Day 136
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Welcome to Day 136 of our Life Journal!
Click here for today’s reading: 1 Kings 1; Chronicles 25; 1 Chronicles 28; Psalm 91; 1 Thessalonians 5 (2012 Daily Bible Reading Plan)
Before you comment or read what I have posted, please read the following passages for yourself and complete your own S.O.A.P. exercise… How does this work?
S.O.A.P = Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
S cripture
1 Kings 1:5 “Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said,
“I will be king.”
So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him. 6(His father had never rebuked him by asking, “Why do you behave as you do?” He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.) 7 Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they gave him their support.”
1 Chronicles 28:9, ““And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.”
Psalm 91:1 “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
1 Thessalonians 5:28, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”
O bservation
Did Adonijah really just appoint himself as king??
A pplicaton
Did you notice that 1 Kings 1:6 reveals something about David and his parenting? “His father had never interfered with him by asking, ‘Why do you behave as you do?'”
Maybe David wasn’t the best father… perhaps he didn’t spend much time with Adonijah, so at the end of David’s life, Adonijah felt like his father “owed” him? All conjecture, except for v 6 states that David never “interfered” by asking him, “Why do you behave as you do?”
Never “interfered?”
Never.
Makes me wonder what his relationship to Adonijah was like over the course of their lives… And how a little input, a little “fathering” from David might have changed the course of Adonijah’s life?
But let’s not push this all off on David…
I hope that I am never as presumptuous as Adonijah… running around, garnering support from key people, appointing myself as king, then throwing a feast for myself.
Keep in mind the backdrop that David’s son Absalom was killed (by Joab) and Jonathan, Saul’s son (and would-be heir) was killed in battle. Both of them could have been king… David hadn’t announced his successor…
So in the absence of clarity, the door is open for Absalom. He walks through it, then ends up embarrassed and humiliated… not to mention suddenly in fear for his life, once Solomon found out!
Quick rise to power. Quick decent.
Then, all of his friends at his feast abandon him… Some “friends.”
P rayer
Lord may I never walk in presumption… Lord that I would walk in humility all the days of my life.
Vineyard Life Journal 
Interesting that David set up Solomon for success… yet I know that Solomon will have his own personal encounter with the Living God. It will make all the difference.
If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
I’m saying, and attempting to make the Most High my dwelling…
come on angels….
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 NIV)
I really need to hear this today. Thank you Lord!
Oh, there is so much hope today in these verses! My spirit is overwhelmed and encouraged by the Spirit of the Lord this morning.
Last year when my son was in the hospital and we weren’t sure what was wrong with him, a dear friend told me to pray Psalm 91 over him and our family. I now live by the verses in that Psalm and God has used them to change me. I was a fearful person last year, I now have no fear. How can I have any fear when I know that I sit under God’s wings? He is my defender and protector-I fear nothing.
What a blessing to read from 1 Thessalonians 5 this morning.
The messages reads (vs 4-11)
4-8But friends, you’re not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. So let’s not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let’s keep our eyes open and be smart. People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we’re creatures of Day, let’s act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation.
9-11God didn’t set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it.
We belong to the day! Christ’s death triggered life!
Holy, holy God…Thank you for your word. Thank you for your Spirit. Thank you for being my defender and protector. Thank you for Jesus. For the gift of his life, so that I can have life. Thank you that I belong to you, the light.
Its back. We know you’ll be back. My SOAP was long drawn out as I LOVE psalm 91. There’s not one verse that doesn’t carry me. 91:4 he will cover you with his feathers and under his wings you will find refuge. Also while I rejoiced in soloman becoming king I was saddened to see David grow old. He was great. I thes. 5:16 be joyful always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances. Father thank you for loving me and guiding me.
Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, “I will be king.”
As mentioned previously, I find it interesting now that there are kings, that there is more lust for power. Adonijah grabs the bull by the horns and assumes that he is to be king since he is next in line after Absolom. It was presumptive, but not unreasonable since most kingships work this way, but he didn’t even wait for David to die or anoint him before taking the throne. Adonijah goes from grabbing the bull by the horns to grabbing the alter by the horns.
… the LORD searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.
Self explanatory and noted.
And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.
Good follow-up to yesterday’s comment. The best
Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.
Noting it doesn’t say “Look cheerful” but “BE cheerful”. Also, pray all the time, not just when we need something. We always have something to be thankful for. There may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning.
Lord, you know the desires of my heart and every thought. I need to seek you more and more so I can find you more and more. You bring such joy to my life, I usually have no problem being cheerful.
1 Chronicles 18:9-10 is a prayer I’ve been praying for my kids since they were little. I’ve been declaring those verses–that they would have wholehearted devotion and willing minds to do the work God calls them to. That they would be careful to obey Him all their days. That they would seek Him and find Him.
To read it today, while my son is in the midst of a post-college job search gave me so, so much comfort and made me realize that I’m coming to a conclusion of sorts. Faithfulness in prayer for 20 years will produce fruit–I’m sure of it!
As parents, we want so much for our kids. David gave us this beautiful prayer and I’m so grateful I found it buried in 1 Chronicles way back when! 🙂
Great comments everyone! I am encouraged by what you all wrote! Great insights, So much hope and encouragement!