Commentary - 1 Kings 1:38-40

Bird's-eye view

This passage records the decisive and public establishment of Solomon as king, acting as the definitive counter-move to Adonijah's presumptuous and self-serving coup. While Adonijah feasted with his cronies in a bid to seize power, the legitimate authorities of Israel, acting on David's command, perform the covenantal ceremony that installs God's chosen man on the throne. This is not a quiet, backroom deal; it is a loud, joyful, and divinely sanctioned procession and anointing. The scene is a study in contrasts: the illegitimate king is surrounded by fear and political maneuvering, while the true king is surrounded by the instruments of God's authority, priest, prophet, and loyal guard, and the ecstatic joy of the people. The anointing at Gihon is a foundational moment, a powerful type that points forward to the anointing and enthronement of the greater Son of David, Jesus Christ, whose kingdom is established not with political calculation but with divine power, and whose reign brings an earth-shaking joy that silences all pretenders to the throne.

The central theme is the triumph of God's ordained plan over human ambition. Adonijah's rebellion was an attempt to write his own story, to force his own will upon the kingdom. But God's promise to David would not be thwarted. The actions here are swift, deliberate, and public, demonstrating that true authority flows from God through His appointed means. The oil from the tabernacle, the blast of the trumpet, and the roar of the people all serve to ratify a decision already made in heaven. This is a picture of how God's kingdom always advances: not by the will of man, but by the sovereign decree of God, resulting in a celebration that shakes the foundations of the old, rebellious order.

Outline

Context In 1 Kings

This passage is the climax of the succession crisis that opens the book of 1 Kings. King David is old and feeble, and his ambitious son Adonijah has seized the opportunity to declare himself king, gathering the support of key figures like Joab, the military commander, and Abiathar, one of the chief priests. This was a direct challenge to God's revealed will and David's own promise that Solomon, the son of Bathsheba, would inherit the throne. Nathan the prophet and Bathsheba intervene, reminding David of his promise and urging him to act decisively. The events of verses 38-40 are David's direct and authoritative response. This is not merely one faction winning out over another; it is the covenant promise of God being upheld against a rebellion. This anointing definitively settles the question of succession and sets the stage for Solomon's long and glorious, though ultimately tragic, reign. It also serves as the immediate cause for the collapse of Adonijah's conspiracy, which we see in the verses that follow.

Key Issues

The Sound of the True Kingdom

There are two parties happening simultaneously in Jerusalem. One is up at En-rogel, where Adonijah is feasting with his political allies. It is a self-congratulatory affair, built on ambition and presumption. The other is down at the Gihon spring. This one is commanded by the true king, executed by the true priest and prophet, and centered on the true heir. The first party is making the noise of political maneuvering. The second party is making the noise of genuine worship and celebration. And the sound of the second party is about to drown out and utterly terrify the first. This is always the way of it. The kingdoms of men make their noise, they scheme and they plot and they feast, thinking they have secured their own future. But then the sound of the true kingdom breaks in, the blast of the trumpet of God, the shout of the redeemed, and the foundations of their little world are shaken. The joy that erupts around Solomon is not manufactured political enthusiasm; it is the spontaneous gladness of a people who see God's will being done. It is an "earth-shaking" joy, a foretaste of that final joy when the kingdom of this world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever.

Verse by Verse Commentary

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 brought him to Gihon.

The action is immediate and decisive. Notice who is involved. This is not a rogue operation; it is the establishment acting in concert. You have the priest, Zadok, representing the authority of worship and the law. You have the prophet, Nathan, representing the direct word of God. And you have Benaiah and the king's personal bodyguard, the Cherethites and Pelethites, representing legitimate civil and military power. This is God's order: throne, altar, and prophet's word, all aligned. Adonijah had the renegade general and the compromised priest, but Solomon has the true instruments of God's rule. Solomon riding on David's own mule is a potent and public symbol. This is not a seizure of power; it is a direct, visible transfer of authority from the reigning king to his designated heir. It is a living parable of the Father giving all authority to the Son. They go down to Gihon, the source of Jerusalem's water, its life. This anointing, this establishment of the kingdom, is happening at the very fountainhead of the city's existence.

39 Zadok the priest then took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!”

Every element here is freighted with covenantal significance. Zadok, the faithful priest, takes the oil. But not just any oil. It is from "the tent," the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God. This is sacred oil, set apart for holy purposes. The anointing is not a mere political gesture; it is a consecration, a setting apart of Solomon for a divine task. He is being marked as God's man. This act is the source of the title Messiah, or Christ, which means "Anointed One." Solomon is here a type, a pointer to the ultimate Anointed One who would be anointed not with oil, but with the Holy Spirit without measure. As soon as the anointing is done, the trumpet sounds. This is the official announcement, the royal fanfare that declares a new reality. The king is enthroned. And the people respond rightly. They don't make him king; they recognize the king who has been made. Their shout, "Long live King Solomon!" is the human affirmation of the divine appointment. It is the earthly echo of heaven's decree.

40 And all the people went up after him, and the people were playing on flutes and were glad with great gladness, so that the earth shook at their sound.

The response is not a quiet, dignified nod of approval. It is an explosion of joy. The procession goes back up to the city, but now it is a parade, a festival. They are playing flutes, a sound of celebration, not of war. And the text emphasizes the sheer magnitude of their joy with the phrase "glad with great gladness." This is not the nervous, calculated cheer of a political rally. This is the uninhibited delight of a people secure in God's provision. The result is a sanctified hyperbole: the sound was so immense, the joy so profound, that it was as if the earth itself was shaking. This is what happens when God's king is on the throne. True, godly order does not produce grim-faced austerity; it produces overwhelming, foundation-rattling joy. The sound of this joy is what will shortly strike terror into the hearts of Adonijah and his guests. The glad noise of the saints is a terror to the wicked. This is a postmillennial picture in miniature: the song of the redeemed growing louder and louder throughout history until the whole earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.

Application

This passage presents us with a clear choice between two kingdoms. There is the kingdom of Adonijah, which is the kingdom of self-promotion. It is built on ambition, presumption, and a desire to seize for oneself what God has not given. It has the appearance of strength, with the famous general and the established priest, but it is hollow and illegitimate. Then there is the kingdom of Solomon, which is the kingdom of divine appointment. It is received, not grasped. It is established through God's ordained means, His Word (the prophet) and His sacraments (the anointing by the priest). The first kingdom ends in fear and collapse. The second is inaugurated with an earth-shaking joy.

We are constantly tempted to join Adonijah's party. We are tempted to build our own little kingdoms, in our homes, our careers, our churches, through our own strength and maneuvering. We try to anoint ourselves. But God resists the proud. The path to true authority and true joy is the path of Solomon, which is ultimately the path of Christ. It is the path of submission to the Father's will. We must recognize the one whom God has anointed, Jesus Christ, and joyfully submit to His reign. Our lives should be characterized not by the anxious scheming of the usurper, but by the glad procession of the redeemed. And our worship, our corporate life as the church, should be so full of "great gladness" in our King that the sound of it shakes the foundations of the unbelieving world around us. We are not trying to build a kingdom; we are celebrating the King who has already been enthroned.