Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Are You a Bandwagon Fan? | Historical Books | 1 Kings 1:28-53

Episode Date: July 23, 2025

Are you a bandwagon fan when it comes to your faith? Do you give up when things get tough? Do you do what's best for the kingdom, or what's best for you? In today's episode, Jensen shares how 1 Kings 1:28-53 warns against being bandwagon fans of God and encourages us to show true loyalty. If you're listening on Spotify, tell us about yourself and where you're listening from! Read the Bible with us in 2025! This year, we’re exploring the Historical Books—Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings. Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: 1 Kings 1:28-53

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair. No one wants to be a bandwagon fan. In the world of sports, it's a clear insult. Jumping into a fandom because it's fun, because a team is winning. Are they really loyal to the cause? If the talent and the luck runs out, if a losing streak sets in, will they still love their beloved team? Probably not, because a bandwagon fan isn't a true fan. A bandwagon fan is opportunistic. Now, the young nation of Israel seems to have a lot of bandwagoning going on in relation to the kingship. As David nears the end of his life, his sons begin to realize their father's power is waning. And as we read yesterday, Adonijah decides to make the most of the moment.

You see, Adonijah knows his father's intentions to put Solomon on the throne as king, and yet, he gathers to himself a cohort of powerful followers in hopes of establishing himself as king. He's joined by Joab, the commander of David's army, and one of his father's priests. As our story begins, Adonijah and his band of followers are eating together outside of the city, holding their own coronation of sorts, and calling out long-live king Adonijah. In verse 28, the story now pans back to David. Having learned of all that's happening from Bathsheba and the prophet Nathan, David now gives his answer to what he will do in light of the current coup. Then King David said, call in Bathsheba. So she came into the king's presence and stood before him. The king then took an oath. As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, I will surely carry out this very,

day what I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, Solomon, your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place. Then Bathsheba bowed down with her face to the ground, prostrating herself before the king, and said, may the Lord King David live forever. So David is going to remain faithful to Solomon and Bathsheba, and he acts quickly. He calls in Nathan and a priest and commands them to begin Solomon's anointing as king. And they do. Verse 39. Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and all the people shouted,

Long live King Solomon. And all the people went up after him, playing pipes and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with a sound. Okay, so at this moment, we have these two opposing kings, two men claiming to be king over Israel, one propped up by a band of followers, the other with a divine blessing from God to be king over Israel. And it is at this moment that the story pans back to Adonijah and his band of followers celebrating and unaware of all that is transpiring back in the city. Verse 41. Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they were

finishing their feast. On hearing the sound of the trumpet, Joab asked, what's the meaning of all the noise in the city? Even as he was speaking, Jonathan, son of Abiathar, the priest, arrived. Adonijah said, come in. A worthy man like you must be bringing good news. Not at all, Jonathan answered. Our Lord King David has made Solomon King. The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Beniah, the son of Jehoiada, the Carathites, and the Pelothites, and they have put him on the king's mule, and Zadok gave the priest and Nathan the prophet have appointed him King at Gihon. From there, they have gone up cheering, and the city resounds with it. That's the noise you hear. Moreover, Solomon has taken his seat on the royal throne. Also, the royal officials have come to

congratulate our Lord King David, saying, may your God make Solomon's name more famous than yours, and his throne greater than yours. And the king bowed in worship on his bed. and said, praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has allowed my eyes to see a successor on my throne today. Okay, so this is not good news for Adonijah and his band of followers, but if his band of followers believe in Adonisha to be a good king, believe in his cause, believe that he should be the rightful king over Israel,

we'd expect the story to flow into a fight or a scheme, a plan, to take back what Solomon has stolen. But that. isn't what we see. The next verse says at this, all Adonijah's guest rose in alarm and dispersed. They dispersed. They left Adonijah to his own ruin, washed their hands of it. Adonijah's band of followers turned out to be bandwagon fans all along, opportunistic, floating from one king to another, seeking the one who could give them the most power, the best leg up. In the end, bandwagon fan takes the path of least resistance. They're loyal to their own enrichment and comfort,

and no one else. Are you ever a bandwagon fan when it comes to your faith? Willing to follow God when it works for you, when it helps you get ahead in relationships, build community, look like a good person? But when being faithful to the true king gets messy, gets difficult, takes sacrifice, or maybe makes you uncomfortable, well, is it easy for you to hop off the train? And for a minute and maybe lay low? Or maybe when another king comes along that looks promising for your advancement, you're happy to follow them for a bit, as long as it benefits you. So the thing about being a bandwagon fan of Jesus is that at the end of the day, you're never able to be a loyal follower of King Jesus. The king you're actually following is you, looking out

for your own interests, your own advancement, doing what's best for you when it's best for you. And it can feel good. Like, it can feel right. It can get you ahead in life. Being your own king is great for your own advancement as long as you're right about who's king. As long as there isn't another more powerful king on the throne. That's what brought Adonijah

and his bandwagon band of followers' plans crashing down. It's all fun in games until you realize there's a real king on the throne. Adonijah is in a tough place. He made himself king, only to find out there was already an anointed king on the throne. He is now vulnerable, and he's wondering, what will happen to me? Verse 50. But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, went and took hold of the horns of the altar.

Then Solomon was told Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon and is clinging to the horns of the altar. He says, let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with a sword. Solomon replied, if he shows himself to be worthy, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground. But if evil is found in him, he will die. Then King Solomon sent men, and they brought him down from the altar, and Adonijah came and bowed down to King Solomon. And Solomon said, go to your home. Okay, so Adonijah fearing for his life, he runs to the altar, a place where people maybe took refuge, He believes that this holy place could protect him from his brother's vengeance.

But instead of vengeance, Solomon approaches Adonijah with mercy. He extends his hand to Adonisha and asks him for his loyalty. If Adonijah remains loyal if he is faithful to King Solomon, then Solomon will spare his life and forgive his disloyal actions. Now, this is not what we would expect out of a king with all the power when he's faced with a vulnerable, powerless, rebellious man. But it is what we see from Solomon. In this first moment where the narrative really turns to him, we find mercy and an extended hand of peace. Every day, as you and I, as we live our lives, building our own kingdoms, jumping from

bandwagon to bandwagon, pretending to follow Jesus when it's convenient for us, believing ourselves to be kings, the true king is really sitting on his home. throne. He created you. He died for you. You and I, we owe him everything. And instead, we cast him aside when it's convenient. Our Hosanas fade as we stand in the crowds and yell crucify, crucify. We deserve the same thing as Adonijah and his bandwagon followers. We are guilty of treason, of trading the true king for our own agendas. And yet, Even still, when we lift our eyes for the true king, when we recognize him as such, we aren't met with the vengeance we deserve, but with mercy and an outstretched arm of peace.

While we were still sinners, Christ, King Jesus, died for us. He's not surprised by our rebellion. He died for it. He knew we couldn't secure life on our own, so he made a way for us to flourish alongside him in his kingdom forever. But he's asking for our loyalty. He's asking us to faithfully follow him wherever he leads, whether it feels good or comfortable or like it will benefit us, because he's not calling us to live for our throne, but for his. Cast yourself at the foot of the cross.

Throw off the desires that would lead you to a life of rebellion and instead find a refuge in the shadow of the cross, where mercy flows and peace was established for us. all of creation. Live for the one true king today.