TEEN TREE 
OF LIFE
God’s Goodness – Part 9
May 30, 2021
Before you begin, ask yourself a very important question: Do you believe that Jesus Christ died on The Cross for all of your sins? If you answered yes, you will need to be sure that you are filled with The Holy Spirit. How do you do this? You name your sins to God The Father in His Son’s Name. This is called Rebound. As a Christian, you must rebound any time you sin. This is taught in 1 JOH 1:9: If we confess [name] our sins [directly to God], He [God] is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now, if you have never believed that Jesus Christ died on The Cross for all of your sins, all you have to do is say to yourself that you believe in Him and you are saved! The Bible verse which teaches us this is ACTS 16:31: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”
The name Solomon means peace or peaceable. The tenth son of David, and second son of Bathsheba, Solomon ended up becoming the third king of Israel, reigning for forty years. He was also known by the name Jedidiah which means “beloved of the Lord.”
As we learned, Solomon’s father David had approximately 20 sons. When David was old and on his deathbed, his son Adonijah gathered an army and put himself forward as king. This happened, despite the fact, that his successor was David’s son Solomon who was chosen by God!! Some influential men supported Adonijah’s move, including Joab, the captain of the army; and Abiathar the priest.
But others opposed Adonijah’s plans, including Nathan the prophet, Zadok the priest, and David’s wife Bathsheba. Look at 1 KIN 1:5-8 (New International Version): Adonijah was the son of David and his wife Haggith. He came forward and announced, “I’m going to be the next king.” So he got chariots and horses ready. He also got 50 men to run in front of him. His father had never tried to stop him from doing what he wanted to. His father had never asked him, “Why are you acting the way you do?” Adonijah was also very handsome. Now that Absalom was dead, Adonijah was David’s oldest son. Adonijah talked things over with Joab, the son of Zeruiah. He also talked with Abiathar the priest. They agreed to help him. But Zadok the priest and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, didn’t join Adonijah. Nathan the prophet didn’t join him. Shimei and Rei didn’t join him. And neither did David’s special guard.
Since it was God’s Will that Solomon replace his father as king, the prophet Nathan stepped in to help, by warning Solomon’s mother Bathsheba about Adonijah’s evil plot: Nathan asked Solomon’s mother Bathsheba, “Haven’t you heard? Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has made himself king. And King David doesn’t know anything about it. So let me tell you what to do to save your life. It will also save the life of your son Solomon. Go in and see King David. Say to him, ‘You are my king and master. You promised me, “You can be sure that your son Solomon will be king after me. He will sit on my throne.” If that’s really true, why has Adonijah become king?’ While you are still talking to the king, I’ll come in and support what you have said.” (1 KIN 1:11-14 New International Reader’s Version)
As Nathan advised, Bathsheba went to her husband, King David, to break the troubling news to him. As promised, in the middle of the couple’s conversation, the prophet Nathan showed up to set David straight. 1 KIN 1:29-30 (New International Reader’s Version) tells us the outcome of Nathan’s visit, which concludes with King David declaring: “The Lord has saved me from all my troubles. You can be sure that he lives. And you can be just as sure I will do what I promised. This is the day I will do what I promised in the name of the Lord. He is the God of Israel. I promised you that your son Solomon would be king after me. He will sit on my throne in my place.” Again, we see David expressing his tremendous love for God. It’s so clear – right in the first sentence – how keenly aware he was of God’s Goodness! Notice, too, that David promises to do what God wants him to do – which is to make his son Solomon king. This teaches us the importance of doing what God expects us to do. It’s all part of being in God’s Plan for our lives.
What David did next is taught in 1 CHR 28:1 (New International Reader’s Version): David asked all the officials of Israel to come together at Jerusalem. He sent for the officers who were over the tribes. He sent for the commanders of the military groups who served the king. He sent for the commanders of thousands of men and commanders of hundreds. He sent for the officials who were in charge of all the royal property and livestock. They belonged to the king and his sons. He sent for the palace officials and the warriors. He also sent for all the brave fighting men. Isn’t it interesting to read how King David ran his monarchy? Did you notice how he communicated to everyone in one large group, rather than by delivering the message piecemeal? It’s probably because what he had to do and say was so incredibly important to the people in his kingdom and to his family. It shows how much he really loved them all. It’s as though David is displaying the Love and Goodness which God showed him. What a great example of how to represent God on earth!
What happens next is found in 1 CHR 28:2-7 (New International Reader’s Version): King David stood up. He said, “All of you Israelites, listen to me. With all my heart I wanted to build a house for the Lord. I wanted it to be a place of peace and rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord. The ark is the stool for our God’s feet. I made plans to build the Lord’s house. But God said to me, ‘You are not the one who will build a house for my Name. That is because you are a fighting man. You have spilled people’s blood.’” “But the Lord chose me. He is the God of Israel. He chose me from my whole family to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah to lead the tribes. From the tribe of Judah he chose my family. From my father’s sons he chose me. He was pleased to make me king over the whole nation of Israel. The Lord has given me many sons. From all of them he has chosen my son Solomon. He wants Solomon to sit on the throne of the Lord’s kingdom. He wants him to rule over Israel. The Lord said to me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who will build my house and my courtyards. I have chosen him to be my son. And I will be his father. I will make his kingdom secure. It will last forever. That will happen if he continues to obey my commands and laws. He must continue to obey them, just as he is doing now.’”
So, David, a man after God’s Own Heart, followed through with God’s Command and Solomon became King. Before his death, David gave some final advice to his son Solomon saying: “I am about to die, just as everyone else on earth does. So be strong. Show how brave you are. Do everything the Lord your God requires. Live the way he wants you to. Obey his orders and commands. Keep his laws and rules. Do everything written in the Law of Moses. Then you will have success in everything you do. You will succeed everywhere you go. The Lord will keep the promise he made to me. He said, ‘Your sons must be careful about how they live. They must be faithful to me with all their heart and soul. Then you will always have a son from your family line to sit on the throne of Israel.” (1 KIN 2:2-4 New International Reader’s Version) David’s message to his son Solomon includes excellent advice which applies to believers in the Church-Age, too. Remember this faithful father’s message to his son and look back on it throughout your life. (Believers today should replace “Do everything written in the Law of Moses” with this advice: study under your right pastor-teach and learn and apply God’s Word!)
The Message Bible translation puts David’s final warning to his son Solomon this way: “I’m about to go the way of all the earth, but you—be strong; show what you’re made of! Do what God tells you. Walk in the paths he shows you: Follow the life-map absolutely, keep an eye out for the signposts, his course for life set out in the revelation to Moses; then you’ll get on well in whatever you do and wherever you go. Then God will confirm what he promised me when he said, ‘If your sons watch their step, staying true to me heart and soul, you’ll always have a successor on Israel’s throne.” (1 KIN 2:2-4 The Message Bible) Do you see how-to live-in God’s Plan for your life in this translation?
King David died from natural causes in 961 BC and was buried in Jerusalem. He had helped establish God’s Eternal Kingdom through his devotion and lineage.
{to be continued}