“Then king David answered and said, Call me Bathsheba. And she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king. And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress, Even as I sware unto thee by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day. Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever. And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king. The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon. Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah. And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king say so too. As the LORD hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David” (1 Kings 1:28-37).
Introduction
Because of what Bathsheba and Nathan had told him, David took action that would secure the throne for his intended successor and to remove the impostor. He commands that Solomon be crowned king before his death, so in effect David is abdicating.
The praise
David praised God for protected him throughout all the dangerous situations he had experienced in his life. His tribulations began with King Saul and now they were ending with the self-proclaimed king, Adonijah. God had kept His promise to him, so now David was going to honour the Lord in the last days of his life. The use of the name of God also acts as a seal on the promise he is making, something he would not have done lightly.
The promise
David confirms the promise he had made to Bathsheba years before and it determined that it was going to be fulfilled that very day. This would in turn avoid any further attempts by anyone to take the throne. We can only assume that David had told her about what the Lord had said concerning his then future son. “Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. He shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever” (1 Chronicles 22:9-10). So in fact this promise fulfilled prophecy rather than David’s desire to make Bathsheba happy by favouring her above his other wives. Solomon was God’s choice, therefore David would be have been unwise if he had allowed Adonijah to continue with his plot.
The patriots
David did not put off his obligation to another day, but instead called for the priest Zadok to give him the authority to anoint Solomon as king. Along with Zadok came Nathan the prophet and Benaiah the chief of the bodyguard. These three were trusted followers of David and he knew that would obey everything he ordered regarding the coronation. The orders were very specific, which shows, that though he was weak in body, his mind was alert.
Solomon was to be placed on the king’s mule and brought to Gihon to be anointed as the new king. To ride on the king’s mule without his permission would result in death, but the three officials would be a sign to the people that this was authorised by David. We note that when both Absalom and Adonijah tried to secure the throne they rode on horses (2 Samuel 15:1, 1 Kings 1:5), something that God forbade concerning a king, “But he shall not multiply horses to himself” (Deuteronomy 17:16).
Solomon was escorted to Gihon with an armed guard made up of “the Cherethites, and the Pelethites” (1 Kings 1:38) and the trumpets being blown along the way was sure to get everyone’s attention. Gihon, which had a natural amphitheatre, was close to Enrogel where Adonijah was enjoying his feast, thus the noise of the trumpets and pipes celebrating the coronation of Solomon would have easily been heard by him and his guests (1 Kings 1:39-49), for “the earth rent with the sound” (:40). The priest and the prophet who were responsible for the ceremony were highly respected, so few would fail to recognise that this coronation was legitimate (:45).
David also ordered that Solomon was to be brought back to Jerusalem and placed on the throne. This was his way of declaring that all Israel and Judah were to submit to Solomon’s rule from that moment. The officials agreed to this command and prayed that his son’s reign might even outshine David’s.
The postscript
“And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me to day that he will not slay his servant with the sword. And Solomon said, If he will show himself a worthy man, there shall not an hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die. So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house” (1 Kings 1:50-53). While we are not studying this section of the story, the text is included here to show that David’s words were carried out to the letter and Solomon was firmly established as king. This fact is clearly recognised and accepted, although grudgingly, by Adonijah. He feared that the new regime might put him to death for his rebellion towards David his father, but his punishment was for another day.
Conclusion
It is interesting to note that the descendants of Zadok will serve in the Millennial Temple during Christ’s one thousand-year reign on earth (Ezekiel 44:15). What a blessing for faithfulness in times of apostasy! In our next study we will look at David’s last words and death.
© 11/10/2010