1 Kings 1:32

1 Kings 1:32 says, And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.  David called Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, a military leader, to him.  These were God's representatives and the military leader who had not followed Adonijah.  When we are looking for successors in the church today, we must look to God first and also to other Christians we feel certain are following His leadership.  Verse thirty-three adds, The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:  David told them to take his servants and go get Solomon and bring him to Gihon riding on David's own mule.  Matthew Henry says David did not keep a herd of horses as Solomon would.  Still, since Solomon would be accompanied by David’s servants and riding his mule, it would show David’s endorsement of Solomon.  I don't believe we should ever keep things that may look better when something less  expensive is just as good if not better to meet our needs.  Verse thirty-four continues, And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon. David told Zadok and Nathan to anoint Solomon king there at Gibon and then sound the trumpet and pronounce Solomon as king so that the people would be able to hear that he was the new king.  We need to make sure that we have God's endorsement of church leaders, but more importantly we need to accept Jesus Christ as the King of our life and let the world know that He is.  Verse thirty-five states, Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.  David said that they should then bring Solomon to sit on his throne, because he had anointed Solomon to replace him as king.  As Christians, we have replaced everyone and everything else with Jesus Christ as our King, and He can never be replaced.   Verse thirty-six adds, And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king say so too.  Benaiah said that they would do as David said, because God had said this was what needed to be done.  He may not have been one of the religious leaders, but he recognized God's will.  We may not be a leader in the church today, but as Christians we must still be able to know God's will is being followed when we select our leaders.  Verse thirty-seven continues, As the LORD hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.  Benaiah then asked that God be with Solomon as He had been with David and to make Solomon's rule even greater than David’s had been.  As Christians, we should always pray that the next preacher or religious leader will help God's kingdom grow even larger, but our King, Jesus Christ, will never change.  Verse thirty-eight says, So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon.  Those that David had commissioned to go get Solomon did as he had instructed them to do.  We as followers of Christ should always do what He leads us to do through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Verse thirty-nine adds, And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon.  Zadok anointed Solomon as king, and they blew the trumpet to announce the fact while also proclaiming, "God save king Solomon."  I believe that this was a pronouncement that this was not only David’s will, but was God's as well.  Whatever we do as Christians, we need to make sure that is not just the will of some person or group of people but that it is God's will first,  Verse forty continues, And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them.  The people followed after Solomon rejoiced so greatly that it shook the earth.  We need this same kind of praise for our King, Jesus Christ, today.