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Adonijah Sets Himself Up as King
When King David was very old, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him.
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The king then took an oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble,
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As the Lord was with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon to make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord King David!”
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Even as he was speaking, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in. A worthy man like you must be bringing good news.”
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Then King Solomon swore by the Lord: “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if Adonijah does not pay with his life for this request!
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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.
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During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.
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But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster.
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The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was to be seen.
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He carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on them and overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.
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He engraved cherubim, lions and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and on the panels, in every available space, with wreaths all around.
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And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.
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“But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!
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then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know every human heart),
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But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard.
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Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom.
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The king had a fleet of trading ships at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.
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Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.
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Solomon’s Death
As for the other events of Solomon’s reign—all he did and the wisdom he displayed—are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon?
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My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’”
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he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.”
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So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the Lord, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.
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‘This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered.
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Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites.
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But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here.
