Defiance Defeated (Part A)

Moreover, David said, Yahweh, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. So my, where I'm going with it is, this is not a new, an epiphany for David.

He has been carrying this around in his heart since before he was anyone. When he was a youth, before he slays Goliath, he goes back to that time and says, God delivered me from the bear and the lion. He's going to deliver me from this Philistine. This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the Book of 1 Kings.

Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, let's join Pastor Rick in the Book of 1 Kings Chapter 1 as he begins a new study called Defiance Defeated. The Book of Kings Chapter 1. We have a long chapter. Don't be intimidated by that. Defiance Defeated, that is the title for this evening's consideration. At least that's one of the major things that stands out to me going over this. I could do this chapter again months from now and come up with a different outstanding point. But this is the one I feel led to stress.

Now, quick review. David's health is failing. He does not have much time left. He's going to have, sort of apparently, a health rebound toward the end of his life.

An extended sunshine moment, you might say. But right now, as events unfold in this chapter, he's not doing well. He had not officially announced his successor to the throne. So his eldest living son, Adonijah, has appointed himself the successor in defiance of what was made clear by Nathan the prophet. Nathan, he becomes aware of Adonijah's self-exaltation and he understood immediately its threat. Well, for instance, he wasn't invited to this self-made coronation party that Adonijah was throwing for himself.

Solomon was not invited and, again, Solomon was the divinely appointed heir. And Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, of course, she would have been put in jeopardy. So what Nathan does, he arranges an appeal to David, but first he goes to Bathsheba and he says, I want you to first go to the king, tell him what's going on.

While you're speaking to him, I'll then come in and back your story up. And that is what we're going to read about. She will approach the king that Nathan will confirm. And to me, again, one of the great lessons from this chapter is that those who defy the king are defeated. Defiance defeated. Adonijah is defying his father.

He is defying the king and he will be defeated. And you look in the New Testament, the New Testament deals with the same thing but takes another approach to everything. And here's what I mean in Romans 3. You'll be familiar with the first two verses, I think, and hopefully blessed by the third. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is, that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. Well, Adonijah didn't follow that kind of advice and that's why he is the arrogant, defiant man that he was. And it was going to cost him his life eventually. So let's look at verse 15.

We've got to get to 53. So Bathsheba went into the chamber to the king. Now the king was very old and Abishag, the Shulamite, was serving the king. Well, as we covered, Abishag is there to give him body heat because the king is not able to keep himself warm. But clearly Bathsheba has a special access to the king.

We'll find this contrasted with Nathan in verse 23 who comes in and has to be announced. Apparently she, Bathsheba, is much younger than David and the wives of the kings of Israel are never designated as queens. There's one reference in Solomon's Song of Solomon to the 60 queens and it's probably more of a dramatic feature, but the Jews really didn't get into that. We don't read of a real queen until Sheba comes to visit Israel. Later though, when she visits her son to take the message of Adonijah to him, he has, Solomon, he is king at that point, and he has, the Bible tells us, another throne brought and placed beside his own where his mom can sit and they can discuss matters. And so just because they're not referred to as queens does not mean that they lacked the influence of a queen and were treated utmost respect. David's frailty appears throughout chapters one and two.

I mentioned Abishag. She has court privilege also. She's not the only one. There are other court attendees and attendants, but she is charged with secrecy of the king's court. In verse 16, and Bathsheba bowed and did homage to the king. Then the king said, what is your wish? So she follows the basic rules of royal etiquette, bowing and waiting for the king to say, okay, it's your turn to speak and that's fine. Her life and her son's life are dependent upon the outcome of this appeal that David has to grant it. Verse 17, then she said to him, my lord, you swore by Yahweh, your God, to your maidservant, saying, assuredly, Solomon, your son, shall reign after me and shall sit on my throne. Well, we have no direct record of these two having this conversation with no reason to doubt it.

We have it in other areas. In 1 Chronicles, David attests to this very thing. Behold, a son, David is speaking, he's saying, this is what God said to me. Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days.

And he goes on to add, and his throne will be forever. So through, of course, it's a messianic reference. But the point is, this was known.

It was not something that was just thought up. And this is a heavy strike against those who collude with Adonijah, Joab being one of them, and the alternate high priest, Abiathar being the other. Verse 18, so now look, Adonijah has become king.

Bathsheba is still speaking. And now, my lord the king, you do not know about it. Well, this suggests that David did not really, you know, his health was not allowing him to take care of business as he should have. But David would not have liked to have heard that his son bypassed him, bypassed the will of God, bypassed the throne of Israel. This would have started the reaction that we need David to have. Such a man as Adonijah is not fit for the throne. David would have just been starting to get really a little riled.

She's not finished. Verse 19, he has sacrificed oxen and fatted cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest and Joab, commander of the army. Solomon your servant, he is not invited. Well, this was premeditated, well thought out.

I mean, to get all these animals to the, in Rogel where this is taking place, and to have the priest ready and set up to conduct these sacrifices and then serve the meals, this is not something that was a spur of the moment. They were deep into their defiance of David. Now David had 17 sons over the 40 years on the throne. The two elders died a violent death. The third, Kelahab, the son of Abigail, alternate name Daniel.

We don't read about him, leaving us to suppose maybe his health was not strong enough, or maybe he had passed at some point early on also. So Adonijah becomes the eldest known living son of David, traditionally next in line for the throne. But God is not bound by tradition at all. And we see this with Jacob and Esau, with Ephraim and Manasseh, you know, Joseph objects, no, the older first, and Jacob says, I know what I'm doing son. There's no violation, it's a divine prerogative, and God is going to bypass Adonijah. Well, he already has stated it through his prophets and other records.

So God overrules, of course, the tradition. We don't know about Solomon's other three brothers. There may have been four, we don't know how they counted, if they counted the one that passed away, their first child between David and Bathsheba, and did they name him, so it gets a little confusing, it's not a major point at all, but we don't hear of his other brothers.

Certainly Adonijah is not inviting them to this either, but they're just not in the picture. Solomon, again, he's not going to forget this defiance when he becomes king. 1 Kings chapter 22, when his mom Bathsheba then comes and says, hey, Adonijah asked me this question, and she tells Solomon, Solomon answered and said to his mother, now why do you ask Abishag the Shulamite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my older brother, for him. Ask it for him, and for Abiathah the priest, and for Joab the son of Zoriah.

So he's hot still, he's like, oh yeah, now it's on. I gave that dude a warning, and he did not heed it, and now he's going to, and then of course he dispatches, you know who. Beneniah, the man who killed a lion on a snowy day, and Beneniah, of course, is going to take him out. Do we get that next chapter?

It's going to be very exciting. Anyway, verse 20, and as for you, my lord, oh king, Bathsheba is still speaking, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. Verse 21, otherwise it will happen when my lord the king rests with his fathers that I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders. Well, in verse 22, I mean, she just said, David, you have to do something now. David is, of course, shivering, trying to get warm.

So if he seems reluctant, the reason why I say that, if he seems reluctant, again, he's poor health, he's feeling miserable, and probably other issues coming from that, and so there's no reluctance here, there's just some health issues. Adonijah still needs the blessings, he's not going to get it. David's inaction, if he does nothing, it will send the signal that he condones, he blesses Adonijah, so he's got to do something. And that's why Nathan and Bathsheba have come to him. And so she is saying, oh, king, if you do nothing, we will be killed, there will be a royal purging. And now David is armed. Verse 22, and just then, while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. So Nathan is saying, I'm not taking any chances on this, I'm not leaving it to one testimony, I'm going to come in and back this up. I'm thinking, well, David, he's sold already, he's okay, we'll do something. So Nathan is saying, well, I don't agree with you, Rick.

I think he needs to hear me say it too. He is a man of unquestionable character, and his word is still taken very seriously by David. Verse 23, so they told the king, saying, here is Nathan the prophet.

And when he came in before the king, he bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. So his arrival is formally announced, as opposed to Bathsheba. She comes in this other entrance that's probably reserved for David's wife. Whereas Bathsheba, she departs to a waiting area.

She's not out of the picture, she's going to come back in. And so she departs in deference to the king's business with Nathan. The great mutual respect between these three. When David and Bathsheba had Solomon, God went out of his way, as we would say it, to make sure the guilt was removed from this couple.

He goes and he sends Nathan, saying, I want you to tell them the great blessing I have for this child. You two sinned, we dealt with that. Now it's time to go forward, which many of the people in the kingdom never got over.

Joe Evans and other characters, they held us evidently. He doesn't explicitly say it, but apparently they had this grudge. And it was an opportunity to make Adonijah king. Are you kidding me?

There's nothing ever said that's redeeming about that man. Anyhow, she departs when David and her are going to have Solomon in chapter 12 of 2 Samuel, which we don't have the time to read it, but you can read in verse 24 and 25. There you can read what Nathan says about Solomon.

And it's all a blessing. They may have, as I mentioned, had four other sons together. The daughters we wouldn't know about.

They really weren't listed unless there was something of importance about them. Verse 24, And Nathan said, My lord, O king, Have you said, Adonijah shall reign after me and shall sit on my throne? For he has gone down today and has sacrificed oxen and fatted cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king's sons and the commanders of the army and Abiathah the priest, and look, they are eating and drinking before him, and they say long live King Adonijah.

They're having a political feast, not a religious celebration. Nathan, he knows how to make his points with David. Remember, he is the one that told that elaborate story about the lamb being eaten and the pet lamb being eaten. Then he says, David, you're the man. Well, here, he tells just the facts. He doesn't come up with a story here. But he puts David on defense, pointedly asking him, Did you make Adonijah your successor?

Because I don't remember it that way. And this would stir David even more, and it did. Because David's going to be very thorough in dealing with this. So, before David answers, Nathan follows up with questions and facts. He's king, he says.

He follows up with that. David, again, did not like this because this was a power move, bypassing him like that. Verse 26, David says, I'm not dead yet. I am still the king. Verse 26, Nathan's still driving his points home. But he has not invited me, your servant. What does that mean, David?

Nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaniah the son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon. So, he gives him a list of people who are not on the list of invitees. Furthermore, Nathan, keeping up the pressure, just says, king, how come these people aren't invited? Verse 27, he's still speaking, Nathan. David's patient. He's like, well, it's not my turn.

I want to hear this out. Has this thing been done by my lord the king? And you have not told your servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him? Well, evidently, clearly, to me at least, maybe to you now. David told Nathan important things because Nathan is saying, how come you didn't tell me?

Will you tell me stuff? Have I missed something? It's a fair question because, again, Nathan has a different recollection about all this. Well, he doesn't differ from David.

He differs from Adonijah. Anyway, verse 28, then King David answered and said, call Bathsheba to me. So, she came into the king's presence and stood before the king. So, David knows what to do. He calls back in Solomon's mother Bathsheba. Remember, she departed when Nathan came and reenters, verse 29, and the king took an oath and said, as Yahweh lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress.

So, we have to stop mid-clause, mid-sentence in this clause here, the second clause. David is using the same oath language or terminology when he was angered at the murderer of Saul. Actually, no, it was not Saul. It was Saul's son, Ish-bosheth, when he was murdered, and David uses the same language.

First Samuel in 17 of First Samuel, he used it before Saul about dealing with the Goliath. Moreover, David said, Yahweh, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. So, where I'm going with it is this is not a new, an epiphany for David. He has been carrying this around in his heart since before he was anyone, when he was a youth, before he slays Goliath. He goes back to that time and says, God delivered me from the bear and the lion. He's going to deliver me from this Philistine. And then, breaking from David for a moment, New Testament now, Paul the apostle, he's telling Timothy, I don't have much time. I'm being poured out like a drink offering. And then he tells Timothy that, you know, you've witnessed the persecutions that I endured, the stonings, the beatings, etc. He says in 2 Timothy 3, verse 11, Persecutions, afflictions which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra, what persecutions I endured. You can hear a sigh in that.

Man, it was rough. And then he says, and out of them all, the Lord delivered me. You need your head examined, Paul.

I don't call that deliverance. Yeah, well, I do, Paul would say. I'm still here preaching.

I'm still here standing. I'm still telling people about Jesus Christ and still directing the church with just as much gusto as I ever had. That's Paul's understanding of God delivering him. So when David says, Yahweh lives who has redeemed my life from every distress, well, Paul echoes that. David did not say the Lord kept my soul from distress. He delivered me from it. We should not expect God to somehow give us divine immunity from problems.

Ain't gonna happen. However, Paul writes to the Corinthians. I tell you, 2 Corinthians and 2 Timothy, just these heartfelt letters from Paul, he says, Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves but God. In other words, we're at the end. He doesn't give a lot of details about it.

He gives enough. We felt we were going to die. And there was nothing we could do except trust God. We were cornered.

We were trapped. And then he says that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death and does deliver us and whom we trust that he will still deliver us. Man, that's faith.

That's what David is saying. Yahweh lives. He is alive. He's real. And he has redeemed my life from every distress. And so what? I'm shivering as I'm saying it.

He is still my deliverer. And then, of course, Paul just echoes it, as I mentioned, from 2 Timothy 3.11 and 2 Corinthians 1, verses 9 through 10. I know that there are times in my life that I just get sick of it. And I know what the Lord says.

You don't have that option. Soldiers don't have an option to be sick of war. They have to fight the battles. You don't say, I'm just out on the moon today. And I can remember times knowing this, repeating that to myself.

I know I have not the right to be sick of this, but I am. And yet, here I am, preaching the Gospel still. And my struggles were nowhere near as David and Paul. It doesn't have to be.

They were big to me, as yours are big to you. Trust God. That's what the Bible says.

God could have just wrote two words, and we would have had a very short Bible study every Sunday. Trust God. But then he says, I know that's not enough.

They need to know about me. He illustrates it through so many ways. Well, verse 30 now. Just as I swore to you by Yahweh, God of Israel, saying, Surely Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place, so certainly I will do this day. So David is charged now, and this may have been the turning point in his health. He may have just been enough to just revive him, because I think he's emotionally pretty hot, because he's an emotional guy. Read the Psalms.

Now, he's not emotionally driven, but his emotions, you know, he doesn't ignore them. He uses them, and that's why the Psalms speak to us so much, because we can just hear him say, as the deer pants for the water, so am I so longing for you. And then, of course, Psalm 23, after, you know, he makes the table, prepares the table before me in the presence of my enemies. Well, I don't want a table in front of my enemies. I want airstrikes.

I want something to take them out. He anoints my head with oil. My cup runs over. I mean, he's just so articulate, and then he says, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord. When I die, if I die, I will be in heaven before hell knows I'm dead. That's how fast God's going to move, because we who believe, we don't die. We just change duty stations. We're just here, and then we're there.

Man, it takes us, it's just amazing. Well, oh, verse 31 now. So after David says, I certainly will do it this day, then Bathsheba bowed her face to the earth and said, and paid homage to the king and said, let my Lord King David live forever.

Now, that's an ironic statement. He doesn't want to live forever like he is now, but it is court etiquette. David is like, no, I'm ready to go home. Verse 32, and King David said, call me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaniah the son of Jehoiada. So they came before the king.

You can hear the court, Abishag, and the rest of them are like, ooh, it's on. Then verse 33, David said to them, take with you the servants of your Lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and take him down to Gihon. Thanks for joining us for today's teaching on Cross-Reference Radio. This is the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia.

We trust that what you've heard today in the book of 1 Kings has had a lasting imprint on your life. If you'd like to listen to more teachings from this series or share it with someone you know, please visit crossreferenceradio.com. We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast too so you'll never miss another edition. Just visit crossreferenceradio.com and follow the links under radio. Again, that's crossreferenceradio.com. Our time with you today is about up, but we hope you'll tune in next time to continue studying the word of God. Join us again as Pastor Rick covers more in the book of 1 Kings on Cross-Reference Radio.