Farewell King David

1 Kings 2:1-12

¹ When David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying,

² “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man,

³ and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn,

⁴ that the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

⁵ “Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, Abner the son of Ner, and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, avenging in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war on the belt around his waist and on the sandals on his feet.

⁶ Act therefore according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.

⁷ But deal loyally with the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for with such loyalty they met me when I fled from Absalom your brother.

⁸ And there is also with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day when I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’

⁹ Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.”

¹⁰ Then David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.

¹¹ And the time that David reigned over Israel was forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.

¹² So Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.

If you knew that you were going to die soon, what words would you leave behind for those you love? What would you want them to know and remember as they carried on with their lives without you? What would be important enough that you would use up last moments and breathe to say?

David has lived a long and adventurous life, walking with God all the way. Now the time has come for him to die and he takes this opportunity to speak with the new king, his son Solomon, leaving with him final words of advice and admonition. Not surprisingly, David instructs Solomon to remain true to God and to the covenant God made with David. David knew from a lifetime of experience that remaining faithful to God would mean blessing. David also instructs Solomon to clean up a few details that were still left over from David’s reign. First, the matter of Joab. Joab had been something of an enigma throughout their lives together. Joab was at turns very loyal to David, while plotting his downfall in the next moment. Joab was the man who had taken care of Uriah the Hittite for David in the shameful affair with Bathsheba, while also being the one who helped overthrow David’s reign on a couple of different occasions. David now instructs Solomon not to trust him, but instead to have him killed. While David had promised Shimei protection, it was clear that Shimei was truly not repentant for his crime (“dirting” David – see 2 Samuel 16:5ff) and it was time for him to be dealt with a well.

As we bid farewell to David, it might be an interesting exercise to think about what words you would like to leave behind for those you love. Would your first advice be to stay faithful to the Lord and follow Him always? It is certainly the best legacy we can leave for our families. Perhaps instead of waiting until your death is near (for none of us knows when that might be) now would be a good time to impart those ideas. The old adage says, “there’s no time like the present,” and that is certainly true in this case. Now is a great time to remind those important to you about the imperative to remain faithful to the Lord and serve Him only. This is not the first time David shared these ideas with Solomon. Look at what he wrote in Proverbs about the instruction he received from his father. “When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother, he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live. Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.” Proverbs 4:3-5  Right before David’s death wasn’t the first time Solomon heard these concepts from his father. This was simply a reminder of what Solomon had already been taught!