Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 13.pdf/96

 Chapters from the Biblical Law. mander-in-chief, and Abiathar, the high priest, both of them devoted to King David, and they "following Adonijah, helped him" (i Kings i, 5, etc.).. By a palace intrigue, Bath-Sheba, assisted by Nathan, the prophet, managed to obtain the old king's favor for her son Solomon, and under their influence King David di rected that Solomon should be anointed and proclaimed king over Israel (i Kings i, 32-34)When Adonijah, who had been entertain ing the princes and all the officers of the kingdom, heard that the crown had been given to Solomon, he feared that Solomon would put him to death. This was the man ner in which Oriental potentates disposed of dangerous rivals, especially members of their own family, who by virtue of their blood relationship might pretend to a right to the throne. Adonijah sought refuge in the tent of the tabernacle where the Ark of the Covenant was resting and where the altar of God stood, and he caught hold of the horns of the altar; and he announced that he would not leave the place until King Solo mon swore unto him that he would not put him to death. Solomon respected this appeal to the privilege of sanctuary, but declined to comply with Adonijah's request to grant him absolute immunity, merely say ing, "If he will show himself a worthy man, there shall not a hair of him fall to the earth; but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die.'' This was tantamount to saying that if King Solomon came to the conclu sion that Adonijah was a dangerous man, he would put him to death; and so Adonijah understood it and refused to leave the sacred premises. King Solomon then sent for him and "they brought him down from the altar" (i Kings i, 50-53),—removed him by force. Thereafter, King David died and Solomon sat on the throne of his father. After the death of the old king, Adonijah was guilty of a diplomatic blunder that cost him his life. In an interview with Bath-Sheba, the mother of King Solomon, he obtained from

her a promise to ask the king to give him as a wife Abishag, the Shunammite girl, who had waited upon King David during his last days. Had Solomon complied with this request, the people would have seen in this marriage a confirmation of the claims of Adonijah to succeed King David. It was customary for the successor of a deceased king as evidence inter alia of his right to succeed to the sovereignty to take posses sion of the harem of the dead king. Solomon immediately saw the political bearing of this request, and he answered and said unto his mother, "And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adqnijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is mine elder brother" (i Kings ii, 22); thereupon Solomon had Adonijah put to death on the same day. Fearing the power of Abiathar and Joab, who had encouraged Adonijah and his pre tensions, Solomon determined to rid himself of them. The privilege of sanctuary seems to have been enjoyed by the priest even when he was absent from the sacred place. The fact that he ministered at the altar and bore the Ark of the Lord on his shoulder, invested his very person with a certain sacredness which the king felt bound to respect. Instead, therefore, of putting Abia thar to death, the king banished him from the court and the capitol (i Kings ii, 26-27). Then came Joab's turn. He, having heard of these occurrences, fled into the tabernacle of the Lord, and caught hold of the horns of the altar. When this fact was reported to Solomon, he directed one of his officers to go into the tabernacle and put Joab to death. Solomon was evidently very much afraid of Joab, probably because of his influence over the army. His fear of Joab overcame his fear of the Lord, and he gave orders to have Toab killed even while he was holding on to the horns of the altar. The situation is almost paralleled by the story of Henry II of England, and Thomas A'Becket. The king's officer, who had gone down to the tabernacle to execute the com