The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 22 August 2026 – Child Discipline
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TOPIC: Child Discipline
READ: 1 Kings 1:1-10
1 Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.
2 Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.
3 So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
4 And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.
5 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.
6 And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom.
7 And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him.
8 But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.
9 And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by Enrogel, and called all his brethren the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah the king’s servants:
10 But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not.
THE MESSAGE:
One role God expects of all parents is to enforce discipline on their children. Proverbs 29:15 states thus; “The rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.” We may never know for sure why the father is not mentioned in this instruction.
We see in our text today where the above scripture played out clearly. Adonijah felt it was his turn to ascend the throne of Israel. He never allowed his father, David, who was still alive, to make the pronouncement rather he organised his coronation group and took them to where they would crown him king. He also extended his invitation to a selected few and left out others.
Though he may have been the eldest after Absalom, but it was not right for him to declare himself king. The problem lies in v. 6a. “And his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying, “Why have you done so?” Though David was a very reputable King in Israel, he was very weak in enforcing discipline at the home front. This led to some of his children misbehaving. Please, keep an eye on your children so that they will not grow out of control and bring shame to the family.
PLAYER:
Lord, please give me the grace to bring up my children in your unity. Amen.
