1 Kings 1:15-21: a reflection

15Bathsheba went in to the king in his room. The king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king. 16Bathsheba bowed and showed respect to the king. The king said, “What would you like?” 17She said to him, “My lord, you swore by the LORD your God to your servant, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ 18Now, behold, Adonijah reigns; and you, my lord the king, don’t know it. 19He has slain cattle and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has called all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the army; but he hasn’t called Solomon your servant. 20You, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 21Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be considered criminals.”

As King David lies aged and failing, his son Adonijah moves to seize the throne, though God had chosen Solomon to succeed. Rather than passively letting the usurpation stand, Bathsheba, prompted by the prophet Nathan, goes to David and reminds him of his sworn promise that Solomon would reign, alerting him to Adonijah's grasping and urging him to act. She does not simply watch the wrong unfold; she acts, decisively and at some risk, to see that what was right, and what God had purposed, would stand.

Notice that Bathsheba and Nathan did not passively accept the wrong. Adonijah was grasping the throne that was not his, and it would have been easy to say nothing, to let events take their course. Instead, they acted, appealing to David, working to see the rightful heir established. They took the initiative to uphold what was right, rather than watching passively as wrong prevailed.

That is worth pondering, because passivity in the face of wrong is a real temptation. When we see something wrong unfolding, an injustice, a usurpation, a wrong about to prevail, it is often easier to say nothing, to let events take their course, to avoid the risk of getting involved. But sometimes faithfulness requires action, taking the initiative, at some cost, to uphold what is right rather than watching passively as wrong wins. When you see wrong prevailing that you could act to prevent, do not simply watch. Like Bathsheba and Nathan, act to uphold what is right, even at some risk. Sometimes the faithful thing is not passive acceptance, but decisive action for what is right.

Lord, when Adonijah grasped the throne that was not his, Bathsheba and Nathan did not passively watch the wrong unfold, but acted decisively to see the rightful heir established and what was right upheld. Guard me from passivity in the face of wrong. When I see injustice or wrong prevailing that I could act to prevent, keep me from the easy path of saying nothing, letting events take their course, avoiding the risk of involvement. Give me the courage, when faithfulness requires it, to act, to take the initiative at some cost to uphold what is right, rather than watching passively as wrong wins. Help me discern when to act, and give me the courage to do so. Let me not be a passive bystander to wrong I could help set right.