1 Kings chapter 1In the first Chapter of 1Kings we have good opportunity to see how God teaches on many levels. This is often compared to the layers of an onion .When we look at the opening of the Chapter on the surface texts we have an age old story of the struggle over the Throne of Israel. King David appointed King over Israel by God is old, and dying. 1Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.Now it came to pass that Davids son Adonijah the fourth son of David (2 Sam. 3:4). After the death of his elder brothers Amnon and Absalom, he became heir-apparent to the throne 5Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before himSo it came to pass that Adonijah after conferring with council appoints himself King and goes about arranging a feast in his honor to make the announcement of his rise to the throne. However he did not invite, his younger brother Solomon, nor the priest Zadok, Nathan the prophet.nor other mighty men which were loyal to David 8But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah. 10But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not. Now David was not aware of what Adonijah had done So Bathsheba,Solomon's mother and the prophet Nathan conspire to tell David what is going on11Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not? David it seems had told Bathsheba that it was Solomen who would be heir to the throne and she goes into him to tell him whats going on that Adonijah has appointed himself king and even now prepares a feast in his own honor. This is futher wittnessed to by Nathan the prophet 17And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne. 18And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not: 22And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. 23And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground. 24And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? 25For he is gone down this day, and hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the king's sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save king Adonijah. 26But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not calledNow David was not pleased with this it was not his plan Adonijah was to become the King of Israel David had sworn by God that Solomon his younger son was to rule Israel 29And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress, 30Even 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. 31Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever. 32And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.So David calls together the priest his prophet and the son of Jehoiada and devises a plan to anoint Solomon the King of Israel 33The 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: 34And 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. 35Then 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. 36And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king say so too. 37As 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. And so it was Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet.and Beniah the son of Jehoiada did as David had told them and Solomon became the King of Israel.Now this is as I said above is the story on the surface text, the so called milk of the Word but is there more to this story than meets the eye of the average reader of scriptureIf we peel back a layer of the onion what else can we see in this story? Remember this is many hundreds of years before Christ was born but can you see type being painted here? Look closely at the three main loyal servants in this story they are the Priest, the prophet, and the son .. who is this re-mindful of ?What animal does Solomon ride on? is this simular to another animal that will be ridden into Jerusalem at a future time? There are at least three levels of teaching in this chapter can you peel the onion layers back and see what you can find ?