“Lessons for President Trump from Kings Solomon, Rehoboam & Josiah!”
By Richard Allen – November 18, 2024
No, this is not a Christmas Blog about the “Three Kings” (or Wise Men) who visited the infant Jesus in Bethlehem. Rather, this is meant to be a timely admonition to President Elect, Donald J. Trump. He is in a unique position to make some badly needed changes in the way Washington D.C. (a.k.a. “the Swamp) operates. Corrupt Bureaucrats have become entrenched in every part of our government – and clearly have a stake in the changes that might “kill their goose that has been laying golden eggs.” They will stop at nothing to thwart Trump’s initiatives to “drain the swamp” and “make Washington work for the people” – and not against them. 2025 promises to be a very intriguing year for American Politics – to say the least. So, I thought it might be good to remind my readers (and hopefully others) that there are lessons from Scripture about incoming “new leaders” along with some “do’s and don’ts” that should be helpful to our newly elected President. Specifically, these lessons are taken from the life of King Solomon in 1 Kings Chapter 3, his son, King Rehoboam in 1 Kings Chapter 12 and King Josiah in 2 Kings Chapters 22 & 23.
Let’s look at the First King: Solomon – King David’s son and the ”promised covenant heir” to both David’s throne and the Messianic lineage. At the time King David was approaching the end of his life, there was great intrigue in the palace – as one of David’s older sons, Adonijah the son of David’s wife, Haggith – began to tout himself as the next King, riding around Jerusalem with chariots and horsemen and an entourage of 50 followers. His activities made quite a splash – especially since King David was old and bed-ridden, needing a young maiden to lie with him to keep him warm. In an unusual narrative, the Prophet Nathan approaches another of David’s wives, Bathsheba, to warn her of Adonijah’s attempt to usurp the throne. Nathan clearly lets Bathsheba know that she and her son definitely had some “skin in the game.” If Adonijah became King – both Solomon and his mother, Bathsheba, would become “expendable.” Nathan’s instructions were for Bathsheba to go to David, and make him aware of Adonijah’s activities by asking David:
“So, Bathsheba went to the king in his chamber (now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was attending to the king). Bathsheba bowed and paid homage to the king, and the king said, ‘What do you desire?’ She said to him, ‘My lord, you swore to your servant by the Lord your God, saying, Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ And now, behold, Adonijah is king, although you, my lord the king, do not know it. He has sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army, but Solomon your servant he has not invited. And now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. Otherwise, it will come to pass, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted offenders” (1 Kings 1:18-21).
How ironic, the same three characters who were involved in David’s greatest sin – Committing adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah, to cover Bathsheba’s pregnancy – were at the forefront of this drama as well: King David, Bathsheba and the Prophet Nathan (see 2 Samuel 11:1 – 12:24). No doubt, this drama had an effect on Solomon. When he was anointed King in his father David’s place (1 Kings 1:39), it was in the midst of this turmoil and palace drama. In 1 Kings Chapter 3, God appeared to Solomon in a dream telling him to “ask what I should give you?” To God’s delight, Solomon ask for wisdom and not for “long life, the death of his enemies, great riches or possessions.” So God granted him “understanding so he might discern what is right” (1 Kings 3:11). Where, you might ask, am I going with this? I would counsel President Elect Donald Trump to ‘Seek Wisdom!’ This is the lesson from King Solomon. I would also counsel him to ask for continued ‘Courage,’ for the fight he’s been called to!
What’s really amazing about this is that Donald Trump, in his first term, didn’t display much humility, even though he was trying to do right. God still blessed him, allowing him to use his natural gifts as a successful businessman. But, Trump 45 did make some very poor decisions, especially when it came to understanding his enemies in the Permanent Political Class (i.e. Deep State) in Washington D.C. Worst of all, he totally failed to discern who his real friends were, and allowed traitors to “infiltrate his first Administration and thwart Trump 45 at every turn.” It’s a fact, President Trump’s worst enemies were members of his own team! Today it appears that Trump 47 has learned many of these lessons. He’s not hiring: Jeff Sessions, Rex Tillerson, John Bolton, Reince Priebus or several other traitors from the Deep State who plagued his first Administration. Being much “wiser” this time around, he is hiring people who are principled and will be loyal to both America and to him personally.
This brings us to the Second King: Rehoboam, Solomon’s son – who had grown up with “royal privilege” in the palace as the king’s son. Never wanting for anything, he was befriended by other young men who were also part of the nobility class in Israel. None of them had “real-life experiences,” and they gave Rehoboam very bad advice – telling Rehoboam to quickly alter his royal dealings with the people – especially the other tribes besides his own tribe, Judah. These young friends with royal privilege, counseled Rehoboam to be more demanding and dictatorial than his father Solomon (see 1 Kings 12:1-15). Just so I don’t overstate the case – sometimes a King has to make needed reforms and changes, so listening to older men and their counsel “may not always be the best avenue to take.” What Rehoboam lacked was “discernment and tact.” He didn’t have enough experience (like Trump 45) and should have proceeded cautiously. The result of Rehoboam’s rough response to the People, specifically the 10 northern tribes, was to effectively divide Rehoboam’s realm into a diminished fraction of the kingdom his father had ruled. As to discernment, I’m also very hopeful that Trump has learned to “temper” his rough speech from his first term, and do a better job of attracting common people to his ideas. Unlike Rehoboam, Trump doesn’t have the choice to listen to the old guard. Today’s old guard is mostly unprincipled and corrupt! He has to make changes.
Now let’s talk about the Third King: Josiah. His story is found in 2 Kings Chapter 22. Inheriting the throne at the age of eight, Josiah was a principled and good man from the start – and to the best of his abilities walked in the ways of David and the good Kings of Israel. Josiah wasn’t perfect, but he brought about the biggest reforms and changes for good that Israel had seen since the days of his distant grandfather, Solomon. The good news is: Josiah had help; he had the “Book of the Law of God” to be his guide! When King Josiah was 26, he decided to perform badly needed repairs to the Temple, and in the process had his Secretary, Shaphan, go to Hilkiah the High Priest, to bring money collected to pay the workers. Hilkiah found the “Book of the Law of God” in the temple and gave it to Shaphan – who in turn read it before King Josiah! Here is how 2 Kings Chapter 22 records King Josiah’s hearing of the Law of God:
“When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, ‘Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us’ ” (2 Kings 22:11-13).
In quite possibly the greatest Old Testament Reformation, King Josiah invested great effort to bring in reforms, and move Judah to abandon much of its idolatry and disobedience before God. In fact, the Scripture heading in many Bibles for 2 Kings Chapter 23 is: “Josiah’s Reforms.” He tore down the “high places, and cast out all the vessels to worship of the Canaanite God – Baal – from the Temple. He restored keeping the Passover for all of Judah, and did much to return the Jews in Judah to the Covenant that God had ordained. I would venture that Donald Trump has a ”Book of the Law,” that is the “Constitution of the United States” to use as a guidebook. He doesn’t have to guess, he can bring in most of the badly needed “reforms” by simply returning to what is the actual “Law of the Land,” our very own “Constitution!”
Josiah’s story didn’t end as we would expect, Israel’s and Judah’s sins had been too many and for too long. While Josiah’s reforms postponed God’s promised destruction, it still eventually came. My prayer is that President Donald Trump will learn the lessons of these three Kings from the Old Testament. I think he’s well on the way. Like King Solomon, I don’t think President Trump will go on a crusade to seek vengeance on his enemies – especially those who have persecuted him and other Patriots. But at the same time, he has to restore the “Rule of Law,” and make sure that those who have committed actual crimes are punished. We can also see that since the assassination attempts on Trump in Butler, PA and at his West Palm Beach, FL Golf Course in July and September, he is definitely a different and more humble man. I think he’s now aware that God providentially kept him from great harm. And unlike King Rehoboam, we all pray that President Trump will use wisdom and discernment in choosing the counselors he listens to. It’s not enough to have people as your advisers who only agree with you. Trump needs Patriots who are all committed to the goal of doing “what is in America’s best interests,” even if they have different opinions on the “means of accomplishing those goals.“ And like King Josiah, Trump needs to use the Constitution – the Book of Our Law – to once again bring back a “government of the People, by the People and For the People!”
Soli Deo Gloria!