Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. (1 Kings 3:4)At some point, probably soon after the Battlew of Shiloh, Moses' tabernacle was moved to Gibeon. But what's a tabernacle without the Ark of the Covenant? After the ark was captured by the Philistines, and then returned, it was never again installed in the tabernacle. For many years (throughout the reign of Saul and beyond) it was sheltered at the house of Abinadab. When David conquered Jerusalem, he set up a new tent for the ark called Zion, but Moses' tabernacle remained at Gibeon.
There was no altar for burnt sacrifices at Zion, so Solomon went to Gibeon, where he offered up a thousand sacrifices. In return for this act of worship, God offered Solomon anything he asked for and Solomon asked for wisdom. In addition to wisdom, God promised Solomon all the wealth and power he could have asked for.
Extravagant worship. Extravagant blessing.
Could there be a connection?
"King Solomon answered his mother, "Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? You might as well request the kingdom for him—after all, he is my older brother—yes, for him and for Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah!"
ReplyDelete23 Then King Solomon swore by the LORD : "May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if Adonijah does not pay with his life for this request!"
I was wondering if you knew why Adonijah's request for Abishag was threatening to Soloman's kingship?
This is an excellent example of how our infamiliarity with the Ancient Near East culture makes understanding some passages difficult, and why reading the Bible in community is a good idea.
ReplyDeleteIn 2 Samuel 16:21,22 Absolom (David's son) pitches a tent on the palace roof in which he can sleep with his father's concubines, as a blatant display of, "That's right! Who's the king now?! There's a new sherriff in town!"
Taking David's wife would be a fairly blatant claim to the kingdom. By asking for Abishag's hand in marriage, Adonijah shows he still has designs on the throne.
What I find hard to believe is that Adonijah would have been stupid enough to try this after Solomon was already confirmed as king. Perhaps he underestimated Solomon's grasp of the kingdom.