The Anatomy of a Coup: Self-Promotion, Indulgence, and God's Sovereignty Text: 1 Kings 1:5-10
Introduction: The End of an Era
We come now to the twilight of David's reign. The sweet psalmist of Israel, the giant-slayer, the man after God's own heart, is now old, cold, and failing. And as is always the case when a great man's strength wanes, the vultures begin to circle. Power abhors a vacuum, and the political air in Jerusalem is thick with ambition and intrigue. The kingdom is at a hinge point, and the question of succession, which should have been settled by a clear word from the king, has been left hanging, creating a space for mischief.
This passage is not just a dry historical account of a palace coup. It is a profound theological lesson on the nature of authority, the fruit of parental failure, and the ultimate sovereignty of God. We are shown in vivid color the difference between self-appointed authority and God-appointed authority. We see how a man's private sins, particularly his sins as a father, bear bitter public fruit for the whole nation. And through it all, we see the hidden hand of God, working His purposes through the messy, sinful actions of men to fulfill His covenant promises.
Adonijah's rebellion is a picture of how the world operates. It is a grab for power based on natural qualifications, popular support, and political maneuvering. It is the wisdom of man on full display. But God's kingdom does not advance by such means. God's anointed is often the one overlooked, the one not invited to the feast, the one whose claim rests not on his own resume but on the promise of God. This story is a test of loyalties. It forces everyone in David's court to show their cards. Who is loyal to the fading king? Who is loyal to the rising star? And who is loyal to the God who anointed the king and promised a successor?
As we dissect this attempted usurpation, we must see ourselves in it. We are all tempted to exalt ourselves, to build our own little kingdoms, to secure our own futures by worldly means. We are tempted to align ourselves with the powerful and the popular. But this passage calls us to a different kind of loyalty, a loyalty to God's chosen King, the Lord Jesus Christ, even when His kingdom seems hidden and His enemies seem to be carrying the day.
The Text
Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” So he prepared for himself a chariot and horsemen and fifty men as runners before him. But his father had never grieved him at any time by asking, “Why have you done so?” And he was also a very handsome man in form, and he was born after Absalom. And he had conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest; and following Adonijah, they helped him. But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adonijah. And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel; and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants. But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, and Solomon his brother.
(1 Kings 1:5-10 LSB)
The Self-Made King (v. 5)
The action begins with the driving force of all rebellion: pride.
"Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, 'I will be king.'" (1 Kings 1:5)
Notice the source of the action. It does not say, "God exalted him," or "the people exalted him," or even "David exalted him." It says Adonijah "exalted himself." This is the primordial sin. It is the sin of Satan, who said, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God." It is the sin of Adam, who sought to be like God. All usurpation begins with this reflexive, arrogant self-promotion. True authority is received from God; it is never seized. Jesus said, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you." The author of Hebrews says of the priesthood, "And no one takes this honor for himself, but receives it when he is called by God" (Heb. 5:4). Adonijah's campaign begins with a declaration of spiritual illegitimacy.
His ambition immediately takes on a worldly form. He prepares chariots, horsemen, and fifty runners. Where have we seen this before? This is a carbon copy of his brother Absalom's rebellion (2 Samuel 15:1). Adonijah has learned all the wrong lessons from his family history. He sees the external trappings of power and thinks that is what makes a king. He mistakes pomp and circumstance for substance. This is the way of the world. They think that if they have the motorcade, the press corps, and the cheering crowds, they have authority. But this is just window dressing. True authority comes from the anointing of God, not the applause of men.
The Indulgent Father (v. 6)
The text immediately gives us the backstory, the fertile soil in which this rebellion grew.
"But his father had never grieved him at any time by asking, 'Why have you done so?' And he was also a very handsome man in form, and he was born after Absalom." (1 Kings 1:6)
This is one of the saddest verses in all the history of David. Here is the great king, the spiritual giant, revealed as a catastrophic failure in his own home. "He had never grieved him." The word is sometimes translated "displeased" or "rebuked." David's sin was the sin of modern parenting: the refusal to discipline. He refused to cross his son's will. He valued a superficial peace in the home over the righteous formation of his son's character. This is not kindness; it is cruelty. To withhold correction is to despise your child (Prov. 13:24). David's passivity with Amnon, his indulgence of Absalom, and now his failure to confront Adonijah created a household of entitled, arrogant, and ultimately self-destructive young men.
The text adds two more details that are not incidental. First, "he was also a very handsome man." Like Absalom, his brother, his identity was wrapped up in his external appearance. He was coasting on his looks. And David, it seems, was charmed by it. Second, "he was born after Absalom." This means he was now the eldest surviving son. In his mind, and by the customs of the nations, he was the natural heir. He had the looks, the birth order, and the ambition. He had everything going for him except the one thing that mattered: the calling of God. David's failure to discipline him allowed this natural claim to fester into a presumptuous and rebellious pride.
The Coalition of the Compromised (v. 7-8)
A usurper cannot act alone. He needs allies, and Adonijah finds them in two of the most powerful men in the kingdom.
"And he had conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest; and following Adonijah, they helped him. But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adonijah." (1 Kings 1:7-8)
This is a shocking development. Joab was David's nephew and the commander of his army for decades. Abiathar was the high priest who had been with David since the dark days of his flight from Saul. Why would these men, who owed everything to David, betray him now? It was a calculated political move. They were old men, like David. Their fortunes were tied to the old regime. They likely saw Solomon as a threat, a young upstart surrounded by his own loyalists like Benaiah and Zadok. By backing Adonijah, the "heir apparent," they were trying to secure their own positions of power in the next administration. They chose political pragmatism over covenant loyalty. They had spent so long in the corridors of power that they had forgotten who put them there.
But notice who is not with Adonijah. The text gives us a roll call of the faithful. Zadok, the other high priest. Benaiah, the captain of David's elite bodyguard. And Nathan the prophet. This is crucial. The true prophetic word was not with Adonijah. God's man was not in his camp. And then we have "the mighty men who belonged to David." These were the grizzled veterans, the warriors who had been with David through thick and thin. Their loyalty was not to a political position but to a person, David, and more than that, to the God who had anointed David. They recognized that true authority flows from God's covenant, not from political maneuvering. This division reveals the two Israels, the two churches, that exist in every generation: those who follow the spirit of the age, and those who follow the Word of God.
The Selective Feast (v. 9-10)
Adonijah's rebellion culminates in a public, religious ceremony designed to consecrate his kingship.
"And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel; and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants. But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, and Solomon his brother." (1 Kings 1:9-10)
He holds a great sacrifice. He is trying to put a religious veneer on his political coup. This is a classic move of the ungodly. They co-opt the language and rituals of faith to sanctify their rebellion. They want God to rubber-stamp their selfish ambition. He invites all the key players, the royal sons and the government officials. It is a party designed to create a bandwagon effect, to make his kingship seem like a foregone conclusion.
But the guest list is most revealing for who is left off it. "But he did not invite..." The faithful remnant is excluded. Nathan, Benaiah, the mighty men. And most pointedly, "Solomon his brother." Adonijah knows exactly who his rival is. He knows, deep down, that the promise of God rests on Solomon. David had made this known within the court (1 Chron. 22:9-10). Adonijah's entire campaign is a deliberate, conscious rejection of God's revealed will. He is not acting in ignorance. He is acting in open defiance.
By excluding Solomon, he reveals the fear at the heart of his bravado. He is trying to create a world, a kingdom, a reality in which Solomon does not exist. This is what all rebellion against God does. It tries to throw a party and not invite the true King. It tries to build a city and exclude the cornerstone. Our secular world is Adonijah's feast. It invites everyone to the party of self-fulfillment and personal autonomy, but it has one strict rule: do not mention the name of the true King, Jesus Christ. Do not invite Solomon.
Conclusion: The Uninvited King
This scene sets the stage for the triumph of God's grace over man's rebellion. Adonijah's plot is a textbook example of how not to obtain authority. It is built on pride, enabled by indulgence, supported by compromise, and consecrated with hypocrisy. It has all the appearance of strength, but it is a house of cards, because it is built against the declared purpose of God.
The world is full of Adonijahs. They exalt themselves, they gather their followers, they throw their feasts, and they pointedly ignore God's anointed Son. They believe that by ignoring the true King, they can make Him irrelevant. But while Adonijah and his cronies are feasting and congratulating themselves, Nathan and Bathsheba are in the presence of the true king, David, reminding him of God's promise. And soon, the sound of the trumpet proclaiming Solomon as king will shatter their self-congratulatory party.
The gospel is the announcement that God has already thrown His own coronation. He has exalted His Son, Jesus, and has given Him the name that is above every name. The kingdoms of this world, with all their proud boasts and political machinations, are but a temporary feast of fools. The sound of the gospel trumpet has gone out into all the world, and it announces that the uninvited Son is, in fact, the enthroned King.
Our task is to be like the mighty men. Our loyalty must be to King Jesus, not to the passing fads and political saviors of our age. We must not be swayed by the chariots and horsemen of worldly power. We must have the discernment to see who has been invited to the feast and, more importantly, who has been left out. And we must align ourselves with the one whom God has chosen, the true Solomon, the Prince of Peace, whose kingdom shall have no end.