The Next King?
David’s first four sons are Amnon, Kileab, Absalom, and Adonijah (1). Each one has a different mother, making them all half-brothers.
Absalom kills Amnon for raping their sister Tamar. Then Absalom dies in a coup attempt. The Bible only mentions Kileab once, so he likely does nothing noteworthy nor notorious.
As a result, Adonijah may think he’s next in line to become king. He attempts to assume the throne, but David installs Solomon as king instead.
Fearing for his life, Adonijah begs Solomon not to kill him. Solomon offers mercy to his older half-brother, who’s also the biggest threat to his rule.
Solomon basically says that if Adonijah behaves himself he will live, but if he does evil, then he must die.
All is fine for Adonijah until he asks Solomon’s permission to marry Abishag, their father’s personal assistant.
Though we don’t know Adonijah’s motivation—be it for love or for power—Solomon sees his half-brother’s request as a move toward taking control of the kingdom and replacing Solomon as king.
Solomon orders Adonijah’s execution.
Is there ever a time when it’s unwise to offer mercy?
What should we use as a guideline in determining what to do?
[Read about Adonijah in 1 Kings 1:5–53 and 1 Kings 2:13–25. Discover more in 2 Samuel 3:1–5.]
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More Old Testament Sinners and Saints is part of the Bible Character Sketches series.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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