Episode 2: 1 Kings 1-2: God's King
As we launch into the first two chapters, it's all about establishing God's king on the throne. There's conspiracy and complacency, and yet also wonderful confidence that in it all, God is at work, as we begin to see shadows of Christ in the story too.
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What are the repeated phrases/themes in these first two chapters, and how does that help us to understand the big idea?
What comfort do these chapters give us when we consider Christ's everlasting kingdom, and his rightful rule on God's throne?
What does it look like for you to grow in wholehearted allegiance to Christ, the King of Kings?
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The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.
Sarah: You're listening to the Two Sisters and a Cup of Tea podcast, the Bible Study podcast for everyday life. We're here for a 20 minute burst of Bible chat over a cup of tea and an English style biscuit as we make our way through a Bible book over the course of the season and drive it to our hearts. And this season we're delving into the first 11 chapters of One Kings. Whether you've been listening for a while or have just found us, we are so pleased you're here.
Felicity: We're thankful to be partnering with P&R Publishing for the next few episodes. And I've been really helped by a particular series of booklets that P&R have just published. This series is called Heart Talks and it currently contains four titles. Each one starts with what to say when, and the aim is to equip the reader to be able to speak with sisters who are struggling in different ways. This first one is about doubt and what one could say when a friend tells you that she doesn't think she believes in God anymore. The author, Brianna Reeves, carefully and sensitively considers the different nuances of this statement and explores the possible reasons and emotions going on behind it. I love her gentle but theologically astute wisdom and feel genuinely more equipped for the next time someone says this to me. Grab a copy wherever you get your books. There are links in the show notes.
Sarah: Welcome to Two Sisters and a Cup of Tea. My name is Sarah, I live in the UK and I'm with my sister Felicity who lives in the States and we are really looking forward to getting into chapters one and two of First Kings today. Felicity, any biscuit action to go along with your tea?
Felicity: Well, I actually had some biscuit action yesterday where I just, suddenly thought I'm gonna make some biscuits, which is not a sudden thought I have very often. And I really, I really nailed it to be honest. Gluten-free crinkle cookies. They're like chocolate. They don't taste like they're gluten-free. My kids love them. We were going to some friends and I was like, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna bring some cookies that I have confidence in. Whether they're cookies, I mean, to be fair, I think they're cookies because they were soft, but they went really well with my cup of tea just now. So, you know.
Sarah: Ah delightful! Good a crinkle cookie you have to give us the recipe
Felicity: I will, I will actually. I will because I have such confidence in the recipe that even I can make it work.
Sarah: Yes! Okay, well before, with your crinkle cookie, before we get into reading some of the next couple of chapters, Felicity, just give us a flavour of what it looks like to read Old Testament narrative listening to the author's pace and purpose as we go.
Felicity: There is something about narrative which I think is so fun to read because as part of a story, as part of a narrative, what the author is seeking to do is to take you with him on this kind of journey and in a story you're going to have a setting and you're going to have some action and you're going to have likely a problem or a climax or something that needs to be resolved and then you're to have the question, the kind of tension, is it going to be resolved or is it not going to be resolved? And then you have the kind of resolution and you're of you're back on your way again. And all throughout this narrative of one and two kings, we have those kind of rising and falling kind of narrative stories. And so what's really helpful to be looking out for as you're reading this is to be looking out for those settings and where those tensions come, where are the problems, where are we looking for resolution? And there's a kind of keeping pace with the author in that. We're not gonna jump too far ahead and we know that the end of chapter 11 Solomon falls like his kingdom doesn't last forever but we're not going to get there too soon we want to just take the author's pace on this, take his lead, what's he drawing our attention to? And in comparison to a letter or a more didactic kind of genre, he's not going to just tell us stuff like, by the way, look out for this, he's going to show us things. And so we kind of have to have our ears open for the details and for the repeated words and for the, that's interesting, why has he told us about this guy here? Or why I didn't expect this guy to turn up in the story at this point. And it's in all of those kind of little details. I mean, I'm a reader and I kind of think it makes for a fun read. What kind of things have helped you Sarah as you've been in this kind of genre?
Sarah: No, I think all of the all that you've just said is really, really helpful. think particularly looking out for repeated themes and words and sentences really helps you to get an idea of what he thinks the big deal is in these chapters. And so we're going to come to chapters one and two now. You won't be surprised to hear that we're not going to read all of the chapters. And that would take the entirety of our 20 minutes. So we're going to read a portion. We're going to read chapter one versus one to 30 now. We really do recommend you though, as listeners at home, taking time to listen or to read the rest of the chapters before you hear our conversation right now. And indeed the same goes with praying. So we intentionally choose to pray before we press record. So we know that we cannot do this without the Spirit's help. So we have already taken time to pray. Why don't you just press pause just for a moment now, whether you're listening with others or by yourself, take a moment to pray for God to be at work as you hear this word read and talked about as well. We're gonna get into it. Felicity, you're gonna read chapter one, verses one to 30, and we're gonna be reading from the NIV version.
Felicity: Here we go.
When King David was very old, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him. So his attendants said to him, “Let us look for a young virgin to serve the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm.” Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful young woman and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. The woman was very beautiful; she took care of the king and waited on him, but the king had no sexual relations with her. Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, “I will be king.” So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him. (His father had never rebuked him by asking, “Why do you behave as you do?” He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.) Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they gave him their support. But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei and Rei and David’s special guard did not join Adonijah. Adonijah then sacrificed sheep, cattle and fattened calves at the Stone of Zoheleth near En Rogel. He invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the royal officials of Judah, but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the special guard or his brother Solomon. Then Nathan asked Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, “Have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has become king, and our lord David knows nothing about it? Now then, let me advise you how you can save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. Go in to King David and say to him, ‘My lord the king, did you not swear to me your servant: “Surely Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ While you are still there talking to the king, I will come in and add my word to what you have said.” So Bathsheba went to see the aged king in his room, where Abishag the Shunammite was attending him. Bathsheba bowed down, prostrating herself before the king.
“What is it you want?” the king asked. She said to him, “My lord, you yourself swore to me your servant by the Lord your God: ‘Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne.’ But now Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord the king, do not know about it. He has sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the king’s sons, Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant. My lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to learn from you who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. Otherwise, as soon as my lord the king is laid to rest with his ancestors, I and my son Solomon will be treated as criminals.” While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived. And the king was told, “Nathan the prophet is here.” So he went before the king and bowed with his face to the ground. Nathan said, “Have you, my lord the king, declared that Adonijah shall be king after you, and that he will sit on your throne? Today he has gone down and sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep. He has invited all the king’s sons, the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest. Right now they are eating and drinking with him and saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ But me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he did not invite. Is this something my lord the king has done without letting his servants know who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”. Then King David said, “Call in Bathsheba.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before him. The king then took an oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, I will surely carry out this very day what I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel: Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place.
Sarah: Thank you, Felicity. Well done with all the names. Always a good start. There's a lot. I'm struck just with the introduction of the characters here at the beginning of First Kings. We've got King David, haven't we? We've got who is the king at the moment. We've got Adonijah, who's the wannabe king. And then right at the end there, we've got the declaration that Solomon will be the king. And so we've got these kind of characters in play. And I love the way that actually the way that this story is told is actually through other people's voices isn't it? We've got these different speeches at play with Bathsheba, with Nathan, then with David and the speeches actually carry on through the next chapter as well. And the author's just very cleverly telling us this story through other people's voices.
Felicity: Mmm, I love that. love that. And part of hearing these other voices, it's kind of unexpected because David is the king and we kind of are expecting all the way through this, you know, by the time Bathsheba gets to the king and then Nathan, you're like, David, come on, we're waiting for your voice. And I think that's one of the things that's going on in these opening verses is there's a little bit of uncertainty as to whether David is still kind of king enough to make it clear what's going to happen after he dies because he's clearly on his deathbed isn't he? I mean he can't get warm he's really struggling and so I think that is the tension isn't it? The reader is thinking is Adonijah really going to be king? And David says something different.
Sarah: Yeah, and there's a kind of real play there, isn't there? Because actually there seems to be a little bit of complacency from David's side. Like he's been given this huge promise that we read last week in terms of 2 Samuel 7 and the really significant promise and the covenant that's going to continue through his line. And yet he's not actually made the necessary preparations for fulfillment of that promise and he's there on his deathbed and then we've got Adonijah coming in this lust for power kind of he's clamoring for it isn't he he's like I’m gonna seize this opportunity and really go for it and it's that and then it's yeah Nathan and Bathsheba who basically stir through the Lord's work they stir David's heart and he suddenly kind of rallies doesn't he and realizes right, no I need to put the right man on the throne, I need to put God's king on the throne. And I think what we get through the next, these first two chapters, I don't know whether people noticed it just as you were reading that through, but the repeated phrase of sit on my throne, sit on the throne, and it's repeated nine or ten times I think through these chapters, the first two chapters, that's the big thing that's going on, that's what the author wants to kind of tell us that's the kind of the matter of the day. Who's going to sit on the throne and how is that kind of king going to be established there?
Felicity: Yeah, I think that's exactly right. And so we have the contrast between, as you've been saying, Adonijah and then Solomon being brought in and what is gonna happen, who is actually gonna sit on the throne and that's the big question. And the repeated, if you were just to take a highlighter and go through these chapters, the word king itself just comes up so many times. So we can't be in any doubt that that is the big question at the start of this. And what we hear is this, thing about how is it going to be established just to kind of skip on we don't like in terms of a story is sometimes it's kind of frowned upon to look at the end of a story before you start but I think in this instance at the end of chapter two we have the kingdom was now established in Solomon's hands. And we've got this big statement, which I read at the start, at the end of my reading there in chapter one, verses 29 and 30. And so we've got this kind of God's promise is being stated, this is what is gonna happen. David is gonna put his king on the throne. And then over the course of the next chapter, it's a kind of wrestle through as to how this is gonna happen, that the throne is gonna get established. And in the midst of all that, we have quite a lot of ins and outs of how it's gonna come about, don't we? Because we've got Adonijah, there's a wonderful moment, I love it, when Adonijah hears, if you just go flick on to chapter one, verse 48. “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has allowed my eyes to see a successor on my throne. At this”, (verse 39), all Adonijah's guests rose in alarm and dispersed.” Because actually God has put his King on the throne through David, like actually stepping up and making this statement. And that is the right response from the guests. Like abandon Adonijah, run to God's King.
Sarah: Absolutely, Yeah, absolutely. And I think it's really interesting that contrast, it, between Adonijah, who's been clamouring for power, and actually Solomon, it's just given to him, isn't it? He hasn't requested it, he hasn't kind of sought it necessarily, he's been just the one to receive it. And with it, he receives this kind of command from David, doesn't he, at the beginning of chapter two. It feels very Deuteronomy like in the command where he says, be strong, act like a man and observe what the Lord your God requires to walk in obedience to him, keep his decrees and commands as written in the law of Moses. So just reminding Solomon of what his purpose is, what the kind of role entails to be this successor on the throne of Israel. But then what happens after that is, but essentially, the enemies to God's kingdom need to be dealt with. And it seems like actually there are some dealings in the past that David didn't probably resolve. And so Solomon is having to deal with a few of his enemies. And also then there's a few different enemies that need to be dealt with and neutralized before his throne can be properly established. And I think that that really struck me as I was going through this because one, the word death is repeated nine times here. Like it's a big part of establishing this kingdom, which I think in our 21st century eyes, that can feel quite kind of hard, hard to read basically. But I think it's just been helpful for me to remember that actually, these are enemies. These are enemies to God's king. This means they are actually enemies to God himself. They are not for his kingdom. They are not for the ways of God and so this is actually just and right that they are dealt with in this way.
Felicity: Yeah, I think that's really helpful to see because we read it from our position. We're like, just a bit unpleasant to start a reign like that. But actually there's clarity on that. So because you get in chapter two, verse 12. So Solomon sat on the throne as father David, his rule was firmly established. And then you get that one that I mentioned at the end of chapter two, the kingdom was now established in Solomon's hands. And so this action, the death, kind of having to dispatch of these enemies has established the throne. And actually that's what we see. If we take that lens and look forwards to Jesus and him being ultimately God's King. In the final day we're going to see enemies of God dispatched. That is judgment isn't it? Like that is what happens as that final day comes and Christ returns those who are against Jesus are going to be dispatched off, are going to be judged and those who are with Christ are going to worship the king with joy and praise and all of those things. And so there's a picture there of what it looks like for God's kingdom and God's king to be established.
Sarah: Yeah, no, I think that's really helpful. And I think that, as you were saying, with the kind of guests fleeing from Adonijah and hopefully fleeing towards Solomon, God's true king, I think there's something in that for us, isn't there? Just actually recognising that there's a question for us, isn't there? Like, is our allegiance wholeheartedly with God's king? Who is ultimately Jesus. Are we kind of hook, line and sinker there with him? Are we siding with Nathan the prophet? Are we there with Zadok the priest? Are we those few who it might feel really hard to keep kind of saying, yes, I'm one of Jesus' followers, but it's worth it because I'm on the winning side. I'm on God's kingdom. on that side. think just kind of for us, think that's just really, really helpful, isn't it? Just to kind of see that in relation to Jesus' ultimate kingdom and that his throne is established and it will never end because he was the fulfillment of this great promise that we read back into Samuel and we're gonna see so much more of this as we go through aren't we? I feel like we're just kind of trailering and teasing out something of what it looks like to see that Jesus is greater than Solomon here.
Felicity: Yeah, and I think that's so helpful to see that because I think, you you read this opening verses and they're kind of like, well, it's a bit uncertain, a bit unsettled with David not really seeming to step up and you can have a maybe a few questions, is this really going to happen? But the kind of really affirming this rule was firmly established, this was firmly established, God is definitely establishing his rule. We see it here as he establishes the throne of Solomon and then as we see that we see that all more more clearly in the eternal throne of Christ and so our allegiance is kind of rewarded in that isn't it? If we were to sit in the experience of the reader we're kind of maybe dithering a bit is it Adonijah or is it Solomon? Who's gonna who should we kind of love but actually as we see the establishment we're then like yes okay God's king is the one. And that is a heart level kind of, okay. That's not like an, I'm not gonna go from here and do something. I'm just gonna actually be all in.
Sarah: No. And also it's a comfort. I think it's a comfort isn't it? That yeah, opponents will not stand to God's kingdom on that final day. Like there will not be opposition and however weak it may feel in the here and now, actually just remembering that no, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords is on the throne. He is the one who has the rightful rule over all and he will establish his kingdom. The gates of hell will not prevail against that and I just think that is such a comfort and assurance, isn't it? As we kind of press on with, yeah, kingdom work here and now. Do you want to pray? Do you want to pray for us, Felicity, as we close up already? We're already closing up this conversation, but please do pray for us as we close.
Felicity: I don't know. Heavenly Father, we praise you so much for your King. Thank you that in these verses we catch sight of what you are doing as you establish your King. Thank you that Solomon points us towards the Lord Jesus and we pray further that we would have hearts which are all in for Christ. Forgive us when we dither, forgive us when we are distracted by anything else. We want to be those who are wholeheartedly delighted in the King Jesus and we pray that would be true in every area of our lives. Would he rule and would we love to run in his direction and we pray this in your name. Amen.
Sarah: Amen. Well, it's felt very short and sweet, it, getting these first couple of chapters? But this really does excite me for kind of carrying on. Do check out our website, twosistersandacuppatea.com, where you'll find resources that have helped us get into one and two kings. And we really hope and pray that they serve you as well. Along with that, on our website at the moment, we have got some bite-sized videos of just helping people to get the Bible open with others. So why not download those and start doing one kings with someone else as well. We think it would just serve you so well in the same way that it is serving us really well just to be talking about these things together. We look forward to seeing you next week where we'll be getting into chapters three and four together and we'll see you then.
Felicity: We'll see you then. This episode has been sponsored by P&R Publishing.
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