Struggling Until The True King Takes The Throne

Struggling Until The True King Takes The Throne
By Lesley Barker © 2006

We are nearing the expected time when the Kingdom of our God will finally become the Kingdom of His Messiah, the Anointed One. This is perhaps analogous to, perhaps foreshadowed by, the recorded events surrounding the transfer of the Kingdom of Israel from David to Solomon. (See 2 Samuel 15 through 1 Kings 1.) Three power struggles occurred, according to three different strategies, when three individuals sought to become named the rightful king. There was a hidden conspiracy designed to steal the hearts of the king’s loyal subjects; an in-your-face open rebellion by an unprincipled man; and a presumptuous decision by an obvious heir to the throne who was not the rightful heir. It is necessary to consider these historic events if we want to become wise, strategic observers who remain undeceived.

The Background
Everyone could tell that the time was at hand when David, the father, would not be able to continue in his position as the king of Israel. Before long, he would become so old that others would dress him and a virgin would lie next to him to keep him warm. So the nation was alert, waiting to hear news of a transfer of power.

Three Pretenders to the Throne: Absalom, Sheba, and Adonijah
Absalom-(means ‘father is peace’)
Absalom had a strong grudge against the king following the incestuous rape of his sister, Tamar, by his brother, Amnon. When the king did not punish Amnon, Absalom killed him. This broke his own relationship with the king for more than two years. Then, Absalom directed a hidden conspiracy that was designed to steal the hearts of the people of Israel from David. (2 Samuel 15:6) This is what he did.
-He obtained a chariot and engaged fifty men to run ahead of him.
-He positioned himself so that he could prevent people from going to see the king. He told the petitioners that there was no one who had the authority to judge their case correctly.
- He indicated that if he, however, were to be named judge, there would be real justice.
- He showed favoritism to everyone who submitted to him.
He spent four years developing this public image and reputation for being the only hope for justice in Israel. Then he acted.
- He requested the king’s permission to go to Hebron alleging that he had made a vow to the Lord which he needed to honor. (Hebron was the place where David was anointed king and where he ruled for the first seven years.)
-He sent this message to all the tribes: As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then shout: Absalom has become king at Hebron. (v.10)
- He invited and was accompanied by 200 innocent, uninformed guests.
- He offered sacrifices at Hebron.
- He sent for the king’s own counselor, who defected over to him.
In this way, the conspiracy grew in strength and the people with Absalom kept increasing. Finally, his father, the king, learned of the coup and decided to flee from Jerusalem.
- Absalom followed the advice of the counselor and openly violated ten of his father’s concubines
- He waged war against the king during which he was killed after being snagged by his hair in a tree during a battle.

Sheba (means he who is coming, or oath)
Sheba was of the tribe of Benjamin, which was Saul’s tribe. He was the son of Bichri, which means ‘be thou first’. He is described as a scoundrel who was “there” when the tribes all united to reaffirm their loyalty to King David after Absalom’s death. The tribes were bickering about whether Israel or Judah was due more credit for bringing David back. In this context, Sheba incited Israel to join him in a blatant, militant rebellion against David and Judah.
- He sounded a trumpet.
- He denied the king’s legitimacy.
- He shouted a command: Everyone to your tents, O Israel (2 Samuel 20).
-He divided Israel from Judah.
The king was very troubled about Sheba’s rebellion. He summoned all of Judah to battle. He said, Now Sheba, son of Bichri, will do us more harm than Absalom; take you lord’s servants and pursue him or he will find fortified cities for himself and escape from us.
Indeed, it was so.
- Sheba led his forces into the walled city of Beth Maacah which means ‘house of oppression.’
The king’s forces pursued Sheba to this city where he put it under siege until a “wise woman” convinced the elders to throw his severed head over the wall.

Adonijah (means my Lord is the L-RD)
Adonijah was the next in line to the throne by birth after Absalom. His mother was Haggith, which means ‘festivity.’ (See 1 Kings 1). He was very handsome and he decided that it was time for him to ascend to his father’s throne. He exalted himself, saying, I will be king.
- He prepared himself horsemen and chariots and engaged 50 runners to go ahead of him.
- He conferred with and gained the support of David’s military commander, Joab, which means ‘the L-RD is father’, and of the priest, Abiathar, which means ‘father of abundance’ or ‘father of a remnant’.
He did not attempt to gain the support of the king’s inner circle: the priest, Zadok, ‘to justify’; Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, ‘built of the L-RD’ son of ‘the L-RD knows’; the prophet, Nathan, ‘a giver’; Shimei, ‘listener’ or ‘my report’; Rei, ‘my friend’; or of David’s own warriors. These men found out about what he planned to do next, and acted quickly so that the transfer of the throne to the rightful heir, Solomon, would be accomplished before Adonijah’s coup succeeded.
-Adonijah invited the other sons of the kings, but not Solomon, and all the royal officials, but not the inner circle named above, to the stone Zoheleth, which means ‘the serpentine one’ or the ‘crawling thing,’ near En-Rogel, which means ‘fount of the spy’.
-He offered sacrifices there.
-The people feasted with him, ready to proclaim him king.
Meanwhile, the prophet and Solomon’s mother Bathsheba, ‘daughter of the oath’, informed the king about this latest coup. They immediately installed Solomon, ‘peaceableness’, as king. They set him on the king’s mule and led him to Gihon, ‘the breaking forth’. In Gihon, Zadok took the horn of oil from the tent of meeting and anointed Solomon. Then the trumpet was blown and all the people said, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ And all the people went up following him, playing on pipes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth quaked at their noise. (1 Kings 1:39,40 NRSV)
- Joab, a guest of Adonijah, heard the trumpet before the word came that dispelled the party immediately
- Adonijah resorted to the horns of the altar until Solomon promised not to kill him unless wickedness is found in him (v.52)
- He bowed before Solomon who sent him home.

The inherent lessons
We are usually mindful that there are foreign enemies whose agenda is to steal, kill, and destroy God’s people so that the Kingdom of God will be diminished, depleted, and overturned. These enemies will do everything that they can to prevent the return of the L-RD who is coming to judge the earth with righteousness, the peoples with truth, and who will rule and reign over all from his throne in Jerusalem. We also know that there are false apostles, prophets, teachers, and false Christs who, like us, confess loyalty and membership in the Kingdom of God. Jesus warned us: Beware that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah! And they will lead many astray…If anyone says to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness’, do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west so will be the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:4,5,26,27)

Some pretenders will use a hidden agenda motivated out of their own woundedness like Absalom that is designed to lure people away for their loyalty for the King at the heart level. The people who are vulnerable at first have all suffered some injustice. They knew to go to the king for a hearing but, their approach to the throne was blocked by the imposter’s lie which they believed because he is clearly privy, an intimate, of the king, indeed, one of the king’s own sons. He makes appealing promises predicated on his ascension to the throne and then he flatters them and gives them kisses. He repeats this until he has gained a very large, passionate following. Then he manipulates the people and the king using religious, spiritual tactics to assemble the people. He manages to attract the support of the king’s wisest counselor – of course, that only serves to increase his position. He commands a trumpet to sound at which the people will shout that he has become king.

If we have been victims of injustice, we are particularly vulnerable to this kind of imposter. The sympathetic ear, the empty promises, the shared pain, kisses, flattery, and repeated attention that doesn’t bring healing, doesn’t lead to Jesus, and doesn’t call for truth, keep our wounds active and dominating and deciding against faith. Soon, because so many wounded people are convinced that the imposter is their true champion, thinking that he will bring them relief, other trusted friends who have been long-time confidantes of the king, are swayed to join the imposter. The results are that the king and his remaining trusted companions resort to hidden places; a bitter war between the factions ensues; and the imposter is killed.
Other imposters are members of the Kingdom of God in the same way that Sheba was a born citizen of Israel but they are scoundrels who are just waiting for the opportunity to put themselves forward no matter whether or not they have the credentials or the following required. By the force of their own personality, they take advantage of times when there is division and arguing among the people, and then they insert forceful leadership, clearly taking charge. Many people are attracted to a strongly worded argument, especially when they don’t have to figure out what they are supposed to do because the leader gives clear instructions that shouldn’t be debated. Sheba sounded a trumpet, issued a command, and denied the king in such a way as to bring division so that the majority obeyed him. Unless the king’s warriors act quickly, this kind of challenge puts whole fortified cities at risk. It takes the cooperation of strategic warfare and wisdom to stop the harm that this kind of imposter causes the Kingdom.

Forceful, articulate, opportunistic scoundrels can only prevail if the people agree with their assertions and divide along the suggested lines. Just because a trumpet sounds does not mean that the one who blows it is qualified. We are vulnerable to become swayed by these kinds of arguments at times when different factions vie for credit, praise, or acclaim even if the achievement about which they are bickering is united and good. If our earthly alliances, ethnicity for instance, can pull us away from our loyalty to the King, we are candidates to be drafted into the service of some modern Sheba. He only is able to lead us to an oppressive, walled in place, like Beth Maacah. The true King rules from an established throne in Jerusalem.

The third kind of imposter, like Adonijah, does have real qualifications for the throne. He was one of the princes and he wanted to rule. He even consulted and was endorsed by the King’s military commander and by one of the more prestigious priests. He had natural qualifications which he improved on by acquiring chariots, horsemen, and a retinue. Like his brother, Absalom, he decided to throw a feast and offer sacrifices to which he invited princes and officials at which he would be named king in place of his father. The only problem was that he lacked the proper spiritual qualifications: he did not have a prophetic calling; he did not have the ear of the King; he was not justified in what he planned; and the king’s elite warriors did not support him. He also lacked wisdom. Unlike Absalom, who chose Hebron, where his father had been anointed, as the place for his coup attempt, Adonijah sacrificed at a stone named for a serpent near a fountain named after spies. His attempt was ego driven: to become king was his personal goal. Once he learned that Solomon had been installed on his father’s throne, he put aside his claim and yielded to the rightful king.

This is the most subtle of all the false claims to the throne. It looks and feels authentic, if we forget to walk in the spirit, not the flesh.

So how are we to recognize the true king when he comes? That isn’t the problem or the right question. When Jesus returns, all the signs will converge like they did with Solomon. He rode the king’s mule. The high priest anointed him with holy anointing oil at the place of break through where the spring was that watered the city of Jerusalem. The trumpet blew and all the people understood and acclaimed the king with such a procession and joyful noises that even the earth responded and quaked. We know that we will all recognize when Jesus returns in glory because we will hear the trumpet, the shout, and see the break through from heaven to earth at the same moment that every other earthling sees it. We know that it will be a day of both triumph and cataclysm.

The important thing now is to keep our allegiance to the King unswerving during this precarious transition between now and then. We need to remember that by Jesus’ blood we have guaranteed access to the throne of grace; that Jesus promised to be with us always even to the end of the age; that we have been redeemed from the vain traditions of our forefathers so that we could be taken out of the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of light; and that if we walk by the spirit we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.

It is foolish for us to think that there won’t be struggles during this time that is so evidently close to the end of an age. May God arise and the enemies scatter.

Sources
Quotations are from the NRSV Bible With the Apocrypha, Oxford University Press, 1995.
Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names, by J.B. Jackson, Loizeaux Brothers, 1909.
The Westminster Dictionary of the Bible, edited by John D. Davis, The Westminster Press, PA, 1944.