Sunday Sermonette: Last last words

You may recall that 2 Samuel 23 presented what purported to be David ' s last words, but he has had many more words to say since then and now we get what really are his last words since he in fact dies immediately after saying them. They consist of a hit list, including Shimei who David had previously promised not to kill. Well, he kept his word I guess, David had Solomon do the murder. (Shimei had called David names and thrown rocks at him in 2 Samuel 16.) BTW that David ruled for 40 years shouldn ' t surprise us since everything in the Bible seems to last 40 years. The Israelites wandered in the desert eating manna for forty years. Solomon will reign for 40 years. So was Saul, and so will be Jehoash and Joash. And there are many other 40 year events.Then we get a long story about Adonijah, who had thought he was going to be king, asking Baathsheba to ask Solomon to give him Abishag as a wife. Recall that Abishag was the fair maiden the court engaged to be David ' s bed warmer, and the idea seems to be that she ' s a big prize. Not that Abishag has anything to say about it. Anyhow, both Adonijah and Baathsheba seem to assume that this will be no problem, but in fact it enrages Solomon so much he has Adonijah murdered. The text doesn ' t explain why this is so offensive to Solomon, but the implication seems to be, as I have said, that only the king is worthy of Abishag. The book never says that Solomon in fact married her but he probably did since we will later learn tha...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs