Solomon- David's Discipline of Solomon and His Brothers

As we study Solomon and his actions as king of Israel we will try to explore each major issue in Solomon’s life. One of the interesting qualities of Solomon is his ability to practice self-discipline. Most of us have had the opportunity of learning that a lot of self-discipline comes from the ability of our parents to practices self-discipline and in turn discipline us. Hebrews 12:1-11 discusses the idea of our fathers having to discipline us and that this chastening brings to us the peaceable fruit of righteousness.

One of the interesting facets of the Bible is that there are almost no displays of a father disciplining his son throughout Scripture. The closest we come to an act of discipline is Noah cursing his son in Genesis 9:20-25. We know that Abraham was able to rule his family in accordance with the laws of God for Scripture tells us in Genesis 26:5. But the only display of discipline that Abraham ever gave his children was that of sending Ishmael and Hagar away when Ishmael mocked Isaac. Genesis 21:9-14. This took incredible courage and fortitude to do something this difficult to his firstborn child and his second wife. Yet Abraham obeyed God in sending the two away but we see not actual act of discipline administered to a child of Abraham.
We see a little effort with Samson’s father who attempts to remonstrate with Samson about his selection of wives in Judges 14:1-3. They attempt to confront Samson but their efforts are rejected and apparently Samson was not willing to obey his father and his father either wouldn’t or couldn’t deal with Samson.

Another interesting Bible story is that of Eli and his two sons. We see in the story of Samuel that Eli was unable to deal with his sons and exercise his authority as high priest to stop their unholy behavior in the sanctuary. I Samuel 2:22-25 We are told in Deuteronomy 21:18-21 that if a family has a rebellious son that will not listen the family is to bring the son to the gates of the city and present him to the elders and that son, if proven guilty, is to be stoned so that evil would be put away. But Eli would not do this and he was confronted by God through a prophet and then through Samuel. I Samuel 2:26-3:18.

The next interesting story is that of Saul. Saul was a son of a powerful prince of Benjamin. Saul had all of the external qualities of a king of this earth – tall, regal, with leadership qualities. However, he also had some bad qualities. Jesus describes these qualities in Patriarchs and Prophets page 622.
"The Holy Spirit had been granted to Saul to enlighten his understanding and soften his heart. He had received faithful instruction and reproof from the prophet of God. And yet how great was his perversity! The history of Israel's first king presents a sad example of the power of early wrong habits. In his youth Saul did not love and fear God; and that impetuous spirit, not early trained to submission, was ever ready to rebel against divine authority. Those who in their youth cherish a sacred regard for the will of God, and who faithfully perform the duties of their position, will be prepared for higher service in afterlife. But men cannot for years pervert the powers that God has given them, and then, when they choose to change, find these powers fresh and free for an entirely opposite course."
It would seem that Kish, Saul’s father, was unable, or unwilling, to discipline his son to submission to his rule or the rule of God. As a result Saul was rejected by God and David was anointed as king to replace Saul.

We have no mention of any display of discipline by Jesse regarding David. We know that Davie was obedient to Jesse and the discipline of being a shepherd was a formative quality for David. We also know that David was obedient to Jesse to take food to his elder brothers in the battle against Goliath and the Philistines in I Samuel 17:1-20. So it would appear that in some manner Jesse was able to discipline David to be a respectful and obedient son who showed this obedience and submission to his elders all through his life.

In reference to the story of Solomon we have no record of David ever "disciplining" Solomon, or in fact, disciplining any of Solomon’s brothers. We know that when David sinned with Bathsheeba he lost some of his ability to rule for when Amnon, David’s eldest son raped his half sister Tamer, David did nothing. In Patriarchs and Prophets page 727 the Lord’s messenger says the following"
"The shameful crime of Amnon, the first-born, was permitted by David to pass unpunished and unrebuked. The law pronounced death upon the adulterer, and the unnatural crime of Amnon made him doubly guilty. But David, self-condemned for his own sin, failed to bring the offender to justice."

As a result of David’s course of action with Bathsheeba, he lost four sons including the first born of David and Bathsheeba, Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah. In reference to Adonijah God gives us a glimpse into the experience of David’s ability to discipline his sons, including Solomon. Jesus states, regarding Adonijah, "And his father had not displeased him at any time saying, Why hast thou done so?" I Kings 1:6 As a result of Adonijah’s inability to practice self-discipline he eventually loses his life, but that is a story yet to come.

Now how all of this relates to Solomon is the following. We have seen that in most of the Bible stories there is no overt mention of a father disciplining a son. It is implied all through Scripture, and Solomon himself mentions it many times in such texts as Proverbs 3:11-12; 13:24 and 19:18. Yet we do not know that Solomon received much discipline from David. This lack of discipline may have been one of the many reasons that Solomon’s character was able to be influenced by his wives and the circumstances of his life.

We do know that Solomon was a man called of God. We know that his father David had many strong areas and at least a couple of weak areas, one of which was that he did not discipline his children. But God was willing to take up this duty, as He is willing to do for us all. II Chronicles 7:12-22 Solomon displayed a remarkable relationship with Jesus, and then he turned away from God, and then through the chastening of God Solomon returned and was willing to submit to the guidance of God. In the end Solomon was able to say "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. I pray that we too may learn these lessons and be able to accept the discipline of God even if our parents were weak in that area.