Gospel Reflections #1180: God is speaking to us, saying, ‘Come to me.’

1 Kings 1:39 ‘Then Zadok the priest came out from the tent with the horn of oil and anointed Solomon. When they blew the trumpets, all the people shouted, “Long live Solomon!”’

This scripture depicts the historic moment when Solomon received God’s approval (the anointing) as the rightful new King of Israel, thereby making his accession to the throne a foregone conclusion.

At that time, Adonijah—the second son (and eldest surviving son) of the ageing King David—had gathered supporters and held a banquet in an attempt to seize the throne for himself without his father’s consent.

Upon learning of this, the prophet Nathan and King David, who was nearing the end of his life, took action to ensure that Solomon—the rightful successor promised by God—would be enthroned immediately. This verse describes the scene in which Solomon, led to the Spring of Gihon by David’s command, undergoes the formal ceremony.

The ‘tabernacle’ referred to here denotes the Tabernacle of God that had been erected in Jerusalem at that time.

Furthermore, the ‘oil’ brought out from there is the ‘holy anointing oil’, specially prepared for sacred rituals.

Moreover, the ‘horn’ is a vessel made from the horn of a ram, which in the Bible symbolises ‘power’ and ‘authority’.

In other words, this demonstrates that this accession was not the result of human political manoeuvring, but was based on absolute authority emanating from God’s sanctuary.

In the Bible, ‘anointing’ is proof that God has chosen a person and set them apart for a specific mission (as king, priest or prophet).

Through this, Solomon became, in name and in reality, ‘the king chosen by God’.

The sound of the ram’s horn was the signal publicly announcing the accession of the new king.

The fact that the people gathered at Gihon enthusiastically shouted, ‘Long live King Solomon!’, shows that the transfer of the kingship to Solomon was fully accepted by the people.

This event illustrates that ‘God’s promise’ (Solomon’s accession) ultimately triumphs over ‘human plans’ (Adonijah’s attempt to usurp the throne). This dramatic change of leadership encapsulates a key biblical theme: no matter how much those around us may try to advance matters through human effort, the plan established by God will be fulfilled without the slightest deviation.

We, too, sometimes find ourselves unable to wait for God’s promise and attempt to realise it ourselves, or try to ‘make up the shortfall’ in God’s promise; yet it is precisely at such times that we should exercise our faith.

I feel that when our hearts are restless because we cannot fully trust in God’s promises, it is precisely then that God is speaking to us, saying, ‘Come to me.’

God’s plan is for us to grow as His children and to live with Him, and He will certainly bring this to fulfilment.

AUTHOR'S BIO: This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, who resides in Hiroshima, Japan. Masae is a dedicated student of the Bible with a deep passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on Gospel perspectives to reach out to others and spread the message of God's true love through a Christ-centered approach. We are sharing her insights here so that you, too, can experience the joy that comes from knowing and understanding the true Gospel and the love of God through Jesus Christ.