Day 96: 1 Kings 1-3

(1 Kings was the sixth of the twelve books that make up the historical section of the Old Testament. It was believed that Isaiah and Jeremiah compiled 1 Kings and 2 Kings from what was recorded by scribes and/or prophets between 1046-616 BC.)

(In the Hebrew manuscripts, 1 Kings and 2 Kings were presented as one book. David was the 14th generation of God's chosen people. 1 Kings and 2 Kings documented the time prior to all of Israel going into captivity. There were fourteen generations from Solomon to Jechonias, the last King of Judah.)

(Some sources believed the Book of Kings was divided into two books for the Greek reader. This occurred with the Septuagint translation around 290 BC. This book documented the transition of the kingdom from David to Solomon and the subsequent division of the kingdom after Solomon's death. Remember, David seemed to be slow to punish those who had been unjust. Recall, the Davidic Covenant consisted of God never removing His lovingkindness from David's son. Was David treating others the way he knew God was going to treat his son?)

1 Kings 1
¹ Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.
² Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and cherish him; and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.

(David was old and his servants found a young virgin to lay next to in order to keep warm.)

³ So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the borders of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
⁴ And the damsel was very fair; and she cherished the king, and ministered to him; but the king knew her not.

(Abishag the Shunammite (from Shunem, a city in Issachar) served David but he did not have intercourse with her.)

⁵ Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.

(Haggith was one of David's wives (2 Samuel 3:4). Her son Adonijah exalted himself and said he would be king. This sounded very similar to Absalom.)

⁶ And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he was also a very goodly man; and he was born after Absalom.
⁷ And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him.

(David didn't confront his son Adonijah which seems to have led him to believing he could have what he wanted. Joab the General and Abiathar the priest both helped Adonijah. What was Joab up to now?)

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

(Most of the other men that had been with David did not follow Adonijah.)

⁹ And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel; and he called all his brethren, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants:
¹⁰ but Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not.

(Adonijah prepared a feast and purposely left Solomon out of this. Nathan the prophet, who confronted David regarding the Bath-sheba incident, was still alive and was also left out of this situation.)

¹¹ Then Nathan spake unto Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not?

(Nathan informed Bath-sheba that Adonijah was claiming to be king and that David was unaware.)

¹² Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.
¹³ Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thy handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then doth Adonijah reign?
¹⁴ Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words.

(Nathan was as politically savvy as Joab, maybe more so. Nathan advised Bath-sheba to ask David about the situation. A leader facilitates the purpose and progress of others. By definition, a leader cannot pursue the position of leader. Adonijah and Absalom did this. Solomon did not. David had stated Solomon would be the next king, the king that God's lovingkindness would never depart from.)

¹⁵ And Bath-sheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite was ministering unto the king.

(Bath-sheba walked in on David being warmed by Abishag.)

¹⁶ And Bath-sheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou?
¹⁷ And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by Jehovah thy God unto thy handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.
¹⁸ And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and thou, my lord the king, knowest it not:
¹⁹ and he hath slain oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host; but Solomon thy servant hath he not called.
²⁰ And thou, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

(Bath-sheba spoke to David and told him that all of Israel was waiting for his word on who would be the next king. Bath-sheba was facilitating Solomon's purpose and progress.)

²¹ Otherwise it will come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.
²² And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet came in.

(Interesting how Bath-sheba and Nathan were working together. The last record of Nathan was when he confronted David about the scandal between him and Bath-sheba (2 Samuel 12).)

²³ And they told the king, saying, Behold, Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.
²⁴ And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?
²⁵ For he is gone down this day, and hath slain oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the king's sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and say, Long live king Adonijah.
²⁶ But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called.
²⁷ Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not showed unto thy servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?

(Nathan asked David two questions and confirmed Bath-sheba's words. Two witnesses...)

²⁸ Then king David answered and said, Call to me Bath-sheba. And she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king.
²⁹ And the king sware, and said, As Jehovah liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity,
³⁰ verily as I sware unto thee by Jehovah, the God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; verily so will I do this day.

(David swore by God that he would set up Solomon as king "this day." David still had authority.)

³¹ Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did obeisance to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.
³² And king David said, Call to me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.
³³ And the king said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:

(Solomon would ride on David's own mule. A common tradition during those days was to have a royal mule of which all subjects were forbidden to use, without special permission, with the threat of death. If this was the case here, this mule being given to Solomon was a public declaration of David’s choice for him to be king.)

³⁴ and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel; and blow ye the trumpet, and say, Long live king Solomon.

(Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed Solomon king. Solomon was anointed by a priest and a prophet. Two witnesses. Remember, Absalom was anointed by the people and Adonijah exalted himself.)

³⁵ Then ye shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead; and I have appointed him to be prince over Israel and over Judah.
³⁶ And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: Jehovah, the God of my lord the king, say so too.
³⁷ As Jehovah hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.
³⁸ So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David's mule, and brought him to Gihon.
³⁹ And Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of the Tent, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, Long live king Solomon.

(Solomon was anointed with sacred oil from the tent of meeting.)

⁴⁰ And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them.
⁴¹ And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Wherefore is this noise of the city being in an uproar?
⁴² While he yet spake, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came: and Adonijah said, Come in; for thou art a worthy man, and bringest good tidings.
⁴³ And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king:

(Adonijah and Joab were told that Solomon had been made king.)

⁴⁴ and the king hath sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and they have caused him to ride upon the king's mule;
⁴⁵ and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon; and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard.
⁴⁶ And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom.
⁴⁷ And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, Thy God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne: and the king bowed himself upon the bed.
⁴⁸ And also thus said the king, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who hath given one to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing it.
⁴⁹ And all the guests of Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way.

(Adonijah's supporters left him so they would not get killed as traitors. What about Adonijah? What about Joab?)

⁵⁰ And Adonijah feared because of Solomon; and he arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
⁵¹ And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon; for, lo, he hath laid hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me first that he will not slay his servant with the sword.
⁵² And Solomon said, If he shall show himself a worthy man, there shall not a hair of him fall to the earth; but if wickedness be found in him, he shall die.
⁵³ So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and did obeisance to king Solomon; and Solomon said unto him, Go to thy house.

(Solomon left the punishment of Adonijah up to Adonijah’s own actions. Would he be good or evil?)




1 Kings 2
¹ Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,
² I am going the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man;
³ and keep the charge of Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself.
⁴ That Jehovah may establish his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

(David gave Solomon a "charge" that sounded similar to the beginning of the Book of Proverbs and saw the cause as the heart and soul. Part of this "charge" was for Solomon to "show thyself a man." A man does the causes regardless of the effects. The ultimate cause to be focused on is to keep the charge of God, to do the First Command: Love the Lord with all of your being.)

⁵ Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did unto me, even what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.
⁶ Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to Sheol in peace.

(David had Solomon judge Joab. Why did David not judge Joab for what he did? Did David want Joab around so David could continue to reap reward from his kindness towards Joab? If so, now that David was dying he may have wanted Solomon to have a kingdom free of the unjust leaders that David had to deal with.)

⁷ But show kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table; for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom thy brother.
⁸ And, behold, there is with thee Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I sware to him by Jehovah, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.
⁹ Now therefore hold him not guiltless, for thou art a wise man; and thou wilt know what thou oughtest to do unto him, and thou shalt bring his hoar head down to Sheol with blood.

(David had Solomon judge Shimei. Shimei was the man that cursed and attempted to stone David but David gave him mercy. David swore in 2 Samuel 19:23 to Shimei that Shimei should not die. Again, David did not get specific. With Joab, David did not state specifically what Joab did wrong to David, just what punishment Joab would get. This time, David stated specifically what Shimei did wrong to David, however, David did not state the specific punishment. Was it the punishment that David swore would not happen?)

(Was it possible David left the judging of these men up to Solomon because David knew Solomon would have mercy from God his whole life? If David had judged these men wrongly, he would have had judgment on himself. If Solomon judged these men wrongly, God would have continued to extend him mercy.)

¹⁰ And David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.
¹¹ And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.

(David died and was buried in the City of David (Jerusalem). What we have read were David's last instructions.)

¹² And Solomon sat upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.
¹³ Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.
¹⁴ He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on.
¹⁵ And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother's; for it was his from Jehovah.

(Adonijah recognized that Solomon was given the kingdom from God, but he attempted to get sympathy from Bath-sheba.)

¹⁶ And now I ask one petition of thee; deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on.
¹⁷ And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king (for he will not say thee nay), that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.

(Adonijah wanted Abishag as his wife. Why did he want her? Apparently Bath-sheba was in charge of Abishag since Abishag kept her husband warm.)

¹⁸ And Bath-sheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king.
¹⁹ Bath-sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a throne to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand.
²⁰ Then she said, I ask one small petition of thee; deny me not. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother; for I will not deny thee.

(Solomon stated he would grant her request even before he heard it.)

²¹ And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife.
²² And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.
²³ Then king Solomon sware by Jehovah, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah hath not spoken this word against his own life.

(Solomon knew that this was a plot from Adonijah to take the kingdom. Solomon also saw Abiathar and Joab as enemies.)

²⁴ Now therefore as Jehovah liveth, who hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me a house, as he promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death this day.

(Solomon also recognized that God had established him king. He sentenced Adonijah to death.)

²⁵ And king Solomon sent by Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him, so that he died.
²⁶ And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord Jehovah before David my father, and because thou wast afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.

(Solomon did not have Abiathar the priest killed because he bore the Ark for David but he did send him away. What about Joab?)

²⁷ So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto Jehovah, that he might fulfil the word of Jehovah, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
²⁸ And the tidings came to Joab; for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the Tent of Jehovah, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

(Joab ran to the tent of meeting, scared for his life. Did Joab finally run out of ideas of how he could get himself out of a messy situation? This may have been his last effort to save his own life. Grabbing the "horns of the altar" worked for Adonijah in 1 Kings 1:50-53.)

²⁹ And it was told king Solomon, Joab is fled unto the Tent of Jehovah, and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him.
³⁰ And Benaiah came to the Tent of Jehovah, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.
³¹ And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the blood, which Joab shed without cause, from me and from my father's house.
³² And Jehovah will return his blood upon his own head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, and my father David knew it not, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.

(The two men Joab killed, Abner and Amasa, were called more righteous and better than him. Notice, Absalom was not mentioned here as being more righteous and better than Joab.)

³³ So shall their blood return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but unto David, and unto his seed, and unto his house, and unto his throne, shall there be peace for ever from Jehovah.
³⁴ Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

(Joab was killed.)

³⁵ And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host; and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.

(Benaiah took Joab's place as General of the army and Zadok the priest took Abiathar's place.)

³⁶ And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.

(Shimei was not killed. Solomon sent Shimei away to Jerusalem for good. Terms of his parole were to not leave Jerusalem.)

³⁷ For on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, know thou for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.
³⁸ And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.
³⁹ And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants are in Gath.
⁴⁰ And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish, to seek his servants; and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath.

(Shimei did not obey his sentence. After three years, he left Jerusalem to get his servants.)

⁴¹ And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again.
⁴² And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not adjure thee by Jehovah, and protest unto thee, saying, Know for certain, that on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The saying that I have heard is good.
⁴³ Why then hast thou not kept the oath of Jehovah, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?

(Solomon asked Shimei why he did not obey the sentence he was held to. Maybe Shimei thought that after three years Solomon wouldn't care anymore.)

⁴⁴ The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thy heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore Jehovah shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head.
⁴⁵ But king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before Jehovah for ever.
⁴⁶ So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out, and fell upon him, so that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

(Shimei was killed by Solomon's General for violating the terms of Shimei's parole. The men who deserved judgment for their injustices against David were now judged.)




1 Kings 3
¹ And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of Jehovah, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

(Solomon made himself Pharaoh's (King of Egypt's) son-in-law. Affinity meant "to become a son-in-law." This sentence jumped over the details of when Solomon built a house for God.)

² Only the people sacrificed in the high places, because there was no house built for the name of Jehovah until those days.
³ And Solomon loved Jehovah, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

(Solomon loved God but sacrificed and burnt incense in high places because there was no temple yet.)

⁴ And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt-offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.
⁵ In Gibeon Jehovah appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.

(God appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked Solomon what He should give him.)

⁶ And Solomon said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great lovingkindness, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great lovingkindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
⁷ And now, O Jehovah my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child; I know not how to go out or come in.

(Solomon was humble: "I know not how to go out or come in.")

⁸ And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
⁹ Give thy servant therefore an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this thy great people?

(Solomon asked for an understanding heart to judge God's people.)

¹⁰ And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.

(God was pleased at Solomon's request.)

¹¹ And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life, neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern justice;
¹² behold, I have done according to thy word: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there hath been none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
¹³ And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honor, so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee, all thy days.
¹⁴ And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.

(God gave Solomon an understanding and wise heart and also gave him riches and honor...and if Solomon walked in God's ways, God would then lengthen his days. This story was also presented in 2 Chronicles 1. In that account, Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge. The word used for "knowledge" was madda which meant "understanding and intelligence to separate mentally or distinguish." This was the same ability God gave Daniel in Daniel 1:4, 17. This was the meta ability to understand the ability to think, not merely having the ability to think. Solomon was given the ability to understand others' thought processes.)

¹⁵ And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream: and he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and offered up burnt-offerings, and offered peace-offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
¹⁶ Then there came two women that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.

(Almost immediately upon Solomon getting the meta ability to understand thinking, a dispute arose between two harlots...women not of Israel.)

¹⁷ And the one woman said, Oh, my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.
¹⁸ And it came to pass the third day after I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also; and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house.
¹⁹ And this woman's child died in the night, because she lay upon it.
²⁰ And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
²¹ And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead; but when I had looked at it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, whom I did bear.

(Both women bore a child of about the same age. The first woman claimed that the second woman's child died and the second woman stole the first woman's son.)

²² And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.

(The second woman agreed with the story, except she stated the first woman's son had died and the first woman stole the second woman's son.)

²³ Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.

(Solomon demonstrated the ability to think by summarizing the issue: both women claimed the living son as their own. Next, Solomon demonstrated the ability to understand the process of thinking.)

²⁴ And the king said, Fetch me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.
²⁵ And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

(Solomon stated the living child should be divided in half so they both could have half of the living child, meaning that neither woman could have him.)

²⁶ Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her heart yearned over her son, and she said, Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, It shall be neither mine nor thine; divide it.

(One woman said to give the child to the other. The other said to split the child so that neither could have him.)

²⁷ Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
²⁸ And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do justice.

(Solomon's focus was distinguishing between two thought processes: the mother of the living child and the mother of the dead child. Solomon knew the difference was that the mother of the living child wanted the child to live while the mother of the dead child wanted another mother to share her suffering. Would the mother of the dead child have raised the other woman's son?...or would she have killed it? As the child got older, it would have been more obvious the child was given to the wrong woman. The mother of the dead child's objective was not to possess the child, but to make sure the real mother did not have a living child. Solomon then came up with a way to distinguish between these two thought processes: threaten to give the mother of the dead child what she wanted and see who accepted the solution. Truly, Solomon had the meta ability to understand thinking.)

(A deeper point: This was an example of supernatural wisdom. Natural wisdom would have been to do an inquiry, ask witnesses, and determine an answer that awarded the child to one of the women. Unnatural wisdom would be for Solomon to immediately award the child to one of the women. Supernatural is more natural. Solomon asked for a natural object (sword) and then made a natural request (divide the baby). The result was something more than the natural would have given. This supernatural wisdom seemed to be illogical until the result was known. Then, in the final verse of this chapter, the supernatural logic was obvious to everyone to the point that people credited the source of it to God. No one walked away from this story thinking it didn't make sense. Actually, it made more sense. Jesus had this madda. While He stated things that didn't seem to make sense in the moment, the things Jesus said always made more sense when the situation was concluded. Supernatural wisdom is not less logical than natural wisdom and it is not unnatural. Supernatural wisdom is more logical than natural wisdom.)

(This post covered David's last words, his death, Solomon's vengeance on Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei, and God granting Solomon madda.)

Day 97