《Trapp ’s Complete Commentary–1 Kings》(John Trapp)
Commentator
John Trapp, (5 June 1601, Croome D'Abitot - 16 October 1669, Weston-on-Avon), was an English Anglican Bible commentator. His large five-volume commentary is still read today and is known for its pithy statements and quotable prose. His volumes are quoted frequently by other religious writers, including Charles Spurgeon (1834 -1892), Ruth Graham, the daughter of Ruth Bell Graham, said that John Trapp, along with C.S. Lewis and George MacDonald, was one of her mother's three favorite sources for quotations.
Trapp studied at the Free School in Worcester and then at Christ Church, Oxford (B.A., 1622; M.A., 1624). He became usher of the free school of Stratford-upon-Avon in 1622 and its headmaster in 1624, and was made preacher at Luddington, near Stratford, before becoming vicar of Weston-on-Avon in Gloucestershire. He sided with parliament in the English Civil War and was arrested for a short time. He took the covenant of 1643 and acted as chaplain to the parliamentary soldiers in Stratford for two years. He served as rector of Welford-on-Avon in Gloucestershire between 1646 and 1660 and again as vicar of Weston from 1660 until his death in 1669.
Quotes from John Trapp:
Be careful what books you read, for as water tastes of the soil it runs through, so does the soul taste of the authors that a man reads. – John Trapp
He who rides to be crowned will not mind a rainy day. – John Trapp
Unity without verity is no better than conspiracy – John Trapp
00 Introduction
Book Overview - 1 Kings
Name. The name is taken from the Kings whose deeds they narrate.
Contents. It takes up the history of Israel where Second Samuel left off and gives the account of the death of David, the reign of Solomon, the Divided Kingdom, and the captivity.
Purpose. The political changes of Israel are given in order to show the religious condition. Everywhere there is a conflict between faith and unbelief, between the worship of Jehovah and the worship of Baal. We see wicked kings who introduce false worship and righteous kings who bring about reforms and try to overthrow false worship. Israel yields to evil and is finally cut off, but Judah repents and is restored to perpetuate the kingdom and to be the medium through which Jesus came.
The Kingdom of Solomon. Solomon began in glory, flourished a while and then ended in disgrace. He sacrificed the most sacred principles of the nation in order to form alliances with other nations. He attempted to concentrate all worship on Mount Moriah, probably hoping that in this way he might control all nations. He finally became a tyrant and robbed the people of their liberty.
The Two Kingdoms. This is a sad story of dissension and war and defeat. Israel or the northern kingdom was always jealous of Judah. It was by far the stronger and possessed a much larger and more fertile land. There were nineteen king, from Jeroboam to Hoshea, whose names and the number of years they reigned should be learned together with the amount of scripture included in the story of each. Judah or the southern kingdom was always a little more faithful to the true worship. There were twenty kings, from Rehoboam to Zedekiah, whose lives with the number of years they reigned and the scripture passages describing each, should be tabulated and learned.
The Captivity. It is made clear that the captivity is because of sin. God having spared them for a long time. (1) Israel was taken captivity by the Assyrian Empire, whose capital was Nineveh. This marks the end of the northern tribes. (2) Judah was captured by the Babylonian Empire, but after a period of seventy years, the people were restored to their own land.
Analysis of First Kings.
- The Reign of Solomon, Chs. 1-11.
- His accession, Chs. 1-4.
- Building the Temple, Chs. 5-8.
- His greatness and sin, Chs. 9-11.
- The Revolt and Sin of The Ten Tribes, Chs. 12-16.
- The Reign of Ahab and the Career of Elijah, Chs. 17-22.
For Study and Discussion. (1) Contrast the character of David with that of Solomon. Give the ideal elements and the defects of each. Also compare them as rulers. (2) Contrast the character of Elijah with that of Elisha. Point out the elements of strength and weakness in each. Compare the great moral and religious truth taught by each as well as the great deeds performed by them. (3) Study this as the cradle of liberty. Note Elijah's resistance of tyrants and Ahab in the vineyard of Naboth. Look for other instances. (4) Consider the place of the prophets. Note their activity in the affairs of government. Glance through these books and make a list of all prophets who are named and note the character of their message and the king or nation to whom each spoke. (5) Make a list of the kings of Israel and learn the story of Jeroboam I, Omri, Ahab, Jehu, Jeroboam II and Hoshea. (6) Make a list of the kings of Judah and learn the principal events and the general character of the reign of Rehoboam, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Uzziah, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Josiah and Zedekiah. (7) The fall of Judah. (8) The failure of human governments, (a) the cause, (b) the manifestation and result.
01 Chapter 1
Verse 1
1 Kings 1:1 Now king David was old [and] stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.
Ver. 1. Now king David was old.] His numbering the people is by some held to be the last act he did before he took his bed. But by others, with more probability, that all those things recorded in the eight last chapters of the First Book of Chronicles were done whilst David was able to go abroad; for it is said in 1 Chronicles 28:2 that he "stood upon his feet in the assembly of the princes," and spake unto them. And he so spake that they might well perceive his intellectuals were no whit decayed, though he were old and cold, rigens prae senio.
And they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.] He had been a man of sorrows from his youth up. See Proverbs 17:22, 2 Corinthians 7:10, Psalms 32:3-4; Psalms 119:83. Hence his strength was much impaired, and his death hastened, though he lived as long as any king of Judah or Israel: indeed, Manasseh reigned longest of any.
Verse 2
1 Kings 1:2 Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.
Ver. 2. Wherefore his servants said unto him,] i.e., His physicians, his Yεραποντες θεραπευοντες.
And let her lie in thy bosom.] In a medicinal way, to work heat in thy cold body, whilst she lieth with thee as a wife or concubine: for else they would never have advised it, nor David have taken their counsel.
Verse 3
1 Kings 1:3 So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
Ver. 3. So they sought for a fair damsel.] The natural cause why they went this way to work rather than by wines, furs, &c., was quia ille calor humanus in substantia erat simillimus calori hominis naturali, eiusque gradum non superabat, saith Valesius: (a) because her heat would be likest to his in substance and degree. Virgins also have more natural heat than women who have had children.
Verse 4
1 Kings 1:4 And the damsel [was] very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.
Ver. 4. And the damsel was very fair.] And therefore lovely, οττι καλον φιλον εστι, and fitter for the purpose.
But the king knew her not.] Utpote frigidus et inhabilis ad generandum; neither would it have been for his health, as the case then stood.
Verse 5
1 Kings 1:5 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
Ver. 5. Exalted himself, saying, I will be king.] This was another of David’s darlings. Him and Absalom, David had honoured, as Eli had done his two wicked sons, above the Lord; [1 Samuel 2:29] therefore they proved a singular cross to him.
I will be king.] Though David had declared Solomon to be designed king by God himself, [1 Chronicles 22:9-10] and Adonijah knew it to be so, and therefore called not Solomon and his party to his feast. [1 Kings 1:19] Vain men, whilst, like proud and yet brittle clay, they will be knocking their sides against the solid and eternal decree of God, break themselves in pieces.
And he prepared him chariots.] Absalom-like; ambition rideth without reins. David should have now looked upon him as another Absalom, and suppressed him. But he either knew not, or suspected not this pomp, and those preparations of his.
Verse 6
1 Kings 1:6 And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also [was a] very goodly [man]; and [his mother] bare him after Absalom.
Ver. 6. And his father had not displeased him at any time.] Heb., From his days, i.e., from his childhood; therefore he displeased his father in his age; little caring to crush his heart when now bedridden, by his disloyalty and usurpation. But thus was still fulfilled what had been forethreatened. [2 Samuel 12:11]
In saying, Why hast thou done so?] He cockered his children, whom he should have corrected if he had done right. David was ever too fond a father, and he smarted for it.
And he also was a very goodly man.] As well as Absalom: this made him think the better of himself, and his father think too well of him.
Verse 7
1 Kings 1:7 And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped [him].
Ver. 7. And he conferred with Joab, &c.] Seeking to draw these grandees to his party, whom he knew to be discontented, and therefore more easily wrought upon. Joab was conscious to himself of the treacherous murdering of Abner and Amasa; for which and the death of Absalom, David bare him still an aching tooth: and if he stayed till David appointed a successor in the kingdom, who knew what might follow? Abiathar haply was displeased that Zadok was so much favoured: and might fear the fulfilling of that prophecy concerning the overthrow of Eli’s house, of which he was. But what saith an ancient? Divinum consilium dum devitatur, impletur; humana sapientia, dum reluctatur, comprehenditur.(a) There are "many devices in a man’s heart: nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand." [Proverbs 19:21]
Verse 8
1 Kings 1:8 But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which [belonged] to David, were not with Adonijah.
Ver. 8. But Zadok the priest.] So Cranmer and Ridley, and some few other conscientious persons, afterwards ill rewarded by Queen Mary, refused to subscribe the letters patent for Lady Jane Gray’s succession to the crown, after the death of King Edward VI which yet were subscribed by the most of the statesmen, who were guided with respect to their particular interest, for that they were possessed of various lands which once pertained to monasteries, chanteries, &c., which they foresaw they should lose, in case religion should change under Queen Mary.
Verse 9
1 Kings 1:9 And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which [is] by Enrogel, and called all his brethren the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah the king’s servants:
Ver. 9. And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen.] Hitherto all went ‘hail well’ with these gallants: and many a health, no doubt, was drunk to Adonijah: many a confident boast of their prosperous design, many a scorn of the despised faction of Solomon, &c. But the triumphing of the wicked is short. [Job 20:5] {See Trapp on "Job 20:5"}
Verse 10
1 Kings 1:10 But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not.
Ver. 10. But Nathan the prophet.] These were no whit the worse men for being thus neglected. The wise historian observed, that the statues of Brutus and Cassius (a) were the more glorious and illustrious, because they were not brought out with other images in a solemn procession at the funeral of Germanicus. Cato said he had rather men should question why he had no statue or monument erected to him, than why he had.
Verse 11
1 Kings 1:11 Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth [it] not?
Ver. 11. Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bathsheba.] See here, saith P. Martyr, how God by weak means confoundeth the mighty, and worketh for the accomplishment of his own will.
And David our lord knoweth it not.] Either Adonijah’s partisans and parasites kept it from David, or else through age and weakness he took no notice of it.
Verse 12
1 Kings 1:12 Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.
Ver. 12. That thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.] Which the usurper will surely take away if he carry the crown; not suffering any such rub to lie in the way, that may hinder the true running of his bowl.
Verse 13
1 Kings 1:13 Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then doth Adonijah reign?
Ver. 13. Didst not thou swear … unto thine handmaid?] This was done, say the Rabbis, at that time when David comforted Bathsheba, and went in unto her, and lay with her. [2 Samuel 12:24] Lyra saith, that then it was revealed unto him, that this son of his by Bathsheba should reign after him: this was no small comfort to her.
Verse 14
1 Kings 1:14 Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words.
Ver. 14. I will come in after thee, and confirm thy words,] (a) Heb., Fill up - that is, say the same, and more. There are some seeming contradictions in Scripture: and though they seem to be as the accusers of Christ, never a one speaking like the other, yet if we understand, we shall find them speaking like Nathan and Bathsheba, both speaking the same things.
Verse 15
1 Kings 1:15 And Bathsheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king.
Ver. 15. And the king was very old.] Yet little more than half so old as a plain countryman whom I spoke with yesterday, being May 15, A.D. 1656, at Stratford-upon-Avon, who assured me, and gave good proof of it, that he was a hundred and twenty-eight of age, being born A.D. 1527. He is still hearty and healthy, living at Bedworth in Warwickshire, Thomas Egerton by name.
Verse 16
1 Kings 1:16 And Bathsheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou?
Ver. 16. What wouldest thou?] Heb., What to thee? q.d., I am ready to hearken to thee. She had been a good wife to him, and knew how to command him by obeying him, as Livia did Augustus, and much better. (a) For Livia, notwithstanding her smooth carriage toward her husband, is foully slandered, if she were not over familiar with Eudemus her physician, and if she did not at his death help to set him going, lest he should alter his will, and put her son Tiberius beside the empire. But good Bathsheba was none such. (b)
Verse 17
1 Kings 1:17 And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid, [saying], Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.
Ver. 17. Shall reign after me.] This was the substance of the promise confirmed by oath.
And he shall sit upon my throne.] This was the evidence thereof. She allegeth both, doing as Nathan had dictated unto her.
Verse 18
1 Kings 1:18 And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest [it] not:
Ver. 18. And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth.] His ambition hath turned off his obedience. Had his right to the kingdom been never so good, yet to step into the throne, while his father was yet living, without his privity and consent, was no better than treason.