known men who covet titles and power over others; who have no scruples about how they acquire and maintain their position.
Tradition has it that Adoniyah was as good looking as Avshalom before him; and very spoiled. This along with a sense of entitlement caused him to act as rashly as Avsalom had:
1 Kings 1: 5-7, 9 Now Adonijah … 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. He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest. And they followed Adonijah and helped him. Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened cattle by the Serpent's Stone, which is beside En-rogel, and he invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the royal officials of Judah, …
Adoniyah festooned himself with all the embellishments of power and declared himself king.
1 Kings 1:8,10 But Zadok the priest and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and Nathan the prophet and Shimei and Rei and David's mighty men were not with Adonijah. … but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the mighty men or Solomon his brother.
Like all malefactors, he tried to hide his actions until too late to be reversed, so he did not invite those loyal to Melech Dovid. He wanted to present this as a fait accompli, a done deal which, if the populace fell in line with the first to be laureled with the title “king” would be difficult if not impossible to reverse. But the news got out and these and later efforts were thwarted. Shlomo was anointed king at the Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley beneath the east wall of the lower city. Melech Dovid had turned the tables, presenting Adoniyah instead with the coup as:
1 Kings 1:42-49 … Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. And Adonijah said, “Come in, for you are a worthy man and bring good news.” Jonathan answered Adonijah, “No, for … David has made Solomon king, … they had him ride on the king's mule. And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon, and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. Solomon sits on the royal throne. Moreover, the king's servants came to congratulate our lord King David, … And the king also said, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has granted [one of my offspring] to sit on my throne this day, my own eyes seeing it.’” Then all the guests of Adonijah trembled and rose, and each went his own way.
And as always, the rats desert a sinking ship. But these events occurred after the conquest of the lowlands and the accumulation of great wealth for Yisroel. The king and nation as a whole more and more became dependent on the standing armies this wealth afforded and less on Melech ha’M’lechim, the King of Kings (Rev 19:16). The character of the nation was changing from the faith/trust in God exhibited by Avraham, Yitz’chaq, Ya’akov, and Yoseph and those early, more conservative Hebrews scraping a living from the land.
Mekorot: All scripture from the ESV unless otherwise noted; JPS Study TNK; CJB Study Bible; Dr C Parker of the IBC; W Wiersbe; my father and others.
Next Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Gen 24:1-41
Haftara- Jud 19:10-21
Apostolic references will be given in the darashot
