1 Kings 1 & 2: I Will Be King
Verse of the Day: (1:5) 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. 

1. King (1:1-45)
The king also 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: (1:33)

I believe the hardest thing in any organisation, and in particular, God’s church, is leadership succession. The organisation and the church may have done well in their present leadership, but after the leadership succession they fail miserably, why? They have not prepared well for it. As far as the church is concerned, God is with us and we must pray for His leadership in appointing His pastor. King David was now old and sick, and God had earlier spoken to him that his son, Solomon, the son of Bathsheba, shall be his successor. (1 Chronicles 22:6-10) However, another of David’s sons, Adonijah, the son of Haggith, who was older than Solomon, and by tradition should be the next king, began gathering support from Joab the captain and Abiathar the priest and all his brothers except Solomon, Nathan the prophet, Zadok the priest and Benaiah. However, David thwarted his plot, as he commanded Zadok and Nathan to anoint him as the next king of Israel. Indeed, God only calls leaders who truly love Him and His Word. (1 Timothy 3)   

2. Kingdom (1:46-53)
And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom. (1:46)

No matter how man strategizes, God always wins. As Adonijah’s plot failed, he feared for his life, and pleaded with Solomon by catching hold of the horn of the altar in the tabernacle. Solomon then spared his life. Indeed, let us submit to God and seek His kingdom and righteousness, and everything we need shall be fulfilled. (Matthew 6:33-34)

3. Keep (2:1-46)
And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: (2:3)

Before God promoted David, he charged Solomon to keep His commandments, and be kind to Barzillai who was a kind man, and warned him of Shimei who was an evil man. King Solomon then succeeded his father, and soon he ordered the death of Adonijah, as he had the audacity to ask him to give him Abishag, David’s concubine, to be his wife, confirming his suspicious that Adonijah was still eyeing on the throne. Solomon also ordered the death of Joab and Shimei as both of them had rebelled against him. Indeed, the conclusion of life is to fear God and keep his commandments. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please help me to submit to You as the King and Saviour of my life.