Adonijah, Absolom's brother

Mo. 3/31/14: 1 Kings 1:5 – 6                  What did Adonijah do?

Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king”; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. (And his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying, “Why have you done so?” He was also very good-looking. His mother had borne him after Absalom.)

What did Adonijah do? He proclaimed himself king!

Tu. 4/1/14: 1 Kings 1:7 – 8                  What did Adonijah plot next?

Then he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they followed and helped Adonijah. But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah.

What did Adonijah plot next? Adonija picked people to be with him.

We. 4/2/14: 1 Kings 1:11 – 13                  What did Nathan tell Bathsheba?

So Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it? … Go immediately to King David and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your maidservant, saying, “Assuredly your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”?’

What did Nathan tell Bathsheba? Bathsheba was to tell David the plot.

Th. 4/3/14: 1 Kings 1:32 – 34                  What did David do?

And King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king. The king also said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and take him down to Gihon. There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel; and blow the horn, and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’

What did David do? David decided to proclaim Solomon as king.

Fr. 4/4/14: 1 Kings 1:50 – 53                  What was Adonijah’s response?

Now Adonijah was afraid of Solomon; so he arose, and went and took hold of the horns of the altar. And it was told Solomon, saying, “Indeed Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; for look, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’” … So King Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. And he came and fell down before King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”

What was Adonijah’s response? He begged for mercy. This leads to a question: did our Lord Jesus Christ try to be king?

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®.

Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Used by permission. All rights reserved.

David during Absalom's betrayal

Mo. 3/24/14: Psalm 4:3 – 4, 7 – 8                  How did David respond to betrayal?

      But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly;

      The Lord will hear when I call to Him.

      Be angry, and do not sin.

      Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.

You have put gladness in my heart,

More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.

I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;

For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

How did David respond to betrayal? He did not sin in anger: he let the Lord keep him safe.

Tu. 3/25/14: Psalm 42:11                  What did David ask?

      Why are you cast down, O my soul?

      And why are you disquieted within me?

      Hope in God;

      For I shall yet praise Him,

      The help of my countenance and my God.

What did David ask? David asked that God be his hope and brighten his face.

We. 3/26/14: Psalm 55:4 – 7, 22                  What did David feel like doing?

      My heart is severely pained within me,

      And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

      Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me,

      And horror has overwhelmed me.

So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest.

Indeed, I would wander far off,

And remain in the wilderness.

      Cast your burden on the Lord,

      And He shall sustain you;

      He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

What did David feel like doing? He felt like leaving but put his burden on the Lord.

Th. 3/27/14: Psalm 71:9, 18 – 24                  How did David view his aging?

      Do not cast me off in the time of old age;

      Do not forsake me when my strength fails.

Now also when I am old and grayheaded,

O God, do not forsake me,

Until I declare Your strength to this generation,

Your power to everyone who is to come.

How did David view his aging? He prayed that God not forsake him and to finish his work.

Fr. 3/28/14: Psalm 143:1 – 2, 10 – 11                  What did David recognize?

      Hear my prayer, O Lord,

      Give ear to my supplications!

      In Your faithfulness answer me,

      And in Your righteousness.

      Do not enter into judgment with Your servant,

      For in Your sight no one living is righteous.

Teach me to do Your will,

For You are my God;

Your Spirit is good.

Lead me in the land of uprightness.

Revive me, O Lord, for Your name’s sake!

For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.

What did David recognize? None is righteous before God and revival is of the Lord.

A Broken, Contrite Heart

Mo. 3/17/14: 2 Sam. 12:1 – 6                  What was Nathan’s parable?

Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb … And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock … but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”

So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”

What was Nathan’s parable? An example of a neighbor’s female lamb.

Tu. 3/18/14: 2 Sam. 12:7 – 15                  What was the result?

Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul … Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon.’”

So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die … And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill.

What was the result? David realized and confessed his sin immediately.

We. 3/19/14: Psalm 51:1 – 4a                  What did David sing in this Psalm?

      Have mercy upon me, O God,

      According to Your lovingkindness;

      According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,

      Blot out my transgressions.

      Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

      And cleanse me from my sin.

      For I acknowledge my transgressions,

      And my sin is always before me.

      Against You, You only, have I sinned,

      And done this evil in Your sight—

What did David sing in this Psalm? David asked God for mercy on his sin.

Th. 3/20/14: Psalm 51:7, 10 – 12                  What did David want restored?

      Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

      Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

      Create in me a clean heart, O God,

      And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

      Do not cast me away from Your presence,

      And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

      Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,

      And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

What did David want restored? God to restore the joy of His salvation.

Fr. 3/21/14: Psalm 51:15 – 16                  Did David offer sacrifices?

      For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;

      You do not delight in burnt offering.

      The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,

      A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise.

Did David offer sacrifices? No, David offered a broken, contrite heart.

The Holy Ark of the Covenant

Mo. 3/10/14: 1 Chronicles 13:1 – 4                  What decision was made?

Then David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader. And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if it is of the Lord our God, let us … bring the ark of our God back to us, for we have not inquired at it since the days of Saul.” Then all the assembly said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

What decision was made? They decided to bring the Ark back.

Tu. 3/11/14: 2 Sam. 6:1 – 4                  Who transported the ark?

Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called by the Name, the Lord of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart. And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark.

Who transported the ark? Uzzh and Ahio transported it.

We. 3/12/14: 2 Sam 6:6 – 8                  What happened when the oxen stumbled?

And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God. And David became angry because of the Lord’s outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place Perez Uzzah to this day.

What happened when the oxen stumbled? Uzzah touched the Ark and died.

Th. 3/13/14: 1 Chronicles 15:1 – 2                  What lesson was learned?

David … prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched a tent for it. Then David said, “No one may carry the ark of God but the Levites, for the Lord has chosen them to carry the ark of God and to minister before Him forever.”

What lesson was learned? Only the Levites dealt with the Ark.

Fr. 3/14/14: 1 Chronicles 15:11 – 14                  Why did Uzzah die?

And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites: for Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. He said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it. For because you did not do it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him about the proper order.”

So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel.

Why did Uzzah die? The Ark could not be handled except by a scantified Levite.

David Inquires of the LORD

Mo. 3/3/14: 2 Samuel 5:17 – 18                  What was the reaction to the news?

Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim.

What was the reaction to the news? Attack Goliath’s conqueror.

Tu. 3/4/14: 2 Samuel 5:19 – 20                  Did David go to war?

So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.”

So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim.

Did David go to war? No, he first inquired of God. Do we?

We. 3/5/14: 2 Samuel 5:22 – 23                  What happened the second time?

Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. Therefore David inquired of the Lord, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees.

What happened the second time? God gave David a new strategy.

Th. 3/6/14: 2 Samuel 5:24 – 25                  What did David hear?

And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.

What did David hear? David heard the armies of God marching!

Fr. 3/7/14: 2 Samuel 7:1 – 2, 12 – 13                  What did David want to do?

Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around, that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains.”

“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

What did David want to do? David wanted to build a Temple. Instead, God promised him a Son: Jesus Christ! What do we desire to do for God?