Citizen’s Voice of Authority

We discuss an example from the bible to illustrate human responsibility in opposing usurpation of government. David’s fourth son Adonijah circumvented the law and due process to proclaim himself king based on seniority. In his capacity as a citizen, Prophet Nathan sought audience to sensitize King David to Adonijah’s rebellion. David responded quickly. He organized a people’s parade to lead Solomon to be anointed, introduced, and accepted as king. After the coronation, Solomon occupied the throne to begin his kingship. Thus, Prophet Nathan activated his citizen’s voice of authority to initiate effective opposition against usurper Adonijah. His success illustrates every person’s responsibility and prerogative to contribute their citizen’s voice of authority to bring down a usurper: by voting in elections; participating in protests; or adding a voice in speech, writing, music, or other forms of expression. Usurpers can be recognized based on their characteristic disregard for the law and due process.

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We discuss Adonijah’s attempted usurpation of the throne of Israel with focus on Prophet Nathan’s successful opposition against the rebellion. The bible indicates Prophet Nathan acted in his capacity as a citizen (see discussion under Activating Citizen’s Voice of Authority). Therefore, his role and accomplishments in the events model God’s expectation of every citizen. Opposition initiated by Prophet Nathan resulted in the king mobilizing the people to make Solomon king according to due process. Further, Adonijah’s rebellion ended without as much as a whimper. We discuss Prophet Nathan’s successful opposition as a model of human responsibility against usurpation.

Adonijah Proclaims Himself King

Adonijah believed he was next in line to succeed his father David as king. David’s first son Amnon and third son Absalom had died and the second son Chileab apparently was not in contention for the throne for unknown reasons. Therefore, fourth son Adonijah believed he was next in line to succeed their father. He proclaimed himself king to take advantage of his father appearing weak and ready for a transition. He did not seek approval from his father or the people of Israel. Additionally, Adonijah was aware that God chose one of his junior brothers Solomon to succeed their father as king. He admitted being aware of the choice in a later interaction with Solomon’s mother Bathsheba after his unsuccessful rebellion [1 Kings 2:15]: “‘As you know,’ he said, ‘the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the Lord’.” Therefore, he knew he was in violation of God’s choice when he declared himself king, hand-picked a few supporters from among his father’s officials, and hosted an elaborate coronation to celebrate.

Solomon Installed King

Prophet Nathan recognized the rebellion—that Adonijah was in process to confirm himself king without approval from his father or the authority of the people of Israel. Also, he was aware of a previous declaration by King David that Solomon will succeed him as king. He appealed to David to sensitize him to Adonijah’s rebellion. David responded by organizing a parade to lead Solomon to their religious center at Gihon. There, Solomon was anointed king by the religious leadership and introduced to the people as king. The people accepted and celebrated the new king as they led him back to occupy the throne [1 Kings 1:38–40]: “So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon mount King David’s mule, and they escorted him to Gihon. Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and all the people shouted, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ And all the people went up after him, playing pipes and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with the sound.”

The people in Adonijah’s celebration soon understood what had happened, broke from the party, and abandoned the illegal coronation. Therefore, Adonijah’s attempt at usurpation of kingship ended abruptly: “At this, all Adonijah’s guests rose in alarm and dispersed” [1 Kings 1:49].

Activating Citizen’s Voice of Authority

By proclaiming himself king, Adonijah violated the people’s process for making a king, his father David’s responsibility and prerogative as the king of Israel, and God’s choice of Solomon to succeed their father as king. Prophet Nathan recognized at least the first two violations: [1 Kings 1:7–8]: “Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they gave him their support. But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei and Rei and David’s special guard did not join Adonijah.” Therefore, Prophet Nathan recognized a rebellion was in process. Also, he recognized that David had the authority and responsibility to respond to the rebellion, just as he responded to earlier rebellions against him: one by Ishbosheth (see Recognizing a Usurper 2of2) and one by Absalom (see Recognizing a Usurper 1of2).

However, there was no visible indication of any response from David. Therefore, Prophet Nathan spoke with Solomon’s mother Bathsheba [1 Kings 1:11]: “Have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has become king, and our lord David knows nothing about it?” He requested Bathsheba to initiate conversation with David and promised to join the conversation to reinforce a case against the rebellion: “While you are still there talking to the king, I will come in and add my word to what you have said” [1 Kings 1:14].

Citizen Nathan or Prophet Nathan: The bible conveys an important message here in Prophet Nathan seeking access to David through Bathsheba. If the prophet needed to deliver a message in his capacity as prophet, he would have gone straight to David with “Thus says the Lord…,” as he did in previous occasions (e.g., 2 Samuel 7:5–16 and 2 Samuel 12). Instead, he chose to approach David through David’s wife because he needed to offer a voice in his capacity as regular citizen (not as a prophet). Therefore, his actions and the resulting accomplishments fall within God’s expectations of a regular citizen.

Appeal to King David: The purpose of Prophet Nathan’s appeal was to sensitize David to the on-going rebellion by Adonijah. He wanted to ascertain that David was aware of the rebellion and had chosen to respond or not respond based on his assessment [1 Kings 1:24–27]: “Have you, my lord the king, declared that Adonijah shall be king after you, and that he will sit on your throne? … Is this something my lord the king has done without letting his servants know who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?” His appeal was timely and effective. David responded immediately and decisively as discussed earlier under Solomon Installed King.

Voice of Authority Based on Citizen Nathan

Prophet Nathan’s appeal to David in opposition to Adonijah provides a model for citizen’s voice of authority, a mechanism for an individual to contribute to the people’s authority. The citizen’s voice of authority can be activated by voting in elections; participating in protests; or adding a voice through speech, writing, music, or other forms of expression. Prophet Nathan activated his voice of authority by appealing to David. As discussed earlier, his appeal led to the eventual collapse of Adonijah’s rebellion. He used an appeal to David to raise his voice in opposition against an attempted usurpation of government in his state. His success illustrates every person’s responsibility and prerogative to raise their citizen’s voice of authority to oppose a usurper. We can recognize a usurper based on their characteristic disregard for the law and due process and other features discussed in previous studies in this series (Recognizing a Usurper 1of2 and Recognizing a Usurper 2of2).

Summary of What We Learned

The study discusses an example from the bible to illustrate human responsibility in opposing usurpation of government. David’s fourth son Adonijah circumvented the law and due process to proclaim himself king based on seniority.

In his capacity as a citizen, Prophet Nathan sought audience to sensitize King David to Adonijah’s rebellion. David responded quickly. He organized a people’s parade to lead Solomon to be anointed, introduced, and accepted as king. After the coronation, Solomon occupied the throne to begin his kingship. Thus, Prophet Nathan activated his citizen’s voice of authority to initiate effective opposition against usurper Adonijah.

His success illustrates every person’s responsibility and prerogative to contribute their citizen’s voice of authority to bring down a usurper: by voting in elections; participating in protests; or adding a voice in speech, writing, music, or other forms of expression. Usurpers can be recognized based on their characteristic disregard for the law and due process.