1 Kings 2:22-25

The Brothers.

It may be instructive if, after the manner of ancient writers, we draw out a comparison between the two brothers whose history is recorded in part in this section, and who here appear as rivals. Their careers were very different. The one reigned with almost unparalleled magnificence for forty years; the other fell in the very May-morn of his life by the sword of the executioner. What were the causes which produced such different results? Let us consider some few of them.

I. ADONIJAH WAS ENDUED WITH BEAUTY , SOLOMON WITH WISDOM . The first had goodliness; the second goodness. Men admired Adonijah; the Lord loved Solomon ( 2 Samuel 12:24 ). To the elder brother the Allwise Providence allotted the gifts of face and form—exterior advantages—to the latter He gave "wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart"—the quiet, unobtrusive adornment of the spirit. Wisdom is better than rubies; yes, and better than beauties.

II. ADONIJAH WAS AMBITIOUS ; SOLOMON WAS PIOUS . The first loved self, and sought his own advancement. The second "loved the LORD " ( 1 Kings 3:3 ). The first, by his own showing, resisted and defied the will of Heaven ( 1 Kings 2:15 ); the latter "walked in the statutes of David his father." Adonijah desired riches, honours, the life of his enemies; Solomon asked for none of these things, but for an understanding heart ( 1 Kings 3:9 , 1 Kings 3:11 ). Their lives consequently were regulated on totally different principles. The first acted as if he were master ( 1 Kings 1:5 ); the second remembered he was but a servant ( 1 Kings 2:9 ). And Adonijah lost everything, even his life, while Solomon gained everything—the wisdom for which he asked; the "richest honour" for which he did not ask. Verily "godliness is profitable unto all things ( 1 Timothy 4:8 ).

III. ADONIJAH SOUGHT TO FORCE EVENTS ; SOLOMON WAITED PATIENTLY FOR THE LORD . Adonijah would not wait till his father was dead; he would snatch the sceptre from the old man's feeble grasp; he would be king at any cost, and at once. It is worth noticing that Solomon on the other hand took no part in the measures which placed him on the throne. "He that believeth shall not make haste." The one sought to frustrate the designs of Providence, the other "committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." And he was crowned and Adonijah was executed.

IV. ADONIJAH REBELLED AGAINST HIS FATHER ; SOLOMON REVERENCED HIS MOTHER . Treatment of parents is a test of character. To honour father and mother is "the first commandment with promise." Adonijah repaid his father's indulgence with treason against his throne; Solomon, when seated on his throne, had a throne set for his mother. If he were king, his mother should be queen. He received her with the profoundest respect, though she was his subject; for he "counted her uncrowned womanhood to be the royal thing." The fortunes of these two brothers were not more diverse than their characters, as revealed by their treatment of their eiders. And their histories accorded with their principles; their lives and deaths illustrated the commandment.

V. GOD CHOSE SOLOMON AND REFUSED ADONIJAH . As in the case of Esau and Jacob, as in the case of Manasseh and Ephraim, the younger is preferred to the elder. And yet the elder was apparently the popular favourite. "Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Load looketh on the heart." It is the case of David and his brethren over again. In all these cases "the Lord hath set apart him that's godly for himself." The meek, pacific Solomon, the rejected of Joab and Abiathar, is the accepted of Jehovah. And the brilliant and beautiful Adonijah, his advantages, his influence, his efforts, all these avail him nothing, for "the proud"—and we may add, the selfish, the disobedient—"the LORD knoweth afar off" ( Psalms 138:6 ), while "the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth" ( Psalms 11:5 ).