Well of Mud

163 – Well of Mud

2 Chronicles 36:15-21 2 Kings 25:3-21 Jeremiah 32:1-33:26 38:1-40:6 52:1-34

Stories 159 – 164 happened during the life and ministry of Jeremiah, the prophet.

The Lord gave Jeremiah a message for the people. He said, “The choice is yours. You can have life or death. If you stay in Jerusalem, you’ll suffer hunger, disease, and death. If you surrender to the Babylonian army, you’ll live. I’ve given this city to them, and they’ll totally destroy it.”

When the officials of Judah heard this, they went to the king and said, “This man must die. He’s a traitor. He’s telling people to abandon us.”

So Zedekiah allowed them to do what they wanted with Jeremiah. They put ropes around him and let him down into an empty well. It didn’t have water in it, but instead the bottom was nothing but mud. Soon the prophet had sunk down into the mud.

Another official ran to the king and said, “This is wrong! The prophet will die in that well. He has no food or water.”

The king gave permission for the man to pull Jeremiah out of the well. So he got 30 other men to help him. They threw old rags down the well and told the prophet to put these under his arms to protect him from the ropes. They then pulled him out of the well and took him back to the palace prison.

The Babylonians kept the city under siege for two and a half years. Finally they broke through the walls and took the city. When Zedekiah heard this, he got out of Jerusalem during the night and tried to escape.

The Babylonians chased after the king and soon caught him. They brought him back to Nebuchadnezzar. He took Zedekiah and made him watch as they killed his sons in front of him. They then gouged out his eyes, put him in chains, and led him away to Babylon.

The Babylonians totally destroyed the city so it could never again resist them. They destroyed the Temple, burned all the houses, and broke down the walls. The city was totally demolished. The Babylon army took the rest of the people away to Babylon, leaving only a few to tend the land.

Nebuchadnezzar heard about Jeremiah, so he told his captain, “Find this man, and make sure he isn’t hurt. He’s to be cared for and given whatever he wants.”

The captain went and found the prophet. He was in chains along with the others who were being sent into exile. The captain took the chains off Jeremiah and said, “You’re free to go. If you come to Babylon with us, we’ll take care of you and meet your needs for the rest of your life. But if you want, you can stay here in Judah. The choice is yours.”

Jeremiah said he would stay in Judah, so they allowed him and Baruch to go back to their homes. The Lord also protected the official that had helped the prophet get out of the well.

The Lord said to Jeremiah, “The day will come when I’ll raise up a righteous Branch from the line of David, and He’ll bring justice and righteousness to the land. He’ll be called, ‘The Lord our Righteousness.’ ”

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Josiah’s Reforms

158 – Josiah’s Reforms

II Kings 23:1-37 II Chronicles 34:32 – 35:27

King Josiah and the nation of Judah renewed their commitment to the Laws of God. The king then took all the false altars out of the Temple and had them burned. The people also went throughout Jerusalem and destroyed all the idols that were in the city.

Once that was done, the king personally went throughout the land of Judah and oversaw the destruction of idol worship in all the cities. Next he went throughout the land of Israel and destroyed all the idols and altars that were there. When he found a major pagan spot, he desecrated the altar so the people would never use it again.

He went to the altar Jeroboam had built at Bethel. Josiah totally destroyed everything that was around it. He saw some tombs nearby, so he sent men to get some human bones. He burnt them on top of the altar to desecrate it.

Then Josiah saw a monument nearby. He said, “What’s that?”

The men of the area said, “That’s the tomb of the prophet who came from Judah. The Lord sent him here to speak against Jeroboam when he dedicated this altar to his golden calves. He prophesied and told the people what you would do to this altar. Today you have fulfilled his prophecy. It is also the grave of an old prophet from Samaria.”

Josiah said, “Don’t disturb these bones.” He then returned to Jerusalem.

The king organized a Passover feast like no other. He and prominent men of Judah gave generously so everyone could have a sacrifice to give.

In the entire history of Judah, there had never been a king like Josiah, who loved and served the Lord with all his mind, heart, and strength. He totally followed the ways of God.

Still, the Lord planned to have Jerusalem destroyed. He was going to send the people of Judah into exile, just as he had done to Israel. But he didn’t allow it to happen until after Josiah died.

When the king was 39 years old, the pharaoh of Egypt led his army past Judah on the way to help Assyria. Josiah took his army out to stop them. The pharaoh said, “My battle isn’t with you. I’m going to fight someone else. Don’t interfere, or God will use me to destroy you.”

Josiah didn’t listen to this advice. He went into battle, but disguised himself so the enemy wouldn’t know he was the king. Suddenly an arrow hit him, and he slumped down in his chariot. His servants rushed him back to Jerusalem, and there he died.

All of Judah mourned Josiah’s death. The prophet Jeremiah wrote a song that was sung at his funeral.

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A Book is Found

157 – A Book is Found

II Kings 22:1-20 II Chronicles 34:1-32

Josiah was eight years old when he became king of Judah. He walked with the Lord from the day he became king until the day he died 31years later. He was the last great king before the people of Judah went into captivity.

When he was 26 years old, he hired men to restore the Temple. Money had been given for that purpose, so he gave it to the workmen and said, “You have proven yourselves to be men of integrity. Therefore you don’t have to keep an account of this money.”

One day, the high priest found the Book of the Law, written by Moses. He sent it to the king, who had it read out loud. When Josiah heard what was written in the book, he ripped his clothes and said, “Surely the Lord’s anger is great against us! Our ancestors made a contract with God and then broke it over and over. His judgment on us must be close at hand. Go and find someone who can ask the Lord about this.”

The priest went to a certain section of the city to the home of Huldah, a woman prophet. They asked her about what was written in the book. She said, “I have a message from God to the man who sent you here. God says, ‘The people of this land have totally turned against me. They serve idols and false gods. I’m about to fulfill the judgment written in the book you found. Disaster will soon fall on this place and everyone who lives here. Nothing can turn away the judgment that is coming.’ ”

Huldah then said, “I have another message to the king of Judah. The Lord says, ‘When you heard the words of this book, your heart was sad and you ripped your clothes and cried. You have sought me with humility, and I heard you. Therefore, you will not see the disaster I’m bringing on this place. I will wait until you die and are buried.’ ”

The priest took these words back to Josiah. When he heard them, he gathered together all the elders of Jerusalem and Judah. They in turn went and got the rest of the people. Everyone went to the Temple, where they heard the king read the Law of Moses. They heard about the agreements their nation had with God.

Once the reading of the Law was done, Josiah stood in the place reserved for the king. In front of everyone, he made those same commitments to the Lord. He vowed that he would follow God’s commandments with all of his energies and power. All the people agreed to do the same.

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Hezekiah

153 – Hezekiah

2 Chronicles 29:1-31:36 2 Kings 18:1-12

Hezekiah became king when he was 25 years old. He followed the Lord more than any king since David.

The first thing he did was to open the Temple his father had closed. He said to the priests and Levites, “We all know God has turned against us because of our sin. We’re almost like the kingdom of Israel and nearly beyond hope. But I’m making an agreement with the Lord so possibly he’ll turn his anger away from us. I need your help because you’re chosen by God to stand in his presence and serve him.”

The priests and Levites rallied around their king. The first thing they did was purify themselves before the Lord. They then went into the Temple and started cleaning it up. They took out things that were defiled and cleaned everything else.

After that, King Hezekiah and the city officials went and sacrificed to the Lord. They then made preparations so all the people of Jerusalem could come and worship God. The priests and Levites were put in place. Musical Levites got their instruments ready. Choirs prepared to sing the songs of David.

The people came and sacrificed to God. They sang to the Lord while trumpets blew. Everyone rejoiced, and bowed down and worshiped. So many burnt offerings were brought that the priests couldn’t do it all. The Levites had to help them until the work was done.

When it was time for Passover, Hezekiah sent a message throughout all of Judah and Israel. He invited everyone to come and celebrate Passover together in Jerusalem.

The messengers went to every city throughout the entire area. God moved the hearts of the people of Judah, and they came to celebrate Passover with their king.

Most of the people of Israel had been taken to other countries, but there were still a few in the land. They were amazed when Hezekiah invited them to come back and worship the Lord in Jerusalem. Some laughed at the messengers, but others humbled themselves and made the trip to Jerusalem.

An extremely large crowd met together. The first thing the king had them do was walk throughout the city and tear down all the pagan altars. He also had them destroy the bronze snake that Moses had made, because people were burning incense to it.

They then offered the Passover lambs before the Lord. Many of the people from Israel weren’t considered clean before God. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to go through that procedure. King Hezekiah prayed and asked the Lord to make an exception for them since they were coming to seek the Lord. God heard his prayer and purified the people so they could eat the Passover.

This celebration lasted for seven days. Then the entire crowd decided to extend it for another seven days. Everyone rejoiced together, whether they were from Judah or from Israel. Even Samaritans rejoiced with them. Such a festival hadn’t been seen in Jerusalem since the days of David and Solomon.

After it was all over, the people went home. The first thing they did was to tear down all altars of false gods and objects of idol worship. They started sending their tithes and offerings to the Temple so the priests and Levites could continue their fulltime service to the Laws of God.

In all the history of Judah, there was no king like Hezekiah. He reigned for 29 years.

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Athaliah

143 – Athaliah

2 Kings 8:16-29 9:14-29 11:1-21 2 Chronicles 21:1 – 23:21

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, wanted to establish a good relationship with the kingdom of Israel. To do that, he had his oldest son marry Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, king of Israel. Unfortunately, Athaliah influenced her husband to follow the sinful ways of Israel.

As soon as Jehoshaphat died, his son became king and put idols all around Judah, and built a temple to Baal in Jerusalem. He killed his six brothers to make sure they wouldn’t take the kingdom away from him.

Elisha sent him a message. “You’ve caused the people to worship idols, and now you’ve killed your brothers. They were all better men than you. Therefore, all of your sons will be killed, and you’ll die a slow agonizing death.”

Immediately, Judah started losing battles. The king developed a severe stomach illness. All of his sons were killed except the youngest. The king’s illness caused him extreme pain for two years. When he finally died, no one mourned his death.

His youngest son became king, and he followed the direction of his mother Athaliah. He went to visit his uncle, the king of Israel. While he was there, Jehu killed both of them.

When she heard that her son was dead, Athaliah decided to become king, even though she was a woman. Still, she knew the people of Judah always selected their kings from the descendants of David. That meant the people could kill her and make one of her grandchildren king. Therefore, she decided to kill them. She called for the guard and told him to go to the palace and kill them all.

Athaliah’s daughter heard this and rushed to the palace. She worshiped the Lord and was married to Jehoiada, the high priest. At the palace, she took the baby Joash and his nurse and left—just before the guards got there. She hid the child in the Temple of the Lord. Meanwhile the guards killed all the other royal descendants of David.

Athaliah was confident she had killed them all. So, she became king of Judah and ruled the nation for six years.

Jehoiada hid Joash in the Temple until he was seven years old. Finally the priest knew it was time to act. He organized a meeting with trusted military leaders and the heads of various family groups. He asked them, “What would you do if you had a descendant of King David.”

“We would make him king!”

Jehoiada then brought Joash before them and said, “Here is your next king.”

Together, they set a date to bring him out before the people. They organized the military, Temple activities, and crowd control. On the big day, the people of Judah went to the Temple.

Joash was brought out and put in the place reserved for the king. Jehoiada anointed him with oil and placed a crown on his head. The trumpets blew, the choir sang, and the people shouted, “Long live the king!!”

Athaliah heard all the shouting, so she went out to see what was going on. People were running through the streets, celebrating, and talking about the king. She walked into the Temple and saw Joash in the place reserved for the king, and he had a crown on his head. She ripped her clothes and screamed, “Treason! Treason!”

Jehoiada pointed at her and said, “Take that woman out, because it is not right to kill someone in the Temple.”

So they dragged Athaliah out of the Temple, and killed her at the horse corral. The people went through the city and tore down everything that had to do with Baal. The high priest once again set up the worship of the Lord in the Temple. Everyone rejoiced because Athaliah’s reign of terror was over.

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Jezebel

142 – Jezebel

2 Kings 9:30 – 10:36

After Jehu killed the two kings, he went back to Jezebel to find Jezebel. She knew he was coming, so she put on makeup, brushed her hair, and sat next to her second floor window.

When he arrived, she called down to him, “Why are you here—to keep killing people who are better than you?”

He looked up at her, and then yelled, “Is anyone up there that’s on my side?” Some men who worked for the queen looked down from the window. Jehu yelled, “Throw her out of the window!”

They picked up Jezebel and threw her out of the window. She fell to the ground, splattering blood on the wall. Jehu drove his chariot over her several times. He then went inside to get something to eat.

After the meal, he said, “Well, I guess we should bury her. After all, she is a queen.”

He sent some men out to take care of this, but they could only find her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands. They told Jehu, and he said, “God spoke through Elijah when he said, ‘Dogs will eat Jezebel at Naboth’s field, and she will be fertilizer.’”

Jehu then sent a message to the elders in Samaria. “Your city walls are strong, and you have plenty of horses, chariots and weapons. The 70 sons of Ahab live under your protection. Therefore, select one to be your king, and prepare for battle.”

The elders were terrified when they got this letter. They sent him a message saying, “We don’t want to make any of these sons of Ahab our king. We’re your servants and will do whatever you say.”

He sent a message back to them. “If that’s true, put the heads of those 70 sons in baskets and send them to me.” So the 70 sons of Ahab were killed, and their heads were sent to Jehu. He then made sure no other relative of Ahab was still alive.

Once all of this was done, Jehu made an announcement in Samaria. He said, “Ahab served Baal a little, but I’m totally dedicated to him. Therefore I’m having a great sacrifice to Baal. All the true worshipers of Baal are to be there. I’ll kill anyone who misses this meeting.”

This announcement was made all across Israel. Baal worshipers came from every part of the nation. They filled up the temple of Baal. No one was missing. Jehu said, “Look around and see if there are any servants of the Lord with us. If you see one, throw him out immediately. Only servants of Baal are welcome here.”

Once this was done, the people started making their burnt offerings. Jehu went outside and said to his men. “Go in and kill everyone. If anyone escapes, you’ll give your life for his.”

So the men went in and killed everyone. They then tore down the temple of Baal and made it into a large toilet.

The Lord said, “You have followed my instructions with enthusiasm. Therefore, your sons will be king of Israel for four generations.” So Jehu reigned over Israel for 28 years.

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Shunammite Woman

135 – Shunammite Woman

II Kings 4:8-37

Elisha traveled to a town called Shunem. A prominent woman provided a meal for him. She then gave him an invitation to eat at their home whenever he was in their town.

Sometime later, the woman said to her husband, “The man who comes here is a holy man. Let’s make a small room for him upstairs. We’ll provide a bed, table, chair, and a lamp. He can stay there whenever he comes to our city.” They prepared the room, and Elisha used it whenever he was in Shunem.

One day, the prophet stopped at the home and went up to his room. He said to Gehazi his servant, “The Shunammite woman has done all of this for us. Go ask her what I can do for her. Possibly she would like me to speak to the king for her, or a commander of the army.

Gehazi went and talked to her, but she said that her family provided for all her needs. Elisha then asked his servant, “Do you have any ideas of what we can do for her?”

“Well, she doesn’t have a son, and her husband is old.”

Elisha said, “Tell her to come and stand in the doorway.”

The woman went up the stairs and stood in the doorway of the prophet’s room. He said to her, “This time next year, you’ll have a son.”

She begged him. “Oh man of God, don’t tell me that unless it’s true.”

A year later, she gave birth to a baby boy, just as Elisha had promised. The child grew and in time was old enough to help his father with the harvest.

One day out in the field, he complained of a severe headache. His father told a servant to take the boy to his mother. The servant took him there and she held her son on her lap. Still, he died around noon. She took him up to Elisha’s room and laid him on the prophet’s bed.

She then sent a message to her husband. “Please send me a donkey and a servant. I need to hurry and go see the man of God. I’ll come back as fast as I can.”

The husband agreed and sent her a donkey and a servant. She said to the servant, “Take me to the man of God at Mount Carmel. Don’t slow down unless I tell you.”

Elisha saw her coming from a distance, but the Lord didn’t tell him why she was coming. He sent Gehazi to ask why, but she wouldn’t tell him.

When she got to the prophet, she ran up, fell down, and grabbed his feet. Gehazi started to pull her away, but the prophet said, “Don’t! She’s deeply troubled and God still hasn’t told me why.”

The woman looked up and yelled, “I told you not to tell me I’d have a son unless it was true!”

The prophet turned to Gehazi. “Run back to her house. Don’t talk to anyone along the way. Take this staff and place it on the boy’s face.”

Gehazi took the staff and left. Elisha then told the woman that she and her servant could go home. She said, “Listen to me carefully. As sure as God is alive, and as sure as you’re alive, I’m not leaving you until my son is alive.” So Elisha went with them to her house.

Gehazi got there first and placed the staff on the boy’s face. Nothing happened. When Elisha arrived, he went into the room alone and locked the door. He prayed to the Lord, and then went over and stretched out over the boy’s body with his eyes over the boy’s eyes, his mouth over the boy’s mouth, and his hands over the boy’s hands. Soon the boy’s flesh became warm once again, but he didn’t start breathing.

The prophet got up and paced back and forth. Then he once again stretched out over the boy’s body. Suddenly the boy sneezed … and then he sneezed again … and then he sneezed again. He sneezed a total of seven times. After that, the boy opened his eyes and looked at the prophet.

Elisha got up and called for Gehazi. “Go and get the Shunammite woman.”

When she came into the room, the prophet said, “Pick up your son.” Without saying a word, she knelt at the feet of the man of God. She then picked up her son and left.

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Aerial view of Shunem, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

Hill of Moreh from Tel Jezreel, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

Hill of Moreh and Nain, from the Northwest, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

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Elijah in the Whirlwind

132 – Elijah in the Whirlwind

II Kings 2:1-25

The time came for the Lord to take Elijah to heaven. So the old prophet said to Elisha, “Stay here. The Lord is sending me to Bethel.”

Elisha said, “As sure as the Lord lives, I won’t leave you.” So they went to Bethel.

There was a group of prophets at Bethel. They said to Elisha, “Do you know the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”

“Yes, I know. Now be quiet.”

Elijah said, “Elisha, stay here. The Lord is sending me to Jericho.”

Elisha said, “As sure as the Lord lives, I won’t leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

The prophets at Jericho said to Elisha, “Do you know the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”

“Yes, I know. Now be quiet.”

Elijah said to him, “Stay here. The Lord is sending me to the Jordan River.”

Elisha said, “As sure as the Lord lives, I won’t leave you.” So they went on together.

When they got to the Jordan, Elijah rolled up his cloak, and struck the water. Immediately, the waters parted and the two men walked across the river on dry ground. Fifty prophets watched from a distance.

Once the two men were on the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “What do you want me to do for you before I’m taken away?”

Elisha didn’t hesitate. “Please, I want a double portion of your spirit.”

Elijah was shocked. He said, “What? Your request is difficult. But, you’ll have it if you see me being taken from you. If not, you won’t get it.”

As they continued on, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah was taken up into heaven in the whirlwind … and was gone.

Elisha saw it all. He ripped his clothes and yelled, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!”

He then saw Elijah’s cloak, which fell when the prophet went up into the air. Elisha walked over and picked it up. He turned and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan River. He lifted the cloak high in the air, and then struck the water. He said, “Where’s the Lord God of Elijah?!” The waters parted, and he walked across on dry ground.

The fifty prophets saw all of this. They said, “The spirit of Elijah lives in Elisha.” From that day on, they honored him as their new leader.

When he got back to Jericho, the people of the city said to him, “Jericho is a good place to live, but the spring is bad. It even keeps our crops from growing.

He said, “Put some salt in a new bowl and bring it to me.”

They brought it to him and he went to the spring. He threw the salt into the water and said, “The Lord has made this water pure. You can now grow crops and no one will starve.”

He left Jericho to return to Bethel. Along the way, some boys started making fun of him. They said, “Get out of here, baldy!”

The prophet turned and put a curse on them. Immediately, two bears ran out of the woods and killed 42 of the boys and ripped them apart.

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Elijah on Mount Carmel

125 – Elijah on Mount Carmel

1 Kings 18:1-46

The famine in Israel was severe and lasted for three years. Finally, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go tell King Ahab that I am going to send rain to the land.”

The person in charge of Ahab’s courts was a man named Obadiah. He was faithful to God, and even hid 100 prophets of the LORD when Jezebel was trying to hunt them down.

He and the king went out to find grass for the palace livestock. They went different directions so they could search more land.

As Obadiah went along, Elijah suddenly walked up to him. Obadiah immediately fell to the ground and said, “Oh, my lord Elijah.”

The prophet said, “Go tell the king that I’m here.”

Obadiah was shocked. He said, “What have I done that you want me killed? The king has looked for you all across the nation, and even in other countries. As soon as I tell him that you’re here, the Lord will carry you off to some other place. Then Ahab will kill me when he comes and finds that you’re not here. Please don’t do this to me.”

The prophet said, “Don’t worry. As the Lord lives, I’ll meet with Ahab today.”

So Obadiah went and told Ahab. As soon as the king saw Elijah, he said, “So, there is the man who’s destroyed Israel.”

Elijah said, “No, it’s not me, but you who has destroyed Israel. You’ve turned your back on the Lord and are serving Baal. Tell Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. Bring the prophets of Baal and Asherah, the ones who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

So Ahab told the Israelites to gather at Mount Carmel, along with the prophets. Once everyone was there, Elijah said to the people, “How long will you go back and forth? If the Lord is God, follow Him. If Baal is God, follow him.” The people didn’t say anything, but just looked at the prophet.

He said. “I stand here as only one prophet of the Lord, but look, there are 450 prophets of Baal. Give us two bulls. They’ll take one, prepare it for sacrifice, and put it on top of the wood. But they won’t put fire on the wood. I’ll do the same. They will call on the name of their god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The God who lights the fire, He is God.”

The people said. “Yes. That sounds fair.”

Elijah said to the prophets of Baal. “You go first.”

So they prepared the bull, and called on the name of Baal. They prayed all morning until noon. They danced around the altar, but nothing happened.

Elijah started mocking them. “Maybe you should shout louder! Your god might be sleeping, and you need to wake him up! Maybe he’s gone to the toilet.” They shouted loudly, and cut themselves, until blood gushed out. They kept this up all afternoon, but nothing happened.

Finally, Elijah built an altar with twelve stones, one for each tribe of Israel. He dug a trench around the altar, and put the wood on it. He then placed the bull on top of the wood.

He said to the people, “Go get some water and pour it on the sacrifice.” Once they had done this, he told them to do it again. After they had done it a second time, he told them to do it a third time. Once they were done, the altar was totally wet, and the trench was full of water.

Elijah then walked up to the altar and prayed. “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Let everyone know that you are God, and I’m your servant. Answer me so these people will turn back to you!”

Suddenly, fire fell down from heaven and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, and the twelve stones. It even licked up the water that was in the trench. The people fell down and shouted, “The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!”

Elijah ordered, “Grab the prophets of Baal! Don’t let any of them escape.” The people grabbed the prophets of Baal, and Elijah killed all of them.

He turned to Ahab and said, “Eat something. There’s a rainstorm coming.”

He then went up to the top of the mountain to pray. He said to his servant, “Look toward the sea. What do you see?”

The servant said, “I don’t see anything.”

Seven times Elijah told him to go and look. Finally, the seventh time, his servant told him, “I see a small cloud, about the size of a man’s hand, coming from the sea.”

Elijah said, “Quick, go tell Ahab, ‘Rush home as fast as you can so the rain doesn’t stop you.’” Ahab got in his chariot and rushed toward home.

In a short time, the sky grew dark and the wind started to blow. Suddenly there was a downpour of rain. The power of God came over Elijah, and he ran faster than Ahab’s chariot, and arrived in Jezreel before him.

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Transfer of Power

114 – Transfer of Power

1 Kings 1:1-53

When David became old and frail, he was always cold. Covering him with blankets didn’t help. Finally, they decided to provide him with a nurse that would sleep with him. They found a beautiful virgin and she was his constant nurse. She slept with him, but they didn’t have sex.

Adonijah was the fourth son of David, a younger brother of Absalom. He was just as handsome as his brother. David never disciplined Adonijah, or even corrected him.

Since David was old and bedridden, Adonijah said, “I’ll be the next king.” He hired 50 bodyguards to run before him as he rode through the streets in a chariot. He asked Joab to help him, and also enlisted the help of the high priest. Others refused to help, including Nathan the prophet.

Adonijah hosted a banquet and invited those who supported him. He also invited his brothers, David’s servants, and officials of Judah. But he didn’t invite those who opposed him, and he didn’t invite Solomon.

Bathsheba was Solomon’s mother. Nathan went and told her what was happening. He said, “The king doesn’t know what Adonijah is doing. If we don’t stop this, you and your son will die.” He then told her exactly how they should tell the king.

She went to David’s bedroom, where his nurse was serving him. Bathsheba said, “My lord, you said Solomon would be king after you. But now Adonijah has made himself king without you knowing it. All of Israel is looking to you to tell them exactly who should be king. If you die without telling them, Solomon and I will be killed as criminals.”

At that exact moment, Nathan came in and said, “My lord king, did you make Adonijah king? Today he’s having a banquet with the officials of Israel. They’re eating and drinking and saying ‘Long live the King.’ Many of us weren’t invited. I’m surprised you authorized this without letting me know.”

David said to Bathsheba, “As sure as the Lord lives, your son Solomon will be king after me. It will happen today.”

He then gave an assignment to certain priests, officials, and the prophet Nathan. “Have Solomon ride on my personal mule to the place where you’ll anoint him king. Afterwards, blow the rams horns and shout ‘Long live King Solomon!’ Then have him sit on my throne. Tell everyone he’s the one I’ve selected to be king after me.”

The men followed David’s instructions. As soon as Solomon was pronounced king, the people flowed into the streets shouting, playing flutes, and celebrating.

The people at Adonijah’s banquet heard the noise and wondered what was happening. Men rushed in and told them. “King David has made Solomon king of Israel! Right now he’s sitting on the royal throne.”

Everyone quickly left the banquet and went home. Adonijah was terrified of what Solomon would do to him. He went to the Tabernacle and grabbed the horns of the altar. He sent a message to Solomon saying “I’m your slave. Please promise me you’ll not kill me.”

Solomon sent a message back. “I won’t kill you if you act like a man of character. But if not, I’ll have you killed.” So Adonijah went and bowed down before Solomon and gave him honor as the new king.