12/3/2010 11:39:45 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: Nathan the Loyalists Part 2
Bible Reading
& Meditation Reference: 1Kings 1:22-37
Message of the verses: I was hoping that I would be able to finish
this section in today’s SD, but it seems unlikely that this will happen because
of its length so I will just proceed and see how far I can get this morning
remembering that it is not the quantity of work that is done, but the quality,
what the Lord uses to speak to my heart.
Nathan informed David (verses 22-27): “22
Behold, while she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet
came in. 23 They told the king, saying,
"Here is Nathan the prophet." And when he came in before the king, he
prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. 24 Then Nathan said, "My lord the king,
have you said, ’Adonijah shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my
throne’? 25 "For he has gone down
today and has sacrificed oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has
invited all the king’s sons and the commanders of the army and Abiathar the
priest, and behold, they are eating and drinking before him; and they say,
’Long live King Adonijah!’ 26 "But me,
even me your servant, and Zadok the priest and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and
your servant Solomon, he has not invited. 27
"Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not
shown to your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after
him?’”
In
verse 28 it is learned that Bathsheba had left the room that king David was at
so this would leave Nathan and David there to talk. Nathan asked David two questions: Did David
announce that Adonijah would be king and did he do this in secret. Between these two questions he spoke of who
was there and who wasn’t there, however he does not speak of Joab being there,
but of the commanders of the army being there.
Perhaps this made David think of Absalom and what happened while this
was going on and that there could not be a civil war going on if Solomon was
going to complete the temple of God.
There
are two portions of Scripture that speak of one of David’s sons being the next
king and building the temple for the glory of the Lord. 2Samuel 7:12-14 and 1Chronicles 17:11-15 are
these two places, but way back in the book of Deut. there is a prophecy given
by Moses of the Lord choosing a place to build this temple and it is at this
time that this will be fulfilled: “10 "When you cross the Jordan and live in
the land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you
rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security, 11 then it shall come about that the place in
which the LORD your God will choose for His name to dwell, there you shall
bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your
tithes and the contribution of your hand, and all your choice votive offerings
which you will vow to the LORD. 12
"And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons
and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your
gates, since he has no portion or inheritance with you. 13 "Be careful that you do not offer your
burnt offerings in every cultic place you see, 14 but in the place which the LORD chooses in
one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall
do all that I command you.” (Deut. 12:10-14)
David instructed his loyal servants (verses
28:37): “28 Then King David said, "Call Bathsheba to
me." And she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king.
29 The king vowed and said, "As the
LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress, 30 surely as I vowed to you by the LORD the God
of Israel, saying, ’Your son Solomon shall be king after me, and he shall sit
on my throne in my place’; I will indeed do so this day." 31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the
ground, and prostrated herself before the king and said, "May my lord King
David live forever."
“ 32 ¶ Then King David said,
"Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada." And they came into the king’s presence. 33 The king said to them, "Take with you
the servants of your lord, and have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and
bring him down to Gihon. 34 "Let
Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there as king over Israel,
and blow the trumpet and say, ’Long live King Solomon!’ 35 "Then you shall come up after him, and
he shall come and sit on my throne and be king in my place; for I have
appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah." 36 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king
and said, "Amen! Thus may the LORD, the God of my lord the king, say.
37 "As the LORD has been with my
lord the king, so may He be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the
throne of my lord King David!’”
I
wonder how long it took David to come up with this solution to a problem that if
not checked very soon would be a great problem in the building of the
temple. One thing that I am sure of is
that this was a plan that came from the Lord, a great plan for David had men he
trusted who would carry out this plan and at the heart of it was to make
Solomon coregent with David as ruler over Israel. David instructions was to have Solomon ride
on the kings mule and then for him to be anointed as king in a place very near
to where Adonijah was having his party so that they would be able to hear what
was going on.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I have to believe that David took time to
pray to the Lord for this solution and God answered David in a very rapid
way. David already knew that the Lord
had chosen Solomon to rule after his death and so he realized that he was
praying in the will of the Lord for he would be praying about a promise that
had already been given to him. Daniel
prayed in a similar way in the ninth chapter of Daniel, praying to the Lord to
answer something that the Lord had promised in His Word. This is the way that I hope to pray.
My Steps of
Faith for Today:
1.
Be a prayer warrior like David and Daniel.
2.
Give myself to the Lord for worship and service.
3.
Remember the battle that is going on and keep my
armor on.
4.
Trust the Lord to continue to teach me contentment,
to trust the Lord no matter what is going on.
5.
Remember that God gives me the grace I need for what
is happening each day.
12/3/2010 12:46:19 PM
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