DCLM Daily Manna 8 September 2026: Peril of Inordinate Ambition
KEY VERSE: “Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.” —1 Kings 1:5
TEXT: 1 KINGS 1:1–13
Now King David was old, advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm. 2 Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman, a virgin, be sought for our lord the king, and let her stand before the king, and let her care for him; and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord the king may be warm.” 3 So they sought for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4 The young woman was very lovely; and she cared for the king, and served him; but the king did not know her.
5 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king”; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 6 (And his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying, “Why have you done so?” He was also very good-looking. His mother had borne him after Absalom.) 7 Then he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they followed and helped Adonijah. 8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah.
9 And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En Rogel; he also invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants. 10 But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or Solomon his brother.
11 So Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it? 12 Come, please, let me now give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. 13 Go immediately to King David and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your maidservant, saying, “Assuredly your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’
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Dwight Lyman Moody, an American evangelist, in one of his sermons, stated, “Satan rules all men that are in his kingdom. Some he rules through lust. Some he rules through covetousness. Some he rules through appetite. Some he rules by their temper, but he rules them. And none will ever seek to be delivered until they get their eyes open and see that they have been taken captive.”
From our text, Adonijah, the fourth son of David, after Amnon, Chileab and Absalom, was caught in the web of ungodly ambition. Amnon, the first son, who had an unholy affair with his sister, Tamar, had already been killed, while Absalom, the third son, who staged a coup against his father, was also killed.
Nothing was known of Chileab, David’s second son, born to him by Abigail, widow of Nabal the Carmelite. Adonijah, who wanted to become king instead of Solomon, was the oldest son still alive. Therefore, Adonijah thought he would be the next king after his father, David, who was very old. He made plans towards achieving his course. He knew his father would soon die, and he got the support of Joab, David’s military commander, and Abiathar the priest to make him king. But Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah and David’s bodyguards refused to support him.
Adonijah still went ahead with his selfish ambition, planning a ceremony where he would declare himself the new king. Nobody can run faster than God. Adonijah’s inordinate ambition led to his premature death. Solomon did not even fight for the fulfilment of God’s promise that he would succeed his father.
Whatever God has ordained for you must come to pass, the machinations of enemies notwithstanding. He knows how to thwart the conspiracy of darkness against your job, business, promotion and family. Pray and trust God. Be it further noted that a child of God must never resort to self-management and carnal display in governing his or her affairs. Once in Christ, we are to trust Him with our entire life span, confident that He who saved us knows what is best for us, here and in eternity. Your life, therefore, is too important to yield to the allurements of ungodly ambition.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Ungodly ambition is a gilded misery.
The Bible in One Year: Leviticus 25–27
DCLM Daily Manna 8 September 2026
