TODAY'S BIBLE TWEET

BIBLE TEXT: "And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me today that he will not slay his servant with the sword. And Solomon said, If he will shew himself a worthy man, there shall not an hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die. So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house.” (1 Kings 1:50-53 KJV)

BIBLE TWEET: Religious altars were considered sanctuaries in the ancient world, so Adonijah rushed to the tabernacle and seized the horns of its altar in hopes of safeguarding himself from being slain by King Solomon, whose throne he had attempted to steal.

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: In Israel, unlike elsewhere in the ancient world, altars did not serve as sanctuaries for the safeguarding of the guilty, but only for the innocent, who had been wrongly accused. The guilty, according to Exodus 21:14, were to be taken from the altar and put to death. Therefore, Adonijah, who was no longer wrongfully attempting to usurp his brother’s throne, but now willingly bowing before it, was warned by Solomon that if he henceforth showed himself worthy rather than wicked he would have nothing to worry about.