The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Kings 1:5-10, “Now Adonijah, the son of Haggith, exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” So, he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen with fifty men to run before him.

6 His father had never crossed him at any time by asking, “Why have you done so?” And he was also a very handsome man, and he was born after Absalom.

7 He had conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest; and they helped him.

8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah.

9 Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel; and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants.

10 But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or Solomon, his brother.”

Remember the boy I referenced a few letters ago – the one who wanted to play baseball but insisted on being first at bat? Well, he must have heard of Adonijah because they were cut from the same “cloth.” Adonijah exalted himself by simply announcing, “I will be king.” How did he get away with such declarations? It’s simple: “His father…never crossed him…” There was no discipline in the family. Add to that, Adonijah was a handsome lad; so, what he wanted, he simply got; never mind the means by which he got it.

Sometimes Adonijah eliminated those he didn’t like – take Nathan, the prophet, the very person needed; he just wasn’t asked. Let’s pause and do some self-evaluation. Don’t we often intentionally neglect to ask the LORD what we should or shouldn’t do? Could it be because we’re sure we know what He would say?

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America