1 Kings 1:12

_NOW THEREFORE COME, LET ME, I PRAY THEE, GIVE THEE COUNSEL, THAT THOU MAYEST SAVE THINE OWN LIFE, AND THE LIFE OF THY SON SOLOMON._ Let me ... give thee counsel ... The revolt was defeated by this prophet, who, knowing the Lord's will (2 Samuel 7:12; 1 Chronicles 22:9), felt himself bound, in accordance with his character and office, to take the lead in seeing executed. Hitherto the succession of the Hebrew monarchy had not been settled. The Lord had reserved to Himself the right of nomination (Deuteronomy 17:15), which was acted upon in the appointments both of Saul and David; and in the case of the latter the rule was so far modified that his posterity were guaranteed the perpetual

11-31 Observe Nathan's address to Bathsheba. Let me give thee counsel how to save thy own life, and the life of thy son. Such as this is the counsel Christ's ministers give us in his name, to give all diligence, not only that no man take our crown, Revelation 3:11, but that we save our lives, even the lives of our souls. David made a solemn declaration of his firm cleaving to his former resolution, that Solomon should be his successor. Even the recollection of the distresses from which the Lord redeemed him, increased his comfort, inspired his hopes, and animated him to his duty, under the decays of nature and the approach of death....

Verse 1 Kings 1:12. _SAVE THINE OWN LIFE, AND THE LIFE OF THY SON_] Nathan took for granted that Adonijah would put both Bath-sheba and Solomon to death as state criminals, if he got established on the throne. O cursed lust of rule! a father will destroy his son, a son depose his father, and a brother murder a brother, in order to obtain a crown! At this time the monarchy of Israel was _unsettled_; no man knew who was to succeed to the crown, and the minds of the people were as unsettled as the succession. I have examined both systems, and find that, with all its alleged disadvantages, _hereditary monarchy_ has a high balance of evidence in its favour beyond that which is _elective_, and is every way more safe for the state and more secure for the subject....

It would have been in accordance with general Eastern custom for Solomon to suffer death, if Adonijah had succeeded in his attempt. But to have executed his mother also would have been an unusual severity. Still, such cases sometimes occurred: Cassander put to death Roxana, the widow of Alexander the Great, at the same time with her son, the young Alexander....

EXPOSITION THE REVOLT OF ADONIJAH AND THE ACCESSION OF SOLOMON.—The first chapter of this book is occupied with the accession of Solomon and with the circumstances which preceded, marked, and followed that event. The author, or compiler, evidently considered that his work properly began with the reign of Israel's third king, and David's illness and death are only introduced into the narrative because they necessitated a hasty and premature coronation of Solomon, and exercised an important influence on the beginning of his reign (1 Kings 2:1). In the natural order of events, Solomon would not have succeeded until his father's death, but Adonijah's attempt to possess himself of the kingdom required the immediate elevation of Sol

NOW THEREFORE COME, LET ME, I PRAY THEE, GIVE THEE COUNSEL,.... How to conduct in this affair, which she being a woman, and no doubt surprised and confounded at this relation, might be at a loss what to do; wherefore Nathan, being a wise man, and a faithful friend, offers to give the best advice he could, and desires her attention to it: says he, THAT THOU MAYEST SAVE THINE OWN LIFE, AND THE LIFE OF THY SON SOLOMON; which would be the usurper's first care to take away, that he might have no rival, and none to disturb him in his government; which step has been often taken by usurpers to secure themselves, see Judges 9:5....

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS I. DAVID'S LAST DAYS AND THE CROWNING OF SOLOMON 1. Adonijah's Exaltation to be King CHAPTER 1:1-27 _ 1. David's decrepitude (1 Kings 1:1)_ 2. Adonijah's self-exaltation (1 Kings 1:5) 3. The plot of Nathan and Bath-sheba (1 Kings 1:10) 4. Bath-sheba and Nathan before the king (1 Kings 1:15) David was about 70 years old and extremely feeble. The strenuous life he had led, the exposures and hardships of his youth, the cares and anxieties of his reign, and the chastenings through which he passed on account of his great sin, and much else were responsible for thi

LAST DAYS OF DAVID AND ACCESSION OF SOLOMON. This chapter with the following has many analogies with the court history of David (2 Samuel 11-20). The narrative bears every sign of an authentic account of actual events, told with complete impartiality, and without any attempt to comment favourably or otherwise on the events related. David is represented as a very aged man nursed by his youngest wife, Abishag the Shunammite (1 Kings 1:3). Her beauty is especially noticed as it may have caused the death of David's son, Adonijah. Shunem, her native place, was a slope overlooking the plain of Esdraelon near Jezreel, and she is the Shulammite in the Song of Songs (Ca. 1 Kings 6:13). The pivot around which all revolves is the succession. The chief claimant was Adonijah the son of Haggith ...

LIFE. soul. Hebrew. _nephesh_. App-13....

_save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon_ Because it has ever been the policy of an Oriental usurper, as soon as ever he had power enough, to put out of the way those who were likely to oppose him, and so make his throne more secure....