Psalm 83

The Psalmists were not afraid to pray about whatever was on their hearts. In fact, they used the process of prayer to learn how to pray better. Quite often the way they started a prayer was not the way they finished it. As they prayed and the contents of their hearts were revealed, they often changed direction, going from lament to praise, for instance, or from frustration to trust.

Psalm 83 in today’s reading, however, is consistent from beginning to end. The clear purpose in this psalm was that the Psalmist wanted God to deal with some wicked people.

“O God, do not remain silent; do not turn a deaf ear, do not stand aloof, O God. See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads.” Psalm 83:1-2

The enemies of God’s people were also the enemies of God, and the psalmist felt he could be bold in his prayers.

“With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish . . . Make them like tumbleweed, my God, like chaff before the wind . . . Cover their faces with shame, Lord, so that they will seek your name.” Psalm 83:3, 13, 16

If God dealt with his enemies, they might repent and seek him for themselves. That would be a win-win for everybody. It’s OK to pray about our enemies, because they are God’s enemies, too. And, who knows, it may bring them to repentance and save their souls.

The thing to remember is that God is the Judge and we must leave our enemies in his hands, not take action ourselves. And we must pray for their redemption and the blessing of repentance.

King Solomon Takes the Throne

“So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of his father David.” 1 Chronicles 29:23

Solomon was Israel’s most splendid king. He inherited a peaceful realm from his father David and it came with tremendous wealth. All Solomon needed was some common sense and wisdom to manage it.

But first Solomon had to establish his authority. He needed to consolidate support and shut down opposition that lingered from David’s time. David had been plagued with “palace intrigue.” People did things behind his back and then he had to deal with the consequences.

It didn’t take long for that to happen to King Solomon. His older half brother Adonijah, who had crowned himself king in Hebron before David crowned Solomon, came to Solomon’s mother Bathsheba with a request. He asked her to seek Solomon’s permission for him to marry Abishag, David’s last concubine.

Abishag was a young, beautiful virgin and the request must have seemed reasonable to Bathsheba. She may also have been flattered to be asked for a favor by Adonijah. His mother Haggith was one of David’s early wives and Adonijah had been next in line for the throne before David selected Solomon.

Solomon loved his mother. When she asked for an audience with him, he bowed down to her and had her sit on a throne at his right hand.

“‘I have one small request to make of you,’ [Bathsheba] said. ‘Do not refuse me.’ The king replied, ‘Make it, my mother; I will not refuse you.’ So she said, ‘Let Abishag the Shunammite be given in marriage to your brother Adonijah.” 1 Kings 2:20

King Solomon had the power to grant almost any request his mother made, but he was about to refuse this one.

Solomon Establishes His Authority

Solomon suspected that Adonijah was attempting to take the kingdom away from him. He recalled Adonijah’s co-conspirators Commander Joab and the priest Abiathar, and he realized that they could gather enough support to overthrow him. He also remembered what his father David had told him about Joab.

“Solomon, don’t forget what Joab did to me by killing Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of Israel’s army. He killed them as if they were his enemies in a war, but he did it when there was no war. He is guilty, and now it’s up to you to punish him in the way you think best. Whatever you do, don’t let him die peacefully in his old age.” 1 Kings 2:5-6

King Solomon made some swift decisions. Calling Benaiah son of Jehoiada, he dispatched him to execute Adonijah that very day. Next, he called Abiathar to him, removed him from the priesthood and sent him back to his home, Anatoth. He could have killed Abiathar, but he respected the religious service he had rendered.

When Joab heard about Adonijah’s death he fled to the tabernacle in Gibeon and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar for sanctuary. But Solomon gave Benaiah permission to slay him there and bury him without honor in an open field.

There was one more man David had asked Solomon to deal with wisely. It was Shimei who cursed David when David fled from Absalom. Solomon placed Shimei under house arrest and when he eventually broke it, Solomon sent Benaiah to execute him, too.

“The kingdom was now established in Solomon’s hands.” 1 Kings 2:46

Solomon Worships God

After Solomon got rid of his opposition, he began to work on alliances. He married the daughter of Pharaoh king of Egypt and formed an alliance with her father. Then he went to work building his royal palace, the temple of the Lord, and a protective wall around Jerusalem.

“Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.” 1 Kings 3:3

The high places were places of worship on hilltops in Israel. King David didn’t worship in the high places, he went to the tabernacle or the ark, but his people had begun creating their own ways of worship in those places. King Solomon took the liberty of worshiping in high places, too. At first he worshiped only God there, but later this lawless form of worship paved the way to idolatry.

When Solomon wanted to really honor God he went to Gibeon where the tabernacle Moses built was set up on its own high place. In that sacred place Solomon offered a thousand sacrifices on the bronze altar.

Solomon Asks for Wisdom

That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” 1 Kings 3:5

Solomon answered, “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do no know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” 1 Kings 3:7-9

God was very pleased that Solomon wanted wisdom more than a guarantee of a long life, or great wealth, or the death of his enemies. God loved that this king wanted a discerning heart so he could administer justice.

“I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for – both wealth and honor – so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.” 1 Kings 3:12-13

God told Solomon that if he walked in obedience to him, as David had done, he would also give Solomon a long life in which to enjoy his wisdom and prosperity.

Solomon woke from his dream and returned to Jerusalem where he visited the ark and made more sacrifices and offerings. Then he gave a great feast for all of his court.

In a short time Solomon had consolidated his kingdom and pleased God by asking for wisdom. It was a great start to his reign.