Contemplative Bible Reading

1 Kings 1:32-35 (New International Version)

³² King David said, “Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” When they came before the king, ³³ he said to them: “Take your lord’s servants with you and set Solomon my son on my own mule and take him down to Gihon. ³⁴ There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ ³⁵ Then you are to go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah.”

This is the coronation of the great King Solomon. The reigning King David instructs his closest advisers and leaders to anoint his chosen son to be the next King. What method of conveyance does David choose for this auspicious occasion?

set…my son on my own mule

Set Solomon on a mule? Is David kidding? Kings ride on stately animals or something like that. Just look at how Adonijah made his entry earlier in the chapter as he tried to steal the throne:

⁵ Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, “I will be king.” So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him. ⁶ (His father had never interfered with him by asking, “Why do you behave as you do?” He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.)

Adonijah was a fake, but at least he had style – horses, chariots, fifty men running ahead of him. Wow! What an entrance.

It seems that this “ride in on a mule” was a sign of a peaceful transition of power. Notice how the King of Kings enter Jerusalem a few hundred years later:

¹As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me…⁶The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. (Matthew 21)

Yes, ride in on a mule. That is the style of kings.