Trust, until given a reason not to...

Reading: 1 Kings 2:12-18

Solomon made a deal with Adonijah that he would spare his life if Adonijah would stay out of trouble. But, from his previous attempts to take over the kingdom, Adonijah cannot be trusted. Now, it is obvious that he is back up to something.

If you read this without knowing about Adonijah, you could easily just think he wanted a wife. In fact, Adonijah himself says that he is NOT…"up to something"! “Comest thou peaceably? And he said, peaceably.” Knowing Adonijah, you must assume he is up to something. He has proven that he cannot be trusted so let’s look at his actions without giving him the benefit of trust.

• Why approach Bathsheba and not Solomon?
• Why is he trying to build up to what he wants to say?
• Why have her agree before knowing what she is agreeing to?
• Adonijah is handsome, why does he need the King to give him a wife?

Trust. We should trust people and assume the best. We should trust others and try to befriend and relate to them, until given a reason not to. We will see later that Adonijah was up to something and had he been trusted he would have caused more problems. Once someone has given you a reason to no longer trust them, you will always question their actions. Love them, help them, do all you can for them, but all the while be alert of their true intentions.