This chapter takes place shortly before David’s death. It fills in details around Solomon’s anointing as king, including another of David’s sons, Adonijah, proclaiming himself king.
“Now Adonijah… exalted himself, saying, ‘I will be king.’ He was also a very handsome man, and he was born next after Absalom. He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest. And they followed Adonijah and helped him. But Zadok the priest and Benaiah… and Nathan the prophet… and David’s mighty men were not with Adonijah. Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened cattle… and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the royal officials of Judah, but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the mighty men or Solomon his brother.” (v5-10 abr)
The situation gets complicated because David had promised the throne to Solomon, yet he had apparently neglected to spread that news abroad (even among his own sons), so many people started backing Adonijah as king. Bathsheba and Nathan bring this situation to David’s attention, knowing that if David didn’t act quickly, Adonijah would become king and put the ‘pretender to the throne’ (Solomon) to death. David then officially and publicly has Solomon anointed as king, and gets him onto the throne.
Have you ever had the best intentions to do something, but didn’t get around to doing it until it was already/almost too late? I have many times. David delays on fulfilling his promise to Solomon and the throne is nearly usurped. My examples are far less extreme, but there are/were still consequences when I put things off.
The Bible has a great deal to say about laziness (or procrastination), especially in Proverbs: 13:4, 10:4, 18:9, 21:25, 24:30-34, 20:4, and 20:13 (just to name a few of the verses). The interesting thing about those proverbs are they also contain wisdom on diligence – accomplishing something within a reasonable timeframe (diligence is essentially the opposite of laziness).
I’ve recently sought out an accountability partner to help motivate me to accomplish my commitments. It isn’t the commitments with deadlines that are a struggle, it’s the ones that don’t have a deadline that I put off way too long. I encourage all of us to take steps toward becoming more diligent in our obedience toward God and His word, and the responsibilities we have in life.
Father God, our Holy and Most High Lord, You are magnificent beyond compare. Thank you for blessing us with a will to obey You, and the capacity to grow stronger in our walk with You. As we draw nearer may we learn to emulate You more and more, and show ourselves (and this world) what it looks like when we serve You. May we learn to joyfully fulfill our responsibilities in a timely manner, and set good examples for those around us. In the name of Jesus, our Savior who balanced urgency and rest in perfect unison, amen.
As a bonus, I came across this video yesterday while I was (ironically) procrastinating. I highly recommend it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU&list=WL&index=5&ab_channel=TED
~ Conqueror in Training