There is much temple imagery in 1 Kings chapter 1. David is on his death bed and Adonijah attempts to seize the throne. Bathsheba intervenes upon Nathan’s advice and approaches and bows before the king. Approaching the king is in likeness of approaching God. The king asks, “What wouldest thou?” (1 Kings 1:16).
David is not aware that Adonijah has gathered key leaders, such as the priest and the army commander and is preparing a sacrificial feast to declare himself the king. It was predetermined by David and the Lord that Solomon was supposed to be the new king. David said to Bathsheba, “Even as I sware unto thee by the Lord God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day” (1 Kings 1:30).
The phrase this day is a theme phrase called a Leitwort, (German for “leading word”) and it means that this will be a covenant-making day. There was a specific sign given to identify the king of Israel, and the sign was that the king would ride upon a mule, foreshadowing Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem in John 12.
The coronation proceeded per David’s instruction:
“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.
“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.” (1 Kings 1:38-39).
This started a tradition in ancient Israel that kings were coronated at or near a prominent water source, symbolizing Jesus Christ as the source of living water. Solomon rode the mule to the Gihon Spring. I have attached a Bible Map showing the city of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus. The Gihon Spring was just south of the temple. Eventually, King Hezekiah built a tunnel, which is still in operation as a tourist attraction. Hezekiah’s Tunnel diverted the water to flow inside the walls of the city and into the Pool of Siloam. Hezekiah did this to prevent the Assyrians from cutting off the water supply. (see photo below).
The Pool of Siloam was the site where Jesus healed a blind man in John 9. He spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle. Then He “anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay” and told him to go wash in the Pool of Siloam, “which is by interpretation, Sent.” Siloam is called Shiloah in Isaiah 8:6. These are the waters that “go softly.” This miracle entails a washing and an anointing. The Greek word for Sent in John 9:7 is apostello and is the origin of the word apostle. The apostles are sent into all the world to testify of Jesus Christ. Thus, Siloam can be seen as a pool of apostolic priesthood keys.
Zadok the priest took a horn of oil from the tabernacle to anoint Solomon. The horn symbolizes power, authority, and, in this case, protection. It was the horns of the ram caught in the thicket that provided Abraham and Isaac with a substitute sacrifice, so the horn has ties to the atonement of Jesus Christ. After Solomon is crowned, Adonijah fears for his life and seeks refuge as he catches hold onto the horns of the altar.
The oil used for anointing is what makes the king a Messiah type. He is actually seen by his subjects as a messiah. Oil symbolizes the Holy Ghost, and the anointing makes him subject to God. The trumpet was a ram’s horn (shofar in Hebrew) and always signaled an important event. The Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) signaled a new year. The day Joseph Smith received the gold plates from Moroni was a Rosh Hashanah, or Jewish New Year. That day was certainly a great event as it signaled a new dispensation.
The intent of the New and Everlasting Covenant described in Exodus 19:5-6 is to make us a nation of kings and queens and priests and priestesses.
