CORONATION DAY!
Opening Prayer
In this day, Father, as in every day, you are worthy of more praise than this world can offer. Thank you for receiving mine—help me to make my life a constant source of praise to you.
Read 1 KINGS 1:28–53
David Makes Solomon King
28 Then King David said, “Call in Bathsheba.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before him.
29 The king then took an oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, 30 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.”
31 Then Bathsheba bowed down with her face to the ground, prostrating herself before the king, and said, “May my lord King David live forever!”
32 King David said, “Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” When they came before the king, 33 he said to them: “Take your lord’s servants with you and have Solomon my son mount my own mule and take him down to Gihon. 34 There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35 Then you are to go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah.”
36 Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, “Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. 37 As the Lord was with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon to make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord King David!”
38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon mount King David’s mule, and they escorted him to Gihon. 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!” 40 And all the people went up after him, playing pipes and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with the sound.
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?”
42 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.”
43 “Not at all!” Jonathan answered. “Our lord King David has made Solomon king. 44 The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites, and they have put him on the king’s mule, 45 and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon. From there they have gone up cheering, and the city resounds with it. That’s the noise you hear. 46 Moreover, Solomon has taken his seat on the royal throne. 47 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 48 and said, ‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has allowed my eyes to see a successor on my throne today.’”
49 At this, all Adonijah’s guests rose in alarm and dispersed. 50 But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, went and took hold of the horns of the altar. 51 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 the sword.’”
52 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.” 53 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.”
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
‘Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.’1
Think Further
Nathan’s haunting question (v. 27) sets the scene for David’s action in naming a successor. Once confronted, David takes responsibility and seeks to calm the situation by endorsing Solomon as his successor. The prophet Nathan – and our author – clearly sees in this the divine hand fulfilling and orchestrating events, enabling the messianic promise of David’s dynasty to come to pass. There is no established practice of the eldest son becoming king by right, so the choice of Solomon gives a glimpse of the principle of divine election. It is an act of grace, a sign of commitment to the house of David, that God permits the enthronement of Solomon and through him continues his purposes. Even more so than with British coronations, the role of religious leaders in anointing the new monarch is a key symbolic role of divine endorsement.
The films and pictures of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II show crowds lining the streets of central London and street parties celebrating a day of hope in the shadow of the Second World War. In this account, coronation day is a day of feasting and rejoicing so rapturous that the noise travels down the valley to where Adonijah is feasting with his entourage. Upon inquiry, the messenger informs him of Solomon’s new kingship, and the acolytes of Adonijah soon flee. Adonijah himself is aware of his vulnerability – he fears death (presumably because he had this planned for Solomon should Adonijah himself have claimed the throne).
One of Solomon’s first recorded acts as king is to deal with his rival half-brother with mercy. Perhaps a message for us in how we might deal with rivals for power, present or former?
Apply
Is there someone with whom you are not in harmony? How could you treat them with mercy and greet them in peace today?
Closing prayer
Prince of Peace, guide me in all that I do; may the peace you purchased for me be reflected in all of the relationships you give me.
1 Ps 67:5, NRSV
Book and Author Intros
Extras
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.