(3) Adonijah's Usurpation

Narrator: Chris Genthree

THE first mention of Jerusalem in the Word of God brings before us a delightful type of Christ in the person of Melchizedek, King of righteousness and King of peace (Gen. 14:18-20¹⁸And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. ¹⁹And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: ²⁰And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. (Genesis 14:18‑20); Heb. 7:1¹For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; (Hebrews 7:1)). The second mention of Jerusalem is startling by its contrast. Joshua found Adonizedek reigning there, and determined to hold the city in defiance of Jehovah’s purpose for His people (Josh. 10:1¹Now it came to pass, when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them; (Joshua 10:1)). This king suggests the Antichrist who will defy the Lamb at His appearing. Adonizedek perished ignominiously; with his confederate kings he was hanged. The Antichrist (described in the Apocalypse as “the false prophet”) will be consigned with his partner in iniquity, the ten-horned Beast, to the lake of fire a thousand years before even Satan is sent there (Rev. 19:20²⁰And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. (Revelation 19:20)).

The revelation of a divine purpose arouses the opposition of the Devil, and he labors forthwith to frustrate the accomplishment of it. 1 Chronicles 22 describes an important gathering in Jerusalem when David made it known that Solomon, although one of his youngest sons, was Jehovah’s choice for the throne. He forthwith charged him to build a house for God (how delighted would David have been to have built it himself I); and he also charged all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son (1 Chron. 22:17¹⁷David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, (1 Chronicles 22:17)). The young man was then solemnly enthroned.

It was after this, and thus in full knowledge of the purpose of God, that “Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king,” and in his vanity “prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him” (1 Kings 1:5⁵Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. (1 Kings 1:5)). As surely as Solomon prefigures Christ, Adonijah prefigures the Antichrist. Mark the fatal words, “I will.” In Isaiah 14:13-14¹³For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: ¹⁴I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (Isaiah 14:13‑14) we hear Lucifer saying five times, “I will.” Here we have the very essence of sin. 1 John 3:4⁴Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (1 John 3:4), correctly translated, teaches us that “sin is lawlessness.” Lawlessness is self-will. James tells us that we should always say, “if the Lord will... we shall do this or that” (James 4:17¹⁷Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. (James 4:17)). Self-will has been the undoing of the human race, and its full evil is not yet developed.

All who have been born of the Spirit should abhor the restlessness of flesh in every form, and find delight in doing the will of God. The Man Christ Jesus is our perfect example of will-lessness. When He came into the world He said, “I delight to do Thy will, O my God” (Psa. 40:8⁸I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. (Psalm 40:8)); in the night of His sorrow He desired only the will of the Father to be done (Matt. 26:39³⁹And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Matthew 26:39)); and in the midst of His service He told the people around Him, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me” (John 6:38³⁸For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. (John 6:38)). Every bit of self-will in which we indulge savors not of Christ, but of Antichrist!

Adonijah was apparently a “spoiled child.” The Holy Spirit says, “His father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he was also a very goodly man” (1 Kings 1:6⁶And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom. (1 Kings 1:6)). The handsome Absalom, slightly his senior, was similarly treated by David. Good-looking children are in special danger when in the hands of foolish parents. The wise king’s words in Proverbs 19:18¹⁸Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying. (Proverbs 19:18) are true for all time: “Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.” There are many broken hearts amongst God’s saints due to the neglect of parental discipline; and the dishonor to the name of the Lord is still more serious, for the house of the Christian should be like unto the house of God, where the divine will alone should be done.

Adonijah’s usurpation was short-lived. So will it be with the sinister figure of whom he was a pitiful foreshadow. When self-will rises to its full height, and man proclaims himself God, judgment will fall speedily. Solomon appears to have been quiescent while the rebellion was in progress. It was his father who acted against the aggressor. In like manner the Christ of God looks with long patience at what His enemies are doing, but He will make no move until the Father gives the word.

Ultimately Adonijah perished by command of Solomon; and the man of sin will be destroyed by the “breath of the lips” of the One against whom he will exalt himself (Isa. 11:4⁴But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. (Isaiah 11:4); 2 Thess. 2:8⁸And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: (2 Thessalonians 2:8)).

Let us briefly examine a few Scriptures relative to the man in Jerusalem in the last days of whom Adonijah was a type. Daniel 11:36³⁶And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. (Daniel 11:36) speaks of him as the King—Isaiah 30:33; 57:9³³For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it. (Isaiah 30:33)
⁹And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell. (Isaiah 57:9) also. The concluding revelation to Daniel concerning his people extends from chapter 10:12 to the end of the book. Down to chapter 11:35 everything has been already fulfilled. We read of plots and wars between successive kings of the North and of the South (Syria and Egypt), with the holy land as their battleground. There is a gap of more than twenty centuries between verse 35 and 36. From the days of the Maccabees we pass to the world’s last crisis. A king is seen ruling in Palestine, whom only carelessness would confound with the kings of the North and the South, for both make war upon him.

Mark the description of this man―Palestine’s last king before the establishment of the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus. “The king shall do according to his will: and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous (or monstrous) things against the God of gods.” Every detail is the very antithesis of Christ. He did not His own will, but the will of His Father and God; He did not exalt Himself, neither did He magnify Himself. On the contrary He humbled Himself, and magnified (glorified) Him who sent Him. But He did not suit the carnal taste of Jehovah’s fallen people; the man of Daniel 11:36³⁶And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. (Daniel 11:36) will be more welcome, as the Lord warned the Jews in John 5:43⁴³I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. (John 5:43).

Like Adonijah, he says, “I will be king.” The will of God and the well-being of the people are both alien to his thoughts. He will sweep aside every divine institution; he will seek the destruction of the pious few who venture to oppose him; and he will honor and reward the wicked (Dan. 11:37-38³⁷Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. ³⁸But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. (Daniel 11:37‑38)). His end is not mentioned in Daniel 11. The one whose “end” is referred to in the last verse is the king of the North, the powerful and implacable foe of the Jews’ apostate ruler.

Now compare 2 Thessalonians 2 with Daniel 11. The language is so similar that there can be no doubt that both chapters refer to the same person. “The man of sin, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped: so that he sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” The scene is clearly laid in Jerusalem, where the Jewish temple was still standing when the Epistle to the Thessalonians was written. Another temple will be seen there in the last days erected by returned Jews. It has been remarked that the Antichrist is “Adam fully developed.” To Adam it was said, “Ye shall be as God”; Antichrist says, “I am God.” In Daniel 11 we see him in Jewish connection; and in 2 Thessalonians 2 as the leader and consummation of the apostasy of Christendom. In 1 John 2:22²²Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. (1 John 2:22), where alone we find the title “Antichrist,” the two things are combined. “Who is the liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son.” The Jews have from the first denied that Jesus is the Christ, and Christendom will ere long repudiate the Father and the Son. Both Jews and the multitudes who today “profess and call themselves Christians” will then unite in their worship of the man of sin. Solemn thought, the same city from which the truth of Christ went forth, and which has brought blessing to millions, will yet send forth the lie of the Antichrist to the ruin of all who receive it. Judicial blindness from God will settle down upon those who have had the truth within their teach, but have not loved it (2 Thess. 2:9-12⁹Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, ¹⁰And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: ¹²That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:9‑12)).

God will know how to subdue all proud pretension in the day of His wrath. “The day of Jehovah shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low.... And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day” (Isa. 2:12-17¹²For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: ¹³And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, ¹⁴And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, ¹⁵And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, ¹⁶And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures. ¹⁷And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. (Isaiah 2:12‑17)). The Lord preserve us all from the Adonijah spirit of pride and self-exaltation!

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