David Makes Solomon King (Solomon): In response to Adonijah’s attempted coup, King David acted quickly to ensure that Solomon was his successor. When David’s plan worked, he responded in worship for God’s faithfulness to keep his word. When faith is a battle and it’s hard to believe, even when it seems as if the whole world is against you, don’t forget this one simple truth: God never breaks his promises. Recorded on Sep 28, 2025, on 1 Kings 1:32-53 by Pastor David Parks.
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This sermon is part of the Solomon: The Legacy of a King series. King Solomon was a complex man whose story started some 3,000 years ago, when David, his father, was the most powerful and successful king of ancient Israel. David’s reign brought peace, prosperity, and plans to build the temple before handing the kingdom to Solomon. How would King Solomon handle living in the shadow of his great father’s legacy? Would he learn to be a wise and godly king? Could he overcome the plotting of his enemies, the dysfunction of his family, and the temptations of virtually unlimited wealth, fame, and women? What would be his legacy? Solomon’s story is a vital part of the history leading up to the ultimate son of David and anointed king, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sermon Transcript
We’re working through a sermon series called Solomon: The Legacy of a King, which follows the story and some of the writings of one of the most important ancient kings of Israel, King Solomon. And we said that Solomon’s story started some 3,000 years ago, when David, his father, was the most powerful and successful king of ancient Israel. David’s reign brought peace, prosperity, and plans to build the temple before handing the kingdom to Solomon. At least, that was the plan. Last week, we saw that Solomon faced a threat to his life and leadership of the highest level before he even took the throne. A potential rival for the crown emerged from within his own family when Adonijah, one of his half-brothers, started acting like the king and then arrogantly declared himself to be the king. We saw David promise to deal with it, but we had to wait until today to see how David’s response would play out. But before we get into it, this passage is one of those sneaky Bible passages. On the surface level, it seems to be merely the historic record (this happened, then this happened, and so on). But it’s so much more than that. In fact, it’s passages like these in the Bible that are so incredibly helpful when your faith is failing. Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever struggled to believe? Has it ever been hard to believe something that God said? Or have you ever wrestled with whether you believe in God at all? The Christian is not immune to questions and doubts. Pastors are immune to questions and doubts. At times, faith is a battle for everyone. What can we do? Well, there are a number of things that help us fight this battle of faith. But today, in our story, we’ll be reminded of a simple truth we must remember when our faith seems to be failing. Now let’s get into it. If you have your Bible/app, please open it to 1 Kings 1:32.
1 Kings 1:32–40 (NIV), “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.” Ok! So, last week, we saw that at the end of David’s life, when he was very weak and frail and out of touch, Nathan the prophet and Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, made a plan to try to stop Adonijah from stealing the crown from Solomon. David had publicly declared that God had chosen Solomon to be his successor. But Adonijah was the oldest living son of David, which normally meant he would be the next king. Adonijah was also a handsome prince (meaning he looked like a king) and, unfortunately, he was spoiled by his father, David. He was never told no. So in his arrogance and pride, Adonijah thought he could claim the throne for himself. He rode around in a chariot with fifty men running ahead of him, and he assembled powerful officials who would support his rule. They met at the Stone of Zoheleth near En Rogel, a spring to the south of Jerusalem. Now, En Rogel wasn’t the main water source of the city. It was an out-of-the-way place that was probably chosen so that David and his loyal followers wouldn’t discover what he was up to right away. By the way, the Stone of Zoheleth translates as the Serpent’s Stone. And I wonder if anyone saw the irony of celebrating someone trying to make himself king against the very word of God at a place called the Serpent’s Stone? Wasn’t it the devil, that ancient serpent of the Garden of Eden, who first questioned and twisted God’s word to serve his own destructive purposes? Anyway, when Nathan and Bathsheba heard about this, they both went to David to tell him what was happening right under his nose. Well, David immediately went to work. He called in his loyal officials, including Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, the general. And David commanded them to put Solomon on his own mule (a sign that he had the authority of the king) and bring him to Gihon. Why? Gihon was the main water source for the city of Jerusalem, which meant it would’ve been packed with people in the middle of the day. David said the prophet and priest should anoint Solomon as king, just as David had been anointed to be the king by the prophet Samuel, and then they were to have Solomon come and sit on David’s throne. Every step was intended to send a clear message to the nation: Solomon was the new king who sat on David’s throne, not Adonijah! Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah quickly did all this and then blew the trumpet, publicly announced him to be the king, and the people responded with loud singing and celebrating. Well, how would the Serpent King, Adonijah, and his loyal followers respond to all this? Would they try to fight back?
1 Kings 1:41-50 (NIV), “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.” Fear. Fear was their response. And rightly so! They knew their little rebellious coup was over. Nathan and Bathsheba’s plan had worked. Adonijah knew he was a dead man. All his guests who had just been partying went running, probably looking for a plausible alibi. (“Weren’t you at Adonijah’s party?” “Never heard of him!”) Well, Jonathan brought news not only of everything David had commanded for Solomon and how it was done, but also of David’s response of worship. Now, David was not a perfect man. We’ve seen that already in this series. But this was really a good thing for David to do. Why? Because when David saw that the will of God was done/accomplished, his response was to worship. That is good and right. Even in his old age, even in his weakness, even from his bed, he praised the Lord, the God of Israel. Why? For his faithfulness to do what God had promised to David that he would do. Let’s come back to this theme of promise/fulfillment in a bit. But for now, why did Adonijah run to the Tabernacle and take hold of the horns of the altar? Did you notice that? Was Adonijah trying to worship, like his father David? Or to beg forgiveness from the Lord for disobeying his word? No. He was just trying to save his skin. And he figured that no one would kill him in that holy place. Maybe Solomon would be more likely to extend mercy to him instead of justice here in this place of forgiveness of sins? One question might’ve been, would Adonijah have extended this kind of mercy to Solomon if his coup had worked? We’ll never know. But what would Solomon do? I doubt Adonijah had a full change of heart. I doubt he was truly repentant. Adonijah didn’t run to the Tabernacle to confess his sins and look for mercy. He was caught, and this was an attempt to get out of the consequences of his own actions. But if Solomon extended mercy instead of judgment, would his brother cause him problems later? Let’s see what Solomon decided.
1 Kings 1:51-53 (NIV), “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.” This is God’s word. So King Solomon’s first act as the king was an act of mercy for his half-brother. He saved a life he had every right to take. But again, will this cause problems later? We’ll find out in the weeks ahead. But for now, let’s zoom in on why David responded in worship to Solomon being made king. Why did David worship? Well, it was more than just the fact that David felt thankful to God for his son being made king. If Adonijah had remained king, the same would’ve been true. David still would’ve had a son on the throne. No, David worshiped the Lord because he was able to see a prophecy of God fulfilled with his own eyes. In the history of God’s people, this was typically rare. Most of the prophecies, or promises of God, in the Old Testament took decades or even centuries to be fulfilled. For example, when the Lord spoke through Isaiah, he said that his suffering servant would be killed for the sins of others, but would rise again from the dead. But it took almost 700 years to see that prophecy fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ. As Jesus himself taught, many prophets and righteous people longed to see these promises fulfilled. But what prophecy/promise did David see fulfilled here? The answer is, there were two main prophecies, one the Lord gave directly to David and one the Lord gave to David through the prophet Nathan. Let’s look at Nathan’s prophecy first. And this passage is so important for the rest of our series. We’ll refer back to this at a number of points. 2 Samuel 7:12–16 (NIV), “12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” So here, God tells David that he will establish his eternal kingdom, the kingdom of God, through the house and line of David. God will be his father, so he will be the beloved son of God. (Does this sound familiar to anyone? A Messiah-King and beloved Son of God who would reign and rule over the kingdom of God forever and ever??? Christians have one name in their minds right now.) But when David heard this promise, he was blown away. “Who am I, Sovereign Lord…” that you would do all this for me and my family? (2Sa 7:18) Now, as is often the case with prophecies, there is an immediate fulfillment and a long-term greater fulfillment. The immediate fulfillment of this promise of God through the prophet Nathan was that one of David’s sons would be the king after him, and the Lord would establish his throne and kingdom forever. What a promise, right? But which son would it be? As we said last week, David had many sons. Let’s look at the second prophecy given directly to David in 1 Chronicles 22:7–10 (NIV), “7 David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. 8 But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9 But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10 He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’” Ok! So this is where God chose Solomon to be the next king, and also that he would be the one to build the temple that David wanted to build as a house for the Lord. So in 1 Kings 1, when Solomon is finally crowned king, David responds in worship because God’s promise was fulfilled. He saw the prophecy come true with his own eyes. What a gift. And what do we do when we get a gift? We say thank you. This was why David worshipped the Lord. But what does any of this have to do with when we can’t seem to see God or understand what he’s doing, when it’s hard for us to believe, and when faith is a battle? Well, first of all, even in the face of the most credible and powerful threat, God’s purposes will not be thwarted. Adonijah was a real threat to Solomon becoming the king. He had the influence, he had the birthright, and he had the looks. But that wasn’t enough to stop God’s plan. Even the best, the wealthiest, or the most powerful person in the world couldn’t make God break his promises. But it’s not just God’s promises to David. We see God give prophecies throughout time and throughout the Scriptures. The Bible was written over a period of about 1500 years by something like 40 authors who used multiple different literary genres, but they all tell the same story of God’s faithfulness to do what he says he will do. God promised David that Solomon would be the king, and Solomon was the king. David took God at his word when he received those promises, and then he worshipped when he saw God do what he had promised to do. So how about you? Do you really trust God’s word? Do you really trust that God will do what he has promised to do, even when it looks like all the powers of this dark world are against it? I know that faith can be hard at times. I know what it’s like to have questions and doubts about God’s plan or even God’s faithfulness. Back when I was going through assessment by our denomination for church planting, I took a series of personality assessments, and I can’t remember which one it was, but one of the reports I got back about my personality was that I was the least likely to believe in a higher power. I thought, “Oh, that’s gonna be so helpful for me as a pastor!” But I understand that sometimes it’s hard to believe. Would you remember this simple truth: God never breaks his promises. The whole Bible tells that story again and again. God has a 100% record of faithfulness. I like to say God calls his shots. A lot of the Bible is God saying, “This is what I’m going to do,” then it describes God doing what he said, and then God says, “I told you that is what I was going to do.” God wants us to believe he is faithful. He wants us to know that we can trust him. God kept his promises to David. But he kept his promises to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and countless others before him. If we kept going, we would see that God kept his promises to Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and so many more, all the way down to a young couple living north of Jerusalem, up in the small town of Nazareth in Galilee. This couple happened to be of the house and line of the ancient king David, who had lived a thousand years before them. It was Mary and Joseph who received a promise from God that they would give birth to and raise the long-term fulfillment of God’s promises to David. God was entrusting the true Messiah-King and the true beloved Son of God to them, and his name would be Jesus, for he would save people from their sins. How would Jesus do this? By fulfilling God’s promises for his suffering servant from Isaiah 53. Jesus would suffer and die on a cross for the sins of the world. But he would rise again from the dead, breaking the power of sin and death forever for those who trust in him for salvation. This is why faith is the means of receiving God’s grace. God has already accomplished everything needed for your salvation in Christ. All you have to do is believe it and trust him with your life. But then, maybe years later, when you have an unexpected loss or you find yourself in painful conflict with a family member or you feel like you’re in a fog and you don’t know which way to turn, maybe it feels as if all the powers of this dark world are against you, don’t forget this simple truth: God never breaks his promises. You can trust him. He is faithful. We saw this in our passage today, we see it again and again in the Bible, and this strengthens our faith when we are weak. Praise the Lord. Thank you, Lord. Let us pray.
