To Encourage You

1 Kings 1:28-40 “So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule and brought him to Gihon. There Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, ‘Long live King Solomon!’  And all the people went up after him, playing on pipes, and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth was split by their noise.”

In the passage above, we see those who were loyal to King David carrying out the commands he had given them concerning his son. It was a time of great turmoil in Israel. David was nearing the time of his death and his son Adonijah, sensing weakness, had put in place a scheme to usurp David’s throne.  We are told the following about Adonijah’s actions: “Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, ‘I will be king.’ And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him . . . He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest. And they followed Adonijah and helped him . . . Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened cattle by the Serpent’s Stone, which is beside En-rogel, and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the royal officials of Judah, but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the mighty men or Solomon his brother” (1 Kings 1:5-10). We are told that after Adonijah made these sacrifices, he held a great feast, celebrating all that he had done.  It was at this very same moment that David instructed those who were faithful to him to anoint Solomon as the king.  They were to blow a trumpet and proclaim “Long live King Solomon!” And they were to celebrate with great joy.  To summarize, at the very moment when Adonijah was declaring himself to be king, David’s servants were to declare Solomon, the prince whose name meant “peace,” as king. At the very moment that Adonijah’s followers were celebrating and feasting that HE was king, the servants of David were celebrating that Solomon was the true king. And so we see a shadow of the very things that are happening in our own day and age.  

We live in a world that, for the most part, is following the usurper as their king. They are celebrating with their own music. They have the attitude that is very well expressed with the words, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, and be merry” (Luke 12:19).   They are foolish words that reflect the attitude of their foolish and soon to be deposed king.  And all the while the servants of the Prince of Peace live with the attitude that “Though (they) have not seen (their king), (they) love him. (And) Though (they) do not now see him, (they) believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (1 Peter 1:8).  

You see, the world lives and acts with worldly joy. The Bible calls it “rejoicing at wrongdoing” (1 Corinthians 13:6a). It’s a short-lived joy, and it’s all an illusion, for the very things that cause them to rejoice now will bring terrifying consequences in the end.  On the other hand, the followers of Jesus are those who “rejoice in the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6b).  It’s because they are following the One Who alone is “the Truth” and Who has truthfully told them many things, “that (his) joy may be in (them), and that (their) joy may be full.”  That’s the eternal joy of the children of God, not the illusory joy of the soon to end kingdom of this world. 

So, what kind of joy do you know? Is that joy the real thing?