God's Appointed King and His Cleansing Power
1 Kings 2
TheGoodNewsCast.com
Throughout the Old and New Testaments, a clear distinction is made between the attempt to hold authority over an entire kingdom and the unyielding reality of God's appointment. Groups sometimes emerge with the goal of asserting authority over others, whether through birthright, strategic alliances, or marital relationships. A closer look at Adonijah's political ambition in 1 Kings 2, Christ's resurrected nature in Matthew 22, and God's steadfast faithfulness reveals a unified truth: all authority belongs to Christ, who appoints a chosen few to teach the many by washing their feet through the cleansing power of God's Word.
The biblical account of 1 Kings 2 provides a wicked nature in political strategy that attempts to usurp God's appointment. Following the death of King David, his eldest surviving son, Adonijah, sought to assert his authority by approaching the Queen Mother, Bathsheba, with a specific request:
"Please, I ask that you go to King Solomon, for he adores you and will not ignore your request. Ask him to give me Abishag the Shunammite, the young woman who nursed my father before he died. I want her as my wife."
Adonijah’s marriage proposal appears to stem from a desire for a queen. However, Adonijah only wanted her hand in marriage to claim authority over David's household, an equivalent to Reuben’s attempt to claim authority over Jacob’s household through Bilhah (Genesis 35:22; 49:4). Also, 1 Kings 1:4 notes that David "had no intimate relations with Abishag."
King Solomon immediately perceived the treason behind Adonijah’s petition:
"Why do you wish Abishag the Shunammite to be Adonijah’s wife? While you’re at it, why don’t you ask me to hand the entire kingdom over to Adonijah? He is the eldest son. I might as well hand it over to him, Abiathar the priest, and Joab!" (1 Kings 2:22)
Solomon saw that Adonijah was attempting to leverage a false claim over the kingdom. Adonijah himself had previously admitted that "the kingdom has turned around and become my brother's, for it was his through God's appointment" (1 Kings 2:15).
Jesus addressed a fundamental point in Matthew 22 when confronted by the Sadducees, who presented a scenario in which a woman successfully married seven brothers under Levirate law, assuming that the marriage status continued after death.
"Jesus replied, 'You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the cleansing power of God's Word. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven'" (Matthew 22:29–30).
While Scripture frequently employs marital language, describing Christ as the "Bridegroom" and the collective as the "Bride" (Ephesians 5:25-32; Revelation 19:7), these metaphors primarily illustrate Christ's authority over the church. Within God's order, God is the head of Christ, and Christ is the head of the Church.
Likewise, in marriage, Christ is the head of the husband, and the husband is the head of his wife. Therefore, entrance into God's Kingdom comes through submitting to the authority of Jesus Christ, who is Lord over the Church, over our marriages, and over the entire Kingdom, so that all people may be reconciled to God.
While marriage cannot grant authority over another household, it remains a sacred covenant intended to reflect God's faithfulness and gives each partner a clear example of how to be reconciled unto Him through Christ, who is faithful.
Do you not understand what Jesus has done for the chosen? He is their teacher and Lord, and truly, that is who He is. And since He has washed their feet, they in turn teach others within the entire Kingdom, including the church. (John 13:1-17).
No one is greater than Jesus, and neither is TheGoodNewCast.com, but it is fully trained and fully authorized like the teacher (Luke 6:40).