“I am about to go the way of the earth,” he said. “So be strong, show yourself a man,”
~ 1 Kings 2:2
Hi James and Ellen,
If you are given a choice, would you choose being a king or being a faithful warrior to a king? If you are given a choice, would you choose being Solomon or being Benaiah? Solomon was David’s kid. Benaiah was Jehoiada’s kid. Solomon’s dad was a king for forty years. Jehoiada was one of Solomon’s dad’s best army commanders – if not the best army commander. Solomon’s dad – David, ruled as king over the people group of guys and gals that was comprised of God’s specially chosen guys and gals – who were the Israelite people group guys and gals. Benaiah’s dad – Jehoiada, faithfully did what his king – David, told him to do. The Kings Book author in 1 Kings 2 recorded David’s deathbed requests or charges that David gave to Solomon to do when the time arrived for Solomon to take over the reins of being the next ruler over the people group of guys and gals that was comprised of God’s specially chosen guys and gals. David told Solomon in verse 2 ““I am about to go the way of the earth,” he said. “So be strong, show yourself a man,” When David died, Benaiah became one of Solomon’s best officers – if not the best officer. Solomon – as a king’s kid, grew up having amenities. Because his dad was a king, Solomon had access to power, position and prestige. Because his dad accumulated a lot of wealth during his forty years as a king, Solomon never lacked for having the very best things in life. Because his dad wanted him to succeed him as king, Solomon knew what his future held for him. Benaiah grew up with a dad who always devotedly and dependably did what the king – who was David, asked him to do. Because his dad was a trusted army commander of a king, Benaiah had access to being trusted, do adverse tasks and be in the background. Because his dad was a very dedicated, faithful military officer – who led his guys per the instructions of his king – who was David, into battles where he could be killed, Benaiah was environmentally conditioned as a kid to always be prepared to die for a greater cause. Because his dad was a very committed, loyal soldier warrior to David, Benaiah was Solomon’s easy choice to be a hit man to finish unfinished business that Solomon’s dad felt that justice needed to be incurred.
If you are given a choice, would you choose being the President of the United States or being one of the best Generals – if not the best General, in the army? If you are given a choice, would you choose being a boss over guys and gals or being bossed by a guy or gal? If you are given the choice, would you choose a guy or gal to do your dirty work or would you choose to do dirty work for another guy or gal? Solomon was aware of a couple of injustices or misdeeds that his dad had not resolved in the way that his dad felt that they needed to be resolved. One of David’s army commanders – Joab, had several years earlier – during a period of peace, murdered two perceived competing fellow army commanders – Abner and Amasa. A Benjamin tribal clan guy – Shimei, one day cursed David. Even though David had every reason to and as much as he really wanted to, David did not have Joab or Shimei killed. Now that the time had come for him to die, David told his kid – Solomon, to use his wisdom to do the right thing. Soon after his dad died, David’s oldest kid – Adonijah, came up with a misguided plan to be king over the people group of guys and gals that was comprised of God’s specially chosen guys and gals. Adonijah thought that if he was able to marry Abishag – a Shunammite gal, who was one of the gals who was in David’s harem and who had compassionately cared for her dying king ‘husband’, that the Israelite people group guy and gals – God’s specially chosen guys and gals, would ascribe him to be their next king. Adonijah asked Bathsheba – Solomon’s ma, to ask her kid if it was okay if he married Abishag. Solomon’s wisdom gift told him what Adonijah really wanted – which was to usurp the expectation of dad which was that he was to be the next king over the people group of guys and gals that was comprised of God’s specially chosen guys and gals. Who do you think got the call to kill Adonijah because of his prideful audacity, to face down the murderer Joab as he held unto the horns of the alter that was in the temple tent and to execute the death penalty on Shimei after Shimei left the city of Jerusalem to retrieve a couple of his slaves after Shimei told Solomon that he would never leave the city of Jerusalem under any circumstances? If you said Benaiah, you are right!
One of the class modules that your grandpaa took for his M.A. degree was taught by Gene Getz. Gene Getz helped to design a study that helps a guy or a gal know how he or she best works with other guys and gals. This inventory study that Gene Getz helped to design purports that your grandpaa works best as a second guy to a strong, decisive leader. Your grandpaa knows that this to be true. The last three years that your grandpaa and grandmaa lived in Bolivia your grandpaa was South American Mission’s field missionary team Field Director and then when your grandpaa was in Guatemala with your grandmaa on the OC International field missionary team, your grandpaa was the Field Director there for about six years. Your grandpaa knows that he prefers being a Benaiah and do what others ask him to do versus being a Solomon and have others do what your grandpaa wants them to do. When your grandpaa was in his fourth year in Bolivia, the South America Mission field missionary team Field Director asked your grandpaa to jumpstart a program to enable guys in Biblical truths so that they would be able to enable other guys. While your grandpaa was the Field Director of the OC International field missionary team in Guatemala, your grandpaa during a monthly meeting of mission agencies was mandated to reformat how InterMissions was planned.
1 Kings 2 (632)