When the legal guidelines are clearly spelled out and everybody is aware of there might be penalties for breaking them, mercy is non-compulsory, however justice is to be anticipated. Nobody ought to complain about getting what they deserve. The guilt is on them, not on the one who handed down the sentence. There isn’t any purpose for the choose, jury, or officer to really feel responsible for the consequence they have to impose due to one other particular person’s crime and there’s no purpose for the responsible particular person to be indignant a couple of punishment they know they deserve.
Solomon granted mercy however required that the recipients to show themselves worthy of it. Solomon, wasn’t hurting anybody else by giving an opportunity to those that posed a menace solely to him. Most of them didn’t show themselves worthy and earned justice. However the one who threatened others was given solely justice and no mercy to guard the harmless.
Adonijah – 1 Kings 2:12-25
After David died, and Solomon took his place on the throne, Adonijah approached Bathsheba with a request. He wished her to persuade her son to let him marry the younger virgin woman who had beforehand been introduced in to serve David in his outdated age. He informed her that he believed the dominion was his birthright, and that the folks had the identical expectation, however it was given to Solomon by the Lord. He was attempting to show that he had accepted Solomon’s kingship and was asking for Abishag as a form of comfort prize. This appeared acceptable to Bathsheba, so she agreed to ask Solomon.
So, Bathsheba went to Solomon on Adonijah’s behalf, sitting beside her son on the throne he had arrange for her. Then, she requested if he would do her the favor of permitting Adonijah to marry Abishag. Solomon couldn’t imagine that she would ask for a favor for the person who tried to take the throne from him, and he requested if she would additionally like a favor for Abiathar and Joab since that they had joined him. However Solomon may additionally see via what Adonijah was doing. By asking for a girl who had beforehand been within the king’s service, he was nonetheless attempting to put declare to the throne. Solomon had given him a pardon on the situation that he proved himself worthy of it ( 1 Kings 1:52). It was now apparent that Adonijah was going to proceed to be an issue for the king, so Solomon ordered Benaiah, the captain of the king’s guard, to place him to loss of life.
Abiathar – 1 Kings 2:26-27, 35
As for Abiathar, the priest who supported Adonijah’s effort to usurp the throne, he was dismissed from his duties as priest. Although he deserved to die for his betrayal, Solomon couldn’t bear to place him to loss of life as a result of he carried the ark of the Lord and suffered with David all through his reign. However he additionally couldn’t belief him to be loyal, so Solomon informed him to return to his hometown and dwell as a civilian. This fulfilled God’s promise to Eli that He would take away his descendants from serving the Lord as monks (1 Samuel 2:29-35).
Because the ark was in Jerusalem and the altar was in Gibeon, Abiathar and Zadok had every been serving as monks elsewhere. However Solomon was tasked with constructing the Temple, which might deliver them each to Jerusalem and remove the necessity for 2 monks anyway. So, Zadok was appointed the excessive priest in Jerusalem and Abiathar went again to his hometown. This was in success of God’s promise to Phinehas that his household would obtain everlasting priesthood (Numbers 25:10-13, 1 Chronicles 6:3-8).
Joab – 1 Kings 2:28-35
When Absalom tried to take the throne from David, Joab caught with David. However when Adonijah tried to say the throne over Solomon, Joab took his facet. So, when he heard what Solomon did to Adonijah and Abiathar, he feared he was subsequent and fled to tent of the Lord, taking maintain of the horns of the altar. However that wasn’t going to save lots of him (Exodus 21:14). Solomon ordered Benaiah to name him down from the altar and execute him. However when Joab refused to return down, Benaiah didn’t know what to do. He didn’t need to kill somebody in the home of the Lord. However Solomon mentioned he should execute Joab in order that the guilt of Abner and Amasa’s devious killings can be faraway from David’s home (2 Samuel 3:27, 20:9-10). These males had been extra righteous than Joab, and their harmless blood should be returned to him. So, Benaiah forcibly eliminated Joab from the altar and put him to loss of life. Then, Solomon appointed Benaiah over the military in his place.
