Envy and Desire
Adonijah Sets Himself Up as King
5 Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 6 His father had never at any time displeased him by asking, “Why have you done thus and so?” He was also a very handsome man, and he was born next after Absalom. 7 He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest. And they followed Adonijah and helped him. 8 But Zadok the priest and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and Nathan the prophet and Shimei and Rei and David's mighty men were not with Adonijah.
9 Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened cattle by the Serpent's Stone, which is beside En-rogel, and he invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the royal officials of Judah, 10 but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the mighty men or Solomon his brother.
A succession plan is so important in leadership. King David had one. He mentioned to Bathsheba and Nathan the prophet that Solomon would be the next king. But, David did not do anything official. You would think after the uprising of his son Absolom that David would have learned his lesson. But, in the above text we see that Absolom’s brother, Adonijah was ready to take over the kingdom. His envy got the best of him. He wanted something and although he was not privileged to have it, he still took it upon himself to set the stage for his leadership. Confusing during transition is one of the most damaging tools Satan uses to disrupt God’s kingdom and God’s people. Remember, God had a transition plan from Moses to Joshua. God had a transition plan from the prophet Samuel to the King Saul. God had a transition plan from King Saul to King David. And, God had a transition plan from King David to King Solomon. But, Adonijah did not get the memo. His envy took over and divided the follower-ship of the kingdom. In the above text we see some were invited to the party and others were not. Often you can tell the legitimacy of a meeting by seeing who is NOT invited. This is the problem with envy. It divides. Notice what James tell us:
Warning Against Worldliness
1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.
The lack of an announced succession plan opened the door for envy. Envy then divided the team. That is the recipe Satan likes to use for destruction of God’s plans.
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