Question 1

Why did Bathsheba ask Solomon to give Abishag to Adonijah as wife?

Accepted Answer

Bathsheba came to Solomon as a mother, wanting to grant what she thought was a small and harmless request for Adonijah. Adonijah had asked her to speak to the king for him. Bathsheba seems to have taken the request at face value and did not see the hidden danger in it. She reminded Solomon that Adonijah was his brother, likely hoping family ties would move him to kindness. Solomon’s sharp response shows that she did not fully realize how this marriage request could support Adonijah’s claim to the throne.

Question 2

Why did Solomon react so strongly to Adonijah’s request for Abishag?

Accepted Answer

Solomon understood that marrying a former royal companion was not a small matter. In that culture, taking a king’s woman could be seen as a claim to his throne. Adonijah was Solomon’s older brother and had already tried once to make himself king. So when Solomon heard this request, he saw it as a fresh attempt to strengthen Adonijah’s claim to rule. That is why he said, “Ask for him the kingdom also,” and treated the request as treason, a direct threat to the stability God had just given his reign.

Question 3

Why did Solomon put Adonijah to death in this passage?

Accepted Answer

Adonijah had earlier been spared on the condition that he would show himself a worthy man and not stir up trouble. By seeking Abishag as his wife, he showed that his ambition for the throne was still alive. Solomon saw this as Adonijah speaking “against his own life,” meaning his own actions brought this judgment on himself. As king, Solomon needed to protect the kingdom from ongoing plots. He took an oath before God, acknowledged that the Lord had established him as king, and ordered Adonijah’s death that same day to remove the threat.

Question 4

Why was Abiathar the priest spared from death but removed from office?

Accepted Answer

Abiathar had supported Adonijah’s earlier attempt to become king, which made him worthy of death in Solomon’s eyes. Yet Solomon remembered Abiathar’s long service with David. Abiathar had carried the ark of God before David and suffered alongside him in many troubles. Because of this past faithfulness, Solomon chose mercy instead of execution. He sent Abiathar away to his own fields in Anathoth and removed him from serving as priest. In doing this, Solomon both showed respect for Abiathar’s history and also brought God’s earlier word against Eli’s family line to completion.

Question 5

What is the significance of Solomon removing Abiathar from being priest to the Lord?

Accepted Answer

Removing Abiathar from his priestly role did more than settle a political matter. He had joined Adonijah against the king God had chosen, so he could no longer serve in that holy office. At the same time, this action lined up with God’s earlier promise that Eli’s household would lose the priesthood because of their unfaithfulness. Abiathar came from that family line. So, by sending him away and ending his service as priest, Solomon’s decision both upheld justice in the present and quietly showed that God keeps His word given many years before.

Question 6

Who is Abishag the Shunammite, and why does she matter in this story?

Accepted Answer

Abishag the Shunammite had attended David in his final days, caring for him and lying in his bosom to keep him warm, though Scripture is clear he did not know her sexually. Because she was closely linked with the late king, any man who married her could appear to be taking over part of David’s place. That is why Adonijah’s request to marry her was not just about marriage, but about power. In asking for Abishag, he was reaching toward the royal status attached to her, which made Solomon see the request as another step toward claiming the throne.

Question 7

What does this passage teach about leadership and justice in Solomon’s reign?

Accepted Answer

This passage shows Solomon as a king who honors his mother, but also one who will not let family ties or past friendships overrule justice. He sees through hidden ambition and deals firmly with rebellion. Adonijah, who keeps reaching for the throne, loses his life. Abiathar, who once walked faithfully with David but later supported the wrong side, loses his office but not his life. In all this, Solomon acts as a ruler who guards the kingdom, remembers past faithfulness, and recognizes that God is the one who has firmly set him on the throne.

Question 8

How does God’s promise to David and the word against Eli’s house connect to this passage?

Accepted Answer

Solomon speaks of the Lord who has established him and set him on David’s throne, showing that his rule rests on God’s promise to build David a lasting house. At the same time, when Abiathar is removed from being priest, it fulfills an older word from God that Eli’s family would lose the priesthood because of sin. So in one scene, two different promises of God are being worked out: the strengthening of David’s royal line through Solomon, and the ending of Eli’s priestly line through Abiathar. Both show that God’s words, whether of blessing or judgment, come to pass.

Question 9

How can this story about Solomon, Adonijah, and Abiathar apply to life today?

Accepted Answer

This story warns against hidden ambition and using spiritual or family ties for selfish gain. Adonijah wrapped his desire for power in a marriage request, and it cost him his life. It also shows that past faithfulness, like Abiathar’s years with David, is remembered, but does not excuse present disloyalty. For us, it encourages honest motives, loyalty to what God has clearly established, and respect for rightful authority. It also reminds us that God’s promises and warnings are not empty words, so our choices really do matter before Him.

1 Kings 2:19

¶ Bath-sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand.

The Execution of Adonijah

Adonijah Executed

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1 Kings 2:19

¶ Bath-sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand.

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The Execution of Adonijah

Adonijah Executed

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