Solomon’s reign was challenged by many unstable factors from the very beginning; how did he bravely respond, resolve crises, stabilize his reign, and establish a Godly nation of Israel? The answer is: only by removing the root of sin can the throne be secure! The Lord's promise never departed from the house of David in Israel, and Solomon followed the Lord God's commands, so God was with him and everything prospered.
Questions for Reflection:
Why did David instruct Solomon to eliminate Joab and Shimei before his death? What kind of people were these two?
Was Solomon right or wrong in killing Adonijah? Why?
Based on our understanding of this chapter, let us examine ourselves to see if there are things in us that displease God.
In building the church, what dark forces must we deal with severely?
Only by Removing the Root of Sin Can the Throne Be Secure
We read Chapter 2 of 1 Kings. What is its focus? God, through the author and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote 1 Kings, and Chapter 2 describes the handling of Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei. When reading the Bible, we should not be critical, as if we are better than Solomon or David; never think that Solomon and David were wrong, and that we would do better if we were in their place. What do we learn from this? What is God trying to tell us in this chapter? Look at the latter part of verse 46: So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
Here we see how a nation, especially a Godly nation of Israel, solidifies its throne. Can everyone discern this? ------ If a nation wants to secure its throne, it must eliminate certain types of people! Today, I will not hesitate to tell you that the church must also eliminate these types of people to be strong and united! If the church was turned around with such people still present, then today we would see no miracles, and those who come among us would be just as miserable as we are, unable to see God's presence. Why? Because the church is not strong. The church must be clean, and so must the nation. If the foundation of the nation is not solid, and the nation is in internal chaos, wouldn't the people suffer even more? Therefore, everyone must find the most important verse: So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
David's Last Instructions to Solomon
Let's see how the throne was secured. Verses 2-4 of this chapter: I am about to go the way of all the earth, he said. So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: 'If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, they will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.' Did you see that? David spoke these words very well! I hope everyone says this often.
Would you say David was a spiritual man? Of course, he was a spiritual man! At this time, David was about to depart; his spiritual life had reached a state of perfect mastery------the sins he had committed, he had repented of, the things he should do, he had done, and he had also bought a piece of land to build the temple of the Lord God, at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. So we know that when David's death was near, he was very clear that he was about to go the way of all the earth, to return to his ancestors; the most important thing he commanded his son was to keep and obey all of God's commandments, decrees, laws, and regulations, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go. Now I ask everyone a question: Was Solomon right or wrong to kill Adonijah? Some people think he was wrong to kill Adonijah; some think he was wrong to deal with Abiathar and Joab; and some think he was wrong to deal with Shimei. In fact, we cannot judge or comment on whether it was right or wrong, but through these things we can learn and see that when Solomon dealt with these three types of people, his throne was secured!
Arrogance and Pride Displease God
First, let's talk about the first type of person. Don't have a wrong idea about Adonijah. When I first started reading the Bible, I might have had the same doubts as you: Just for such a small matter, asking for the girl Abishag, and then he was killed? Solomon is too much! Was Solomon too much? No, he wasn't. Why? Because Adonijah said this: As you know, the kingdom was mine ------ what kind of talk is that? How could the kingdom originally be his? People often think this way, but thinking this way is courting death. Then he said, All Israel set their hopes on me as their king ------ what kind of talk is that? Next, But, ------ as if it was an accident, the kingdom has passed to my brother, for it came to him from the Lord (1 Kings 2:15). Would you say these words are contradictory? He meant: the kingdom was originally mine, but unexpectedly it went to Solomon, he became king, and this came from the Lord.
If the whole earth belongs to God, then God can give the kingdom to whomever He wants. What does it have to do with you, Adonijah? He thought that because he was David's fourth son, the kingdom should be his; but he didn't know that if God didn't choose him to be king, then no matter what he did, it would be useless! Now he says the kingdom was mine, and all Israel wanted to turn to me and look to me as their king, and then but ------ Adonijah's words and his thoughts and ideas would bring extremely serious corruption to the whole nation!
Today, it is the same in our church. If someone feels good about themselves: I'm good, Pastor, I have to tell you what to do. Sadly, I will never use such a person, and I will not try to keep them if they want to leave the church. So don't think you're good, it's not okay! This kind of idea breeds garbage and defiles people! The Bible never teaches people to do this. So brothers and sisters, we must know through studying the Bible: the church belongs to God! It's not that God gains or loses something because someone does something. No! You and I are both God's workmanship, and it is a great grace to be willing to submit to God and be used by Him! Therefore, do not have this idea of Adonijah: It was originally mine, I have to do something. Don't bring this attitude. I am willing to build a united church with everyone, to be favored by God, not because I want to boast about anything before God. Because I haven't done anything, I am also the work God has done. We all believe that we are the work God has done, and we are willing to humbly serve each other before God. Isn't this good?
If there are some among us who think to themselves: This church is fortunate to have me, don't I pray for the church every morning? That's why the church is so good. Be careful! People who say this are no different from Adonijah. Therefore, brothers and sisters, begin to see what kind of God He is------this God hates arrogant and proud people the most. He is a God who very, very hates people who think they are great and that they are the only ones who understand.
Unity: Building the Church and Strengthening the Nation
Once, while leading a Bible study, a man covered in medicinal plasters, suffering from kidney cancer and diabetes, came among us. Halfway through the study, he exclaimed, Pastor Liu! God will judge you for speaking like that! So I said to him, You need not come anymore; I cannot shepherd you. He came to teach me how I ought to do things, yet I myself dare not instruct myself, for I always come before God to pour out my heart in prayer, desiring God to guide the entire church, building it upon the rock of Jesus Christ. It is God who builds His church upon His rock. Jesus said, I will build my church on the rock (Matthew 16:18). It is not what you or I do. But if we can work together with God, He will manifest His glory here.
Some people are filled with a great deal of wrong beliefs and wrong notions, yet they think they believe correctly. There are multitudes of such people! I tell you, it is not necessarily a good thing when such people come among us. Do not tell me, Pastor, won't our church have more people that way? No! The church is not about the number of people, but about unity! The church is about having a group of people who are of one heart and mind, building a glorious church together. Therefore, Pastor Zhou has said, Building a church is like taking a plane. Everyone flies to the same destination when they board this plane; if you are not flying to the same place, you need not board, for it is useless even if you do, as you will only fly to the wrong place. The church cannot be like taking a bus. Taking a bus involves getting on and off, with everyone going to different places. So building a church cannot be like taking a bus, but must be like taking a plane. As long as we carry the same vision and the same mission to build together, such a church will surely prosper, relying not on human methods, but on God's ways.
Therefore, if Solomon had left Adonijah alive, he would have become a future problem for the nation, causing countless deaths. Would you say that Solomon did right or wrong? God, through the writer of Kings, said, So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon. I believe this is a positive assertion. Solomon had wisdom, which we may not necessarily have. Whether we fully understand it or not, I think everyone should simply know, Oh! So that's how it is! For the stability and security of the nation and the unity of the church, we must eliminate such notions as, This nation originally belonged to me, This church originally belonged to me, The church should vote to elect leaders.
In the past, there were some in our church who said, Pastor, when will the annual meeting be held so we can vote to elect leaders? Is the church elected? No. We must not have these concepts among us. The church is not a democratic place; the church is where God reigns. Therefore, we all kneel there in prayer. Brothers and sisters, you must know that if the pastor at the top of a church does not kneel down to pray, but instead a large prayer team is established below, then the forces of darkness will surely be rampant there. Therefore, in the Bible, the high priests personally entered to offer sacrifices, right? Only then did the people become sacrificers. If everyone becomes a sacrificer, the nation will prosper! Brothers and sisters, we must begin to have this concept: Whatever anyone sees during prayer, we put it on the prayer list to see if everyone has the same vision; if everyone has the same vision, we move forward. Never have this kind of vision: God has already told me; if you don't say it that way, it will be terrible! God will judge you! Judge what? Solomon did that and wasn't judged, right? Wasn't the kingdom even more firmly established? This is how Adonijah was handled.
Dealing with Sin Without Compromise and Building a Solid Foundation for Spiritual Warfare
The second type of person is Joab, who shed innocent blood. Such people cannot be kept. The church must not keep sinful people. That is to say, the church is holy and must pursue holiness! Did Joab repent? He did not repent. He firmly believed in his own political philosophy. Now I ask everyone: Does killing Joab count as shedding blood? Does killing Absalom count as shedding blood? No, because they died in their own sins. This is Joab. The third type of person is Shimei. Do you know what kind of person Shimei was? He was insidious! When you are in power, he treats you in one way; when you lose power, he kicks you when you are down and curses you with vicious words. Brothers and sisters, have you seen such people in the church? If you see people like Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei in the church, the foundation of this church is definitely not solid; if a country has many such people, the foundation of this country is also definitely not solid.
We must understand what God wants to tell us by writing this entire chapter of the Bible. It is this: We must build a solid foundation—the church must be solid before it can wage spiritual warfare! If the church cannot wage spiritual warfare, it can only be beaten and bicker internally. The devil will be watching the joke, so how can it bring blessings! Therefore, brothers and sisters, the concept must change. I encourage you to be strong and act like men! What does it mean to be strong and act like men? It means to unreservedly adhere to the word of God: keeping the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.
Prosperity in All Things by Obeying God's Word
Brothers and sisters, I would like to share a viewpoint with you. I ask you: Are the laws and commandments of the New Testament higher or lower than those of the Old Testament? Is the requirement for holiness higher or lower in the New Testament? Higher! So do not misunderstand and say, Pastor, we don't need to keep the Old Testament and the Law. Those laws are just a very basic bottom line, a very basic, very basic requirement. If you meet this requirement, you will prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn. So I ask everyone: If you far exceed this standard in the New Testament era and begin to enter the standard of Jesus Christ, not only dealing with outward behavior, but also dealing with the thoughts in your mind, so that even our thoughts become holy, how prosperous do you think this is! Right? Shouldn't it be even more prosperous!
Therefore, brothers and sisters, I encourage you to start expecting wonderful things in your heart, and wonderful things will happen to you. What is this wonderful thing? It is that you do not deliberately do some things, but when you start acting according to God's word in your heart, you will find, How prosperous it is! How prosperous it is! You are all surprised—the degree of prosperity far exceeds what we can imagine! Therefore, the Bible says, That you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn. Being strong and acting like a man means dealing unreservedly with these three types of people: Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei.
So in the church, do not be little women, do not have womanly benevolence. That kind of benevolence, that kind of love, is useless. Even love must be this kind of love: killing Adonijah, that is love! Isn't it? Fewer people die, and the foundation of the nation is stable; killing people like Joab and burying them in their own graves, the foundation of the nation is stable, and more people are blessed, that is love! Dealing with people like Shimei, although he was not killed with a knife, but was confined in the city of Jerusalem, as long as he went out, he would die by his own words, because he himself said, The saying is good, but three years later he left the city of Jerusalem. After he came back, he really died by his own words! So I ask everyone, was Solomon smart? Very smart!
We must also open our eyes when building the church, and not think that everyone is brought in by God. Maybe some are brought by the devil. Our church is much better today than in 2012! Several people came from the devil in 2012, and we could not distinguish them clearly. We were even thanking God for the increase in numbers. As a result, those extra people corrupted many, many people, and we learned a painful lesson from it. If there are people like Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei in the church today, everyone must keep their eyes wide open! Our goal is no longer to increase the number of people; but to pursue the holiness, unity, ability and intensity of the church to do spiritual warfare! Everyone is determined to become a spiritual soldier, so the foundation of the church must be solid! So speaking of this, once the church begins to strive for the number of people, I have a view: The Bible never says to strive for the number of people in the church, so if someone teaches this way, I think it is very dangerous. We can see that if unity, holiness, and the foundation of building the church are sacrificed, there will be judgment after the number of people increases!