Bathsheba spoke with David first and then she withdrew and waited outside his chambers while Nathan spoke with him. Nathan has now withdrawn outside his chambers and David calls Bathsheba back in to reaffirm his promise to her to make Solomon his heir. "Then King David said, 'Call in Bathsheba.' So she came into the king's presence and stood before him. The king then took an oath: 'As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, I will surely carry out this very day what I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel: Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place.' Then Bathsheba bowed down with her face to the ground, prostrating herself before the king, and said, 'May my lord King David live forever!'" (1 Kings 1:28-31)
Her words, "May the king live forever!" was a common blessing spoken in the ancient world to express thanks and goodwill and respect toward the king. Bathsheba knows David won't live forever. He's almost at the end of his life already, which is why Adonijah thought he could get away with his scheme. Adonijah chose a time when his father was still alive (but not long for this world) to make his move because if he waits until David dies he knows David's top men will carry out his will by placing Solomon on the throne. But he also chose a time when he thought David was too far gone to put a stop to his claim to the kingship. He miscalculated how close to death David actually was and he miscalculated the ability of the Lord to equip David with the strength he needs to block Adonijah's attempt to keep Solomon from ascending to the throne.
David wastes no time in getting a handle on this urgent situation. "King David said, 'Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.' When they came before the king, 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. There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, 'Long live King Solomon!' 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.'" (1 Kings 1:32-35)
You'll recall that Zadok the priest and Abiathar the priest have been serving as co-high priests for some time now, which is not an ideal situation and certainly is not how the Lord told Moses the priesthood was to be set up. I'm assuming that when Abiathar went over to Adonijah's side he anointed him as king. The Bible doesn't say so anywhere, as far as I can tell, but I think the main reason Adonijah invited Abiathar to his sacrificial ceremony (and the main reason he conducted a sacrificial ceremony at all) was to give an aura of religious legitimacy to his claim to the throne. It would make sense to believe the priest anointed Adonijah on this occasion. But the anointing is not legitimate because it goes against the will of God. Zadok the priest will anoint Solomon as king and this anointing will be legitimate because Solomon is the man the Lord has chosen to follow David as Israel's leader.
I am sure David longs to go with the men so he can see Solomon publicly anointed and declared king of Israel. He is physically unable to do this so he orders the men to place Solomon on his own mule to show everyone that Solomon has his endorsement as king of Israel. No one could have ridden the king's mule unless the king gave it into his custody. David would not have given his mule into the custody of any man except the one to whom he plans to hand the crown.
David knows he can trust the faithful priest Zadok, his top spiritual advisor Nathan, and Benaiah the captain of the king's special guard. None of these men were invited to Adonijah's sacrifice and feast because he knew they were firmly on David's side and could not be persuaded to betray him. In addition, he knows they would have stood up and opposed the claim he was making on the throne. He wanted to be anointed and declared king before these men had time to realize what he was doing. He hoped they and his father would accept his actions as a "done deal", for he doesn't realize his father still has all the mental sharpness he ever had. Upon learning that his father could no longer even maintain his body heat no matter how many blankets were heaped upon him, I think Adonijah assumed David was rendered incapable of understanding the situation at hand or doing anything about it. This causes me to think he may not have visited his ailing father lately, which is another black mark upon Adonijah's character.
"Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, 'Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. 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!'" (1 Kings 1:36-37) It's easy to see why David chose this man to be the captain of his special guard. He is clearly a man with a heart for the Lord. He's a man who cares about David and Solomon too; his words reflect the heart's desire of any good parent---that their children would prosper even more than they themselves have prospered. When Benaiah says he hopes the Lord makes Solomon's throne even greater than David's, this is something David himself wants for his son Solomon. Benaiah and David are on the same page, so to speak, and this why David knows he can trust him.
"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. 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!' And all the people went up after him, playing pipes and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with the sound." (1 Kings 1:38-40) You may have heard of the Gihon Springs. It was the primary source of natural water in the area of Jerusalem and that means it was a busy gathering place for people and their animals. It was one of the most crowded public places the men could have taken Solomon to anoint him as king. In addition to those who were gathered at the springs, it sounds like a large number of people from the city were made aware of what was about to take place and they formed a joyful procession to follow Solomon to Gihon to see him proclaimed king of Israel. There were so many people, and the sound of their voices and their musical instruments was enough to shake the ground---something that will not escape the notice of Adonijah and his guests in tomorrow's text as they feast at the Stone of Zoheleth. When the news of what has transpired is brought to Adonijah, his guests will desert him in a panic. Adonijah, knowing his plans have been firmly and permanently thwarted by the father he thought was weak enough to outsmart, will beg King Solomon for mercy.
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