“So Tzadok the cohen, Natan the prophet, B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada, and the K’reti and P’leti went down, had Shlomo ride on King David’s mule and brought him to Gichon. Tzadok the cohen took the horn of olive oil out of the tent and anointed Shlomo. They sounded the shofar, and all the people shouted, “Long live King Shlomo!” All the people escorted him back, playing flutes and rejoicing greatly, so that the earth shook with the sound.”-1 Kings 1:38-40
Adoniyah may have put on quite an awesome display of pomp and grandeur by using the royal chariot, with 50 dudes sprinting in front of it like some Arabian cabaret.
Adoniyah even had esteemed government officials attend his ridiculous banquet.
But here’s the thing.
It didn’t mean diddly squat.
Sure, it was provocative, but it wasn’t a formal declaration of kingship.
And to be fair, Adoniyah wasn’t necessarily being a naughty, rebellious boy.
But his behavior was based on the false assumption that he would be king simply because he was the firstborn in the lineup of sons.
So this leads to the 64,000 dollar question.
If Adoniyah’s party wasn’t a formal declaration of kingship, what was?
Well, I’ll tell ya what it was, homies.
It was the fact that Solomon came riding in on David’s mule.
That was the sledgehammer that stopped everything.
No one, and I mean no one but the king, was allowed to ride on the king’s personal mule.
This was the indisputable proof that Solomon had been made king.
Afterward, the shofar was sounded to alert everyone within hearing distance.
Then the royal court began chanting, “Long live King Solomon.”
The common citizens soon joined in.
We’re told the shouts combined with the playing of flutes, drums, and all sorts of instruments were so loud that the ground itself reverberated.
What happened next was just as significant.
Tzadok took a special horn filled with olive oil from the tent where the Ark of the Covenant was.
To be clear, this was not the old wilderness Tabernacle, which had fallen apart long ago.
Anyway, Tzadok took this oil and anointed Solomon.
Two things of great significance are going on here that I don’t want you to miss.
First, the olive oil Tzadok applied to Solomon wasn’t the normal garden-variety olive oil you can just pick up at Walmart or something.
No homies, it was the special consecrated olive oil based on the formula prescribed in Exodus 30.
I’m talking about a mixture of myrrh, cinnamon, aromatic cane, and cassia.
The oil was not to be used on ordinary people, and no one was allowed to copy it.
It was holy and had to be treated with respect
The next thing that was mighty significant was that the true Torah-authorized high priest of the proper lineage was doing the anointing.
That was Tzadok, and not the false dude Evyatar
This was important because it would prevent future generations from disputing Solomon’s validity and right to the throne.
This is also why the genealogies are so important in Scripture.
Finally, things concluded with David’s personal bodyguard, B’nayah, throwing his Arnold Schwarzenegger-like bulk behind David and publicly declaring…
“Amen! May Yehoveh,
God of my lord the king,
confirm it.”
B’nayah was basically saying, “I confirm it, and I hope our God confirms it as well.”
Finally, Nathan, being an anointed prophet of God, his very presence itself was his confirmation.
Alrighty, so let’s switch over to the takeaway.
It kinda goes back to what I was saying yesterday.
Solomon wasn’t made king because of a bunch of noise, popularity, or appearances.
Adoniyah had all of the firecrackers and party poppers he needed…and it meant nothing.
The real proof came from the Torah-authorized signs:
Solomon rode on David’s mule.
This proved that the king’s authority had been transferred to him.
Solomon was anointed with holy oil.
This demonstrated that he was set apart by God.
Solomon was affirmed by both the true priest and prophet.
This indicated divine approval.
These are the things that settled that matter without debate or confusion.
And by the way, Solomon becoming king was not bad for a boy who was a product of parents who initially came together via adultery, don’t you think?
Fast forward a couple of centuries into the future.
Yeshua also entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey.
It wasn’t the same animal…but it was the same signal.
In that culture, a king riding a donkey or mule meant:
“This is the rightful king, coming in peace.”
So when Yeshua did that, He wasn’t being random.
He was stepping into the Solomon pattern that people already understood.
But he didn’t copy it exactly.
He fulfilled it.
Solomon pointed to a political kingdom.
Yeshua pointed to a millennial and everlasting kingdom.
Ya feel me?
Done.
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