The Noise of Legitimate Joy Text: 1 Kings 1:38-40
Introduction: Two Parties, Two Cities
In every generation, and in every political contest, there are always two parties being held. One is the party of Adonijah, and the other is the party of Solomon. Adonijah’s party is held just outside the city, down at En-rogel. It is a feast of presumption, fueled by ambition and self-appointment. Adonijah "exalted himself, saying, 'I will be king.'" He gathered the usual suspects: a compromised priest, a disgruntled general, and all the king's sons except the chosen one. It was a conspiracy cooked up in the shadows, predicated on the idea that the king was old, weak, and out of touch. It was, in short, a political coup.
But then there is the other party. This one begins at the command of the true king, David. It is not a conspiracy; it is a coronation. It is not done in a corner, but publicly, at the Gihon spring, the water source of Jerusalem. It is not self-appointed; it is divinely appointed. And it does not end with fear and scattering, but with a joy so profound and thunderous that the very earth shook with the sound of it. This is the noise of legitimate joy. This is the sound of God's will being done on earth as it is in heaven.
Our text today describes this second party. It is a picture of true covenant succession. We live in an age that despises the very concept of succession, of inherited authority, of a kingdom given by God rather than grasped by man. Our world is the world of Adonijah, constantly trying to seize a throne that does not belong to it. But the Church is, or ought to be, the assembly of Solomon. We serve a King who was not self-appointed, but was anointed by the Father. And our response to His coronation should be nothing less than an earth-shaking gladness. This passage is not just ancient history; it is a permanent lesson in how God establishes His kingdom and how His people ought to celebrate it.
The Text
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. 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!” 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.
(1 Kings 1:38-40 LSB)
The Lawful Procession (v. 38)
We begin with the orderly and authoritative procession that stands in stark contrast to Adonijah's backroom feast.
"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." (1 Kings 1:38)
Notice who is involved here. This is not a mob; it is an official delegation. You have the three pillars of a godly kingdom: the priest, the prophet, and the sword. Zadok represents true worship and the authority of God's law. Nathan represents the prophetic word of God, the divine revelation that chose Solomon in the first place. And Benaiah, with the king's own bodyguard, the Cherethites and Pelethites, represents the legitimate use of force to uphold the king's command. When God establishes a government, He does so through established means. He is a God of order, not of revolutionary chaos.
Adonijah had Joab, the commander of the army, but David's loyalists had Benaiah, commander of the elite guard. Adonijah had Abiathar, a priest from a line under a curse, but David had Zadok, the faithful high priest. Adonijah had the other princes, but David had Nathan, the prophet who spoke for God Himself. Adonijah's support was wide, but it was hollow. The support for Solomon was narrow, but it was solid rock. It was the establishment, in the best sense of the word. It was God's establishment.
And the symbolism is potent. Solomon rides on King David's personal mule. This was not just a matter of transportation. In the ancient world, this was a clear, public sign of the king's designated heir. It was an unmistakable statement: "This is my successor. My authority now rests on him." When our Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem, He did so on a donkey, deliberately echoing this royal tradition and declaring Himself to be the true Son of David, the legitimate King. The procession moves to Gihon, the public water source. This is not done in secret. True authority does not need to hide. It is bold, public, and transparent. God's anointing happens in broad daylight.
The Sacred Anointing (v. 39)
At the Gihon spring, the central act of the drama unfolds. This is the moment of consecration.
"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!'" (1 Kings 1:39)
The oil comes from "the tent," meaning the Tabernacle where the Ark was housed. This is not just any oil; it is holy anointing oil, set apart for God's purposes. The act of anointing signifies being set apart by God for a specific office. It is a physical act that represents a spiritual reality. God is the one who truly anoints, and Zadok is merely His instrument. This act declares that Solomon's authority does not come from his bloodline alone, nor from his father's decree, and certainly not from his own ambition. It comes from God.
This is a foundational principle of all legitimate authority. All authority is delegated authority, flowing down from the throne of God. Any ruler who believes his authority originates with himself is a tyrant and a fool. Solomon is being set apart for a holy task: to govern God's covenant people according to God's law. The oil is a sign of the Spirit's equipping for this task. It is a prayer for wisdom, for justice, and for righteousness.
And what is the immediate response? The trumpet blast and the shout of the people. The trumpet is the sound of proclamation, the heralding of a great event. And the people's acclamation, "Long live King Solomon!" is not just a polite wish. In the Hebrew, it is a prayer: "May the king live!" It is their willing submission to and embrace of God's chosen ruler. They see what God is doing, and they joyfully consent. This is what a healthy nation looks like: God appoints, and the people rejoice.
The Earth-Shaking Joy (v. 40)
The conclusion of this scene is a crescendo of celebration, a stark and deafening contrast to the nervous feast of the conspirators.
"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." (1 Kings 1:40)
This is not manufactured enthusiasm. This is not a state-mandated parade. This is spontaneous, exuberant, overwhelming joy. The text says they were "glad with great gladness." The Hebrew piles it on to emphasize the intensity. This is the kind of joy that cannot be contained. It is loud, it is musical, and it is physical. The very ground vibrated with the force of their celebration. This is the sound of a people who know they are secure, who know that God's will has prevailed, and who are delighted with the king God has given them.
Why such joy? Because the alternative was civil war. The alternative was the bloody ambition of Adonijah. The alternative was chaos. The establishment of a rightful king means peace, order, and justice. It means the covenant is secure. When God's man is on the throne, the people can be glad with great gladness. Their joy is a theological statement. It is a confession of faith in the goodness of God's providence.
This is the sound that interrupts Adonijah's party. While they are finishing their meal, this wave of sound washes over them and their blood runs cold. The noise of legitimate joy is terrifying to tyrants and usurpers. They cannot understand it, and they cannot replicate it. All they can do is fear it, because it signals the end of their pathetic rebellion.
The Greater Solomon is Here
As with all Old Testament stories of kings and kingdoms, this whole event is a shadow, a type, a pointer to a greater reality. Solomon was the son of David, anointed to rule God's people. But he was a flawed son, and his kingdom, for all its glory, eventually crumbled. This anointing at Gihon points us forward to another anointing, not with oil from a horn, but with the Holy Spirit without measure.
Jesus Christ is the greater Solomon, the true Son of David. He did not exalt Himself, but was exalted by the Father. At His baptism in the Jordan, the heavens opened, and the Spirit descended upon Him, and the Father's voice declared, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." That was His anointing. He is the Christ, the Anointed One.
And His procession to the throne was not on a mule to Gihon, but on a cross to Golgotha, and from a tomb to the right hand of the Majesty on High. He secured His kingdom not through political maneuvering, but through His own blood. He defeated not a rival brother, but sin, death, and the devil himself.
And what should our response be? It must be the same as the people of Jerusalem. We are to be glad with a great gladness. The gospel is good news of great joy for all the people. The ascension of Jesus Christ to His throne is the ultimate reason for a joy that shakes the earth. Our worship, our singing, our obedience, our proclamation of the gospel, this is our trumpet blast. This is our shout of "Long live the King!"
The world, like Adonijah's cronies, is having its own little party. It is a feast of rebellion, a celebration of autonomy. And the joyful noise of the Church, the sound of psalms being sung, of the gospel being preached, of Christians living faithfully in a hostile world, is a terrifying sound to them. It is the sound of another King, another Kingdom, that is destined to fill the whole earth. Our joy is a weapon. Our gladness is a declaration of war. Let us, therefore, make such a joyful noise that the very foundations of the city of man begin to shake.