"The next day they made sacrifices to the Lord and presented burnt offerings to Him: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the Lord that day. Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him before the Lord to be ruler and Zadok to be priest." (1 Chronicles 29:21-22) Some scholars place this celebration after the death of David because they feel it was necessary to confirm Solomon as king again after his father and co-regent passed away. But the author of 1 Chronicles doesn't present the material to us in that order. He tells us of the second coronation ceremony before he speaks of the death of David. I don't see any problem with believing that the confirmation of Solomon as king for the second time occurred while David was still living. It seems natural to me that, because he was anointed as king outside the city in a hastily arranged ceremony, the people would want to honor him with a much larger ceremony after they've all had time to hear the news. The people want to rejoice with their new king and they hold a celebration in which they give thanks to the Lord for placing His chosen man on the throne.
It is necessary also to confirm Zadok as the high priest of Israel---as the only high priest. For many years he has been co-high priest with Abiathar but Abiathar rebelled against David and against the Lord by supporting Adonijah's bid for the throne. Solomon will soon depose Abiathar and dismiss him from the city, instructing him to go home to his lands at Anathoth and stay there. Having two high priests in the first place was a violation of the Lord's instructions to Moses about how the priesthood was to function.
There is no doubt now whatsoever that Solomon will succeed David as king. It is a done deal. The majority of the people get on board with this and pledge their loyalty to him. We can't assume everyone who pledges their loyalty to him prefers him over Adonijah but they vow to serve him as their king, which is their duty. You'll recall that his brothers attended Adonijah's feast at which he had himself declared king. We can't be certain they knew the purpose of the feast beforehand but they didn't get up and leave once the purpose became clear to them. They were still feasting with Adonijah when word came to the dining hall that Solomon had been anointed king at Gihon. But now that their brother is seated on the throne, they must accept the situation as it is. "So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him. All the officers and warriors, as well as all of King David's sons, pledged their submission to King Solomon. The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had before." (1 Chronicles 29:23-25)
Now that this public matter has been settled, David has fatherly advice to give his son in private. We will begin our look at these words today and conclude studying them tomorrow. "When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son. 'I am about to go the way of all the earth,' he said. 'So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to Him, and keep His decrees and commands, His laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep His promise to me: 'If your descendants watch how they live, and if they will walk faithfully before Me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.'" (1 Kings 2:1-4)
The Lord made this promise to David in 2 Samuel 7. Part of this promise is conditional upon David's descendants remaining faithful to the Lord. As we'll learn as we move through our study of the kings, many of them did not remain faithful to the Lord. This is why there is no throne and no king today. But part of the promise isn't conditional upon anything man will or will not do. The promise that the Messiah of the line of David will someday sit on David's throne and rule the world forever depends solely on the Lord's faithfulness. This will be accomplished because it is the Lord's will to accomplish it. As the prophet Isaiah said when he foresaw the coming King, "The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this." (Isaiah 9:7b)
Solomon will make mistakes. His son will make mistakes and the kingdom will split in two. His son's son and all the men born down the line will make mistakes until, as judgment for idolatry, the Lord allows Jerusalem to fall to the Babylonians. From that time on there has been no king. But the Lord's promise has not been made void. He will do as He has said, for He testifies of Himself, "I will not violate My covenant or alter what my lips have uttered. Once for all, I have sworn by My holiness---and I will not lie to David---that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before Me like the sun; it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky." (Psalm 89:34-37) David's line will continue forever and David's throne will continue forever in the person of the One who lives forever: the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ who is a direct descendant of King David. He will reign from David's throne forever and the Lord's promise will be fulfilled in Him.
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