Useful Bible Studies > 1 Kings Commentary > chapter 1
Adonijah was the fourth son of King David (2 Samuel 3:2-4). At least two of his older brothers, Amnon and Absalom, were already dead. So, Adonijah considered that he now had the best right to become Israel’s next king.
The people in Israel loved special processions. So, as Absalom had done, Adonijah prepared a splendid procession to impress them (2 Samuel 15:1). David was still alive and he could have prevented this. In the Book of 2 Samuel, we often saw that he was too weak in character to deal firmly with his sons (for examples, read chapter 13 of that book). Now in his old age, David was physically weak too.
Adonijah gained some important supporters for his plan to become king. Joab was Israel’s chief army commander – but he had long refused to obey David’s orders (2 Samuel 18:11-14; 1 Chronicles 21:6). David had tried but failed to remove his command over the army. Abiathar was one of Israel’s two chief priests. Both Joab and Abiathar had supported David for more than 40 years. In fact, they had been supporters of David even before the time when he became king.
However, Adonijah did not gain the support of some other important leaders in Israel. Those men still supported David; and they believed that Solomon should rule after him. They included Zadok, the other chief priest, and Nathan the prophet (a man who received messages from God). They also included Benaiah, the commander of David’s guards, and many of Israel’s greatest soldiers (2 Samuel 23:20-39).
Next part: The ceremony to appoint Adonijah king (1 Kings 1:9-10)
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© 2024, Keith Simons.