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problems before plans

1 Kings 2:12-46 (JDV)

1 Kings 2:12 Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his reign was firmly established.
1 Kings 2:13 Now Adonijah son of Haggith came to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. She asked, “Do you come peacefully?” “Peacefully,” he replied,
1 Kings 2:14 and then asked, “May I talk with you?” “Go ahead,” she answered.
1 Kings 2:15 “You know the kingship was mine,” he said. “All Israel expected me to be king, but then the kingship was turned over to my brother, because Yahveh gave it to him.
1 Kings 2:16 So now I have just one request of you; don’t turn me down.” She said to him, “Go on.”
1 Kings 2:17 He replied, “Please speak to King Solomon since he won’t turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.”
1 Kings 2:18 “Very well,” Bathsheba replied. “I will speak to the king for you.”
1 Kings 2:19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him about Adonijah. The king stood up to greet her, bowed to her, sat down on his throne, and had a throne placed for the king’s mother. So, she sat down at his right hand.
1 Kings 2:20 Then she said, “I have just one small request of you. Don’t turn me down.” “Go ahead and ask, mother,” the king replied, “for I won’t turn you down.”
1 Kings 2:21 So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to your brother Adonijah as a wife.”
1 Kings 2:22 King Solomon answered his mother, “Why are you requesting Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Since he is my elder brother, you might as well ask the kingship for him, for the priest Abiathar, and for Joab son of Zeruiah.”
1 Kings 2:23 Then King Solomon took an oath by Yahveh: “May God punish me and do so severely if Adonijah has not made this request at the cost of his throat.
1 Kings 2:24 And now, as Yahveh lives — the one who established me, seated me on the throne of my father David, and made me a dynasty as he promised — I swear Adonijah will be put to death today!”
1 Kings 2:25 Then King Solomon dispatched Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who struck down Adonijah, and he died.
1 Kings 2:26 The king said to the priest Abiathar, “Go to your fields in Anathoth. Even though you deserve to die, I will not put you to death today, since you carried the ark of Yahveh God in the presence of my father David, and you suffered through all that my father suffered.”
1 Kings 2:27 So Solomon banished Abiathar from being Yahveh ‘s priest, and it fulfilled Yahveh ‘s prophecy he had spoken at Shiloh against Eli’s family.
1 Kings 2:28 The news reached Joab. Since he had supported Adonijah but not Absalom, Joab fled to Yahveh ‘s tabernacle and held strongly to the horns of the altar.
1 Kings 2:29 It was reported to King Solomon: “Joab has fled to Yahveh ‘s tabernacle and is now beside the altar.” Then Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada and told him, “Go and strike him down!”
1 Kings 2:30 So Benaiah went to the tabernacle and said to Joab, “This is what the king says: ‘Come out! ‘” But Joab said, “No, for I will die here.” So, Benaiah took a message back to the king, “This is what Joab said, and this is how he answered me.”
1 Kings 2:31 The king said to him, “Do just as he says. Strike him down and bury him to remove from me and from my father’s family the blood that Joab shed without just cause.
1 Kings 2:32 Yahveh will bring back his own blood on his head because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he, without my father David’s knowledge. With his sword, Joab murdered Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army.
1 Kings 2:33 The responsibility for their deaths will come back to Joab and to his descendants forever, but for David, his descendants, his dynasty, and his throne, there will be peace from Yahveh forever.”
1 Kings 2:34 Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up, struck down Joab, and put him to death. He was buried at his house in the wilderness.
1 Kings 2:35 Then the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada in Joab’s place over the army, and he appointed the priest Zadok in Abiathar’s place.
1 Kings 2:36 Then the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and live there, but don’t leave there and go anywhere else.
1 Kings 2:37 On the day you do leave and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will certainly die. Your blood will be on your own head.”
1 Kings 2:38 Shimei said to the king, “The sentence is fair; your servant will do as my lord the king has spoken.” And Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time.
1 Kings 2:39 But then, at the end of three years, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. Shimei was informed, “Look, your slaves are in Gath.”
1 Kings 2:40 So Shimei saddled his donkey and set out to Achish at Gath to search for his slaves. He went and brought them back from Gath.
1 Kings 2:41 It was reported to Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned.
1 Kings 2:42 So the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Didn’t I make you swear by Yahveh and warn you, saying, ‘On the day you leave and go anywhere else, know for sure that you will certainly die’? And you said to me, ‘The sentence is fair; I will obey.’
1 Kings 2:43 So why have you not kept Yahveh ‘s oath and the command that I gave you?”
1 Kings 2:44 The king also said, “You yourself know all the evil that you did to my father David. Therefore, Yahveh has brought back your evil on your head,
1 Kings 2:45 but King Solomon will be blessed, and David’s throne will remain established before Yahveh forever.”
1 Kings 2:46 Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down, and he died. So, the kingdom was established in Solomon’s hand.

problems before plans

The dark side of Solomon’s peaceful reign is shown in this chapter. Benaiah goes about executing the enemies of Solomon, thereby preventing more insurrection and civil war. But each enemy is given a chance to show himself honorable. Solomon is known for his wisdom and wealth. But there is a sharp stick close at hand if he needed it.

In narratives like this, it is sometimes difficult to see whether actions described are actually prescribed. In other words, it is hard to see what kind of behavior the stories are promoting. In any case, we can conclude that generally it is a good idea to take care of one’s problems before building one’s kingdom.

LORD, give us wisdom to deal shrewdly with our enemies.