From a sermon series on 1 Kings by See Huang Lim, a missionary at IBF.
Last month, we talked about David’s advice to his son Solomon on how to be a successful king and have a secure kingdom. David said the biggest key was obedience to God. Today’s, we will see that the king’s role, besides being a spiritual leader, is to identify his friends and enemies, and to make decisions of mercy and judgment.
Let’s read today’s passage, which starts from 1 Kings chapter 2 verse 5. The passage continues David’s advice and shows how Solomon responded after that.
[Read 1 Kings 2:5-46]
Solomon’s systematic elimination of his enemies
How should we evaluate Solomon? What can we learn?
First, let’s talk about Solomon’s systematic elimination of his biggest enemies. When I first read this, I was shocked these executions. It seemed brutal to me.
Now, the Bible doesn’t comment on whether Solomon’s decisions were right or wrong. But if we want to accept the idea that Solomon was a generally righteous man, we also have to accept 3 assumptions. First, that Solomon lived in a time of warring nations that is different from our current culture. Solomon’s time had unique problems which required unique solutions, including physical battle.
Second, we also need to understand that the most important thing for a king is who his top men are. Even if a king is incredibly wise or talented or godly, he depends on many men to execute his vision. This is true both in real life and in fiction. He is more likely to succeed if his men are loyal and capable. He will run into disaster if his men are treacherous and power-hungry.
So, for Solomon to succeed, he needed to put his allies in top positions while identifying his enemies and reducing their threat to him. That’s why David spent his last words telling Solomon who were the enemies and allies.
Third, we need to understand who Solomon’s enemies and why they were considered enemies. The passage focuses on 3 powerful enemies and 1 small enemy. The biggest enemy is Adonjiah, Solomon’s older brother who failed to steal the throne but Solomon chose not to kill him in Chapter 2. Adonijah has 2 supporters: Joab and Abiathar. Joab is a top military commander who supported Adonijah and murdered two commanders who supported David. Abiathar is the high priest who supported Adonijah. Finally, the last enemy is Shimei. 2 Samuel records that, when David was running away from a rebellion, Shimei had cursed David, throwing stones and dirt at him.
Now, what did Solomon do when he became king? Actually, if you read closely, Solomon didn’t want to kill any of those men, possibly out of his merciful character which we saw in Chapter 1. He actually left them alone.
The conflict actually started with Adonijah. But he made a bold and dangerous request, asking to marry David’s last concubine. In verse 22, Solomon said that this request was almost equal to asking to be king. It looked like Adonijah was still rash and unrepentant; he wanted power, and he was a threat to Solomon. Solomon had already given him a second chance. This time, he passed judgment on Adonijah, choosing to execute him. This was partly a politically wise move, because as long as Adonijah was alive, he would always have a claim on the throne.
Seeing Adonijah’s dangerous aspirations, Solomon decided to be more careful. He fired one Adonijah’s biggest supporters, Abiathar the high priest, and replaced him with an ally named Zadok.
When Adonijah’s other big supporter, Joab, heard about it, he freaked out and ran to the Lord’s altar. The altar had horns on each corner, and Joab grabbed onto them in a symbolic appeal for mercy. Solomon executed him for his past crimes of murder. Joab was replaced with Benaiah, Solomon’s ally.
The last enemy was Shimei. David had wanted Solomon to kill Shimei, but Solomon didn’t. But he placed Shimei under a kind of house-arrest. Shimei could continue living as long as he didn’t leave Jerusalem, where he could be monitored closely. But in the end, Shimei broke his promise.
So, we have seen Solomon make a series of decisions involved mercy and judgment. The final result of these decisions is stated in verse 46: The kingdom was firmly established in Solomon’s hands.”
Because of this a period of peace and stability followed. The next 8 chapters describe the country’s growth and prosperity. Unfortunately, at the end of his reign, Solomon faced major enemies again, both external and internal. One of his internal enemies was his own carelessness, which is described in Chapter 11. He allowed his wives to practice idol worship and erode his devotion to God. But that’s a story for another day.
The heavenly king
Solomon secured his kingdom by eliminating his enemies. How can we reconcile this with Jesus’ command to love our enemies? I can’t fully justify Solomon’s actions, but I think it’s fair to recognize that he isn’t an ordinary citizen like you and me. He is a king. A king’s duty is to uphold justice and exercise judgment over those who commit crimes such as treason or murder.
Unfortunately, even the best of governments are not perfect. All over the world today, countries face corrupt leaders, war, poverty, and countless other problems. The true root of these problems is not poor governance. The root is human sin; that is, making decisions that deviate from God’s original, beautiful design for our lives.
I have been talking about human kings; let me reflect a little on our Heavenly King.
Jesus came to earth 2,000 years ago to establish God’s kingdom on earth. His solution wasn’t to provide a perfect model of human government, but to change our hearts. He came to restore our relationship with the true king, God Himself. One day, Jesus will return to finish this process. If you ever feel depressed about the state of the world, read Revelation chapter 21. It is a beautiful picture how God will renew this world.
We don’t know when do not know what year Jesus will return. But we know He is giving everyone a chance to turn from sin and acknowledge Him as our true King. 2 Peter 3:9 says, The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise… He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. We have been waiting for 2,000 years, so I guess God is quite patient! That is God’s mercy.
When Jesus returns, it will be a happy day for those who already serve Him. But it will be dreadful day for those who rejected or ignored His claim of kingship. Jesus says in Matthew 13:41 that when He returns, He will remove from his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. Paul elaborates in 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10: He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord… That is God’s judgment.
So will you choose to be a friend of God or an enemy?
Our internal enemy
Now, for those who have already accepted Jesus’ salvation and Lordship, what can we learn from the story of Solomon and his enemies?
I suggest we avoid applying this in our relationships with other people. Instead of categorizing people as friends or enemies, let’s look inside ourselves. If Solomon’s goal was to have a secure kingdom, our goal as Christians is to grow in the character of Christ. Anything that threatens this goal should be eliminated.
The Native Americans believed that there are two wolves living inside us: one good and the other evil. The wolf that we feed more will be the stronger one. If we feed the good wolf, we will grow in good character. If we feed the evil wolf, we will grow in evil character.
Paul says something similar. In Galatians 6:8, he writes, Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
I have been chatting on the phone with a young man from my wife’s church. He recently told me that he is beginning to feel that it’s not wrong to have casual sex. He feels worried because his views about sex might be changing. I asked him what shows he has been watching recently. He confessed that he has been watching pornography and also TV shows with more sex scenes than normal.
It seems that what we feed our mind can affect us. So let’s ask, “What am I feeding myself?” If I want to grow to be like Christ, am I doing what is healthy for my growth? Or am I sabotaging my own goals with unhealthy habits or lack of good nutrition? Do we spend time listening to God?
Conclusion
In conclusion, do we recognize God as our true king? Or do we cling to the throne of our own life? If we call God our king, do we know and carry out His will?