When King David was frail and near to death, his son Adonijah attempted to proclaim himself as king, although he knew that David had decreed that Solomon should be his successor. Adonijah gathered around him an influential group of supporters and proclaimed himself as the new monarch. David acted swiftly in response to attempted coup d’etat and formally anointed Solomon as the new king with immediate effect. Adonijah then realised that his plans had been thwarted, and that he was guilty of treason. So he fled for sanctuary to the Temple in Jerusalem, and cried out to the new king for mercy. Solomon spared his life and did not even confiscate his estates. So Adonijah appeared to be repentant, but was his repentance real and lasting? He would subsequently make further claims upon the throne, proving that his initial cry for mercy was not out of a real change of heart. His resolve to serve Solomon, therefore, was not wholehearted and ongoing and he disregarded Solomon’s mercy towards Him.
Now Solomon prophetically foreshadows the Lord Jesus Christ. Many today wrongly assume that the Lord Jesus is merciful, even if they carry on in their sin. “Jesus does not judge” is the common cry often issued to defend sinful lifestyles. However, whoever comes to Christ in repentance and faith and receives His mercy must do so with a resolve to abandon all sin for good and to faithfully serve Him for the rest of one’s days. God cannot be served in fits and starts or half-heartedly. As the Lord Jesus Christ declares in the book of Revelation : "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life" (Rev.2:10).