“Why hast thou done so?”
The full verse · 1 Kings 1:6 · KJV
And his had not him at any in , Why hast thou done ? and he also was a man; and his mother him .
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionThe narrator notes the rhetorical question David never asked, exposing the king’s failure to discipline Adonijah, a parental neglect that contributed to the son’s reckless ambition for the throne.
The Response
What Scripture recordsAdonijah, undisciplined and ambitious, exalted himself and sought to seize the throne, but Solomon was established as king according to David’s oath (1 Kings 1:5-53).
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThe narrator highlights a question David never asked. By noting that David never displeased Adonijah with ‘why hast thou done so?’, the text exposes a failure of discipline. The absent question of accountability left Adonijah indulged and ambitious. The pattern recalls David’s earlier failure with Absalom and explains Adonijah’s reckless bid for the throne, illustrating the damage of parental neglect of correction.
Loving discipline is part of good parenting, and its absence can bear bitter fruit. David never asked Adonijah ‘why have you done this?’, and the unaccountable son grew reckless and grasping. To withhold all correction is not kindness but neglect. Those who love their children, as God loves His, will hold them accountable for their good, lest indulgence breed ruin.
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Keep questioning
“Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not?”
“Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?”
“What wouldest thou?”
“My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?”