Study Desk

Solomon replied, "If he proves himself to be loyal, not a hair on his head will be touched. But if he makes trouble, he will die."

As the time of King David's death approached, he gave this charge to his son Solomon:

Observe the requirements of the Lord your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go.

"And there is something else. You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me when he murdered my two army commanders, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He pretended that it was an act of war, but it was done in a time of peace, staining his belt and sandals with innocent blood.

Do with him what you think best, but don't let him grow old and go to his grave in peace.

Then David died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David.

Solomon became king and sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.

So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak on Adonijah's behalf. The king rose from his throne to meet her, and he bowed down before her. When he sat down on his throne again, the king ordered that a throne be brought for his mother, and she sat at his right hand.

"How can you possibly ask me to give Abishag to Adonijah?" King Solomon demanded. "You might as well ask me to give him the kingdom! You know that he is my older brother, and that he has Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah on his side."

Then King Solomon made a vow before the Lord : "May God strike me and even kill me if Adonijah has not sealed his fate with this request.

Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, "Go back to your home in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not kill you now, because you carried the Ark of the Sovereign Lord for David my father and you shared all his hardships."

So Solomon deposed Abiathar from his position as priest of the Lord , thereby fulfilling the prophecy the Lord had given at Shiloh concerning the descendants of Eli.

May their blood be on Joab and his descendants forever, and may the Lord grant peace forever to David, his descendants, his dynasty, and his throne."

So Benaiah son of Jehoiada returned to the sacred tent and killed Joab, and he was buried at his home in the wilderness.

he saddled his donkey and went to Gath to search for them. When he found them, he brought them back to Jerusalem.

Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and married one of his daughters. He brought her to live in the City of David until he could finish building his palace and the Temple of the Lord and the wall around the city.

Solomon loved the Lord and followed all the decrees of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local places of worship.

Solomon replied, "You showed great and faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne.

"Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn't know his way around.

Then Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He returned to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the Lord's Covenant, where he sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he invited all his officials to a great banquet.