The Book of Kings – 1Ki 2:12-18 Solomon’s Kingdom was Established Greatly – Is, Was and Will Be – The Unknown Character of Christ and His Word

1Ki 2:12-18 “Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly”

[Study Aired July 15, 2021]

1Ki 2:12 Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.

1Ki 2:13 And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.

1Ki 2:14 He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on.

1Ki 2:15 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 the LORD.

1Ki 2:16 And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on.

1Ki 2:17 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.

1Ki 2:18 And Bathsheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king.

The title of our study “Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly” is a type and shadow statement of these words of our Lord: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Mat 16:18).

As we read through this section of the early goings on of Solomon’s reign on the throne of king David, we will be looking at a parable of what God’s elect can learn, now being aware “At that day” that we are joint heirs with Christ, typified by Solomon who succeeded David as the king of Israel (Joh 14:20, Rom 8:17-18).

Joh 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

In our last study we discussed the seven years David reigned in Hebron (typical of Babylon) and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem (typical of Jerusalem above where the saints are raised in heavenly places – Eph 2:6, Gal 4:26). David ruled over Hebron which typifies Babylon, just like Christ, who was the God of the old covenant “Yahweh”, ruled over the unconverted nation of Israel,and then as our resurrected Saviour ruling over the “Israel of God” who we are, with His spirit (Gal 6:16). Solomon’s forty years of ruling typifies the complete experience God’s elect have in our flesh 4X10=40, experiencing much tribulation (40) and suffering in this life if we are going to rule under Christ in the next (2Ti 2:12, Act 14:22).

2Ti 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

Act 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Gal 6:16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

1Ki 11:42 And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.

Just as a reminder, I want to recall that section of last week’s study where we talked about what those thirty-three years symbolize for God’s elect today.

“That strength to be saved is something that comes about as we are nourished through our trials that judgment will bring with it, as we are raised in heavenly places above, Jerusalem above, symbolically stated this way: “thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem H3389“. That time is the symbolic amount of time that Christ must rule and reign in our hearts to give us power over the beast, which mankind is 3+3=6 (Ecc 3:18, Rev 13:18, Rev 11:3). It is Christ’s peace which passes all understanding that can only come from Jerusalem above. His peace in us, just like the word “Jerusalem” shows us, is an ongoing (Qal) work that is “to be complete, be finished, be ended”, and that will be accomplished by the author and finisher of our salvation, Jesus Christ (Gal 4:26, Jas 1:17, Heb 12:2-5, Php 1:6). The world will try to take away our peace, but through Christ we can resist those spiritual attacks unto the shedding of blood as we’re granted His faith (1Jn 5:4).“

What we can expect and will see in Solomon’s kingdom, therefore, is a similar pattern of judgment that is going to come upon his enemies round about him, who typify the enemies within us that must be destroyed. It was because of the destruction of Solomon’s enemies that “his kingdom was established greatly“, as it will be for those who are enduring the wrath of God in this age (Rom 1:18, Rom 3:10, Rom 3:23, Rev 15:8, Rev 14:11-12, Rev 13:18, Rev 20:6). This is what it will take for His kingdom to be established within us as His kind of first fruits (Luk 17:21, Jas 1:18).

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

1Ki 2:12 Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.

Another verse of which this opening verse reminds us is Psalm 127:1. All of Psalm 127 is really a condensed synopsis of the plans our Father in heaven has for His children. The Lord is building the house and giving us power to possess our souls patiently in this life as He gives us victory over the first man Adam who wants to burn the proverbial candle at both ends, rising up early and going to bed late, symbolizing our own righteousness that needs to be put off, which is what happens when “he giveth his beloved sleep” (Psa 127:2). This is when we rest in the Lord who is our strength and our righteousness (Heb 4:10-11, Joh 6:27, 1Co 1:30-31).

Psa 127:1  A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
Psa 127:2  It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
Psa 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
Psa 127:4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
Psa 127:5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

Heb 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Joh 6:27  Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1Co 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

This verse (1Ki 2:12) typically represents the building of God’s kingdom within us, which is the Lord’s temple that houses a spirit of power, love and soundness of mind which is what the mind of Christ is (2Ti 1:7, 1Co 2:16).

2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

1Co 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

God’s kingdom will be “established greatly” within the elect as a result of his word being established in our hearts, typified by these words: “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward” (Psa 127:3).

What that word will have the power to do is to be as an arrow that destroys the old man in the lake of fire in order to bring about the birth of the new man as Psalm 127:4-5 declares: “As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.” God’s word is likened to an arrow that is sharper than any two-edged sword and a discerner of thoughts and intents of the heart (Heb 4:12, Luk 2:46-47, 1Ki 3:25-26). God’s elect are revealed as those who have no heresy within them, or else they repent when they see any sign of it manifesting in carnal thought within themselves today as those who are first judged by God’s fiery words (1Co 11:19, 1Pe 4:17). They only want to preserve the whole child (1Co 4:6) as the woman who represents the true church (Gal 4:26) did in this story with king Solomon.

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

1Co 11:19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

1Co 4:6 And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.

1Ki 3:25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.
1Ki 3:26 Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it [1Co 1:13].

Our joy and happiness will come about as a result of being used by the Lord to bring the rest of His creation into the “all in all” (1Co 15:28, Eph 1:23), and so we are told that the elect are blessed and holy to have part in the first resurrection (Rev 20:6), and blessed is he who is called to this supper of the Lamb Who announces to the world the bride of Christ has been made ready (Rev 19:9). She has been made ready to have children, which will come about as a result of being gathered “together unto the supper of the great God” (Rev 19:17). “Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate” and our word will be unto them as fire that consumes them. ‘They will be as wood’ is another way of saying we will “eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great” at “the supper of the great God” (Jer 5:14).

Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Rev 19:17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

Jer 5:14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

1Ki 2:13 And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.

1Ki 2:14 He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on.

Here comes Adonijah, the rejected king, the “son of Haggith H2294“, whose name means “festive”, approaching “Bathsheba the mother of Solomon“, who typifies the church and is somber and vigilant in her spirit (1Pe 5:8). Adonijah comes “up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon” saying peace, peace when there was no peace in his heart; only envy, lust, and pride as his dragon speech will reveal (Jer 6:14, Rev 13:11).

H2294 chaggı̂yth khag-gheeth’ Feminine of H2291; festive; Chaggith, a wife of David: – Haggith. (H2291 is from H2287 to hold a feast, hold a festival, make pilgrimage, keep a pilgrim-feast, celebrate, dance, stagger, to reel.)

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Jer 6:14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

This beast coming out of the earth, Adonijah, “exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him”, which was the beast that wanted the upper seat, the kingship that was taken away from him. His goal now is to cause “the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.” He is working very hard at trying to find a way into the kingdom that is rightfully Solomon’s as he goes through Bathsheba, who typifies the church, to accomplish this. Adonijah represents the diseases of Egypt that we must resist unto the shedding of blood, not letting any man take our crown (Heb 12:4, Deu 7:12, Deu 7:15, Rev 3:11, Rev 13:12, 1Co 5:11, 1Jn 5:16, 2Jn 1:10-11).

Heb 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin [the diseases of Egypt both within and outwardly].

Deu 7:12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:

Deu 7:15 And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.

Rev 3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

Rev 13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

1Co 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

1Jn 5:16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it [spiritually “a fornicator, or covetous (3Jn 1:9), or an idolater (Heb 12:15-16), or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat”].

2Jn 1:10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house [your spiritual house that is filled with the treasures of God’s word (2Ki 20:12-13, Heb 13:10)], neither bid him God speed:
2Jn 1:11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

So these scriptures are being played out for us typically with this story with Adonijah who represents the powers and principalities against which we’re wrestling and that come up against us. The solution will be to bring all of these thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ, which is what Bathsheba is typifying when she goes to king Solomon with this request of Adonijah (2Co 10:5).

2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Solomon wastes no time telling Bathsheba what he thinks of Adonijah’s request to marry Abishag (Psa 37:7, Deu 28:25, Mat 12:45). David’s charge to Solomon before he died was to “be thou strong” (1Ki 2:1) and “do therefore according to thy wisdom” (1Ki 2:6), typifying Christ in us, who knows how to bind these seven spirits. These worse spirits are typified by Adonijah who represents the strong man in us of envy, lust, pride and wanting preeminence, which spirits can only be conquered through a stronger man to whom Bathsheba and we go, Jesus Christ (Mat 12:29).

Psa 37:7  Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

Deu 28:25 The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.

Mat 12:45  Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

Mat 12:29  Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

Here is what our strong man delusionally protests to anyone who will listen to us, “And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign,” or as it will be said at the great white throne judgment “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” (Mat 7:22-23). Adonijah’s reign was not sanctioned of God, and therefore it typifies “ye that work iniquity” self-righteousness.

Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. [“the kingdom was mine“, “all Israel set their faces on me.“]

While in our flesh we love the thought that “all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign” and can’t understand why “the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother’s: for it was his from the LORD”, even as we acknowledge the events were “from the LORD” (Mat 20:11-16). God has simply blinded the world and is not showing the same mercy he is showing to those who have this calling of God as was typified by Solomon’s calling “from the LORD” (1Co 1:26, Rom 11:31-32, Gen 45:5).

Mat 20:11  And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
Mat 20:12  Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
Mat 20:13  But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
Mat 20:14  Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
Mat 20:15  Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
Mat 20:16  So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Gen 45:5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life [Luk 2:35].

1Ki 2:16 And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on.

1Ki 2:17 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.

1Ki 2:18 And Bathsheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king.

When Adonijah asked Bathsheba to ask something of Solomon “And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not” she said, “Say on.” The lesson for our new man is that “if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us” but if it is asked amiss to consume it upon our own lusts, as Adonijah was asking, God won’t hear that request (Joh 9:31, Eze 14:4 the multitude of Adonijah’s idols are going to be answered with the verdict of his being “put to death this day” stated in 1Kings 2:24, which is an ongoing lesson that God’s elect are learning, as we learn to be content whether we have a little or a lot (Php 4:11-12)).

Joh 9:31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. [‘This blind man has acknowledged his blindness as a type and shadow of what we must do in order to see spiritually’ (Joh 9:41)]

Eze 14:4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; [‘Christ answers the pharisee within us according to the multitude of our idols.’]

Php 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
Php 4:12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. [‘in order to overcome that self-righteousness within us, we need to die daily and keep under ourselves as we learn to both be abased and to abound in the Lord’ (1Co 15:31, 1Co 9:27).]

These verses further confirm we don’t command anything of God as He already knows how we’re going to ask, and what we’re going to ask, and He has already determined from the foundation of the world how He is going to answer us as well (1Jn 5:14-15, Jas 4:3, Isa 45:11, Mat 6:8). The carnal nature of Adonijah (our old man) is expressed in his thinking that he can demand Bathsheba “deny me not” and by delusionally saying “for he will not say thee nay” in regard to his request.

1Jn 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Isa 45:11 Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me [Isa 45:12-13].

Mat 6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

We don’t always understand the hidden intention of peoples’ hearts in the moment unless the Lord gives us a gift of discerning that spirit on the spot (1Co 12:10, Act 8:23). In this section of scripture, the Lord is using Bathsheba to show us how to try the spirits whether they are of the Lord or not (1Jn 4:1). She is going to “judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and “then shall every man have praise of God” (1Co 4:5). The Lord in this instance is typified by Solomon who Bathsheba tells Adonijah, “Well; I will speak for thee unto the king.“

1Co 12:10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

Act 8:23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.

1Jn 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

1Co 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

Next week, Lord willing, we will learn how “Bathsheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah” and what the consequence of these actions were for Adonijah, but more importantly what this means for God’s elect today who are even today being raised in heavenly places in earnest (Eph 1:14, 2Co 1:21-22) and seated with Christ in order to greatly establish the kingdom of God within us, as typified by Solomon who sat “upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.“

Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

2Co 1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
2Co 1:22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.