1 Kings 2:28-46

1 Kings 2:28-46

Another person Solomon had to remove from a position of power was Joab. Now if you remember, Joab was one of David’s must trusted men. Joab had come to David’s aid on numerous occasions, and he even confronted David at times when David had drifted from God. But most recently, Joab had killed two men without David’s knowledge. He had been sent out on a task by David, but he did more than David knew. Furthermore, Joab supported Adonijah when Adonijah attempted to take the throne from Solomon. So although he was one of the most trusted men in the kingdom, Solomon could not afford to keep him around. It was too dangerous to keep a man who no longer showed loyalty to Solomon and his men. So Solomon sent Benaiah to kill Joab and ultimately promoted Benaiah to take over control of the army (what was once Joab’s position).


The final person Solomon had to take care of was Shimei, a man who had continuously been disloyal to David. He was upset from the start, blaming David for Saul’s death. He then rejoiced when Absalom declared himself as king. He was glad to see David on the run. Then, at one point during David’s exile, he cast stones at David. So Solomon did not want Shimei anywhere near him and the throne. He commanded Shimei to build himself a house and remain there, never leaving the city. But when two of Shimei’s servants left to go to Gath, Shimei went out after them and brought them home.

When Solomon heard of Shimei’s trip, he summoned him to himself and questioned him. All Solomon knew was that Shimei had been in Gath. So Solomon really had no idea why he had left. Could he be aligning himself with the people there? Was he trying to gain support in order to take out Solomon? Solomon did not know what Shimei was up to, and since Shimei had made a promise in the Lord’s name that he would not leave, Solomon knew that he could no longer trust him.

Once again, Solomon had Benaiah go out and kill Shimei, and with his death, Solomon had cleaned out all the disloyal men and established his own kingdom. David’s reign was nothing but a memory at this point, for many of the men that had served alongside David were dead or had been killed due to their disloyalty. Solomon had a clean start with a whole new batch of men, and he was dedicated to serving God and leading Israel into obedience to His commands. With this fresh start, Solomon was finally prepared to begin construction on the Temple.

Matt