Summary

At the conclusion of David’s instruction there was a response from Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. It may be surprising to observe that it was this man who responded. One might think it would be more likely to hear from Nathan, who was responsible in alerting the king to the dangerous situation facing them all. It is possible, though by no means certain, that the reason for Benaiah’s reply had to do with his position as a military commander. If Adonijah had been able to start a full-scale civil war, it was he and the men under his command that would have called upon to face the opposing force which might have been the muster of the whole of the army of Israel. Therefore, the wisdom of David in giving his instructions would have been a matter of practical value and relief to him.

The response began with a Hebrew word that found its way into both Greek and English, Amen! It is an adverb in Hebrew, but as seen here, it can be used as a whole expression in itself. The force of the expression here is: It is (or possibly May it be) as you say!

Benaiah continued with expressing the desire that the plan that David outlined would be confirmed by the almighty God, May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say so. Some, for example, the Interlinear Hebrew Bible, translate the sentence as a wish that the Lord God might agree with the plan of David. Yet, when God speaks it is substantially different from the words of man. God does not agree with man; he speaks and it stands forth. Benaiah is desiring that God would, by his divine utterance, confirm David’s words as established fact. He was appealing from human uncertainty to God’s absolute certainty.

Benaiah went beyond the simple hope that the Lord would confirm David’s words in bringing Solomon to the throne in safety. He desired that God would show the same favour to Solomon that had been the case with David. As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon… Benaiah rightly analyzed where the success of David’s rule had been found both before and after his becoming king, that is, in the presence of God. It is true that David had difficulties in his rule, but the difficulties were largely the consequences of his disobedience. Yet despite these challenges the Lord never forsook him.

Benaiah wished the same for Solomon, but he wished more. He says that he wished that Solomon’s throne would be made greater than David’s. One might wonder if this was wise to say in the presence of King David, but that would impute to David a selfishness that had little part in his character. David knew that the issues which marred his kingdom were largely of his own making. A later verse (1 Kings 1:46) shows that David was perfectly in agreement with Benaiah’s statement.