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David was old and couldn't hold his own heat so they got a virgin to warm him. That sounds strange. He didn't "know" her, but I still find that strange. David was close to death, and one son, Adonijah, the son of Haggith, thought he would rule. Nathan the prophet went to Bathsheba and encouraged her to talk to the king to save her life as well as her son Solomon. Solomon was anointed king over Isreal. Adonijah's followers were afraid and left. Adonijah was afraid as well and plead that the king wouldn't kill him. Solomon did not kill Adonijah.

So... the people of the king brought a fair virgin away from her home and gave the king an opportunity to sleep with her. How strange and uncomfortable I would be in that situation. She was a Shunammite. Not sure what that means. I feel a bit better knowing that the king did not take advantage of this girl. I imagine she was really scared and doubt he would ever be able to sleep with her intimately without that awkward foreign feeling for her. The situation sounds evil to me.

It seems so strange how our society looks at marriage today versus what they thought of it back then. I feel as though faithfulness is important, and I'm not sure where that started to be a trend in the Bible (as stated later, a pastor is a husband of one wife), but it obviously didn't start in Kings with David's time.

I wonder the age difference between Adonijah and Solomon. I wonder the reason why Solomon was chosen over Adonijah. Apparently Haggith was David's 4th wife and Bathsheba was his 7th. There must have been something that made Solomon stand apart.

http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/biblepeople/a/020811-CW-King-Davids-Wives.htm

I feel something should be said about Adonijah usurping the kingdom and king David not even knowing about it. That's a big deal concerning communication. It seems as though Adonijah was more centered on the warring part of the nation and so did not invite the priests to the crowing service. This confidence makes me wonder because he was not the first born. Absalom was the first born. Why did he think the kingdom was his? Another question is why Adonijah lived in another area than king David. And if they didn't live in another area, then why did it take such a long time for the servants to get word back to king David. Perhaps the servants did talk, but still, nobody said anything. Nothing changed until Nathan spoke up. I imagine when the Bible says that Adonijah was a good man, people probably liked him.

Nathan knew that Solomon was meant to be king, and had a duty to speak up. I'm sure that was hard. It would have been easy for Nathan to stay in the background and not say anything, but that wouldn't have made Isreal the nation God wanted it to be. I realize things were a bit different because Nathan actually knew that Solomon was meant to be king due to his communication with God. Nonetheless, there are items that I don't feel comfortable talking about, such as illegal drugs and underaged activities, even though I know the laws concerning them. Had Nathan not said anything or done anything, Solomon would not have been king and most likely would have been killed by his brother Adonijah. I like to think that if I don't say anything, maybe somebody else will later, but I realize sometimes, I am the last defense and if I don't step up and do something, nothing will change.

I imagine the person with the most uncomfort is the messenger that said Solomon was the rightful king. The messenger could have been shot had Adonijah decided to rebel and take the kingdom. I know I sometimes react to the messenger. It brings a new light to "don't shoot the messenger".

TL biggrin R
Even when people take the future into their own hands, God still has a plan and His people need to take action when necessary.