David Crowns Solomon King

s we learned in Lesson 4, David was aman who feared and obeyed God. All

the days of his life, he set his heart to do thewill of God. But, like any human being, hewas not perfect. He made some mistakes.However, when David recognized that amistake had been made, he repented withall of his heart.

As a result of a mistake that he made inthe past, God told David that his householdwould experience trouble. Near the end ofhis life, one of his sons conspired to take thethrone. However, David would not standidle and watch this happen.

A Coup Thwarted

David’s son Adonijah,brother of Absalom,thought that after hisfather died, he wouldbe the king of Israel.To make sure that thiscame to pass, he con-spired with Joab, thecaptain of Israel’sarmy, and withAbiathar the priest. Healso gathered a host ofchariots and horsemen

to run before him. Then, he hosted a feast inhis own honor and invited his brothers, allof the men of Judah and the king’s servants.However, he did not invite his brotherSolomon, Nathan the prophet or David’smighty men.

When Nathan the prophet heard whatwas happening, he contacted Bathsheba,David’s wife and mother of Solomon. Heknew that both Bathsheba’s and Solomon’slife would be in danger if Adonijah suc-ceeded in his mission. Therefore, he toldBathsheba to go to King David and informhim of everything that was going on andthat afterwards he would come in and con-

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David CrownsSolomon King

1 Children’s Bible LessonIllustrations by Paula Rondeau

firm everything thatshe had said.

So, she did exact-ly as the prophet hadadvised. She bowedbefore David, andproceeded to tellhim of Adonijah’sactions. Adonijahhad already declaredhimself king andthat she andSolomon would bein danger afterDavid’s death. Also,she reminded Davidof the promise he made about Solomontaking the throne after him.

Then, as planned, Nathan the prophetcame in and confirmed Bathsheba’swords.

After meditating on the words of Nathanthe prophet, David summoned Bathsheba.Notice what David said to her in I Kings1:32-35: “And King David said, ‘Call to meZadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, andBenaiah the son of Jehoiada.’ So they camebefore the king. The king also said to them,‘Take with you the servants of your lord,and have Solomon my son ride on my ownmule, and take him down to Gihon. Therelet Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophetanoint him king over Israel; and blow thehorn, and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’Then you shall come up after him, and heshall come and sit on my throne, and heshall be king in my place. For I haveappointed him to be ruler over Israel andJudah.”

They did exactly as the king had com-manded. Zadok the priest anointedSolomon king of Israel and the peopleshouted, “Long live King Solomon!”

As Adonijah and his guests finished eat-ing, they heard the commotion, and won-dered what it was about. Jonathan, the sonof Abiathar the priest, told them that Davidhad Solomon anointed king.

After hearing the words of Jonathan, allof Adonijah’s guests fled in fear. Adonijahwas also fearful and fled. Then, he tookhold of the horns of the altar, staying thereuntil King Solomon promised not to puthim to death.

However, Solomon made no such prom-ise. Notice what he said in I Kings 1:52: “Ifhe proves himself a worthy man, not onehair of him shall fall to the earth; but ifwickedness is found in him, he shall die.”After hearing that, Adonijah came and hon-ored the king. Then, the king sent himhome.

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The Passing of the Scepter

Now, David was old and ready to die. Butbefore he did, he left the following words ofwisdom for his son Solomon. Turn to IKings 2:2-4 and fill in the blanks: “I go theway of all the earth; be strong, therefore,and prove yourself a man. And ____________________ of the LORD your God: towalk in His _______________, to keep His__________, His ____________________,His ______________________, and His_________________, as it is written in theLaw of Moses, that you ______________________ in all that you do and whereveryou turn; that the LORD may fulfill His wordwhich He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘Ifyour sons take heed to their way, to____________________________ in truth

with all their heart and with all their soul,’He said, ‘you shall not lack a man on thethrone of Israel.’

David also warned Solomon to put hiskingdom in order by dealing with the peoplewho caused David trouble. David said, “Nowson, you know what Joab did to me and thathe killed Amasa and Abner, the commandersof the armies of Israel. Therefore, do notallow him to go to the grave in peace.However, be kind to the sons of Barzillai theGileadite, and allow them to eat at your table,as they helped me when I fled from yourbrother Absalom. Also, remember that youhave Shimei dwelling with you. He cursedme maliciously when I fled to Mahanaim.However, I swore to him by the Lord that Iwould not put him to death. But you must nothold him guiltless. You are wise and knowthat he should not be allowed to die inpeace.”

After having reigned over Israel for fortyyears, David died and was buried in the Cityof David.

Even to the moment of his death, Davidwas teaching his son to obey God. He real-ized that the true meaning of this life is notfound in the amount of money that you haveor how many possessions you have. Davidrealized that the purpose of this life is toprepare us for the next one. And that isexactly how he lived his life.

David, a man after God’s own heart, hasbeen chosen by God to be king over Israelin the coming kingdom of God. Then, Israelwill once again have King David over them.Notice: “But they shall serve the LORD theirGod, And David their king, Whom I willraise up for them” (Jeremiah 30:9).

Putting the Kingdom in Order

After Solomon had taken the throne,Adonijah approached Bathsheba with astrange request. He said, “You know that Iwas next in line to rule Israel and that thepeople wanted me to rule. Nevertheless, itwas given to my brother by God. But, I askyou this one thing for me. Speak to KingSolomon on my behalf, because I know thathe will not hold anything back from you.Ask him to allow me to marry Abishag theShunammite.”

Bathsheba agreed to speak to the king onhis behalf.

When Bathsheba met with the king, shesaid, “I have a favor to ask of you, and I askyou not to deny me this request.” KingSolomon said, “Go ahead and ask mother,because I will not deny you.” So she said,“Allow Adonijah to marry Abishag.”

King Solomon answered, “Why are youasking me to allow Adonijah to marryAbishag? Why not also ask me to hand overthe kingdom to him—not only him, but alsoAbiathar the priest, and Joab the son ofZeruiah. Adonijah has asked this petitionagainst his own life! With God as my wit-ness, today, Adonijah will surely be put todeath!”

King Solomon sent Benaiah to executeAdonijah.

Adonijah was being tricky. He figuredthat if he could marry Abishag, it wouldappear that he was the rightful heir toDavid’s throne. However, King Solomonsaw right through his evil plot. Adonijah’sfoolishness ultimately led to his death.

Afterwards, the king also decided to dealwith Abiathar the priest. He said, “Go toAnathoth, out of the sight of the king, foryou know that you deserve to die. But I willnot destroy you because you were responsi-ble for the Ark of the Covenant during myfather’s reign, and because you afflictedyourself when my father was afflicted.However, I am removing you from being apriest. Now be gone!”

This event fulfilled God’s promise toremove Eli’s family line from the priest-hood (I Samuel 2:30-35). This is furtherproof that when God says that He is goingto do something, He does not fail to do it!

When Joab heard what had happened toAdonijah and Abiathar, he knew that he wasnext. So, he also fled and took hold of thehorns of the altar.

King Solomon found out where Joabwas and sent Benaiah to execute him.Benaiah yelled for Joab to come out of thetabernacle. However, Joab refused, sayingthat he would rather die where he was.

Benaiah told the king what Joab hadsaid. Then the king said, “Do exactly as hehas said. Destroy him and then bury him.Let the innocent blood of Amasa and Abnerbe on his head and no longer on my father’shouse.” And Benaiah obeyed the king andkilled Joab in the tabernacle, and then heburied him. Then, the king placed Benaiahin charge of the army and put Zadok in theoffice of high priest.

Next, the king, remembering what hisfather told him, summoned Shimei. Whenhe appeared, the king said, “Build a househere in Jerusalem in which to dwell,because you are forbidden to go anywhere

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else. The day that you disobey me andcross the Brook Kidron, know for certainthat you will be put to death; and you willbe guilty of your own death.”

When Shimei heard the king’s terms, heagreed to them.

However, one day, two of Shimei’sslaves ran away to Gath. When he heardthis, he saddled his donkey and wentafter—directly disobeying the king’s com-mand. After Shimei returned, the king sum-moned him again. Then, King Solomonsaid, “Did you not swear by the Lord thatyou would not leave Jerusalem, and did Inot tell you what would happen to you ifyou did? Why did you not keep your oath,and why did you disobey me? You alreadyknow that because of what you did to myfather, you are worthy of death. Today, thatsentence will be carried out.”

So the king had Benaiah, the command-er of the army of Israel, execute Shimei.Afterwards, King Solomon completed thetask of putting his kingdom in order.

Test Your Memory:

1) Which of David’s sons tried to seize thethrone? ____________________________2) True or False? Bathsheba wasSolomon’s sister.3) After the death of Joab, who did Solomonmake commander of Israel’s army?___________________________________

The Wisdom of Solomon

One day, while King Solomon was offeringsacrifices at Gibeon, the Eternal appeared to

him in a dream. God asked Solomon whathe wanted from Him and He would give itto him. Turn to I Kings 3:6-9 for Solomon’sanswer, and fill in the blanks:

“And Solomon said: ‘You have showngreat mercy to Your servant David myfather, because ______________________in truth, in righteousness, and in upright-ness of heart with You; You have continuedthis great kindness for him, and You havegiven him a son to sit on his throne, as it isthis day. Now, O LORD my God, You havemade Your servant king instead of myfather David, but _________________________; I do not know how to go out orcome in. And Your servant is in the midstof Your people whom You have chosen, agreat people, too numerous to be numberedor counted. Therefore give to Your servant ___________________________________________to judge Your people, that I may_________ between good and evil. Forwho is able to judge this great people ofYours?’”

When God heard this, He was verypleased. Solomon was practicing the giveway of life. He was not focused on him-self. He could have asked for selfishthings, but he did not. And because of that,God answered his prayer, and He decidedto give Solomon those things for which hedid not ask—riches, honor and long life.

Also notice that Solomon consideredhimself to be a child when he made thisprayer. God, the same Being who said,“Suffer the little children to come untoMe,” heard Solomon’s prayer andanswered it. Do not be afraid to go to Godbecause you are a child. If you talk to God,

He will listenand respond toyou.

S o m e t i m eafter this prayer,two womenappeared beforethe king. Bothwomen claimedthat a certainchild was theirown and that theother’s child haddied. The kingcommanded thatthe child be cut in

two pieces and one half given to one womanand the other half given to the other. The realmother of the child begged the king to let theother woman have her son. She did not wantto see her son killed. However, the otherwoman agreed with the king and asked forthe child to be cut in two. The king perceivedthat the first woman was the mother becauseof the compassion that she had for the child,and he commanded that she be given thechild.

God kept His promise. He gave KingSolomon great wisdom. All of Israel fearedthe king because they knew that God hadgiven him great wisdom so that he couldexecute proper judgment.

Solomon had great riches and exceed-ingly great wisdom. He spoke over 3,000proverbs and created over 1,000 songs.Men from different parts of the world cameto hear Solomon’s wisdom. God answeredDavid’s prayer and made his son’s thronegreater than his.

The Temple is Built

Now, Solomon was ready to build God’stemple. He requested the help of Hiramking of Tyre in this task. The Sidonianswere very skilled at cutting timber, andSolomon wanted the best. King Hiram, adear friend of David, was happy to helpSolomon in any way that he could.

The temple was patterned after God’stabernacle. Its stone walls were coveredwith cedar paneling and overlaid withgold. Just outside the temple’s entrancewere two giant pillars, named Boaz (“in itis strength”) and Jachin (“He shall estab-lish”). Inside the temple was a vestibule(or porch) at the front. Next was the sanc-tuary, or the Holy Place, which housed thealtar of incense and 10 golden tables withten golden lamp stands. After this chambercame the inner sanctuary, or the Most HolyPlace. This is where the Ark of theCovenant was to be stationed. Around thetemple was an inner court used by priests.It had a round bronze basin called a Sea,and held about 12,000 gallons of water,which the priests used to wash themselves

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and their sacrifices. It also supplied waterfor the smaller basins that were used.There was also an outer court used by therest of the Israelites. From the laying of thefoundation to its completion, the temple ofGod took seven years and six months tofinish.

After the building of the temple hadbeen completed, King Solomon assembledIsrael at the temple. He had the priests bringthe Ark of the Covenant and set it in theMost Holy Place. Once the priests came outof the Holy Place, the glory of Goddescended upon the house of the Lord in acloud. This took place in front of the eyes ofall of Israel.

The king reminded the assembly whyGod’s temple was built. Then Solomonkneeled before the altar, spread his handsout toward heaven—as Moses had done

when the Amalekites attacked Israel in thewilderness (Exodus 17:8-16)—and prayedto God.

In his prayer of dedication, the king said,“Eternal God of Israel, there is none likeYou in heaven or on the earth. You havekept Your promise to my father David inhaving his son build Your house. Now I askthat You keep Your promise to always havea descendant of David sitting on Israel’sthrone, as long as that man is careful to walkin all Your ways.”

When he finished praying, Solomonstood up and blessed the assembly.

Then, he and the people dedicated thetemple to God’s service, and offered burntsacrifices—22,000 bulls and 120,000sheep. The people had given so much inburnt offerings, grain offerings and peaceofferings that the bronze altar outside the

temple was too small to handle such largecontributions.

The ceremony was an especially awe-inspiring and festive occasion, as the latterhalf of the 14-day event took place duringthe Feast of Tabernacles, which pictures thefuture millennial rule of Jesus Christ.

When the celebration was finally over,Solomon sent the people home. They werefull of joy and appreciative of all the goodthat God had done for them.

Shortly after his dedication prayer, Godappeared before Solomon in a dream. He letSolomon know that He heard his prayer andthat He consecrated the temple. Turn to IKings 9:4-8 for the rest of God’s words toSolomon, and fill in the blanks:

“Now if you walk before Me as yourfather David walked, in integrity of heartand in ________________, to do accordingto all that __________________________,and if you keep My statutes and My judg-ments, then I will establish the throne ofyour kingdom over Israel forever, as Ipromised David your father, saying, ‘Youshall not fail to have a man on the throne ofIsrael.’ But if you or your sons at all_______ from following Me, and ________ keep My commandments and Mystatutes which I have set before you, but goand serve other gods and worship them,then _______________________ Israelfrom the land which I have given them; andthis house which I have consecrated for Myname I will cast out of My sight. Israel willbe a proverb and a byword among all peo-ples.”

This was a serious warning to KingSolomon and to the house of Israel. If they

had continued to obey God, He would haveestablished them as His model nation to theworld. However, if they did not continue toobey Him, then He would remove themfrom the land and destroy the temple. Godkept His word. Other than the tribe ofJudah, Israel no longer inhabits the “prom-ised land.” And in the place in which thetemple was located, there is now a Muslimmosque.

Always take God’s warnings seriously.He always does what He says He will do. Itmay not come immediately, but God’swords always come to pass.

Test Your Memory:

1) In what city did Solomon sacrifice toGod? ______________________________2) Why did Solomon decide to give the child to the first woman? ____________________________________________________________________________________3) What king agreed to help Solomon buildthe temple? _________________________

The Queen of Sheba Seeks Solomon

One day, the king received a visit from theQueen of Sheba, who had brought spices,gold and precious stones from her king-dom. She had traveled more than 1,000miles to see if Solomon’s reputation ofbeing the wisest man on earth was indeedtrue.

The queen peppered Solomon withmany difficult questions and riddles—andwas amazed at his ability to answer all ofthem. Finally, she was convinced that all

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she had heard about him was true. In fact,she said to him, “I have not heard even halfof the greatness of your wisdom! Your ser-vants and assistants are blessed to be in yourcompany and hear your great understand-ing. Your God, the Eternal, must be delight-ed in using you to execute justice and right-eousness over His people Israel.”

Before her visit was over, the Queen ofSheba presented Solomon with almost 41/2 tons of gold, an abundance of silver andprecious stones and more spices than theking had ever received.

And King Solomon gave back to thequeen all that she desired, even more thanshe had given to him. Then, she and her

entourage returnedto her kingdom (IKings 10:1-13; IIChronicles 9:1-12).

Solomon TurnsFrom God

As the years wentby, Solomon mar-ried many women.In fact, he had over700 wives and 300concubines. Many,if not most, of themwere foreign, andthey turnedSolomon’s heartaway from follow-ing God.

Centuries earli-er, God warned thefuture leaders ofIsrael to not inter-marry with the sur-rounding nations.Read Deuteronomy17:14-17, then fillin the blanks:“When you come tothe land which the

LORD your God is giving you, and possessit and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a kingover me_____________________________ thatare around me,’ you shall surely set a kingover you whom the LORD your God choos-es; one from among your brethren youshall set as king over you; you may not seta foreigner over you, who is not yourbrother. But he ___________________________ horses for himself, nor causethe people to return to Egypt to multiplyhorses, for the LORD has said to you, ‘Youshall not return that way again.’ Neithershall he ___________________________for himself, lest his heart __________...’”

Solomon did not heed this warning.Instead, earlier in his life, he married thedaughter of Pharaoh. He loved his wives. Heeven set up idols in the high places for hiswives to sacrifice to and worship.

This made God very angry. Notice whatGod said to Solomon: “Therefore theLORD said to Solomon, ‘Because you havedone this, and have not kept My covenantand My statutes, which I have commandedyou, I will surely tear the kingdom awayfrom you and give it to your servant.Nevertheless I will not do it in your days,for the sake of your father David; I willtear it out of the hand of your son.However I will not tear away the wholekingdom; I will give one tribe to your sonfor the sake of My servant David, and forthe sake of Jerusalem which I have cho-sen.’”

Because of Solomon’s sin, the peace thatthe kingdom experienced was over. Godraised up adversaries to trouble Israel—even

one from the house of Israel! God decided tomake an Ephraimite by the name ofJeroboam king over 10 of the 12 tribes ofIsrael. God promised to establish Jeroboam’shouse like David’s if he would obey Him.

This did not make King Solomon happy.In fact, as Saul did to David, Solomonsought to kill Jeroboam. However, heescaped to Egypt and stayed there until thedeath of Solomon.

Solomon reigned over Israel for fortyyears, and then he died.

Because the Bible does not openly sayso, most people believe that Solomon didnot repent before he died. Yet, the book ofEcclesiastes, which he wrote, reveals a mannearing the end of his life, one who realizesthat seeking after the material things of thisworld is useless. The book teaches that truehappiness, peace and fulfillment come fromputting God’s Way first—rejecting foolishways for godly wisdom.

In the next lesson, we will learn whatoccurred in the aftermath of Solomon’s deci-sion and death.

Test Your Memory:

1) Why did the Queen of Sheba want tomeet Solomon? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2) How many wives and concubines didSolomon have? __________________________________________________________3) Who did God decide to make king over10 of the 12 tribes of Israel? ________________________________________________

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BIBLE MEMORY: I Kings 2:1-3

Published by The Restored Church of God.Printed in the USA; All Rights ReservedCopyright © 2005

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___________’s bothers were Adonijah and Absalom.

___________ cursed King David. Later, King Solomon had him put to death.

___________ is the wife of King David.

___________ killed Amasa and Abner.

___________ is where Solomon was declared king.

___________ and ___________ were commanders of Israel’s armies.

___________ the Gileadite helped King David when Absalom was chasing him.

___________ wanted to marry Abishag the Shunamite.

___________ the priest anointed Solomon king of Israel.

WHO AM I?

Can you find out who is being described below?Use each name from the name bank once.

Name Bank:Abner

Adonijah

Amasa

Barzillai

Bathsheba

Solomon

Gihon

Joab

Shimei

Zadok