1 Kings 1:38-2:4
King
David stays true to his promise, and gets his high priest, prophet, and
bodyguards to mount Solomon on his royal mule. Everyone surrounds
Solomon, creating a parade of musicians, dancers, and vocalists, and
Zadok the high priest anoints him with oil. The people anoint Solomon as
king, and a huge celebration is creating an uproar in the city.
Adonijah and Joab hear all the noise outside of their party and wonder what's going on. Adonijah is still putting on his inaugural ball, his self-appointed party to make himself king over Israel, but there's something going on outside. There is singing. There's music. There's dancing. What could possibly be happening outside of his inauguration?
Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest, shows up to report on what's going on outside. He says, "King David's staff have mounted Solomon on the royal mule. They've anointed him as king over Israel. He is sitting on the throne of the kingdom!"
The party guests are afraid, because they were all under the impression that Adonijah was the new king. The truth was, Adonijah only thought he was the king, and led everyone to believe he was the king. Yet, the people revealed a different truth. The truth is, king's are not self-appointed.
Self-appointed kings are called dictators and maniacs.
When Adonijah hears about Solomon, he flees to the sanctuary and grabs hold of the Altar where priests make sacrifices. He says he won't leave until Solomon promises he won't kill him. Solomon summons Adonijah, telling his servants, "If he can prove he's a man of honor, I'll let him live. But if he can't, he's good as dead." When Adonijah shows up, he bows and honors Solomon, and Solomon tells him to go home.
How do we know we're not following phonies?
Phonies are self-appointed. They secretly conspire to make names for themselves behind closed doors, and leave the details to themselves. The people don't choose them to lead, but rather phonies choose themselves. From all outer appearances, they lead the people to believe they are who they say they are.
In this case, there was an V.I.P. list. Adonijah's party didn't consist of the people of the city, but all the CEO's, political pundits, and financial leaders. It consisted of the elites of the city. The people were outside, surrounding the real king Solomon with music and dancing. The people made their choice, and didn't even know that Adonijah was conspiring to be the new king.
How do we know that the leaders we follow aren't phonies? How do we know they're not just plotting to make a name for themselves?
We don't until we see that the celebration is elsewhere - until we see the parade of people surrounding the leader they've anointed. Real leaders don't anoint themselves, but are anointed by the people.
A phony leader isn't transparent about their lives, their hopes, and their passions. They don't want to be questioned or threatened in their plot for power. They have a support group of high-end donors, but spend no time with the common person.
Today's Action: Pay attention to the transparency of the people we consider our leaders. Is it possible that we're following phonies? Take a look in the mirror. Are we being transparent ourselves?
Adonijah and Joab hear all the noise outside of their party and wonder what's going on. Adonijah is still putting on his inaugural ball, his self-appointed party to make himself king over Israel, but there's something going on outside. There is singing. There's music. There's dancing. What could possibly be happening outside of his inauguration?
Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest, shows up to report on what's going on outside. He says, "King David's staff have mounted Solomon on the royal mule. They've anointed him as king over Israel. He is sitting on the throne of the kingdom!"
The party guests are afraid, because they were all under the impression that Adonijah was the new king. The truth was, Adonijah only thought he was the king, and led everyone to believe he was the king. Yet, the people revealed a different truth. The truth is, king's are not self-appointed.
When Adonijah hears about Solomon, he flees to the sanctuary and grabs hold of the Altar where priests make sacrifices. He says he won't leave until Solomon promises he won't kill him. Solomon summons Adonijah, telling his servants, "If he can prove he's a man of honor, I'll let him live. But if he can't, he's good as dead." When Adonijah shows up, he bows and honors Solomon, and Solomon tells him to go home.
How do we know we're not following phonies?
Phonies are self-appointed. They secretly conspire to make names for themselves behind closed doors, and leave the details to themselves. The people don't choose them to lead, but rather phonies choose themselves. From all outer appearances, they lead the people to believe they are who they say they are.
In this case, there was an V.I.P. list. Adonijah's party didn't consist of the people of the city, but all the CEO's, political pundits, and financial leaders. It consisted of the elites of the city. The people were outside, surrounding the real king Solomon with music and dancing. The people made their choice, and didn't even know that Adonijah was conspiring to be the new king.
How do we know that the leaders we follow aren't phonies? How do we know they're not just plotting to make a name for themselves?
We don't until we see that the celebration is elsewhere - until we see the parade of people surrounding the leader they've anointed. Real leaders don't anoint themselves, but are anointed by the people.
A phony leader isn't transparent about their lives, their hopes, and their passions. They don't want to be questioned or threatened in their plot for power. They have a support group of high-end donors, but spend no time with the common person.
Today's Action: Pay attention to the transparency of the people we consider our leaders. Is it possible that we're following phonies? Take a look in the mirror. Are we being transparent ourselves?
No comments:
Post a Comment