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SOLOMON TAKES THE THRONE. I Kings 1:28-53. Feb 27, 2022. #03
1 Kings 1:28-53 [New King James Version]
28 Then King David answered and said, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king. 29 And the king took an oath and said, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress, 30 just as I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ so I certainly will do this day.” 31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and paid homage to the king, and said, “Let my lord King David live forever!” 32 And King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king. 33 The king also said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and take him down to Gihon. 34 There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel; and blow the horn, and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35 Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, and he shall be king in my place. For I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.” 36 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, “Amen! May the Lord God of my lord the king say so too. 37 As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may He be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.” 38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and took him to Gihon. 39 Then Zadok the priest took a horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!” 40 And all the people went up after him; and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound. 41 Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the horn, he said, “Why is the city in such a noisy uproar?” 42 While he was still speaking, there came Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest. And Adonijah said to him, “Come in, for you are a prominent man, and bring good news.” 43 Then Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, “No! Our lord King David has made Solomon king. 44 The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have made him ride on the king’s mule. 45 So Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon; and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you have heard. 46 Also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom. 47 And moreover the king’s servants have gone to bless our lord King David, saying, ‘May God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’ Then the king bowed himself on the bed. 48 Also the king said thus, ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne this day, while my eyes see it!’ ” 49 So all the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid, and arose, and each one went his way. 50 Now Adonijah was afraid of Solomon; so he arose, and went and took hold of the horns of the altar. 51 And it was told Solomon, saying, “Indeed Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; for look, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’ ” 52 Then Solomon said, “If he proves himself a worthy man, not one hair of him shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” 53 So King Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. And he came and fell down before King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”
1. David fulfills his promise to Bathsheba
a. After listening to Bathsheba and Nathan, David has Bathsheba called into his room
a1. David swears that Solomon will rule after David
a2. God affirms the choice by allowing the transition to take place
b. David instructs Nathan, Zadok, and Benaiah to anoint Solomon as king immediately
a1. Solomon takes throne before David dies
a2. This avoids a potential civil war
2. Ceremony at Gihon
a. David orders Solomon to be placed on the king’s mule and ceremonially be taken to Gihon Spring to be anointed king
a1. Sacrifices, celebration, and the royal horn announce the transition of power
a2. Solomon is to sit on David’s throne
b. The Spring of Gihon is chosen for the event
a1. Gihon (to gush forth) is an underground spring that bursts forth in the Kidron Valley outside of Jerusalem
a2. King Hezekiah later connected Gihon to the Pool of Siloam through a 1600’ tunnel dug by hand through solid limestone
c. Much of Jerusalem turns out to the celebration
a1. This demonstrates the weakness of Adonijah’s claim to the throne
a2. Only after David officially makes his selection does the nation rally around the next king
d. This event is occurring at the same time that Adonijah’s celebration is going on
a1. David moved quickly after Nathan’s prompting him to settle the matter
a2. Important to stop Adonijah lest another Absalom disaster occur
3. Adonijah’s reign crumbles
a. On same afternoon of Adonijah’s ascent, he falls
a1. He had no official claim to the throne
a2. He did not have the solid support that he imagined
b. Joab wonders what all the noise from Jerusalem was and what the tumult meant (3 miles away)
a1. A celebration greater than Adonijah’s
a2. The party was just winding down
c. Jonathan, son of Abiathar, runs up to group (Jonathan was a messenger during Abs. rebellion and was the one who informed David that his sons were returning to Jerusalem—only Amnon had been killed)
a1. Informs Adon. that Solomon now ruled
a2. In terror, all those at celebration flee
d. Adonijah’s support was superficial
a1. No one would fight and die for him
a2. He was a king of convenience
e. Adonijah flees to Tabernacle to grab horns of altar
a1. Sanctuary and asylum plea
a2. He fears Solomon’s retribution
f. Solomon is told of Adonijah’s fear
a1. Sol. = Adon. will live if he behaves
a2. Solomon sends Adon. home in peace
g. Ps. 2 all power not blessed by God is in vain