Unoriginal reflection on 1 Kings 15:3-5

"[Abijah] committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. Nevertheless, for David's sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raining up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong. For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not failed to keep any of the LORD's commands all the days of his life - except in the case of Uriah the Hittite." (1 Kings 15:3-5)

Abijah sinned.

God blessed him despite his sin because of the righteousness of his federal head, David.

David's righteousness was imperfect, so there was a limit to the covering provided.

One day the covering wore out, as the hole spread and split the whole garment.

The lamp was removed, no son of David reigned and Jerusalem burned.

We sinned.

God blessed us despite our sin because of the righteousness of our federal head, Jesus Christ, son of David.

David's greater son, did what was right, with no exception.

Christ's righteousness was perfect without exception, so there is no flaw in the covering provided.

If we repent of our sin, our lamp will never be removed, for Christ reigns forever and we live in a lasting city.

The Song of Solomon and Abishag?

Listening to: Seth Lakeman: Kitty Jay

When David was growing very old, and was quite unwell, his servants "sought for a beautiful young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. The young woman was very beautiful, and she was of service to the king and attended to him, but the king knew her not" (1 Kings 1:3-4).

David's son, Adonijah, attempts to become king, but David makes Solomon king in time to stop the coup. Adonijah's allies desert him and he pays homage to Solomon, so managing to avoid death. After David's death Adonijah approaches Solomon's mother, Bathsheba, to ask Solomon on his behalf if he can marry Abishag (2:13-17). When Bathsheba asks Solomon for this he reacts furiously:

"King Solomon answered his mother, 'And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my older brother, and on his side are Abiathar the priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah.' Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, 'God do so to me and more also if this word does not cost Adonijah his life! Now therefore as the Lord lives, who has established me and placed me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today.' So King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he struck him down, and he died." (2:23-25)

We don't hear of Abishag the Shunammite again... or do we?

In the Song of Songs 6:13 it seems we find a bride who is a Shulammite (Heb. sulammit) due to marry Solomon. The meaning of 'Shulammite' is uncertain, but it could indicate an inhabitant of the town of Shunem (p. 1217, Eerdman's Bible Dictionary). I.e. she could be a Shunammite (Heb. sunammit). It would seem very fitting for Abishag to be the Shulammite of Song of Songs.

If Abishag is the concubine of David, who he never had sex with, but who later married Solomon, how does that affect our interpretation of the Song of Songs?

... Dave Bish, you're the expert, I'm looking at you!

Two kinds of wisdom

Iain Provan argues that Solomon's request for wisdom in 1 Kings 3 is actually a form of repentance. Solomon already has wisdom in 1 Kings 2. As he is dying David gives instructions to Solomon to kill Joab 'according to [his] wisdom' (v.6) and Shamei because he is 'a wise man' (v.9).

These instructions seem pretty brutal. Joab has been David's loyal (if violent) right hand man for decades. David swore never to kill Shamei, but now suggests Solomon does so. If both these men deserved to die a long time ago, it is questionable why David has waited till now to execute justice. Doubtless David found Joab very useful while he was alive, but recognises that he and Shamei may turn out to be threats to Solomon's power in the future. Justice has been made secondary to realpolitik.

After obeying his father's instructions and so establishing the kingdom (2:46), we come to the famous passage where Solomon asks for wisdom. But he doesn't just ask for wisdom he asks to be able to 'discern between good and evil' (3:9). This 'pleased the Lord' because he did not ask for 'long life', 'riches' or 'the life of your enemies' (3:11). Because the Lord is pleased he not only gives Solomon the wisdom he requests but gives what he has not asked for: riches and long life. But he doesn't promise him the other thing he didn't ask for: the life of his enemies.