God Gave Me Friends

Today, we’re going to continuing our series on FAMOUS. And we’ll be talking about one of the most famous characters in the Bible: David, and his family.

But before we do that. I want to talk about friends. A lot of big stars have their own entourage, which is a fancy word for a group of devoted followers. But one thing that they must struggle with is figuring out which of the people in their entourage are truly their friends. They have a lot of people who like them and think they are great, but they have quite a few who are actually their friends.

What are some qualities of a friend that are the most important to you?

This is a really great list and I want to keep this end mind as we talk about friends today.

This week, like I said before, we are going to be talking about David’s family.

David married Bathsheba and had a baby named Solomon

But Solomon had two half brothers named Absalom and Adonijah

Absolom died which meant that Adonijah was at the top of the list

David’s health was failing, so it was time to begin thinking of the next king

Adonijah announced to the kingdom, “I’m going to be the next king”. He got chariots and horses and men ready to run out in front of him.

Adonijah took a priest to the top of a hill and sacrificed some animals (which is what you did whenever you were becoming king)

But Adonijah didn’t invite David or Nathan or any of the other prophets because he knew what he was doing was wrong.

Nathan heard about what happened and came to Bathsheba: Adonijah has made himself king.

Go to David and tell him about it. Explain to him that it is Solomon’s rightful place. You promised!

David heard Bathsheba and said:

“The Lord has saved me from all my troubles. You can be sure that he lives. 30 And you can be just as sure I will do what I promised. This is the day I will do what I promised in the name of the Lord. He is the God of Israel. I promised you that your son Solomon would be king after me. He will sit on my throne in my place.”

32 King David said, “Tell Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet to come in. Also tell Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, to come.” So they came to the king. 33 He said to them, “Take my officials with you. Have my son Solomon get on my own mule. Take him down to the Gihon spring. 34 Have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him as king over Israel there. Blow a trumpet. Shout, ‘May King Solomon live a long time!’ 35 Then come back up to the city with him. Have him sit on my throne. He will rule in my place. I’ve appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah.”

It was after that day that Solomon was made king of Israel.

It was a scary time for Bathsheba and David. David was nearing death and Adonijah was attempting to steal the throne out from under him.

Luckily, whenever David and Bathsheba were going through a difficult time, God provided them with friends who could help!