The Feed Mill

Today’s Bible Reading: 1 Kings 1-2

Today’s Devotional: 1 Kings 1:1-10

We are immediately drawn to the cold hard facts of life in the first few verses of 1 Kings, David’s old age and frailty. When David is old in age we see that yet again another of his children seek to assert themselves to the throne and a place of self appointment and self exaltation.

Paul throughout his letters to the churches encouraged them to beware and be aware of those who will seek to take advantage of those within the Church and seek to add burdens or rob them of their hope being in Christ and Christ alone. To seize for self profit and gain the glorious things which God has done in their lives and instead of hoping to see them grow closer to the Lord seek to still the attention away from the Lord and place it now upon themselves.

Those who do this are nothing new under the sun, we see that David’s son Adonijah sought this exact thing, he saw what amazing prosperity and favor the Lord had given to Israel and he sought it for himself and to insert himself in to a position he was not called, he way have been more seemingly prepared than Solomon because it took David encouraging his servants to stand behind Solomon and have patience with him; but with Adonijah it took none of that the people just populous and a majority of David’s closest servants followed who the Lord had never called nor equipped though he appeared to be more equipped in the world’s eyes. So Adonijah is a great example even for the Church today of those who seek to do this and typical actions and ways they go about doing this, 5 things we see:

1. Self-Exhalation and pride
2. Preparing and multiplying chariots and horsemen. Not only did he gather a brute squad, but he did what the Lord said Israel and the king was never to, he multiplied chariots to himself. Adonijah was seeking his own advancement his way, on his terms, and in the way of the world.
3. 50 men running before him, he has a fan club to talk about himself, not about the king.
4. Offered a false sacrifice, false and profane worship for appearance and not for actual worship. Adonijah didn’t care who or where he was worshipping only that everyone could see him and how holy he was. Adonijah’s worship was completely opposite of the instructions for worship in God’s Word and from a completely separate heart than what God demands of a worshipper – humble and seeking the Lord’s will.
5. Broke fellowship and excluded individuals; Adonijah as being the next king is claiming that in the best of cases that he believes the Lord is doing a work inside of him and expectant for a great work of the Lord. Anything that the Lord does or desires to do, the Lord never desires for any of His children to be left out from sharing in it and rejoicing and praising the Lord for what great things He is doing.