June 18, Day 169 – Things Changed

1 Kings 2:13-3:15; Proverbs 15:1-10;

Acts 11:19-12:19

"The Sunflower" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Oil on Canvas

Today in 1 Kings 2:13-3:15 we observe Adonijah’s second selfish attempt to use Bathsheba to convince Solomon to give Abishag to him as his wife.  This request is Adonijah’s back-door attempt to steal the kingdom.  He said, “as you know, the kingdom was mine; all Israel looked to me as their king, but things changed” (verses 13-15).  Adonijah – who has already overstepped his authority once – is out of order.  First of all, he is revealing the greedy desires of his wicked heart, and second, he fails to recognize that he is not in charge of things.  If Adonijah were actually in charge, he would already be king.  The people who are in charge are the ones who get to make the decisions.  We have said this before:  man deceives himself into believing that he is able to rule, but he forgets that God is the One Who overrules.  Adonijah should have reckoned on the truth that things change.  We see that Bathsheba – perhaps naïvely, but kindly – presents his request to the king, who realizes Adonijah’s backdoor attempt and lumps Adonijah, Abiathar, and Joab together for their conspiracy (cf., 1 Kings 1:7).  Thus, King Solomon removes Abiathar from the priesthood and eliminates – one by one – the three other major threats to the Davidic kingdom – Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei.  We recall that Shimei “called down bitter curses” on David (cf., 2 Samuel 16:6; 1 Kings 2:8-9).  All four of these men represented four dangerous, evil threats against the future kingdom of Christ (i.e., the world, the flesh, the devil, and organized religion).  In chapter 3, we see that Solomon asks God for wisdom rather than for riches and/or long life.  For a king, Solomon prays an incredibly humble prayer: “I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties, so give your servant a discerning heart” (verse 7).  This word, “discerning” relates to a heart that hears with the intent to understand.  God was so pleased that Solomon asked for wisdom (verse 10), that He promised him “a wise and discerning heart” and long life, riches, and honor to no equal among kings” (verses 13-14).  This is how we should pray.

Proverbs 15:1-10 continues to advise us to apply wisdom’s practical principles in our daily lives.   The sage says that “a gentle answer turns away wrath” (verse 1) – associating “knowledge, healing, and prudence” with words (verses 2, 4, 5, and 7).  He also says that “the eyes of the LORD are everywhere” (verse 3).  God see and knows everything.  He is pleased by the “prayer of the upright,” and He “loves those who pursue righteousness” (verses 8-9).  Why would anyone ever overlook or ignore the practice of these principles?

Coming to Acts 11:19-12:19, we see that the stoning of Stephen led to a great persecution of believers in Christ (cf., Acts 8:1), and Luke now returns to that topic.  He says that believers “had been scattered as far away as Phoenicia, Cypress, and Antioch – telling the message only to Jews” (verse 19).  But then, things changed. Now they began to share Christ with Greeks (i.e., Gentiles), “and a great number of them believed and turned to the Lord” (verse 21).  Then we see how instrumental Barnabas was for strengthening Saul’s faith and for the growth of the early church.  In these chapters, we recognize how God was moving through the Holy Spirit to open the way for Gentiles to be reached and reconciled to God.  Although the Old Testament frequently hints at this movement, it was a mystery to the Jews – not revealed until Jesus came.  As a Gentile, I am glad that things changed. I am grateful for this movement in the plan of God, and I often marvel about it – knowing full well that I had no prior claim on God’s covenants with Israel.  This resonates personally with me – that our salvation is truly based on God’s infinite mercy and grace to us.  I praise God that He included me in His eternal plan!