I Kings 1:5,6
‘Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” So he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, with fifty men to run before him. And his father had never rebuked him at any time by asking, “Why have you done so?” And he was also a very handsome man, and he was born after Absalom.’
Adonijah is presently the first born. It was Ammon (or Amnon), but he was killed by Absalom, who is turn was killed. So, Adonijah is the oldest male. That is where he must have gotten the notion to declare himself king.
David should have rebuked him, as it's already been declared that Solomon would be king. It would seem that David would have to have died or declared that he is stepping down. No, Adonijah seizes the moment and asserts himself to be king.
David had a difficult time giving proper correction to his children. There are several instances that demonstrate it. This is one more. David was great in many ways. Not parenting.
It's understandable why. It's uncomfortable to correct others. It wrecks the vibe, they may get angry, and so on. Proverbs 13:24 says this about discipline, "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently." Love does the difficult thing. Love rises above the immediate and does what is best for the child.
Adonijah asserted himself. Sometimes this is good. It takes confidence to do so. Some times people feel invisible and doing so is important. This is not one of these times. It's been established that Solomon would be king. It may be that Adonijah was a stronger personality or maybe Solomon was weaker. Whatever the case, Adonijah took the initiative and declared himself king.
Jesus says this in Luke 14:10 when it comes to asserting one's self; "But when you are invited, having gone, recline in the last place, so that when the one having invited you might come, he will say to you, 'Friend, come up higher.' Then glory will be to you before all those reclining with you." Happiness doesn't come in the higher place. Our culture disagrees with this.
God is really into humility. Which is crazy, because He is amazing. Look at how Jesus entered the world; He was born to poor parents in a barn with a feeding trough for a crib. His guests were poor shepherds. His ministry focused on the poor and average people. The opponents were the rich and powerful. They ended up killing Him.
Jesus wants us to be humble, as well. This is meant to be easy as He has a plan for us. It's great. This is so, because He knows our gifts and talents, as well as our personality. He also works with circumstances to open doors for us to be trained in areas. This was quite a surprise to me.
How does He do this? Another cool part of this is that He works through our desires. "Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart", (Psalm 37:4). As we make Him our Lord, He puts desires in our hearts. They aren't always right, but those get worked out.
He also works through opportunities. He opens and closes doors. "But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; for a wide door for effectiveservice has opened to me, and there are many adversaries", (I Cor 16:8,9). The Lord's Prayer hints at provision and guidance with the phrases, "give us..." and "lead us not...". We don't need to assert ourselves. As we follow Him, He gives us His desires and we are to take the opportunities that He provides. We will find our place.
Thank You God for Your guidance and the opportunities that You provide. We don't need to assert ourselves. You've got us. Thank You.