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In Christ, Mark
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Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they were finishing their feast. On hearing the sound of the trumpet, Joab asked, "What's the meaning of all the noise in the city?"
Even as he was speaking, Jonathan, son of Abiathar, the priest arrived. Adonijah said, "Come in. A worthy man like you must be bringing good news."
"Not at all!" Jonathan answered. "Our lord King David has made Solomon king. The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites, and the Pelethites, and they have put him on the king's mule, and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon. From there they have gone up cheering and the city resounds with it. That's the noise you hear.”
“Moreover, Solomon has taken his seat on the royal throne. Also, the royal officials have come to congratulate our lord King David, saying, 'May your God make Solomon's name more famous than yours and his throne greater than yours!' And the king bowed in worship on his bed and said, 'Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has allowed my eyes to see a successor on my throne today.'"
At this, all Adonijah's guests rose in alarm and dispersed. But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, went and took hold of the horns of the altar. Then Solomon was told, "Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon and is clinging to the horns of the altar. He says, 'Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.'"
Solomon replied, "If he shows himself to be a worthy man, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground; but if evil is found in him, he will die." Then King Solomon sent men and they brought him down from the altar. And Adonijah came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon said, "Go to your home."
1 Kings 1:41-53
This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As David, the king of Israel, was reaching the end of his life, little did he know there would be one more threat to his throne, a threat from his son Adonijah that required sudden, decisive action to make sure Solomon was his successor as promised.
You’ll remember that Adonijah schemed behind David’s back to overthrow him and when this news reached Jerusalem, David sent Zadok the priest, the prophet Nathan, Benaiah, the Kerethites, and the Pelethites to anoint Solomon as the new king of Israel at Gihon. The coronation brought great celebration as the trumpets sounded and people cheered so loudly that the ground shook, drawing the attention of the treasonous Adonijah and his conspirators as they feasted. When Joab asked about what had occurred, Jonathan, son of the priest Abiathar, delivered the news that David had appointed and anointed Solomon Israel’s king.
Well unsurprisingly, this news caused great distress in Adonijah’s camp. We read where all of his “guests rose in alarm and dispersed”, showing just superficial their allegiance to him really was for they left Adonijah to fend for himself. Knowing he was in a place where he could be executed for his betrayal, the scriptures tell us that Adonijah “took hold of the horns of the altar”, fearful for his life.
Why cling to the horns of the altar?
Well, the vertical projections from the altar corners were believed to be symbols of hope and refuge…both needed by Adonijah at that very moment. Additionally, the horns had were also associated with atonement for during sacrifices, the law called for some of the blood to be placed on the horns of the altar to make reparation for sin. Obviously, Adonijah saw himself in desperate need of atonement for his evil, devious plot against his father.
This reaction from Adonijah after he knew his sin had been exposed got me thinking about myself and other Christian believers and how I/we have had our sin laid bare by a God who sees everything, even the things we think are hidden. In those times, when my transgressions bring the Lord’s conviction, I find myself going to the altar of God to seek forgiveness and pardon through repentance. I pray you have done the same.
We should all be grateful that although we all are sinners who fall short of His glory (Romans 3:23), our Lord is still a Father who disciplines while still loving us as His dear children. He corrects but He also extends His mercy and grace as He seeks to raise us up to be the people He wants us to be.
So what happened in the case of Adonijah?
Back to the scriptures where we see that word about Adonijah got back to Solomon, his brother and now the new king of Israel. Solomon learned that Adonijah was afraid and “clinging to the horns of the altar”. His very words to Solomon showed he was seeking mercy as he said:
“Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword."
So what did Solomon decide to do?
Well, he could have very well ordered Adonijah’s execution and no one would have disputed it. Such was the severity of betraying a king like David. But Solomon, a man who would gain a great reputation for wisdom, allowed Adonijah to dictate his own fate. We read that if Adonijah showed “himself to be a worthy man” then he would not be harmed…or as Solomon put it, “not a hair of his head will fall to the ground”. However if Adonijah returned to his evil ways, then Solomon promised that he would be put to death.
And with that, a pardon was established. At least at the moment, Adonijah would live to see another day as he came down from the altar and bowed before Solomon…saved by his brother’s grace and forgiveness but also expected to change his ways and turn from sin.
My friends, this is exactly what happens to us as well when we confess our sins, repent, and commit to turning from our evil ways. In doing this, we come to God’s altar and throw ourselves down hoping for the Lord’s pardon…and pardon is exactly what He gives because we have placed our belief and trust in Jesus, the Lamb of God (John 1:29) who shed His atoning blood on the cross who we might be washed clean and saved.
It’s because on this establishment of God’s salvation that we need to be working every day as Christians to carry out the Great Commission and bring the Gospel to the unsaved (Matthew 28:18-20). For the raw truth of the matter is that there is no pardon…no full forgiveness…no cleansing of sin…and no way to spend eternity with God in Heaven without Jesus. Without Him, only everlasting torment, suffering, and damnation in Hell awaits.
The bottom line is there’s a lot at stake. Let’s not rest in this life without helping non-believers come to the altar of God to find their Savior Jesus…and gain the hope that all Christians enjoy, the hope of living forever in the glory of the Kingdom with our Maker and Master, and His Son, the Savior of the world.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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