CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
1 Kings 1:12. Save thine own life, &c.; for had the scheme of Adonijah succeeded, all rivals to the throne would have been slain.
1 Kings 1:13. Assuredly Solomon, &c.—The particle כִּי scarcely allows of so forcible a rendering; saying, That Solomon shall reign.
1 Kings 1:14. Confirm thy words: דּנָרָוִךְ מִלֵּאתִי אֶת—I will make full thy words—a phrase used for the fulfilment of divine utterances (Chapter s 1 Kings 2:27, 1 Kings 8:15; 1 Kings 8:24).
HOMILETICS OF 1 Kings 1:11-14
THE COUNSEL OF THE WISE AND GOOD
I. Is prompted by an unselfish concern to carry out the Divine will.
1. The Divine will is the first and highest consideration with a true prophet. Nathan well knew it was the Divine purpose that Solomon should reign. Doubtless it was he who revealed to David the promise of Jehovah to this effect (1 Chronicles 22:8-9). Without blindly and inactively resting on the issue of the Divine decree, he saw the wisdom and importance of using all lawful means to disconcert the wicked attempt to frustrate it. He was not influenced by a priestly officiousness and love of political intrigue, but by the supreme and jealous anxiety to fulfil the will of God. “When crowns were disposed of by immediate direction from Heaven, no marvel that prophets were so much interested and employed in that matter; but now that common Providence rules the affairs of the kingdom of men (Daniel 4:32) the subordinate agency must be left to common persons. Let not prophets intermeddle in them, but keep to the affairs of the kingdom of God among men.” Nathan was indifferent to the personal risk he run had his counsel been rejected and Adonijah allowed to become king. In all things, spiritual and temporal, the will of God is the highest reason. It is the safest motive to action.
2. The conduct of Nathan was in harmony with a genuine friendship. The faithfulness of the prophet in reproving David’s sin not only produced repentance, but established a bond of friendship which lasted for the remainder of the monarch’s life. The training of Solomon was entrusted to Nathan, and the amiable qualities and superior abilities of the youthful prince won the prophet’s love. The services of a true friend may be more freely and cheerfully rendered when they accord with the Divine intentions. It is no act of friendliness to tender advice which involves in its observance the displeasure of God. Advice should be given with gentleness and wisdom: it should fall as the dew, not overwhelm as the torrent.
II. Highly valuable in great emergencies. A grave crisis had come in the history of the kingdom. It needed the utmost caution and promptitude in dealing with it. Important interests were threatened.
1. A crown was at stake (1 Kings 1:11). Adonijah had usurped the position to which his brother was formally designated. There was danger the sceptre should not pass into the hands of Solomon. The crown of life, more lustrous far than the costliest earthly diadem, is reserved for the faithful. That no man take our crown, we must give heed to Divine counsel.
2. Life was at stake (1 Kings 1:12). It was the sanguinary custom among the ancient monarchies of the East, in the event of a forcible seizure of the throne, to murder the dethroned ruler, or the opposing pretenders to the crown, and all their nearest relatives (Judges 9:5; 1 Kings 15:29; 2 Kings 10:6; 2 Kings 10:13; ib. 1 Kings 11:1). If Adonijah succeeded, Bathsheba, Solomon, and, probably, Nathan, must perish. We are in danger of eternal death. It is the privileged function of God’s messengers, while warning against threatened death, to offer life. Happy are they who are wise to receive instruction! To keep sound wisdom and discretion is life to the soul and grace to the neck (Proverbs 3:21-22).
3. The wish of the dying king was disregarded. That Adonijah knew the intention of David was evident by his refusing to summon Solomon, and by conducting the conspiracy so secretly that the aged king was ignorant of it. Filial duty dictates a reverential regard to the last wishes of a dying parent. Rebellion outrages all family relationships, and ignores the dearest parental wishes.
4. The future prestige of the empire was imperilled. Adonijah was unfit to govern. Had he reached the throne, his career must have been one of disaster. There would have been no Solomon-era; and the peace, the commercial affluence, the luxurious display, the intellectual glory, and theocratic splendour that characterised the brilliant reign of the wise and gifted king, would have been, if not unknown, indefinitely postponed. A prophet and a woman—both contemptuously overlooked by the proud conspirators—were the instruments of defeating an ill-starred enterprise. The timely and vigorous action of a single mind has often decided the destiny of a nation.
III. Suggests the most forcible reasons for right action (1 Kings 1:13).
1. The king is informed that his own arrangement concerning the regal succession is violently disturbed. “Why, then, doth Adonijah reign?” It was a terrible blow to David to be told that his son—a son so fondly loved and excessively indulged—was engaged in a rebellious attempt to defeat his father’s declared intention. It would affect David the more that his informant was Bathsheba, a woman he tenderly loved, and mother of the son who would be most injured if the usurper triumphed. Nothing will sooner rouse a man into action than the forcible and wilful interference with his own long-cherished and thoughtfully formed plans.
2. The king is reminded of his oath. “Didst not thou swear?” It is not known when David made the promise on oath to Bathsheba that her son should be king. It was evidently after the revelation made to him by Jehovah, recorded in 2 Samuel 7. The reference to his oath, uttered with the utmost solemnity and awe, would he irresistible. The God-fearing king would be incited to adopt prompt and active measures for ensuring the accomplishment of his purpose. The man who fears God must ever be most solicitous to fulfil the promise made by his solemn invocation of the Divine Name.
IV. Is supplemented and confirmed by active, personal endeavours (1 Kings 1:14). Many are ready to tender advice when it does not involve personal effort and inconvenience. Advice thus cheaply given is generally estimated at the same value. The true friend, not content with simply giving the wisest counsel, is prepared to substantiate his words with earnest, diligent, and self-sacrificing personal endeavours. The advice of such a friend is beyond all price. It should be gratefully obeyed.
LESSONS:—
1. The minister of God should be able to give sound counsel.
2. The best counsel is that which is most in harmony with the will of God.
3. The counsel of the wise and good should be carefully pondered.
4. Good counsel, when promptly acted upon, is followed with beneficial results.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1 Kings 1:11. The watchfulness of the faithful minister—
1. Enables him to discern the dangers which threaten the interests of God’s kingdom.
2. To discover the secret plots of evil workers.
3. To afford seasonable and important counsel in grave emergencies.
4. To lend all the force of his personal efforts in defeating the designs of the wicked.
5. To brave all the perils of fidelity.
Nathan, the type of a true prophet. Seen—
1. In his watchfulness and fidelity (Ezekiel 33:7). He is not silent when it was his duty to open his mouth (Isaiah 56:10).
2. In his wisdom and gentleness (Matthew 10:16).
3. In his earnestness and courage (Matthew 10:28). How grand is this Nathan! How reproving to all who sleep when they should be wakeful, who are dumb when they should counsel, who flatter when they should warn! It is a solemn duty not to conceal what can prove an injury and evil to an individual or to a community, but to expose it at the right time and in the right place, so that the injury may be averted.—Lange.
1 Kings 1:12. The great burden of the Gospel message. The mission of the Gospel is—
1. To counsel the ignorant.
2. To warn the indifferent.
3. To offer life to the spiritually dead.
4. To reveal the endless duration and consummate felicity of the life enjoyed by the believer.
5. To set forth the character and redeeming work of the great Life-Giver.
—What Nathan here says to Bathsheba, Christ and His Apostles, in an infinitely higher sense, say to us all, especially every father and every mother. How many take kindly the good advice of a wise man, for themselves and for their children, in their earthly and outward affairs, but who wish to hear nothing of the best advice which shall bring blessedness to their souls!
1 Kings 1:14. The purity of the counsel is confirmed by the accompanying result. There are some seeming contradictions in Scripture; and though they seem to be as the accusers of Christ, never a one speaking like the other, yet, if we understand, we shall find them speaking like Nathan and Bathsheba, both speaking the same things.—Trapp.