I Kings 1:45 says, “And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard.”
I like to hear a good old-fashioned bell ring. I attended the Orchard Prairie School as a boy. We would ring the bell in the bell tower when it was time for school to begin in the morning. We had to take turns so everyone that wanted to ring it got a chance. I read an article lately that there was a custom years later, (maybe after the new school building was built), that each student upon their first and last days of attendance were allowed to ring the bell at Orchard Prairie.
Our nation’s Liberty Bell has Leviticus 25:10 inscribed on it. “And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.”
In I Kings chapter 1, we see a crucial time for Israel. King David is laying on his death bed, his rule as king is coming to an end. It is his intention for Solomon, his son, to become the next king. During this leadership change, “…Adonijah the son of Hagith exalted himself, saying, I will be king:” (I Kings 1:5). He got a military leader, Joab, and a priest, Abiathar, to help him. Before long he had a great following saying “…God save king Adonijah.” (I Kings 1:25).
There will always be those that exalt themselves. This self exalting turned against Adonijah. When Solomon was anointed king by Zadok the priest, “…the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them” (V. 40). Adonijah heard this sound as the sound of the city ringing. This caused him to run for fear of Solomon and catch hold of the horns of the altar.
James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” Of course everyone is not going to be king—most would not care to be. Solomon was chosen by God to be king (I Chronicles 28:5). Solomon became a great king until he turned from the Lord.
Our nation is at a time of crises. We need a great leader. We need a leader anointed of the Lord. We need revival in our land so that we can follow a godly leader. Our nation was founded by godly men that gave us freedom. Freedom only came by humbling before God. We are about to lose our freedom because we have turned from God. If we are a nation under God, why don’t we fly the Christian flag above the American flag?
In Zechariah 14:2&3 the Lord said He would bring “all” nations to battle against Jerusalem and that He would fight against those nations. All means all! The United States is included. I think we are near that time. Freedom may never ring in our country again.
As much as I loved to ring that old school bell, as much as I love America and freedom, I think it is high time to “Ring the Bells of Heaven.” This old hymn by William O. Cushing and George F. Root, written in 1866, reminds us of how the angels rejoice when one sinner repents (Luke 15:10). Today is still the day of salvation. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He died for even one sinner. “He that winneth souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30). “Glory, glory! How the angels sing! Glory! Glory! How the loud harps ring!”
Freedom from sin is the greatest freedom. LET FREEDOM RING!
Amen! And hallelujah!