Rēad to Read …Again
Daily Reading: I Kings 1-2
I Kings 1:39
And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon.
The first two chapters of I Kings are not so much about retribution as it is divine justice. David lies dying and does die (2:10) but not before making it clear that Solomon will be the next king of Israel. The rebellion of Adonijah is put down; he loses his life. Joab too is dealt with because he slew two innocent men; he loses his life. Shimei, the man who cursed David, also loses his life. Then there was Abiathar the priest, he followed Adonijah, he was put out of the priesthood, yet his life was spared. This, though, fulfilled the prophecy of God to Eli about 110 years earlier in I Samuel 2:30-35 and 3:11-14.
The dealing with Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei were practical, the expulsion of Abiathar from the priesthood was supernatural. Solomon probably did not deal with Abiathar the way he did to fulfill God’s prophecy to Eli, God fulfilled His prophecy through Solomon’s actions. These four stories all echo the same truth which is: divine justice though long in coming will be dispensed. No one escapes the Judge of all the earth. The Lord God of Heaven is the one and only true Judge of whom there is no jury, nor appeal of His pronouncements.
On another, more positive note. David, on his deathbed, gives his son Solomon the key to true prosperity. And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: I Kings 2:3. It is interesting that those five things of God: ways, statutes, commandments, judgments, testimonies, are all listed in the first 10 verses of Psalm 119.
Today, believers in Jesus Christ have more than the Law of Moses, they have the totality of the Word of God explained and confirmed in the teachings of the New Testament which, if followed, guarantees prosperity. Even as the words of the beloved disciple John confirms: Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. (III John 2) When thinking about prosperity a foundational understanding of the meaning of that word is needed today. The definition of prosperity is “Advance or gain in anything good or desirable; successful progress in any business or enterprise…” (Websters 1828).
Prosperity is not always measured in dollars and cents. For example, being more like Jesus is prosperous to a child of God. But sometimes that prosperity is only earned through suffering. No one desires suffering, but through it an advance is made in one’s desire to be more like Him. Solomon was not only prosperous in gold and silver, but he was also prosperous in godly wisdom. All of God’s children today can share in that same prosperity. For by knowing and obeying God’s wisdom, which is the Word of God, true prosperity is earned. David knew this, Solomon knew this, Paul, Peter, John, Luke and so many more over the centuries have known this. Summed up in a short phrase: Obedience to God’s Word results in prosperity.
Dr. William T. Howe