Mon.’s Devo - The New Kingdom

Read: 1 Kings 1:1-53 First and Second Kings were written by the prophets highlighting the kings of Israel, where the Chronicles were written by priests highlighting the kings of Judah. The kingdom was not divided until after Solomon’s reign. David was getting old and hadn’t publicly named a successor. He had promised Bathsheba that her son would reign after him to make up for what he did to her by impregnating her, killing her husband and the loss of their firstborn. Adonijah was David’s son born after Absalom and was handsome also. He planned a coupe to make himself the king and enlisted Joab, David’s army commander and Abiathar, one of the priest to help him become king. Their plan was to invite all of David’s sons to the Stone of Zoheleth (Stone of the Serpent) and proclaim himself king. Nathan, the prophet, Zadok the priest and David’s personal bodyguards refused to support Adonijah. Nathan told Bathsheba what was happening and told her to quickly tell David so he could counter what Adonijah was doing. Nathan came in and confirmed Bathsheba’s claims. David sent his men and Solomon to the Gihon Springs. Solomon was to ride on the king’s mule, be anointed king and the ram’s horn blown telling all Israel that Solomon was king. When the men of Adonijah’s party heard what was happening in Gihon, they scattered in fear of losing their lives for treason. Adonijah ran and took hold of the horns of the altar, to beg for mercy. Solomon set him free to prove his loyalty to him. In Acts, news of the miracles Peter and John were doing reached the ears of the priests. Some of the religious leaders including the Sadducees were upset over their teaching of the resurrection of Jesus. The Sadducees were especially upset since they adamantly taught against the resurrection of the dead. The council of religious leaders and priests met in Jerusalem to discuss what to do about the disciples. They had thought their worries were over when the crucified Jesus, but he had resurrected in the lives of his disciples. Now their problems were multiplied. Peter stood up in the midst of them and asked the same questions Jesus asked. Why would they be upset over something good that they did. The leaders were amazed that their presence did not intimidate Peter and John. Peter and John boldly stood up to them just like Jesus had. They finally decided to tell them they could go as long as they stopped speaking about Jesus. Peter told them there was no way they would stop talking about the wonderful things Jesus had done for them. You can just feel the power and authority being drained from the leaders of religion. They were losing their grip and didn’t know what to do about it or how to get it back. Truth is powerful and it reigns over deception and lies. The religious leaders had no legal cause to hold the disciples so they set them free. Peter and John returned to the people and continued to teach about Jesus. The church, the new system of God’s kingdom, continued to grow as people were taught about Jesus and the Holy Spirit was baptizing them with power and boldness. The Kingdom of God was a kingdom of sharing and caring for one another like family. Lord, may we live in your kingdom instead of conforming to the world’s. May we not cower to the intimidation of the leaders of the nations but only submit to You and your authority. May truth prevail in our churches, in our nation and in our personal families.