Commentary - 1 Chronicles 29:21-25

Bird's-eye view

This passage marks the magnificent and orderly transition of the kingdom from David to Solomon. It is a public, covenantal ceremony, saturated with the gospel from start to finish. We see three key movements here. First, there is an extravagant display of worship through sacrifice, which is the only proper response to God's faithfulness. Second, we witness the formal and public confirmation of Solomon as king and Zadok as priest, establishing the leadership for the new era. Third, the entire nation, from the highest officials to David's own sons, submits to Solomon's rule, a rule which is explicitly identified as God's own rule. The passage culminates with a declaration of how Yahweh Himself was the one who magnified and established Solomon, giving him a majesty that pointed forward to the majesty of the one who was to come.

This is not simply a political succession; it is a redemptive-historical event. The sheer scale of the sacrifices points to the immensity of the sin that needs covering and the boundless grace of the God who provides it. The feasting and gladness are a picture of the joy that is found in fellowship with God, made possible through that sacrifice. The anointing of Solomon and Zadok reestablishes the twin pillars of God's rule over His people, king and priest, which find their ultimate fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ. The willing submission of all Israel to Solomon is a type of the submission that all the redeemed will one day give to the true Son of David.

Outline

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 21 And on the next day they made sacrifices to Yahweh and offered burnt offerings to Yahweh, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.

The day after David's great charge to Solomon and the people, the response is not simply verbal assent. True faith acts. And the first act of a grateful people is always worship. Notice the sheer extravagance of it. A thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs. This is not a people trying to see how little they can get away with. This is a people overwhelmed by the goodness of God, and their worship reflects that overflowing gratitude. These are burnt offerings, or ascension offerings, where the entire animal goes up in smoke to God. This signifies total consecration, holding nothing back. It is a corporate declaration that "all of me belongs to all of Thee." And of course, we read this now on this side of the cross, and we know that these thousands of sacrifices were all pointing to the one, final, sufficient sacrifice of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This abundance was a shadow; Christ is the substance. The "sacrifices in abundance for all Israel" also likely include peace offerings, which leads directly into the next verse.

v. 22a So they ate and drank that day before Yahweh with great gladness.

Worship is not a funeral. Where there is true sacrifice and atonement, there is feasting and joy. The peace offerings were unique in that the worshiper, after giving God His portion, would receive the rest of the meat back to eat in a celebratory meal. So they are eating "before Yahweh," in His presence, as His guests. This is communion. This is fellowship. This is what the gospel produces: great gladness. Sin separates, but the blood of the sacrifice reconciles, and reconciliation is always a reason for a feast. This scene is a foretaste of the marriage supper of the Lamb, where all the redeemed will eat and drink in the presence of the Lord with a gladness that will have no end. Every time we come to the Lord's Table, we are participating in this same reality: we feast with God because of the great sacrifice He has provided.

v. 22b And they made Solomon the son of David king a second time, and they anointed him as ruler for Yahweh and Zadok as priest.

Now we come to the formal establishment of the new order. Why a "second time"? The first time (recorded in 1 Kings 1) was a hasty affair, a necessary emergency measure to thwart the attempted coup of Adonijah. That first anointing secured the throne. This second anointing celebrates the throne. This is the public, national, and joyful confirmation of God's will. He is anointed "as ruler for Yahweh." Solomon does not rule in his own right or by his own power. He is God's vice-regent. His rule is a stewardship, and he is accountable to the one who gave it. And right alongside the king, Zadok is anointed as priest. Kingdom and priesthood, throne and altar, are established together. You cannot have a godly kingdom without a faithful priesthood. You cannot have right rule without right worship. This points us directly to Christ, who is our great high priest and our everlasting king, the one who perfectly unites both offices in His person.

v. 23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of Yahweh as king instead of David his father; and he succeeded, and all Israel obeyed him.

This is a staggering statement. Solomon did not just sit on the throne of Israel, or the throne of David. He sat on "the throne of Yahweh." The Chronicler is making an explicit theological point: the Davidic kingdom was, in a real sense, God's own kingdom on earth. The king was to be a living, breathing demonstration of the character of God's rule. His justice was to be God's justice. His peace was to be God's peace. Of course, no earthly king could ever fulfill this perfectly, which is why the throne of Yahweh ultimately awaited its true occupant, Jesus Christ. But the principle is established here. Earthly authority, when legitimate, is derived from heavenly authority. And the result of this divinely appointed succession is success and obedience. When God establishes a thing, it prospers. When the people recognize God's hand, they obey. This is a picture of a well-ordered covenant community, living under the authority of God's appointed leadership.

v. 24 And all the officials, the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David pledged allegiance to King Solomon.

The unity is complete. It wasn't just the general populace, but the leadership class, the military heroes, and, most significantly, all the other potential claimants to the throne. "All the sons of King David" submitted themselves to Solomon. This is the opposite of the kind of bloody, treacherous successions that marked the pagan nations surrounding Israel. Here, there is willing, joyful submission to God's chosen man. This required humility on the part of David's other sons. They had to lay down their own ambitions and recognize the sovereign choice of God. This act of pledging allegiance was a covenantal act, an oath of loyalty that bound them to their new king. It is a model for how the church is to submit to her king, the Lord Jesus. We joyfully pledge our allegiance to Him, recognizing that He alone is the rightful heir.

v. 25 And Yahweh highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel, and granted to him royal majesty which had not been on any king before him in Israel.

The passage concludes by giving the ultimate credit where it is due. Solomon's success was not a result of his political maneuvering or his personal charisma. "Yahweh highly exalted Solomon." God is the one who raises up and the one who puts down. An anointing is a gift from God, not something that can be seized or manufactured. This exaltation was public, "in the sight of all Israel," so that no one could mistake the source of Solomon's authority. And the majesty granted to him was unparalleled. Not even Saul or David had a kingdom with this kind of splendor and glory. This was a fulfillment of God's promise to David, and it was a signpost pointing to an even greater glory. Solomon's majesty, for all its earthly wonder, was just a shadow. The true royal majesty belongs to the Son of David, who has been given a name that is above every name, and a kingdom that will never end.

Application

First, true worship is extravagant and joyful. It flows from a heart that has been overwhelmed by the goodness of God in the gospel. We should examine our own worship. Is it a grudging duty, or is it an overflowing, abundant feast? The gospel has secured for us a fellowship with God that is characterized by "great gladness."

Second, we must recognize that all legitimate authority comes from God. Solomon sat on the throne of Yahweh, reminding us that our leaders, whether in the family, church, or state, are stewards of an authority that is not their own. This means they are accountable to God for how they use it, and we are to honor the offices God has established.

Third, the unity displayed by Israel is a powerful picture for the church. The willingness of David's other sons to pledge allegiance to Solomon is a rebuke to the petty jealousies and rivalries that so often plague us. We are to submit ourselves to one another, and above all, to joyfully submit to our one true King, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Finally, we must remember that God is the one who exalts. Solomon's majesty was a gift. Our security, our success, and our hope do not rest in our own strength, but in the sovereign goodness of a God who keeps His covenant promises. The glory of Solomon's kingdom was a type, a shadow, meant to make us long for the substance. And that substance is the everlasting kingdom of Jesus Christ, a kingdom of which we are a part.