The False and the True King

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

THE FALSE AND THE TRUE KING

1 Kings 1:41-53

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. 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 a worthy man, 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."

NIV

This is now the culmination of the story of the false and the true king of Israel. Adonijah was nothing more than a false, self-made king, without any anointing from his father, Nathan the prophet, or Zadok the priest. Adonijah did have the support of Joab and Abiathar, but we are not told that they anointed Adonijah as king, only that they said they would support his claim to be king. He threw a big feast in honor of himself, and isn’t that just the way it is with any self-proclaimed puffed-up supposed leader? “Let me honor myself”, “let me make myself look great”, or any other self-centered, self-directed, glory. King David would have nothing to do with such an attempt to circumvent his authority in naming his successor, who he had sworn would be his son, Solomon. With the true king of Israel, after being anointed by Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet, sitting on the true throne of the kingdom of Israel, there was a resounding applause within Jerusalem and the sounding of trumpets. A great celebration with so much sound, it shook the ground. This is what Adonijah and his guests heard. He thought to himself, as Jonathan the priest arrived, that it must be good; the city was shouting for joy that he was the king, but that was not the case, because he was not a king, but only a false king, with no kingdom but his own. Solomon was now the true and rightful king of Israel, who had been declared so by his father, David, and anointed by Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet. As we know from the future events of Solomon, he was known as the wisest man to ever live. But one of his better qualities was his humble heart toward God, asking for a discerning heart so that he could govern, knowing right from wrong. One of the great truths we can learn from the scriptures is to have the anointing from God upon our lives. In a world that is full of people who strive to make themselves great, we humble ourselves before our Lord, the Almighty God of heaven and earth. Who are we, Oh Sovereign Lord, that you have taken us this far? Yet, that is exactly the right perspective to have in our lives as someone who believes God. He is the one who anoints, he is the one who directs our paths. He is the one who calls us to serve his purpose. He is the one who has all the authority and power over our lives. If we humble ourselves before him, He will do what He has declared in our lives. We cannot make ourselves great, sitting on our own throne, but He can do all things for us, in us, and through us, if we humbly serve Him, acknowledging Him as the True and Rightful King.