Useful Bible Studies > 1 Kings Commentary > chapter 1
Adonijah had arranged a ceremony at En Rogel to make himself king (1:9). After the ceremony, there was a great meal for all his guests.
During the time while they ate their meal, David arranged for Solomon to become king at Gihon. These two places are only about 600 metres (700 yards) apart, along the same valley. So, of course, the people at Adonijah’s meal could hear the sounds from Solomon’s ceremony.
Those sounds worried Adonijah’s guests - they did not know what was happening. Usually, near a city, you would hear constant noise. All day, you would hear the sound as women carried out the hard work to make grain into flour (Ecclesiastes 12:4). People would be shouting in the market and children would be playing in the streets. However, these usual sounds had stopped - and instead, there were music and shouts of joy.
It was the sound of the trumpet that worried Joab, Israel’s chief army leader and one of Adonijah’s guests. For the last 40 years, by day and by night, Joab had listened constantly for that sound. Trumpets were the loudest musical instruments and people used them as a signal for war. So, the sound of the trumpet was an alarm. Army commanders like Joab used it to order the men to gather for war. So, for Joab, that sound meant that there was great danger.
Actually, people were sounding their trumpets joyfully, because Solomon had become king. However, for Joab, that still was a situation of great danger, because he had supported Adonijah and not Solomon. Adonijah had no right to make himself king - so Joab was supporting a man who was trying to organise a revolution against Solomon and against David. Now that Adonijah had failed, Joab’s life was in danger.
Next part: Jonathan tells Adonijah that Solomon is king (1 Kings 1:42-43)
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© 2024, Keith Simons.