1 Kings 1:1-8: a reflection

1Now King David was old and advanced in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he couldn’t keep warm. 2Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young virgin be sought for my lord the king. Let her stand before the king, and cherish him; and let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may keep warm.” 3So they sought for a beautiful young lady throughout all the borders of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4The young lady was very beautiful; and she cherished the king, and served him; but the king didn’t know her intimately. 5Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” Then he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 6His father had not displeased him at any time in saying, “Why have you done so?” and he was also a very handsome man; and he was born after Absalom. 7He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest; and they followed Adonijah and helped him. 8But 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.

As King David grows old and frail, his son Adonijah decides the moment has come to seize the throne. I will be king, he declares, and he assembles chariots, horsemen, and runners to make himself look royal. He gathers allies and prepares to claim a crown God had not given him. It is a picture of naked self-exaltation, a man lifting himself up to a place he was determined to take rather than waiting to receive.

Scripture adds a revealing detail about Adonijah's upbringing: his father had never at any time displeased him by asking, why have you done this? David, for all his greatness, had never corrected this son, never checked his will, never told him no. And here is the fruit of that unchecked indulgence: a grown man who assumes he can simply grasp whatever he wants, including a kingdom, without regard for God's will or anyone else's. A life never lovingly corrected had grown into presumption.

Two warnings meet here. First, beware the spirit of self-exaltation, the determination to grasp for yourself the place, honor, or position you want, rather than waiting to receive what God gives. Adonijah's I will be king is the language of pride, and it came to nothing. Second, notice the cost of a life without loving correction. Whether in raising others or in receiving correction ourselves, the discipline that says no, that checks the will, is a mercy. Do not exalt yourself, and do not despise the correction that keeps pride from taking root.

Lord, Adonijah exalted himself, grasping for a throne you had not given, the fruit of a life never lovingly corrected. Guard me from that spirit of self-exaltation, the determination to seize the place or honor I want rather than waiting to receive what you give. And help me to welcome the correction that checks my pride. Keep me humble, waiting on you rather than grasping for myself. Amen.