Now the Lord will repay you for your wrongdoing

1 King 2:12-46

Now Adonijah, the son of Haggith, went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. Bathsheba asked him, “Do you come peacefully?”

“As you know,” he said, “the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the Lord. Now I have one request to make of you. Do not refuse me.”

So he continued, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”

King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? You might as well request the kingdom for him—after all, he is my older brother—yes, for him and for Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah!”

So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he struck down Adonijah and he died.

To Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not put you to death now, because you carried the ark of the Sovereign Lord before my father David and shared all my father’s hardships.” So Solomon removed Abiathar from the priesthood of the Lord, fulfilling the word the Lord had spoken at Shiloh about the house of Eli.

So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and struck down Joab and killed him, and he was buried at his home out in the country. The king put Benaiah son of Jehoiada over the army in Joab’s position and replaced Abiathar with Zadok the priest.

The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your heart all the wrong you did to my father David. Now the Lord will repay you for your wrongdoing. But King Solomon will be blessed, and David’s throne will remain secure before the Lord forever.”

Then the king gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down and he died.

Adonijah, supported by Abiathar the priest and army commander Joab, has already laid claim to the throne. This time he pays dearly for what may have been an unthinking request. Solomon sees it as a second bid for kingship since possession of his predecessor's harem was part of the eastern king's title to the throne. Abiathar is dismissed. And Joab dies the violent death he has meted out to others.

Shimei, another potential troublemaker, is put on parole in Jerusalem to keep him away from fellow Benjamites. When he breaks parole, even though for an innocent reason. Solomon has him killed.

Why?

All of these three persons are filled with selfishness in their minds. They killed innocent men for their benefit. Shimei has not relied on the truth but depends on his own benefit. Adonijah still thought this kingdom should be his, so when he asked "give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife" induced his dead.

---------

亞多尼雅表面上在所羅門王之下，但是對於王位卻念念不忘王位。當時只有接任的國王才有權利接收前任國王的妃嬪。這是欺君之罪。

處理祭司亞比雅他，除去他的職位，要他歸鄉。

處理約押，當他看到大衛年紀老邁，不能打仗，於是站在亞多尼雅一邊。約押跑去抓住祭壇的角，通常那裏不會有人敢動刀，但是同樣那裏也是祭物宰殺處。他自己要死在那裏

處理示美，所羅門王軟禁示美，他是騎牆派。

所羅門顯然沒有大開殺戒，讓人以為他除去異己，沒有主動要去殺他們。他都給這些人機會。示每可能讓僕人去亞吉王那裏探路，可能亞吉至王不想收留，所以又回來了，結果自己的籌算破滅。

三個人都是暴露出自己的罪惡。不用等到神來追討，定人的罪，人自己就是把自己罪惡暴露出來。只有亞比雅他收斂自己，得以終老一生。所羅門給他們機會，正如神給人機會悔改，人最後還是自尋死路，顯出自己的惡，將自己陷在危險中。神有神的計劃，任意一些事發生，顯出問題，才能解決問題，掃除障礙。

求神幫助我們顯出自己的問題，並且解決我們的問題。

---------

How?

Rightness and mercy and obeying the word of the Lord are the base to build a great kingdom.