1 Kings 2:1-4

I. DAVID'S LAST COUNSEL TO Song of Solomon 2:1-11

It is uncertain how much time elapsed between the events recorded in chapter 1 and the death of David recorded in chapter 2. After the Adonijah incident, and in his fortieth and final year of reign, David convoked a national assembly. Undoubtedly his purpose in so doing was to provide as much as possible for a smooth transition of power to his son. During the course of this assembly of national leaders, David made several important moves. (1) He organized the religious personnel as well as (2) certain civil officers (1 Chronicles 23-27); (3) he publicly endorsed Solomon before the assembly and asked for their support of the young king (1 Chronicles 28:1-8); (4) he publicly commissioned Solomon to build the Temple, and handed over to his son the detailed plans for the sanctuary itself and the personnel who would officiate therein (1 Chronicles 28:9-21); (5) he appealed to the nobles and princes present to contribute liberally to the Temple project (1 Chronicles 29:1-9); (6) he closed his address to the convention with a wonderful prayer of thanksgiving (1 Chronicles 29:10-19). The convention reached a climax in a great festive meal at which Solomon was anointed a second time (1 Chronicles 29:20-22).

Participation in this great national convention drained the last bit of strength from the old king. Feeling death's grip tightening upon him, David summoned Solomon to his side to impart to him his final and private instructions. In these last words David tried to impress upon Solomon (1) his general obligation to hear and heed the word of God; and (2) his special obligation to deal with certain individuals who, in some cases, were deserving of punishment, and, in other cases, were worthy of recognition and reward. Thus the outlook of 1 Kings 2:1-4 is devotional; that in 1 Kings 2:5-12 is realistic and practical.

A. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 2:1-4

TRANSLATION

(1) When the days of David drew near to die, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, (2) I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong and be a man! (3) Keep the trust of the LORD your God to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments and His testimonies as it is written in the Law of Moses, in order that you prosper in all which you do, and wherever you turn, (4) in order that the LORD may establish His word which He spoke unto me, saying, If your sons will watch their ways to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul (saying), A man shall not be cut off from you from sitting upon the throne of Israel.

COMMENTS

For David death was imminent, and it was time for him to give his final instructions to his son (1 Kings 2:1). David, the great king and mighty warrior, knew that he was walking the way of all the world, the path to Sheol, death and what lay beyond. Kings as well as commoners must walk that path! Shortly the full reins of government would be in Solomon's hand alone. The best advice that David could give his son was to be strong and be a man (1 Kings 2:2) with respect to observing the law of God (lit., keep the keeping of the LORD). In 1 Kings 2:2-3 one can hear an echo of Moses-' farewell exhortation to Joshua, Be strong and of good courage (Deuteronomy 31:23) and the divine exhortation to Joshua to the same effect (Joshua 1:6; Joshua 1:9; Joshua 1:18).

It takes genuine courage and real manhood to withstand worldly pressures and faithfully follow the will of God! Using the technique of emphasis by enumeration, David explained what he meant by keep the keeping. He was referring to God's statutes, commandments, judgments and testimonies. It is impossible to draw fine distinctions between these terms.[110] By piling up these synonyms for God's law, David was making it clear that all God's law must be observed. By walking in the ways of the Lord, Solomon would prosper or succeed. Obedience to the Lord was the condition for experiencing a rich and full life.

[110] Gray (OTL, p. 97) proposes that statutes and commandments are the direct orders in the form of you shall or you shall not. Judgments are caustic laws which admit of qualification and refinement (If a man do thus and so, then); testimonies are solemn charges in which God is called to witness.

Still another blessing would be Solomon's if he followed the ways of the Lord: He would experience the fulfillment of God's promise of everlasting possession of the throne. Through the prophet Nathan, the Lord had spoken glorious promises concerning the dynasty of David many years earlier. The promise as recorded in 2 Samuel 7 and 1 Chronicles 17 makes no mention of any conditions which had to be met before the promise became operative; but references to this promise in Psalms 132:12 and 1 Kings 8:25 make it clear that the promise was conditional. If David's sons were faithful to the Lord, He had promised There shall not be cut off to you a man from upon the throne of Israel. David would never be wanting a descendant to take the throne. The sovereignty would never be taken from the family of David and given to another. The promise did not mean that no descendant of David would ever be removed from the, throne, but that the posterity of David was not to be cut off so as to leave no offspring which could take possession of the throne. So long as there was a throne, a descendant of the house of David would occupy that throne. Jesus Christ, the greater son of David, sits upon the throne of the Lord today ruling over the Israel of God which is His church. The promise made through Nathan finds ultimate fulfillment in Jesus.