1 Kings 1–4: A New King & Wisdom

Read the Bible in 2022 ◊ Week 22: Tuesday

And Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.

1 Kings 2:12 LSB

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Tuesday’s Bible reading of 1 Kings 1–4, begins a new book that marks the end of the reign of King David. Tragically, once again the transfer of authority elicits a desire for power, Adonijah, an older half-brother of Solomon, usurps the throne while David is still alive.

Nathan urges Bathsheba to go to David and remind him of his promise that Solomon would be king and tell him what Adonijah has done. Nathan confirms what she has said. David affirms that Solomon will be king, but look at how David describes God.

Then King David answered and said, “Call Bathsheba to me.” And she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king.

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And the king swore and said, “As Yahweh lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress, surely as I swore to you by Yahweh, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Surely your son Solomon shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place’; I will surely do so this day.”

1 Kings 1:28–30 LSB

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“As Yahweh lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress.” At the end of David’s life he gives us this last witness of who God is. David isn’t parroting a phrase. This is who he knows God to be. This made me stop and think. What will be the witness I leave others about who God is? Will others honor God, love Him, and know Him in truth because of what I say? Stop and think about this for yourself. Ask yourself what witness you will leave.

The transition to a new king is marked by rebellion and bloodshed, and upon David’s death, Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei are executed by Solomon, while Abiathar is removed from the priesthood.

These chapters record Solomon’s famous prayer for wisdom in which he asks:

“So give Your slave a listening heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this glorious people of Yours?”

1 Kings 3:9 LSB

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And God replies:

And it was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing.

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And God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to listen to justice, behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days. Now if you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong your days.”

1 Kings 3:10–14 LSB

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Solomon’s famous judgment determining the mother of the living child is given as confirmation and testimony to the wisdom God has given to Solomon.

Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’”

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And the king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.

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Then the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.”

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Then the woman whose son was the living one spoke to the king, for she was deeply stirred with compassion over her son and said, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.”

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But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him!”

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Then the king said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means put him to death. She is his mother.”

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Then all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had handed down, and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.

1 Kings 3:23–28 LSB

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1 Kings 4 lists the many ways in which God blessed Solomon: his officials, the huge extent of his rule, his wealth, and his wisdom.

So Judah and Israel lived in security, every man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

1 Kings 4:25 LSB

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And men came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

1 Kings 3:34 LSB

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Silvesterzug Laterne: Bk muc. (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Judgment of King Solomon: Nikolai Ge: Public Domain

I’m using Michael Coley’s Bible reading plan (one page PDF to print) to read through the Bible in 2023. Each day my posts are on different books because he divides Bible readings into seven categories, one for each day of the week: Epistles, The Law, History, Psalms, Poetry, Prophecy and Gospels. There’s more information on his plan and other ones at Read the Bible in 2023.