1 Kings 2:1

Ch. 1Ki_2:1-11. David’s last charge to Solomon, and his death (Not in Chronicles)

1. Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die] According to the narrative of Josephus (Antiq. vii. 14, 7) all the events recorded in 1 Chronicles 28, 29 took place in the interval between the first anointing of Solomon and the death of David. There is nothing in those chapters beyond what an aged man might do, especially if he had a brief period of better health, and 1Ch_29:22 makes special mention of Solomon’s second anointing which, like the first, preceded the death of his father.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki 2:1 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,

Ver. 1. Now the days of David.] Days are one of the shortest measures of time; but long enough to decipher man’s life by. We are Eρημεροβιοι.

That he should die.] Death is the only king against whom there is no rising up. {Pro 30:31} He may give for his motto that of Terminus, Nulli cedo, I give place to none.

And he charged Solomon his son, saying.] Natural motion is more swift and violent toward the end of it. And grace will bestir itself when it hath not long to act; being oft most lively in those that lie a-dying.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki_2:1-2

Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die.

Human equality

We have here the dying charge of an old and experienced king to a young one.

I. That all men are equal in the sight of God; because--

1. Kings even are not exempt from human mortality.

2. Nor from human frailty (1Ki_2:2).

3. Nor from human responsibility (1Ki_2:3).

II. That obedience to the will of God inevitably issues in prosperity, in the best sense of the word. (Pulpit Analyst.)

David in view of death

The setting of Davids sun was a gradual process, as is shown by the words, Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die (1Ki_2:1). A very pathetic utterance is found in the second verse, namely, I go the way of all the earth. From his earliest days he had Been a favourite and a hero, and has it come to this, that at the last he must simply take his place in the great world-crowd, and go down to the common grave? God is no respecter of persons. Let us learn that all earthly distinctions are temporary, and that many exaltations only show their corresponding abasements the more conspicuously. Although the king is about to take his journey into far country from which there is no return, he yet takes an interest in the future of Israel and the immediate responsibilities of his own house. His words to Solomon are the words of a soldier and a patriot: Be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man. There is no sign of death in this high moral energy. We can hardly imagine the voice of the speaker to have fallen into a whisper: it seems rather to resound with the force and clearness of a trumpet tone. A noble motto this--Show thyself a man. Is it possible for a man to do otherwise? All human history returns an answer which cannot be mistaken. The man is not in the gender but in the character. By a man David means king, hero, prince; a soul thoroughly self-controlled, fearless, above all bribery and corruption, and vitally identified with the enduring interests of the people. It must be observed that the charge delivered to Solomon by his father was intensely religious in its spirit. Not only was Solomon introduced to a throne, but the book of the law was placed in his hands, and he was simply to peruse it, understand it, and apply it. Nothing was to be invented by the king himself. He begins his monarchical life with the whole law clearly written out before him. This is the advantage with which we begin our life, namely, that we have nothing to write, invent, suggest, or test by way of perilous experiment; we have simply to consult the holy oracles, to make them the man of our counsel, and to do nothing whatever which is not confirmed by their spirit. Where, then, is originality? We must find the originality in our personal faithfulness. It will be originality enough for God if He can find us acting consistently with the knowledge we already possess, and embodying it in new and sacrificial incarnations. Now we come to official words. From this point so terrible is the charge which David delivers to Solomon that we must impress ourselves with the fact that the charge is official rather than personal. We must imagine David seated upon the throne of judgment and delivering sentences as the messenger of God; this will save his speech from the charge of vindictiveness and cruelty. It should be noticed also, in connection with these judgments and sentences, that in every case a reason was assigned. That is a vital point. Looking at Joabs conduct to David, to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, and to Abner, and to Amass, and unto Absalom, we cannot but feel that the proportion between the guilt and the doom is measured by righteousness. That David was not carried away by indiscriminate retaliation is proved by the change of tone which he adopts when he comes to speak of the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite: Let them be of those that eat at thy table; in this ease also a reason is assigned for the judgment: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother. Instances of this kind show how clear was the mental vision of the king even in the near approach of death. Nothing was forgotten. Judgment was meted out with discernment. David does not forget that when Shimei came down to meet him at Jordan, he sware unto the Lord, saying that Shimei should not be put to death with the sword. In Israel all pardon ceased with the death of the king, and it was for his successor to say whether this pardon should be renewed, or whether judgment should take effect. David seems to refer to this law when, concerning Joab, he said to Solomon: Do therefore according to thy wisdom (1Ki_2:6). These words would seem, to open a door of possible escape. But Joab proved himself unworthy of any protection, and brought his death upon his head with his own hand. So in the case of Shimei, David said to Solomon, Thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him, so the judgment was not to be an act of violence or mere triumph of might over weakness; it was to be marked by that terrible calmness which adds to judgment its most awful elements of impressiveness. David was now giving judgment according to the age in which he lived: it was not a highly civilised age: the law had only reached a certain point of development: David, therefore, must not be held responsible for the law under which we ourselves live. Davids Lord said--Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David (1Ki_2:10). He died as it were in the act of pronouncing judgment, and himself went to be judged by the Eternal King. How near is that bar to every one of us; the final word is not spoken by man; he can but give judgment according to his light, or to his immediate understanding of the circumstances which appeal to him; there is one Judge who will rectify all our decisions and readjust everything which we have thrown into disorder. (J. Parker, D. D.)

The close of life not to be dreaded by the believer

Why should we be pensive and wistful when we think how near our end is? Is the sentry sad as the hour for relieving guard comes nigh? Is the wanderer in far-off lands sad as he turns his face homeward? And why should not we rejoice at the thought that we, strangers and foreigners here, shalt soon depart to the true metropolis, the mother country of our souls? I do not know why a man should be either regretful or afraid as he watches the hungry sea eating away his bank and shoal of time upon which he stands, even though the tide has all but reached his feet, if he knows that Gods strong arm will be stretched forth to him at the moment when the sand dissolves from under him, and will draw him out of many waters and place him on high, above the floods in that stable land where there is no more sea. (A. Maclaren.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki 2:1-2. The days of David drew nigh, that he must die — As he himself was sensible. And he charged Solomon his son — After the example of Abraham, the father of the faithful, Gen 18:19. I go the way of all the earth — Even the sons and heirs of heaven must go the way of all the earth, of all who dwell thereon. But they walk with pleasure in this way, through the valley of the shadow of death. Prophets, yea, kings, must go this way to brighter light and honour than prophecy or sovereignty. Be thou strong — For, to govern his people according to the law of God, required great fortitude or strength of mind. And show thyself a man — In manly wisdom, and courage, and constancy, though thou art but young in years.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

THE BEGINNING OF A BRILLIANT REIGN

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—

1Ki_2:3. Keep the charge of Jehovah—i.e., preserve the Theocracy, maintain the piety and dignity becoming the Hebrew monarch, who rules by Divine right, and is entrusted with the representation and vindication of the Divine laws. Keep his statutes, חֻקּתֹ—the prescriptions of the law. Commandments, מִצְוֹת, the expressions of the Divine will. Judgments—מִשׁמָּטִים objective sentences and ordinances, the violation of which involves punishment. Testimonies—עֵדְוֹת solemn declarations of God’s will against sin (Keil). That thou mayst prosper—Not so much “have good fortune” (Gesenius, De Wette), but be skilful, carry yourself wisely, as he surely will do who acts harmoniously with the Divine “statutes, commandments,” &c., 1Ki_2:4. The Vatican Sept. omits “concerning me,” and “with all their soul.” Not fail thee a man: assures “not a completely unbroken succession, but only the opposite of a break for ever” (Hengstenberg); lit. “there shall not be cut off from thee a man on the throne;” i.e., thy posterity shall hold the throne in perpetuity: the royal house of David became imperishable in “great David’s greater Son.”

HOMILETICS OF 1Ki_2:1-4

OBEDIENCE THE PATHWAY OF BLESSING

I. That the supreme standard of obedience is the Divine will (1Ki_2:3) Will expresses itself in significant actions, or in positive commands. The statutes are the prescriptions of the law, so far as its obedience is connected with definite rules and usages: the commandments, as the expression of the Divine will, which is to be fulfilled: the judgments, as the objective sentences and ordinances, the violation of which draws punishment after it: the testimonies, as solemn declarations of the will of God against sin. All these statutes, commandments, judgments, and testimonies are found in the law of Moses, to obey which David binds his son.—Keil. According to Patrick, the “statutes”are explained as the positive ordinances of the law, e.g., the command not to sow two seeds of different kinds together: the “commandments” as the moral precepts, not to steal, &c.; the “judgments” as the laws belonging to civil government: and the “testimonies” as the laws directing the commemoration of certain events (compare Psa_19:7-8): the Written Word is the latest declaration of the Divine will, and the supreme rule by which obedience must be regulated.

II. That obedience consists in the strict conformity of the whole life to the Divine will. This implies—

1. Knowledge. There is to be a personal acquaintance with the will of God “as it is written in the law of Moses” (1Ki_2:3), and in the books of Revelation and of nature. The Divine Word has been the subject of pious instruction from sire to son, through succeeding generations. As in the case of David, it has often constituted the last solemn charge of a dying father. It has been illustrated in the lives of the good, and enforced by the impressive teachings of many a wondrous providence. There has been line upon line and precept upon precept. Every opportunity has been afforded for becoming acquainted with the Divine will, so that ignorance thereof is inexcusable and blameworthy

2. Circumspection. “And keep the charge of the Lord thy God” (1Ki_2:3). In general, this means to take care of God, His person, His will, His rights. A trust of tremendous significance is committed to us: the honour of Jehovah is in our hands. It is only by an exact obedience that we can discharge the duties of our sacred trust: and to do this involves incessant thought, anxious care, and sleepless vigilance. There is reference to the charge given to all kings in Deu_17:18-20. The monarch is amenable to the same moral law as his meanest subject. If obedience is careless and defective in the higher social circles, a similar spirit will soon infect the lower, and the moral integrity of the nation be seriously damaged. “The least deviation in the greatest and highest orb is both most sensible and most dangerous.” Keep the charge—as the sentinel the post of danger, as the physician in the critical stage of disease, as the stern and faithful guardian of untold treasure.

III. That obedience should be resolute and manly. “Be thou strong, therefore, and shew thyself a man” (1Ki_2:2). Solomon’s youth clearly constituted one of the chief difficulties of his position. His exact age at his accession is uncertain. Eupolemus made him twelve. According to Josephus he was fourteen, but this may be no more than a deduction from David’s words, “Solomon, my son, is young and tender” (1Ch_22:5), and from Solomon’s own declaration (1Ki_3:7), “I am but a little child.” Moderns generally have supposed that he was about twenty, which is probably an over rather than an under estimate. For a youth of nineteen or twenty, known to be of a pacific disposition (1Ch_22:9), to have rule over the warlike and turbulent Hebrew nation, with a strong party opposed to him, and brothers of full age ready to lead it, was evidently a most difficult task. Hence he is exhorted, though in years a boy, to show himself in spirit a man.—Speaker’s Comm. It is not always easy to obey. It demands a firm, bold, intrepid spirit to dare to do the right, when by doing so it bears painfully upon those we love. Obedience to the highest law sacrifices all lower considerations, at whatever cost of personal feeling. The obedient man is the true man—the bravest and the best. They who would be faithful to God have need of courage.

IV. That obedience is the pathway of blessing.

1. It insures the fulfilment of Divine promises. “That the Lord may continue his word which he spake” (1Ki_2:4). The promises of God are conditional, “which is as an oar in a boat, or stern of a ship, and turneth the promise another way.” The original promise to David that Messiah should come out of his loins was apparently absolute and unconditional (2Sa_7:11-17); but the promise as to his children occupying the throne of Israel was conditioned on their obedience (Psa_132:12). David reminds Solomon of this in order to impress upon him a powerful motive to continued fidelity. We never lose the blessedness of the promise till we first neglect the precept.

2. It confers blessing on every undertaking. “That thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself” (1Ki_2:3). To infringe law in any department brings confusion and suffering; obedience is not only the way of safety, but of success. The man whose ways please God shall not lack any manner of thing that is good. Abraham, when at the call of Jehovah he stepped into the region of the untried and unknown, little dreamt of the wealth of blessing that was destined to rest upon him and his posterity as the reward of his faith and obedience. There is no peace so calm and abiding as that which flows from conscious rectitude. “That happiness is built on sand or ice which is raised upon any other foundation besides virtue.” Ill-gotten prosperity is transient and full of bitterness.

3. It leads to the highest honour. “There shall not fail thee a man on the throne of Israel” (1Ki_2:4). This promise, confirmed by the Lord himself to Solomon on his prayer at the consecration of the temple (1Ki_8:25), which was repeated by the prophet Jeremiah (Jer_33:17) at the time of the greatest humiliation of the royal house of David, for the strengthening and consolation of the faithful, found its full realization in Christ, the greatest descendant of David, whose dominion will endure as long as the sun and moon stand (Psalms 72) Fidelity in a lower sphere is an excellent preparation for the honours and duties of a higher. The career of the obedient is like a river, small and unnoticed in its beginning, but gathering volume, momentum, and majesty in its expanding flow. Obedience is, to quote the language of Carlyle, “an everlasting lode-star, that beams the brighter in the heavens, the darker here on earth grows the night around.”

LESSONS:—

1. Obedience is the earliest and most difficult lesson to learn.

2. It is often richest in blessing when it is most difficult to practise.

3. We are called to its exercise by the most solemn considerations.

DAVID’S DYING CHARGE TO SOLOMON

The scene before us is solemnly impressive. The youth that had slain a giant is now, after a most eventful life, about to fall before a mightier arm than that of Goliath; the friend that had wept over his beloved Jonathan, is now going the way of all the earth; the monarch who had exclaimed over the remains of a child, still lovely in death, “I shall go to him, but he cannot return to me,” is now at the end of his last stage, and about to mingle his ashes with the departed. We will draw near, and hear his last words of parental tenderness and dying counsel to his royal son and successor. “Be thou strong, and show thyself a man.” If the king of Israel needed strength, and was required to show himself a man in the government of his kingdom, no less necessary, nay—onerous as the duties and cares of a sovereign might be—far greater, is the courage which the vigorous maintenance of our moral and religious principles demands.

I. It behoves us to be strong, and quit ourselves as men, as it respects the truth and doctrines of the Gospel. If on any question manliness of character is demanded, it is on this. If the Scriptures are a revelation of God’s will to man, receive them as such, and obey them accordingly. How many are there who, manly, perhaps, in many things besides, are here most irresolute, timid, hesitating, or double-minded. It is not acting as a man to own the Bible to be true, and at the same time treat it as if it were a fiction, a fable, a falsehood. Sustained by the clearest evidence, and published to the world by the highest authority, the Word of God is worthy of all confidence. It is no doubtful question whether the Lord Jesus was sent by the Father to be the Saviour of the world, nor what is the substance of His doctrine and teaching. Whatever He has expounded, it is for us, with a single, simple heart, to follow; to take the truth as He left it; to grasp it firmly as our life, and hold it with the same tenacity as a sinking man would hold the hand that was stretched forth to save him from the gurgling vortex. If we truly believe that we possess the treasure of a true revelation from God, then it is manly to espouse, to defend, to diffuse it for its own inestimable value, for the honour of Him from whom it comes, for the purity, peace, and safety of our own souls, and for its power to regenerate and bless the world.

II. To carry out the admonition is to shrink from no duty and no sacrifice which it may require. It is not the way of the world, even where the Christian religion is professed, to render obedience to the Divine commands. A kind of respectful treatment of the Word of God—nothing bold, nothing decided—is all that it will render; and the love and fear of the world will prompt us to do no more. A still stronger persuasion of the flesh speaks from within. It is sloth, it is selfishness, it is the predominance of some master passion, that governs the irreligious mind, and places men in rebellion against the will of God and the dearest interests of the soul. And then the Evil Spirit, the great tempter, the subtle adversary of man, will suggest all discontented and rebellious thoughts. Thus beset, multitudes, instead of quitting themselves like men and resisting the devil, readily yield. Does he show himself a man who yields to every temptation to neglect the house of God on the Sabbath, and to follow the allurements of pleasure? Does that youth show a manliness of mind who consents to the enticements of sinners, and surrenders himself to companionship with those whose house is the way to hell? Does that misguided and miserable creature show himself a man who, for the sake of indulging the lowest and worse than brutal propensities of his nature, will beggar his wife, starve his children, cover himself with rags, and make his home the scene of poverty, strife, and every hateful and disgusting passion? Ought we not to carry with us as Christians the same resolute and decided temper, the same open and obvious manliness in all matters that refer to eternity, as we do to those which are limited to time? In a word, to serve God is to show the same spirit towards Him which every one of us, who has the heart of a man, would show in defence of the health, the welfare, the happiness, and the life of the members of his own family.

III. To carry out the admonition, we must be bold and persevering in the work of God, till He shall relieve us from all further service. It is manly to begin well, but it is most unmanly to forsake or negligently execute a task once begun. There is a mighty class of inducements to instability in religion, such as are not brought to operate upon the mind in any other sphere of action. Here, as everywhere, success and satisfaction are the recompense, not of half deeds, but of manly, hearty energy, industry, and perseverance. Who is sufficient for these things? No one of himself; but He who gives us the command will not fail us if we rely upon Him for its fulfilment. When He bids us be strong, He is ready to give us power to obey. Heaven is the prize, every effort shall have its reward. We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses who have finished their manly course, and reached the crown. They invite us onward. Let us not fear the troubles that beset the way, but be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Arise, for the work is great, the time is short, but the prize is eternal.—T. W. Hamilton, D. D.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES

1Ki_2:2. “I go the way of all the earth.” Death a journey.

1. Silent and mysterious in its commencement.

2. Interminable in its pathway.

3. A journey on which all must enter.

4. Demands diligent and serious preparation.

5. Is a period of sad farewells and solemn counsels.

David lives to see a wise son warm in his seat; and now he that yielded to succession yields to nature. Many good counsels had David given his heir; now he sums them up in his end. Dying words are wont to be weightiest; the soul when it is entering into glory breathes nothing but divine; “I go the way of all the earth.” How well is that princely heart content to subscribe to the conditions of human mortality, as one that knew sovereignty doth not reach to the affairs of nature! Though a king, he neither expects nor desires an immunity from dissolution, making no account to go in any other than the common tract to the universal home of mankind, the house of age. Whither should earth, but to earth? And why should we grudge to do that which all do?—Bishop Hall.

“Be thou strong, therefore, and shew thyself a man.” Be firm, and be a man!

1. What is requisite to be one?

2. How shall one become one?

3. Of what use? (Heb_13:9; 1Co_15:5-8; 1Co_16:13.)—Lange.

Even when David’s spirit was going out, he puts spirit into his son; age puts life into youth, and the dying animates the vigorous. He had well found that strength was necessary to government, that he had need to be no less than a man that should rule over men. A weak man may obey, none but the strong can govern.—Bishop Hall.

1Ki_2:3. The last and best will of a father to his Song of Solomon 1. Trust in God’s protection of yourself and all whom God has confided to your care.

2. Walk in His ways; let Him lead and guide you; He will do it well (Pro_23:26; Psa_35:5).

3. Keep His ways and ordinances (Ecc_12:13; Psa_1:1-6; Tob_4:6). God-fearing parents are more anxious about their children keeping close to God and His word than about leaving them temporal goods.—Lange.

Graceless courage were but the whetstone of tyranny. The best legacy that David bequeaths to his heir is the care of piety. Himself had felt the sweetness of a good conscience, and now he commands it to his successor. If there be anything that, in our desires of the prosperous condition of our children, takes place of goodness, our hearts are not upright. Here was the father of a king, charging the king’s son to keep the statutes of the King of kings; as one that knew greatness could neither exempt from obedience, nor privilege sin.—Hall.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

The anointing of Solomon as king, which was effected by David's command (1 Kings 1), is only briefly mentioned in Ch1 23:1 in the words, "When David was old and full of days, he made his son Solomon king over Israel;" which serve as an introduction to the account of the arrangements made by David during the closing days of his life. After these arrangements have been described, there follow in 1 Chron 28 and 29 his last instructions and his death. The aged king gathered together the tribe-princes and the rest of the dignitaries and superior officers to a diet at Jerusalem, and having introduced Solomon to them as the successor chosen by God, exhorted them to keep the commandments of God, and urged upon Solomon and the whole assembly the building of the temple, gave his son the model of the temple and all the materials which he had collected towards its erection, called upon the great men of the kingdom to contribute to this work, which they willingly agreed to, and closed this last act of his reign with praise and thanksgiving to God and a great sacrificial festival, at which the assembled states of the realm made Solomon king a second time, and anointed him prince in the presence of Jehovah (Ch1 29:22). - A repetition of the anointing of the new king at the instigation of the states of the realm, accompanied by their solemn homage, had also taken place in the case of both Saul (2 Sam 11) and David (Sa2 2:4 and Sa2 5:3), and appears to have been an essential requirement to secure the general recognition of the king on the part of the nation, at any rate in those cases in which the succession to the throne was not undisputed. In order, therefore, to preclude any rebellion after his death, David summoned this national assembly again after Solomon's first anointing and ascent of the throne, that the representatives of the whole nation might pay the requisite homage to king Solomon, who had been installed as his successor according to the will of God. - To this national assembly, which is only reported in the Chronicles, there are appended the last instructions which David gave, according to Ch1 29:1-9 of our chapter, to his successor Solomon immediately before his death. Just as in the Chronicles, according to the peculiar plan of that work, there is no detailed description of the installation of David on the throne; so here the author of our books has omitted the account of this national diet, and the homage paid by the estates of the realm to the new king, as not being required by the purpose of his work, and has communicated the last personal admonitions and instructions of the dying king David instead.

(Note: To refute the assertion of De Wette, Gramberg, and Thenius, that this account of the Chronicles arises from a free mode of dealing with the history, and an intention to suppress everything that did not contribute to the honour of David and his house, - an assertion which can only be attributed to their completely overlooking, not to say studiously ignoring, the different plans of the two works (the books of Kings on the one hand, and those of Chronicles on the other), - it will be sufficient to quote the unprejudiced and thoughtful decision of Bertheau, who says, in his Comm. on Ch1 23:1 : "These few words (Ch1 23:1) give in a condensed form the substance of the account in 1 Kings 1, which is intimately bound up with the account of the family affairs of David in the books of Samuel and Kings, and therefore, according to the whole plan of our historical work, would have been out of place in the Chronicles.")

Kg1 2:1-3

David's Last Instructions and Death. - Kg1 2:1-4. When David saw that his life was drawing to a close, he first of all admonished his son Solomon to be valiant in the observance of the commandments of God. "I go the way of all the world" (as in Jos 23:14), i.e., the way of death; "be strong and be a man," - not "bear my departure bravely," as Thenius supposes, but prove thyself brave (cf. Sa1 4:9) to keep the commandments of the Lord. Just as in Sa1 4:9 the object in which the bravery is to show itself is appended simply by the copula Vv; so is it here also with וגו ושׁמרתּ. The phrase יי את־משׁמרת שׁמר, to keep the keeping of Jehovah, which so frequently occurs in the Thorah, i.e., to observe or obey whatever is to be observed in relation to Jehovah (cf. Gen 26:5; Lev 8:35; Lev 18:30, etc.), always receives its more precise definition from the context, and is used here, as in Gen 26:5, to denote obedience to the law of God in all its extent, or, according to the first definition, to walk in the ways of Jehovah. This is afterwards more fully expanded in the expression וגו חקּתין לשׁמר, to keep the ordinances, commandments, rights, and testimonies of Jehovah. These four words were applied to the different precepts of the law, the first three of which are connected together in Gen 26:5; Deu 5:28; Deu 8:11, and served to individualize the rich and manifold substance of the demands of the Lord to His people as laid down in the Thorah. תּשׂכּיל למען, that thou mayest act wisely and execute well, as in Deu 29:8; Jos 1:7.

Kg1 2:4-5

Solomon would then experience still further this blessing of walking in the ways of the Lord, since the Lord would fulfil to him His promise of the everlasting possession of the throne. וגו יקים למען is grammatically subordinate to תּשׂכּיל למען in Kg1 2:3. The word which Jehovah has spoken concerning David (עלי דּבּר) is the promise in Sa2 7:12., the substance of which is quoted here by David with a negative turn, וגו יכּרת לא, and with express allusion to the condition on which God would assuredly fulfil His promise, viz., if the descendants of David preserve their ways, to walk before the Lord in truth. בּאמת is more precisely defined by נפשׁם...בּכל. For the fact itself see Deu 5:5; Deu 11:13, Deu 11:18. The formula וגו יכּרת לא is formed after Sa1 2:33 (compare also Sa2 3:29 and Jos 9:23). "There shall not be cut off to thee a man from upon the throne of Israel," i.e., there shall never be wanting to thee a descendant to take the throne; in other words, the sovereignty shall always remain in thy family. This promise, which reads thus in Sa2 7:16, "Thy house and thy kingdom shall be continual for ever before thee, and thy throne stand fast for ever," and which was confirmed to Solomon by the Lord Himself after his prayer at the consecration of the temple (Kg1 8:25; Kg1 9:5), is not to be understood as implying that no king of the Davidic house would be thrust away from the throne, but simply affirms that the posterity of David was not to be cut off, so as to leave no offshoot which could take possession of the throne. Its ultimate fulfilment it received in Christ (see at Sa2 7:12.). The second לאמר in Sa2 7:4 is not to be erased as suspicious, as being merely a repetition of the first in consequence of the long conditional clause, even though it is wanting in the Vulgate, the Arabic, and a Hebrew codex.

After a general admonition David communicated to his successor a few more special instructions; viz., first of all (Sa2 7:5, Sa2 7:6), to punish Joab for his wickedness. "What Joab did to me:" - of this David mentions only the two principal crimes of Joab, by which he had already twice deserved death, namely, his killing the two generals. Abner (Sa2 3:27) and Amasa the son of Jether (Sa2 20:10). The name יתר is written יתרא in Sa2 17:25. Joab had murdered both of them out of jealousy in a treacherous and malicious manner; and thereby he had not only grievously displeased David and bidden defiance to his royal authority, but by the murder of Abner had exposed the king to the suspicion in the eyes of the people of having instigated the crime (see at Sa2 3:28, Sa2 3:37). דּמי מ ויּשׂם "and he made war-blood in peace," i.e., he shed in the time of peace blood that ought only to flow in war (שׂים in the sense of making, as in Deu 14:1; Exo 10:2, etc.), "and brought war-blood upon his girdle which was about his loins, and upon his shoes under his feet," sc. in the time of peace. This was the crime therefore: that Joab had murdered the two generals in a time of peace, as one ought only to slay his opponent in time of war. Girdle and shoes, the principal features in oriental attire when a man is preparing himself for any business, were covered with blood, since Joab, while saluting them, had treacherously stabbed both of them with the sword. David ought to have punished these two crimes; but when Abner was murdered, he felt himself too weak to visit a man like Joab with the punishment he deserved, as he had only just been anointed king, and consequently he did nothing more than invoke divine retribution upon his head (Sa2 3:29). And when Amasa was slain, the rebellions of Absalom and Sheba had crippled the power of David too much, for him to visit the deed with the punishment that was due. But as king of the nation of God, it was not right for him to allow such crimes to pass unpunished: he therefore transferred the punishment, for which he had wanted the requisite power, to his son and successor.

Kg1 2:6

"Do according to thy wisdom ("mark the proper opportunity of punishing him" - Seb. Schmidt), and let not his grey hair go down into hell (the region of the dead) in peace (i.e., punished)." The punishment of so powerful a man as Joab the commander-in-chief was, required great wisdom, to avoid occasioning a rebellion in the army, which was devoted to him.

Kg1 2:7

If the demands of justice required that Joab should be punished, the duty of gratitude was no less holy to the dying king. And Solomon was to show this to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and make them companions of his table; because Barzillai had supplied David with provisions on his flight from Absalom (Sa2 17:27., Sa2 19:32.). שׁלחנך בּאכלי והיוּ, "let them be among those eating of thy table;" i.e., not, "let them draw their food from the royal table," - for there was no particular distinction in this, as all the royal attendants at the court received their food from the royal kitchen, as an equivalent for the pay that was owing - but, "let them join in the meals at the royal table." The fact that in Sa2 9:10-11, Sa2 9:13, we have על־שׁלחן אכל to express this, makes no material difference. According to Sa2 19:38, Barzillai had, it is true, allowed only one son to follow the king to his court. "For so they drew near to me," i.e., they showed the kindness to me of supplying me with food; compare Sa2 17:27, where Barzillai alone is named, though, as he was a man of eighty years old, he was certainly supported by his sons.

Kg1 2:8-9

On the other hand, Shimei the Benjamite had shown great hostility to David (cf. Sa2 16:5-8). He had cursed him with a vehement curse as he fled from Absalom (נמרצת, vehement, violent, not ill, heillos, from the primary meaning to be sick or ill, as Thenius supposes, since it cannot be shown that מרץ has any such meaning); and when David returned to Jerusalem and Shimei fell at his feet, he had promised to spare his life, because he did not want to mar the joy at his reinstatement in his kingdom by an act of punishment (Sa2 19:19-24), and therefore had personally forgiven him. But the insult which Shimei had offered in his person to the anointed of the Lord, as king and representative of the rights of God, he could not forgive. The instruction given to his successor (אל־תּנקּהוּ, let him not be guiltless) did not spring from personal revenge, but was the duty of the king as judge and administrator of the divine right.

(Note: "Shimei is and remains rather a proof of David's magnanimity than of vengeance. It was not a little thing to tolerate the miscreant in his immediate neighbourhood for his whole life long (not even banishment being thought of). And if under the following reign also he had been allowed to end his days in peace (which had never been promised him), this would have been a kindness which would have furnished an example of unpunished crimes that might easily have been abused." This is the verdict of J. J. Hess in his Geschichte Davids, ii. p. 221.)

It follows from the expression עמּך, with thee, i.e., in thy neighbourhood, that Shimei was living at that time in Jerusalem (cf. Kg1 2:36).

Kg1 2:10-11

After these instructions David died, and was buried in the city of David, i.e., upon Mount Zion, where the sepulchre of David still existed in the time of Christ (Act 2:29).

(Note: The situation of the tombs of the kings of Judah upon Zion, Thenius has attempted to trace minutely in a separate article in Illgen's Zeitschrift fr die histor. Theol. 1844, i. p. 1ff., and more especially to show that the entrance to these tombs must have been on the eastern slope of Mount Zion, which falls into the valley of Tyropoeon, and obliquely opposite to the spring of Siloah. This is in harmony with the statement of Theodoret (quaest. 6 in iii. Reg.), to the effect that Josephus says, τὸ δὲ μνῆμα (τῆς ταφῆς) παρὰ τὴν Σιλοὰμ εἶναι ἀντροειδὲς ἔχον τὸ σχῆμα, καὶ τῆν βασιλικὴν δηλοῦν πολυτέλειαν; although this statement does not occur in any passage of his works as they have come down to us.)

On the length of his reign see Sa2 5:5.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

B.—David’s last words to Solomon, and his death

1Ki_2:1-12

1Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man; 3and keep the charge of the Lord [Jehovah] thy God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper1 in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: 4that the Lord [Jehovah] may continue [confirm]2 His word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children [sons]3 take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,4 there shall not fail thee (said he)5 a man on the throne of Israel. 5Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and [even]6 what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war7 upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. 6Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. 7But shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to 8me when I fled because of [before]8 Absalom thy brother. And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite [a son of the Jaminite]9 of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the Lord [Jehovah], saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. 9Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood.

10So [And] David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. 11And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.

12Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.

Exegetical and Critical

1Ki_2:1. Now the days of David, &c. The Chronicles omit the history of Adonijah, but narrate instead, that David ordered a solemn act of homage of the entire people, in the persons of their representatives, towards Solomon when he was anointed “a second time” (1Ch_23:1 sq., and 1Ch_29:20-25). Such also was the case with Saul (1Sa_11:12-15), and with David himself (2Sa_5:1-3; 1Ch_11:1-3). Solomon’s first anointing was rather impromptu, called for by the pressure of circumstances, upon which account it was proper that it should be followed by another done with all solemnity before the whole people. It took place also before that which is narrated in the section to be considered. The words, “a second time,” show that the first anointing was well known to the chronicler. His narrative, besides, does not “rest upon liberty with the history” (Thenius), but is a filling-out of our own, with which it agrees very well.

1Ki_2:2-4. I go the way, &c. The form of expression reminds one of Jos_23:14; 1Sa_4:9; but especially of Jos_1:7. The exhortation: Be thou strong, therefore, and show thyself a man! does not mean: be consoled on account of my departure, bear it manfully; but it refers to what follows—be strong and brave in the “charge” of Jehovah, in the fulfilment of His prescripts. The expression: שָׁמַרְתָּ מִשְׁמֶרֶת יְהוָֹה does not convey the sense: consider what Jehovah wills to have considered, i.e., His laws (for then the following would be pleonastic), but rather custodies custodiam Jehovae, keep the charge which thou art bound to Jehovah, to accomplish; be a true watchman in the service of Jehovah and for Him (comp. 1Ch_23:32; 1Ch_12:29; Num_3:6-8; Num_3:38). This charge is fulfilled in walking in the ways of God—in observing His various commandments. The expressions which here, as elsewhere, so frequently standing side by side, denote the latter (Deu_5:28; Deu_8:11; Psa_118:5 sq.), do not admit of sharply-drawn distinctions; but they “denote together the totality of the law upon its different sides and relations to men” (Keil).—הִשְׂכִּיל does not mean exactly “to have good fortune” (Gesenius, De Wette, and others), but to be skilful, wise. He who in all things stands upon the commandments of God, and governs himself thereafter, is and carries himself wisely. What he does, will and must have a prosperous issue, and come to a right conclusion (Deu_29:8; Jer_3:15 sq.; Jer_23:5; Pro_17:8; 2Ki_18:7).—In 1Ki_2:4 the positive promise in 2Sa_7:11 sq. is expressed in negative form, as also in 1Ki_8:25; 1Ki_9:5; Jer_33:17. The לֹא־יִכָּרֵת “does not denote a completely unbroken succession, but only the opposite of a break forever” (Hengstenberg). Thy house and seed shall never be exterminated, what catastrophies soever may happen.

1Ki_2:5-6. The charge which David delivers in 1Ki_2:5-9, were not, according to Ewald and Eisenlohr, originally made by him; but were first, at some subsequent time, put into his mouth in order to explain and justify Solomon’s severity to Joab and to Shimei (1Ki_2:28 sq.). This supposition is as unnecessary as arbitrary.—Upon the double murder of which Joab was guilty, comp. 2Sa_3:27 sq., and 1Ki_20:8 sq. The first threw a false suspicion upon David (2Sa_3:37); the second was coupled with scorn and defiance of the royal authority (2Sa_20:11); hence what he has done to me (to my injury).—יָשֶׂם, 1Ki_2:5, literally, he shed “blood of war” in peace, i.e., he furnished an unheard of example when he killed Abner and Amasa, not as foes, in open, honorable warfare, but murderously destroyed the inoffensive. Instead of the second “blood of war,” Thenius, after the Sept. (αἶμα ἀθῶον), reads דָּם נַקִי, which makes good sense, certainly, but is unnecessary.—Girdle and shoes are not here introduced as “especial parts of oriental costume” (Thenius, Keil); nor is it thereby said, “from the girdle of his loins, to the latchet of his shoes,” i.e., over and over (Ewald); but girdle and shoes here are rather the marks of the warrior, as in Isa_5:27 and Eph_6:14 sq., for the sword is fastened to the girdle (2Sa_20:8), and the shoes serve for marching, and provided with both, one enters upon battle. David also means to say: Joab has soiled with murder and blood the insignia of his rank and dignity as a soldier and generalissimo, and covered his office with shame and disgrace.—According to thy wisdom. “David does not wish Solomon to invent a pretext for taking Joab’s life; but he exhorts him to observe wisely the right moment and occasion, when Joab shall furnish a reason, to hold him to account also for his blood-guiltiness, so that no murmuring shall arise among the people; but every one can see the justice of the punishment” (Starke).—In peace,i.e., so unpunished as if he had done only good, and committed no crime worthy of death.

1Ki_2:7-9. Barzillai. Comp. 2Sa_17:27 sq.At thy table,i.e., not “that they shall have the privilege of eating with the king at the royal table itself” (Keil); but they shall receive their necessary food from the court, like the royal servants (Dan_1:5). The recollection of the noble service of Barzillai leads to the mention of the crime of Shimei, committed on the same occasion (2Sa_16:5 sq., and 1Ki_19:21).—עִמְּךָ (1Ki_2:8) does not mean under thy power (Starke), but near thee. Bahurim, where Shimei dwelt (2Sa_16:5), was a village in the neighborhood of Jerusalem (Joseph. Ant. 7, 9, 7), about one and a-half hours’ (five miles and a quarter) distant from it. David does not say simply, he cursed me; but emphatically, he cursed me with a curse, and adds the epithet, נִמְרֶצֶת, which, according to Thenius, because the primary signification of מרץ is, to be exhausted, sick, means “heinous” in the sense of horrendus. According to Kimchi and Gesenius, the primary signification is, to be powerful, strong, and for this the remaining passages, where the word occurs, decide (Mic_2:10; Job_6:25; Job_16:3; Vulgate, Maledictio pessima).—For thou art a wise man, and knowest,i.e., I leave to thy discretion the how and when of the punishment. An αἰτία εὔλογος (Josephus), will not be wanting. With blood, the opposite of the “in peace” in 1Ki_2:6, inasmuch as he has deserved it.

1Ki_2:10-11. In the city of David,i.e., in Mount Zion, in which, caves that served as burial vaults were constructed (Winer, R.-W.-B., ii. s. 736). According to Thenius the entrance into these vaults was on the east, in the vale Tyropoeon, in a sloping declivity of the mountain, opposite the spring Siloam. The later kings also were buried here (1Ki_11:43; 1Ki_14:31; 1Ki_15:8, &c.). The still so-called kings’ graves are different, and are situated on the opposite side, to the north of the Damascus gate (Robinson, Palestine, vol. i. p. 240 and 357 sq.). David had, without doubt, prepared these burial-places for himself and his successors. In what high estimation his tomb was held is clear from the circumstance that it was known even during the time of Christ (Act_2:29). According to 2Sa_5:5, six months were added to the seven years. 1Ki_2:12 is the transition to the next section, where it is told how Solomon’s administration was strengthened.

Historical and Ethical

1. In the last words of David to Solomon, it is not so much the father speaking to his son, as the king of Israel, the head of the theocratic kingdom, to his successor upon the throne. From this stand-point we must view alike the general and the special portions of the whole discourse. The calling of a king of Israel consisted especially in this: to preserve the “kingdom of Jehovah” (1Ch_28:5; 1Ch_29:23); to be not the representative, but the servant of Jehovah, the true and proper king, also to observe “all the words of the Law, and all the ordinances of Jehovah” (Deu_17:14-20); but, before all, that supreme and chief command, Exo_20:3-6, to observe completely the covenant which Jehovah had made with His chosen people. With this high calling David’s soul was completely filled; and as he had continually “done what was right in the eyes of Jehovah, and had not turned aside from anything that had been enjoined upon him all his life long” (1Ki_15:5), so, also, in the last moments of his life, it was his greatest solicitude that his successor upon the throne should stand upon “the charge of Jehovah” (1Ki_2:3), i.e., should take care that the law of Moses, with all its particular prescripts, in their entire circumference, should be maintained. This he earnestly and solemnly sets forth as the foundation of a prosperous and blessed reign, and as the condition of the fulfilment of the promise made to him in respect of the continuance of his “house” (2 Samuel 7.). So David appears here, yet once more, in his grand historical significance, namely, as the type of a theocratic king, by which the conduct of all subsequent kings is measured (1Ki_3:3; 1Ki_3:6; 1Ki_3:14; 1Ki_9:4; 1Ki_10:4-6; 1Ki_11:33-38; 1Ki_14:8; 1Ki_15:5-11; 2Ki_14:3; 2Ki_16:2; 2Ki_18:3; 2Ki_22:2). The throne of David is Israel’s model throne; no king of Israel has left behind him such a testament as David here.

2. It is worthy of remark, that the man who reigned forty years, and whose life as ruler was so rich in experience, should, amongst the counsels he imparted to his successor, have placed this in the fore front; “be thou strong, therefore, and show thyself a man!” He knew what belongs to the office of ruler. Moral weaknesses, swaying hither and thither like a reed moved by the wind; unseasonable pliability is a greater defect in a ruler than if he be overtaken by this or that particular sin in private life. Rightly says the Scripture, Woe to the land whose king is a child (instead of a man), Ecc_10:16. Firmness and manliness, however, are not the fruit of caprice, and of an unbroken heart. It is through grace that the heart is made strong (Heb_13:9).

3. The special directions, which refer to individual persons, David likewise communicates, not as a private man, but as king of Israel. Joab’s double murder had gone fully unpunished. At the time of its commission David was not in a condition to be able to punish him; but he felt the full weight of the deed, and in his horror of it uttered an imprecation of Joab (2Sa_3:29). In the eyes of the people, nevertheless, the non-punishment must have been regarded as an insult against law and righteousness, the charge of which devolved upon the king. “It was a stain upon his reign not yet blotted out. Even upon his death-bed he cannot think otherwise than that it is his duty, as that of the supreme judge, to deliver to his successor a definite direction about it” (Hess, Gesch. David’s, ii. s. 220). It lay upon his conscience, and he desired that this stain somehow (“do according to thy wisdom,” 1Ki_2:1) should be removed. Moreover, Joab’s participation in Adonijah’s revolt must have appeared as dangerous for the throne of Solomon. As the punishment of Joab was to him a matter of conscience, so also was Barzillai’s compensation. What Barzillai had done, he had done for him as king, as the anointed of Jehovah. Such fidelity and devotion to the legitimate reigning house (Königthum) in a time of great and almost universal falling away, ought to be publicly requited, and to be recognized in honorable remembrance after the death of the king. This compensation must serve, no less than the righteous punishment of Joab, to the firm establishment of the throne of Solomon. In direct contrast with the action of Barzillai was that of Shimei. He did not curse David as a private person, but he cursed him with the heaviest curse as the “anointed of Jehovah,” and therein Jehovah himself directly. For blasphemy against the king was on the same level with blasphemy against God (2Ki_21:10). Both were punished with death (Lev_24:14 sq.; Exo_22:27; 2Sa_16:9), hence also Abishai thought that Shimei should be put to death (2Sa_19:22). But David wished on the day when God had shown him a great mercy, to show mercy himself, and upon that account spared his life. But “it was no small matter to allow the miscreant to spend his life near him (no banishment was talked of). And to permit him to spend his days quietly under the following reign (which had never been promised him), would have been a kindness that might have been greatly abused as a precedent of unpunished crimes” (Hess). In fact, Shimei was a dangerous man, and capable of repeating what he had done to David. As for the rest, David left Solomon to choose the manner and time of his punishment, only he was not to go unpunished.

4. David’s conduct on his dying-bed has frequently been regarded as a great reproach to him. The latest (secular) history passes the following judgment upon it: “If David’s life and deeds had not sufficiently shown his mind, these last words of the dying man would leave no doubt about his character.… We must turn away from such blood-thirsty desire for revenge which, though innate with the Semitic races, is united here with a concealment of purpose and malice that are peculiar to David. His vengeance, even out of the grave itself, determines to strike, through the hand of his son, an insignificant man, to whom he (David) had once promised forgiveness when he himself was in a strait. Forgetting all the services and victories he owed to Joab, David determines, in order to gratify a long-cherished ill-feeling, to have a man, to whom he owed his kingdom and whom he himself had not ventured to touch, murdered by his son, ostensibly for two acts which Joab did, if not with David’s consent, yet by no means against his will; the fruits of which David had willingly accepted, and which acts he had not made the slightest efforts to punish” (Duncker, Gesch. des Alterthums, i. s. 386). In this view it is entirely overlooked that David did not then speak as a private man, but as a theocratic king, and this judgment of him is quite false, no regard being paid to the time and the circumstances. The rough, false assassin Joab, who finally conspires with Adonijah, is made to appear as a man of high merit, and the blasphemer and traitor Shimei, as an insignificant, unfairly-treated man, while David, who departs life without one crime on his conscience as king, and who desires to fulfil the demands of justice as well as of gratitude, is said to have displayed the whole of his wicked and malicious character at the last. “Nothing but an uncritical confusion, which wished to behold in David a saint and a complete model of virtue (which the Scriptures nowhere assert him to be), could call forth, as contrast, the degradation of the king, which is as one-sided as unpsychological” (Winer, R.-W.-B., i s. 258). [Yes! but our author forgets that David had sworn to Shimei, Thou shalt not die! (2Sa_19:23); and “the king” it was (i.e., David as king) that “swore unto him.” Clearly David’s act of grace to Shimei was an act of royal right, royal clemency, and nothing but sophistry can justify his dying charge to Solomon not to let the unfortunate man die in peace.—E. H.] When Bunsen’s Bibel-werk says: “The vengeance of David can never be justified from the Christian point of view,” it is quite overlooked that that point of view is not the fitting one here. David belonged to the Old Testament economy, to the time of the law, not the gospel, and his conduct must be judged in the light of the former. It is an anachronism to measure Old Testament persons by the standard of the sermon on the mount. Besides, the same apostle who exhorts the believers as follows: Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, immediately after, speaking of authorities—and David speaks as such here—tells them that they are “ministers of God, revengers to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil” (Rom_12:9; Rom_13:4). In the kingdom of God in which the law of earthly punishments prevailed, such a crime (like that of Joab and Shimei) could not remain unpunished. He, too, who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; who, when He suffered, threatened not (1Pe_2:23), announced in a parable the final judgment of His enemies: “But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me” (Luk_19:27 : v. Gerlach). We scarcely find as many instances of personal love to a foe, generosity and goodness, in the life of any Old Testament hero, as in David’s. It is evident that the author of our books does not relate the commissions objected to, to vilify David at the last, as Duncker does, but on the contrary he tells them, to his honor, to show how entirely king of Israel David was, even on his dying-bed.

5. Chronicles (1Ch_29:28) relates the death of David with the addition that “he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor.” We see how much he was honored even in death, from the fact that his weapons were preserved as relics in the sanctuary (2Ki_11:10). Compare the eulogy in Sir_47:2-11. For the character of the great, and indeed greatest, king of Israel, though now so often unjustly judged, by whose name the expected Messiah was designated by the prophets (Eze_34:23; Eze_37:24; Hos_3:5), comp. Niemeyer, Charaktistik der Bibel, iv. s. 107–358, and Ewald, Gesch. Isr., iii. s. 250–257, which says, with regard to the “last (poetical) words” of David (2Sa_23:1-7): “No prince, especially one who did not inherit the kingdom, could close his life with more blessed divine peace, or a more assured and cheerful view into the future.”

Homiletical and Practical

1Ki_2:1-9. David’s last words to Solomon (a) with regard to the kingdom generally (1Ki_2:1-4), (b) respecting some individuals (1Ki_2:5-9; see Historical and Ethical).

1Ki_2:2. Various as are the paths of men from their birth, yet they all, kings as well as beggars, rich and poor, go the way to the grave (Sir_40:1-3). And yet so many live as if they had not to travel that road (Psa_39:5-6; Psa_90:11-12).—The passing nature and vanity of the world, with its allurements and splendor, is a strong exhortation and warning from God to hold fast to the word that lives forever, and shall not pass even when heaven and earth pass away (1Pe_1:24-25; 1Jn_2:17; Luk_21:33).—Be firm and be a man! What is requisite to be one? how shall one become one? of what use? (Heb_13:9; 1Co_15:5-8; 1Co_16:13).

1Ki_2:3. The last and best will of a father to his son: (a) Trust in God’s protection of yourself and all whom God has confided to your care; (b) walk in His ways; let Him lead and guide you, He will do it well (Pro_23:26; Psa_35:5); (c) keep His ways and ordinances (Ecc_12:13; Psa_1:1-6; Tob_4:6). Such an inheritance is greater and better than all the gold and land he might leave you.—True prudence and wisdom are not born of human thought and much knowledge, but are the fruit of the fear of God, and of walking in His ways and commandments (Psa_111:10; Job_28:28).—God-fearing parents are more anxious about their children keeping close to God and His word, than about leaving them temporal goods.

1Ki_2:4. The promises of God only proceed from His grace, not our merit; but their fulfilment is always coupled with conditions, which we have to perform if we would enjoy them (Heb_11:6; 1Ti_4:8).

1Ki_2:5-9. We cannot go the way of all the world in peace, as long as we have anything remaining on our conscience, or any debt to justice and grateful love to cancel. We should forgive our enemies from our hearts, as we desire the Lord to forgive us, and especially on our dying-beds. But authority was instituted to “do justice; to prevent and punish wickedness;” it commits a sin and has a crime to answer for so long as it does not do this (Rom_13:4; Gen_9:6).

1Ki_2:6. Gray hairs, if found in the way of righteousness, are a crown of glory (Pro_16:31), adorned with which a man may go the way of all flesh in peace and comfort; but an old sinner, whom even gray hairs have not brought to repentance, goes down to the grave without solace or peace.

1Ki_2:7. A noble heart does not forget what was done for him in times of trouble especially, and thinks of it even in the hour of death. The world is ungrateful. A blessing rests on deeds of faithfulness and self-sacrificing disinterested love, and it descends to children and children’s children.

1Ki_2:8-9. A curse rests on those who curse the “powers” which are God’s ministers, instead of praying for them, and they are made, sooner or later, to feel the curse (1Pe_2:17; 1Pe_2:6). The Lord prayed for those who cursed Him; but when they did not repent and become converted, divine judgment came down on them. No doubt a wicked man often goes a long time unpunished for his deeds, but divine justice does not fail to overtake him finally, ere he is aware.—It requires wisdom to punish; a premature ill-judged chastisement does more harm than good.

1Ki_2:10-12. David’s death: (a) He slept with his fathers (Starke: The death of believers is a sleep, and being gathered to their fathers, who also still live with God, and await the coming resurrection to eternal life, Isa_26:19); (b) they rest in the grave. (Rest is good to those who have borne the burden and heat of the day forty years long—that rest which God has promised to those who strive after eternal life with patient continuing in good works. Rom_2:7; Isa_57:2).—David’s grave is a pledge that the memory of the just is blessed (Prov. 40:7; Act_2:29), and that the blessing of the father builds the children’s houses (1Ki_2:12; Sir_3:11).

Footnotes:

[1]1Ki_2:3.—[The Heb. תַּשְׂכִיל bears equally well the sense prosper or do wisely; cf. Jos_1:7. The VV. generally adopt the former.

[2]1Ki_2:4.—[Confirm is the proper sense of יָקִים as in all the VV.

[3]1Ki_2:4.—[It is better here to preserve the masculine form as in all the VV., the reference being undoubtedly to the line upon the throne.

[4]1Ki_2:4.—[The Vatican Sept. omits the words concerning me, and also with all their soul.

[5]1Ki_2:4.—[De Rossi rejects as spurious the word לֵאמֹר, which is wanting in Kennicott’s MS. 170, and in the Vulg. and Arab.

[6]1Ki_2:5.—[Many MSS., the Syr. and Arab., express the conjunction וַאֲשֶׁר.

[7]1Ki_2:5.—[The Sept. have here “innocent blood”—αῖμα ἀθῶον.

[8]1Ki_2:7.—[Heb. מִפְּנֵי.

[9]1Ki_2:8.—[Heb. בֶן־הַיְמִינִי—son of the Jaminite, i.e., of the descendants of Jamin, a son of Simeon (Num_26:12). The Heb. for the patriarch Benjamin is written in one word; the Gentile name is written separately, but without the article. All the instances cited by Gesenius in verbo, are either without the article, or else refer to this very Shimei. Of the VV., the Sept. and Vulg. have appreciated the distinction; Chald., Syr., and Arab. agree with the A. V.—F. G.]

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. David’s Charge to Solomon and David’s End

CHAPTER 2:1-11

1. David’s charge (1Ki 2:1-9)

2. David’s end (1Ki 2:10-11)

We call attention again to 1 Chronicles 28 and 29 where we find the record of the great assembly of all the princes of Israel and David’s great address to them. He then made known to all Israel that the LORD had chosen Solomon to occupy the throne. He speaks there of the covenant promise, that his son should build the house of the LORD and His courts. He exhorted the people to keep the commandments and then spoke in tenderest words to young Solomon. “And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind ... take heed now; for the LORD hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it” (1Ch 28:1-10). Then he gave to his son Solomon the patterns for the temple. These had been made under the guidance of the Spirit of God. The immense treasures are mentioned which David had dedicated for the temple worship. Of all this we find nothing in the record of the first book of the Kings. Here only the general history of God’s government in Israel is given from the prophetic point of view. What Chronicles represents we shall state in our annotations on those books.

The charge of David to Solomon recorded in the opening verses of this chapter was given privately. Its main purpose was to exhort his son to punish Joab and Shimei and to show kindness unto the sons of Barzillai. Critics have attacked David’s character on account of this charge. Renan in his history of the people Israel goes so far as to say that the incident is “a revelation of the black perfidy of his hypocritical soul.” However, the charge to Solomon to execute vengeance upon these two men is not a stain upon King David. The punishment was well deserved. Joab had killed Abner and Amasa. Shimei had in great vileness cursed God’s King. Both were wicked men. David’s own guilt had no doubt compelled him to neglect the solemn duty demanded by justice. He therefore asked Solomon to vindicate divine justice and raise it up from the defeat it had sustained by punishing Joab and Shimei with death, while kindness is to be bestowed upon the righteous. From the prophetic viewpoint we get a glimpse of the coming righteous judgment of the King, our Lord Jesus Christ, who will execute the vengeance of God and punish the evil doers, and reward the righteous in His kingdom. Then David passed away and was buried after his forty-year reign in the city of David. He died in good old age, full of days, riches and honour (1Ch 29:28). His memory was always cherished by the nation. Peter on the day of Pentecost spoke of his burial place: “His sepulchre is with us unto this day” (Act 2:29). In the coming day of the glorious manifestation of the Son of Man, who also bears the title Son of David, when He shall receive the throne of His father David, King David in resurrection glory will have a great share in that Kingdom.

Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki 2:1-11

I. In this passage we notice the calmness and quietude of spirit with which David looked forward to the termination of his earthly career. In order to place ourselves in the position which David occupied, (1) we must have sought and found pardoning mercy; (2) we must have the Spirit of adoption, so as to be able to say, "Abba, Father;" (3) we must be advancing in the practical experience of sanctifying grace.

II. Notice the special charge which David addresses to Solomon to show himself a man and to be strong in observing the requirements of the Divine law. The expression which first strikes the mind is "Show thyself a man." (1) It is plainly the path of manly effort to strive to serve God and to fulfil the requirements of His law. (2) It is implied in the words of David that Solomon would have numberless difficulties to contend with. "Show thyself a man" means Resist; fight; overcome. (3) Unless the Spirit of God is in the man, the pieces of armour are useless, and the conflict must end in defeat and ruin. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there only is liberty and power.

III. Notice the clear perception which David evidently had of the conditional nature of the promises made to Israel and to his own family in particular. The faithful observance of the law of Moses formed the condition upon which Israel was to be great and flourishing.

IV. In explanation of David’s charge to Solomon to revenge himself on Joab and Shimei, we should remember (1) that he was there dictating to Solomon counsels of policy, not by Divine wisdom, but by his own mind; and whether these counsels were right or wrong, we must lay the responsibility of them upon David himself. (2) David lived under a darker dispensation than ours, and had not learned to forgive his enemies. (3) It may have been right and necessary for the public welfare that such dangerous men as Joab and Shimei should not be allowed to live.

A. D. Davidson, Lectures and Sermons, p. 349.

References: 1Ki 2:8.—Expositor, 2nd series, vol. i., p. 245. 1Ki 2:8, 1Ki 2:9.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 175.

1Ki 2:10

There is a rounded completeness about these words which is peculiarly applicable to the man of whom they were spoken. His day had been a long, an active, and a troubled one. He was the greatest general of his time. He bequeathed to his son a broad and well-consolidated empire. He sinned deeply, but he also suffered terribly and repented bitterly.

I. The expression "David slept with his fathers" is the well-known Hebrew formula for death, having primary reference, no doubt, to the fact of burial, but beyond that denoting the fact of being received into the happy portion of Hades and being there rejoined to the blessed spirits of their fathers. The two thoughts are undoubtedly conjoined. The phrase is applied in cases where it was not true that the bodily remains were laid side by side with those who had gone before, as, for example, in the case of Abraham.

II. There is another expression for death, also taken from the Hebrew, but used with greater frequency in the Greek of the New Testament, and from it transferred to the language of the whole Christian world: "falling asleep." By Him who was the Truth itself we are taught to regard sleep as the symbol of death. All that in His mind the symbol conveyed we do not know. The symbol itself is a mystery, as well as the thing symbolised. There may be inner and subtle resemblances between sleep and death, as well as those outer analogies which lie upon the surface and are patent to all. These we must be content to leave with God.

III. Sleep at last we all shall, but we may sleep well or ill. And then the awaking—what shall that be? A happy awaking depends upon the soundness of the sleep; the soundness of the sleep depends upon a healthy state of body and mind, and upon hard, honest work. There is no sleep so calm as the sleep in Jesus; and if we wish to sleep in Jesus, we must be in loving communion with Him now..

J. Macgregor, Contemporary Pulpit, vol. i., p. 65.

References: 1Ki 2:10.—J. Van Oosterzee, Year of Salvation, vol. ii., p. 471. 1Ki 2:14.—Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. viii., p. 269; F. W. Krummacher, David the King of Israel, p. 527; G. T. Coster, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxv., p. 328. 1Ki 2:22.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. III., p. 388. 1Ki 2.—Parker, vol. vii., p. 261. 1Ki 3:3.—Ibid., p. 272. 1Ki 3:3-14.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 232.

The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

DAVIDS DEATH-BED

1Ki_2:1-2

"Omnibus idem exitus est, sed et idem domicilium."

-PETRON., Satyr.

IN the Book of Samuel we have the last words of David in the form of a brief and vivid psalm, of which the leading principle is, "He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God." A kings justice must be shown alike in his gracious influence upon the good and his stern justice to the wicked. The worthless sons of Belial are, he says, "to be beaten down like thorns with spear-shafts and iron."

The same principle dominates in the charge which he gave to Solomon, perhaps after the magnificent public inauguration of his reign described in 1Ch 28, 29. He bade his young son to show himself a man, and be rigidly faithful to the law of Moses, earning thereby the prosperity which would never fail to attend true righteousness. Thus would the promise to David-"There shall not fail thee a man on the throne of Israel"-be continued in the time of Solomon.

With our Western and Christian views of morality we should have rejoiced if Davids charge to his son had ended there. It is painful to us to read that his last injunctions bore upon the punishment of Joab who had so long fought for him, and of Shimei whom he had publicly pardoned. Between these two stern injunctions came the request that he would show kindness to the sons of Barzillai, the old Gileadite sheykh who had extended such conspicuous hospitality to himself and his weary followers when they crossed the Jordan in their flight from Absalom. But the last words of David, as here recorded, are: "his (Shimeis) hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood."

In these avenging behests there was nothing which was regarded as unnatural, nothing that would have shocked the conscience of the age. The fact that they are recorded without blame by an admiring historiographer shows that we are reading the annals of times of ignorance which God "winked at." They belong to the era of imperfect moral development, when it was said to them of old time, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy," and men had not fully learnt the lesson, "Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." We must discriminate between the vitia temporis and the vitia hominis. David was trained in the old traditions of the "avenger of blood"; and we cannot be astonished, though we may greatly regret, that his standard was indefinitely below that of the Sermon on the Mount. He may have been concerned for the safety of his son, but to us it must remain a proof of his imperfect moral attainments that he bade Solomon look out for pretexts to "smite the hoary head of inveterate wickedness," and use his wisdom not to let the two offenders go down to the grave in peace.

The character of Joab furnishes us with a singular study. He, Abishai, and Asahel were the brave, impetuous sons of Zeruiah, the sister or half-sister of David. They were about his own age, and it is not impossible that they were the grandsons of Nahash, King of Ammon. In the days of Saul they had embraced the cause of David, heart and soul. They had endured all the hardships and fought through all the struggles of his freebooting days. Asahel, the youngest, had been in the front rank of his Gibborim, and his foot was fleet as that of a gazelle upon the mountain. Abishai had been one of the three who, with jeopardy of their lives, had burst their way to Bethlehem when David longed to drink of the water of its well beside the gate. He had also, on one occasion, saved Davids life from the giant Ishbi of Gath, and had slain three hundred Philistines with his spear. His zeal was always ready to flash into action in his uncles cause. Joab had been Davids commander-in-chief for forty years. It was Joab who had conquered the Ammonites and Moabites and stormed the City of Waters. It was Joab who, at Davids bare request, had brought about the murder of Uriah. It was Joab who, after wise but fruitless remonstrance, had been forced to number the people. But David had never liked these rough imperious soldiers, whose ways were not his ways. From the first he was unable to cope with them, or keep them in order. In the early days they had treated him with rude familiarity, though in late years they, too, were obliged to approach him with all the forms of Eastern servility. But ever since the murder of Uriah, Joab knew that Davids reputation and Davids throne were in his hand. Joab himself had been guilty of two wild acts of vengeance for which he would have offered some defense, and of one atrocious crime. His murder of the princely Abner, the son of Net, might have been excused as the duty of an avenger of blood, for Abner. with one back-thrust of his mighty spear, had killed the young Asahel, after the vain warning to desist from pursuing him. Abner had only killed Asahel in self-defense; but, jealous of Abners power as the cousin of King Saul, the husband of Rizpah, and the commander of the northern army, Joab, after bluntly rebuking David for receiving him, had without hesitation deluded Abner back to Hebron by a false message and treacherously murdered him. Even at that early period of his reign David was either unable or unwilling to punish the outrage, though he ostentatiously deplored it.

Doubtless in slaying Absalom, in spite of the kings entreaty, Joab had inflicted an agonizing wound on the pride and tenderness of his master. But Absalom was in open rebellion, and Joab may have held that Davids probable pardon of the beautiful rebel would be both weak and fatal. This death was inflicted in a manner needlessly cruel, but might have been excused as a death inflicted on the battle-field, though probably Joab had many an old grudge to pay off besides the burning of his barley field. After Absaloms rebellion David foolishly and unjustly offered the commandership of the army to his nephew Amasa. Amasa was the son of his sister Abigail by an Ishmaelite father, named Jether. Joab simply would not tolerate being superseded in the command which he had earned by lifelong and perilous services. With deadly treachery, in which men have seen the antitype of the worlds worst crime, Joab invited his kinsman to embrace him, and drove his sword into his bowels. David had heard, or perhaps had seen, the revolting spectacle which Joab presented, with the blood of war shed in peace, dyeing his girdle and streaming down to his shoes with its horrible crimson. Yet, even by that act, Joab had once more saved Davids tottering throne. The Benjamite Sheba, son of Bichri, was making head in a terrible revolt, in which he had largely enlisted the sympathy of the northern tribes, offended by the overbearing fierceness of the men of Judah. Amasa had been either incompetent or half-hearted in suppressing this dangerous rising. It had only collapsed when the army welcomed back the strong hand of Joab. But whatever had been the crimes of Joab they had been condoned. David, on more than one occasion, had helplessly cried, "What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? I am this day weak though anointed king, and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too hard for me." But he had done nothing, and, whether with or against his will, they continued to hold their offices near his person. David did not remind Solomon of the murder of Absalom, nor of the words of menace-words as bold as any subject ever uttered to his sovereign-with which Joab had imperiously hushed his wail over his worthless son. Those words had openly warned the king that, if he did not alter his line of conduct, he should be king no more. They were an insult which no king could pardon, even if he were powerless to avenge. But Joab, like David himself, was now an old man. The events of the last few days had shown that his power and influence were gone. He may have had something to fear from Bathsheba as the wife of Uriah and the granddaughter of Ahithophel; but his adhesion to the cause of Adonijah had doubtless been chiefly due to jealousy of the ever growing influence of the priestly soldier Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, who had so evidently superseded him in his masters favor. However that may be, the historian faithfully records that David, on his death-bed, neither forgot nor forgave; and all that we can say is, that it would be unfair to judge him by modern or by Christian principles of conduct.

The other victim whose doom was bequeathed to the new king was Shimei, the son of Gera. He had cursed David at Bahurim on the day of his flight, and in the hour of his extremest humiliation. He had walked on the opposite side of the valley, flinging stones and dust at David, cursing him with a grievous curse as a man of Belial and a man of blood, and telling him that the loss of his kingdom was the retribution which had fallen upon him for the blood of the House of Saul which he had shed. So grievous was the trial of these insults that the place where the king and his people rested that night received the pathetic name of Ayephim, "the place of the weary." For this conduct Shimei might have pleaded the pent-up animosities of the House of Saul, which had been stripped by David of all its honors, and of which poor lame Mephibosheth was the only scion left, after David had impaled Sauls seven sons and grandsons in human sacrifice at the demand of the Gibeonites. Abishai, indignant at Shimeis conduct, had said, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?" and had offered, then and there, to cross the valley and take his head. But David rebuked his generous wrath, and when Shimei came out to meet him on his return with expressions of penitence, David not only promised but swore that he should not die. No further danger surely could be anticipated from the ruined and humiliated House of Saul; yet David bade Solomon to find some excuse for putting Shimei to death.

How are we to deal with sins which are recorded of Gods olden saints on the sacred page, and recorded without a word of blame?

Clearly we must avoid two errors-the one of injustice, the other of dishonesty.

1. On the one hand, as we have said, we must not judge Abraham, or Jacob, or Gideon, or Jael, or David, as though they were nineteenth-century Christians. Christ Himself taught us that some things inherently undesirable were yet permitted in old days because of the hardness of mens hearts; and that the moral standards of the days of ignorance were tolerated in all their imperfection until men were able to judge of their own deeds in a purer light. "The times of ignorance God overlooked," says St. Paul, "but now He commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent." {Act_17:30} "Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies," said Our Lord. {Mat_5:43-44} When Bayle and Tindal and many others declaim against "the immorality of the Bible" they are unfair in a high degree. They pass judgment on men who had been trained from infancy in opinions and customs wholly unlike our own, and whose conscience would not be wounded by many things which we have been rightly taught to regard as evil. They apply the enlightenment of two millenniums of Christianity to criticize the more rudimentary conditions of life a millennium before Christ. The wild justice inflicted by an avenger of blood, the rude atrocity of the lex talionis, are rightly abhorrent to us in days of civilization and settled law: they were the only available means of restraining crime in unsettled times and half-civilized communities. In his final injunctions about his enemies, whom he might have dreaded as enemies too formidable for his son to keep in subjection, David may have followed the view of his day that his former condonations had only been co-extensive with his own life, and that the claims of justice ought to be satisfied.

2. But while we admit every palliation, and endeavor to judge justly, we must not fall into the conventionality of representing Davids unforgiving severity as otherwise than reprehensible in itself. Attempts to gloss over moral wrongdoing, to represent it as blameless, to invent supposed Divine sanctions and intuitions in defense of it, can but weaken the eternal claims of the law of righteousness. The rule of right is inflexible: it is not a leaden rule which can be twisted into any shape we like. A crime is none the less a crime though a saint commits it; and imperfect conceptions of the high claims of the moral law, as Christ expounded its Divine significance, do not cease to be imperfect though they may be sometimes recorded without comment on the page of Scripture. No religious opinion can be more fatal to true religion than that wrong can, under any circumstances, become right, or that we may do evil that good may come. Because an act is relatively pardonable, it does not follow that it is not absolutely wrong. If it be dangerous to judge the essential morality of any earlier passage of Scripture by the ultimate laws which Scripture itself has taught us, it is infinitely more dangerous, and essentially Jesuitical, to explain away misdeeds as though, under any circumstances, they could be pleasing to God or worthy of a saint. The total omission of Davids injunctions and of the sanguinary episodes of their fulfillment by the author of the Books of Chronicles, indicates that, in later days, they were thought derogatory to the pure fame both of the warrior-king and of his peaceful son.

David slept with his fathers, and passed before that bar where all is judged of truly. His life is an April day, half sunshine and half gloom. His sins were great, but his penitence was deep, lifelong, and sincere. He gave occasion for the enemies of God to blaspheme, but he also taught all who loved God to praise and pray. If his record contains some dark passages, and his character shows many inconsistencies, we can never forget his courage, his flashes of nobleness, his intense spirituality whenever he was true to his better self. His name is a beacon-light of warning against the glamour and strength of evil passions. But he showed us also what repentance can do, and we are sure that his sins were forgiven him because he turned away from his wickedness. "The sacrifices of God are a troubled spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise." "I go the way of all the earth," said David. "In life," says Calmet, "each one has his particular route: one applies to one thing, another to another. But in the way to death they are all re-united. They go to the tomb by one path."

David was buried in his own city-the stronghold of Zion; and his sepulcher-on the south part of Ophel, near the pool of Siloam-was still pointed out a thousand years later in the days of Christ. As a poet who had given to the people splendid specimens of lyric songs; as a warrior who had inspired their youth with dauntless courage; as a king who had made Israel a united nation with an impregnable capital, and had uplifted it from insignificance into importance; as the man in whose family the distinctive Messianic hopes of the Hebrews were centered, he must remain to the end of time the most remarkable and interesting figure in the long annals of the Old Dispensation.

William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.

2:1-12 David gave his final charge to Solomon in two sections: personal advice for spiritual living (2:2-4) and instructions about people David had dealt with (2:5-9).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

CHAPTER II

David leaves his dying charge with Solomon, relative to his own

personal conduct, 1-4;

to Joab, 5, 6;

to Barzillai, 7;

to Shimei, 8, 9.

He dies, and Solomon is established in the kingdom, 10-12.

Adonijah requests to have Abishag to wife, and is put to death

by Solomon, 13-25.

Abiathar the priest is banished to his estate at Anathoth,

26, 27.

Joab, fearing for his life, flees to the horns of the altar, and

is slain there by Benaiah, 28-34.

Benaiah is made captain of the host in his stead, 35.

Shimei is ordered to confine himself to Jerusalem, and never

leave it on pain of death, 36-38.

After three years he follows some of his runaway servants to

Gath, and thereby forfeits his life, 39, 40.

Solomon sends for him, upbraids him, and commands him to be

slain by Benaiah, 41-46.

NOTES ON CHAP. II

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die,.... The number of his days fixed and determined by the Lord, Job 14:5; and which might be perceived as drawing nigh, both by himself and others, through the growing infirmities of old age, decline of nature, and various symptoms of an approaching dissolution which were upon him; see Gen 47:29. Abarbinel observes, that he is called only David, not King David; because Solomon his son was now anointed king, and reigned in his stead; so in Kg1 1:10; but there is another reason given by some Jews (n), that no man, even a king, has power in the day of death; he is no king then, he has no rule over that, but that rules over him:

and he charged Solomon his son; gave him his last and dying charge:

saying; as follows.

(n) Bereshit Rabba, sect. 96. fol. 83. 3.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The events related in 1 Chr. 28–29 had occurred in the interval which separates the last and this present chapter.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

David's last Will and Testament

The recital of David's last charge to Solomon and his death is followed by an account of the execution of Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei.

3, 4. Cp. Deuteronomy 17; 2 Samuel 7.

5. Abner.. Amasa] For Abner see 1Ch_9:36; 1Sa_14:50; 2 Samuel 2-3 for Amasa see 2Sa_17:25 (Cp. 1 Chronicles 2), 2Sa_19:13; 2Sa_20:4-13. Joab's slaying of Abner may be palliated, though not justified, in consideration of his kinship with Asahel, whom Abner had killed; but his assassination of Amasa was due merely to the mortification he had sustained when the latter displaced him in the king's favour. He had thus been guilty of murder, which, if unavenged, would bring guilt on the land: cp. 2Sa_1:21. David may also have thought it expedient to remove Joab in order to safeguard Solomon's throne, which could never be secure so long as so capable and unscrupulous an officer was alive. The blood of war.. girdle] The LXX has 'innocent blood,' which the sense requires.

6. The grave] Heb. Sheol, the abode of departed spirits.

7. Barzillai] For his kindness to David see 2Sa_19:3; 2 Samuel 1 f.

8. Shimei] For his offence against David and David's oath to him see 2Sa_16:5-13; 2Sa_19:18-23.

9. Hold him not guiltless] Personal resentment seems to have entered into David's feelings towards Shimei, but it is probable that his injunctions respecting him were partly dictated by political reasons, for Shimei was a Benjamite who had reproached David with supplanting Saul, and might be suspected of hostility towards David's successor; and who was influential enough to be attended by a thousand of his fellow-tribesmen when he met the king after Absalom's defeat (2Sa_19:17).

10. The city of David] i.e. the stronghold of Zion: see 2Sa_5:6-9. At this time Jerusalem probably occupied only the eastern of the two hills upon which the modern city stands.

David's reign was more important and critical than any other in the history of Israel, both from a secular and from a religious point of view. In the first place, he consolidated into a kingdom what had previously been an aggregate of jealous tribes, and so enabled his countrymen to take a place among the nations of the Eastern world; and, in the second place, he strengthened his people's attachment to the Lord, alike by the zeal he showed for God's honour and worship, and by the obedience he rendered to the prophets who counselled or admonished him in the divine name. Consequently later times regarded the period of his rule as Israel's golden age, and the memories of it coloured the anticipations which were entertained respecting the coming of the Messiah. His character, indeed, was not free from reproach; for, besides being guilty of adultery and murder, he was cruel in war (2Sa_8:2; 2Sa_12:31) and negligent of justice at home (though in these respects he was doubtless no worse than his contemporaries). But if he sinned grievously, he repented sincerely;"and by his humility under reproof (2Sa_12:13), his resignation in adversity (2Sa_15:25-26), and his faith in the divine mercy (2Sa_24:14), he still affords an example for Christian people.

17. That he give me Abishag] Amongst Eastern nations the wives and concubines of a deceased or dethroned king were taken by his successor (see 2Sa_12:8; 2Sa_16:21-22); and so Adoni-jah's request for Abishag was regarded as tantamount to a claim on the throne.

19. Rose up to meet her] the queen-dowager occupied a very important position at the court of the kings of Israel: cp. 1Ki_15:13; Jer_13:18.

23. God do so, etc.] an expression implying a wish that God would avenge the failure to carry out what was promised or threatened.

24. Made me an house] see 2Sa_7:11.

26. Anathoth] NNE. of Jerusalem. It was the home of the prophet Jeremiah (Jer_1:1).

Barest the ark] perhaps referring to the transport of the ark from the house of Obededom to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 15), or to its removal from Jerusalem on the occasion of Absalom's rebellion (2Sa_15:24-29).

27. That he might.. the Lord] see 1Sa_2:31-36. it is not meant that the fulfilment was designed by Solomon, but he was the unconscious agent of divine providence.

28. Horns of the altar] see on 1Ki_1:50. The tabernacle] see on 1Ki_1:39.

31. Bury him] Denial of burial would have made Joab's fate more ignominious: see 2Ki_9:10, 2Ki_9:34; Isa_14:19, Isa_14:20. Take away the innocent blood] This, if not avenged, would have brought a judgment upon the king and his people: see Num_35:33, and cp. 2Sa_21:1-14.

32, 33 In these vv. the futures are best rendered as wishes. Captain of the host of Judah] At this time there was no formal division between Israel and Judah, but Amasa had been specially connected with the latter: see 2Sa_19:11-13; 2Sa_20:4;

34. Buried in his own house] cp. 1Sa_25:1; 2Ki_21:18. In the wilderness] i.e. of Judah, to which tribe Joab belonged.

35. Put.. Abiathar] i.e. appointed him to be first priest, instead of Abiathar.

36. Build thee an house in Jerusalem] i.e. that he might be under surveillance.

37. The brook Kidron] This would actually limit him only on the E., the quarter in which his former home, Bahurim, was situated; but it was doubtless meant to designate the distance beyond which he was not to go in any direction: cp. 1Ki_2:42.

39. Shhnei's visit to Achish might be construed as an intrigue with a foreign power.

43. The oath of the Lord] i.e. the oath which the Lord witnessed.

J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

THE LAST WORDS AND DEATH OF DAVID. The death of David, and of course the charge which preceded it, did not follow immediately (as the casual reader might be tempted to suppose) on the events related in chap. 1. We find from 1Ch 23-29:23, that the aged king recovered sufficient strength to leave his sick room, to gather round him the princes of Israel, (1Ch_23:9) to make a number of fresh arrangements respecting the priests and Levites and the services of the sanctuary, and even to "stand up upon his feet" (1Ch_28:2) and address a large assembly respecting the erection and adornment of the Temple. And once more, in strains which are among the noblest and sweetest which the sweet singer of Israel ever penned, he "blessed the Lord before all the congregation"; (1Ch_29:10. sqq.) he also instituted festal sacrifices on a scale of great magnificence, and witnessed a second and probably more formal and public consecration of his son to the kingly office (vers. 21, 22; cf. 1Sa_11:15; 2Sa_5:3) But the recovery cannot have been otherwise than transient it was but the sudden brightening of the flame before it dies out in the socket and we see him in this second chapter, once more in the ante-chamber of death. Now, he has already given his parting charge to the princes of the realm, and has publicly exhorted Solomon to discharge his duties faithfully; (2Ch_28:9, 2Ch_28:10) but as he feels the end approaching, he summons him to his side to impart to him his last and private instructions, and addresses him thus:

I go the way lit., I am walking (same word as in ver. 3) in the way of all the earth i.e., of all the sons of earth, all mankind. (of 1Sa_17:46; 1Ki_10:24; Psa_66:4, etc.) The path to Sheol, the path which all his forefathers, and untold millions more, have trod, he is treading it now. The words sound like a reminiscence of: Jos_23:2-3. Perhaps, too, the thought of Joshua suggested to his mind the next words but be thou strong, and be a man. Similar, though not identical, words were four times addressed to Joshua, (Jos_1:6, Jos_1:7, Jos_1:9, Jos_1:18) and Davidmay well have thought that his son, in entering upon his difficult duties, was not at all unlike Joshua when he succeeded Moses in the leadership of Israel, and that he needed similar encouragement. It is not necessary to suppose, as Canon Rawlinson does ("Speaker"s Com.," vol. 2 p. 489), that in the words, "show thyself a man," we have a reference to Solomon"s youth; for words precisely similar were addressed to each other by the Philistines at Aphek. (1Sa_4:9) The age of Solomon at his accession is very doubtful. David said, "Solomon my son is young and tender"; (1Ch_22:5 1Ch_29:1) and Solomon says of himself, "I am a little child" foq; rn. (1Ki_3:7) Josephus, probably reflecting the tradition of his time, fixes his age at fourteen; Eupolemus at twelve. I incline to think that the words "young and tender" almost forbid the favourite opinion that he was about twenty.

Vers. 1-11.

A Jewish deathbed.

A brilliant poet and essayist once summoned his stepson, the young Earl of Warwick, to his bedside, and with perfect dignity and composure bade him mark "how a Christian man can die." In this section, one far greater, and yet in one sense far less, than Addison, greater as a poet, as a statesman, as a patriot; less, inasmuch as "he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he, beckons us to the chamber of death, and bids us witness the departure of a pious Jew of a typical Hebrew of the Hebrews. In one sense, David is the greatest figure in the Old Testament. He alone, of all that are born of women, has been called a "man after God"s own heart." And more: If Solomon is of all Old Testament characters the most secular, certainly David is by far the most spiritual. Proof: His songs are still chanted in church as well as synagogue, and Christian souls find no fitter expression for their devout longings and aspirations than in the language of his exquisite Psalms. Let us hear his last recorded words. The last utterances of great men are allowed to have a special interest. They have often been intensely characteristic. Let us listen to "the last words of David." Let us carefully notice

(1) What he does say, and no less carefully

(2) What he does not say.

I. WHAT HE DOES SAY.

1. He says he is not afraid to meet death. His conduct, his demeanour says this. See how calmly he looks it in the face. "I go the way," etc. He hardly knows what death means; knows but little of the life beyond; his hopes and fears are bounded by the pale and shadowy realm of Sheol, but he can trust the living God, and he thinks he believesthey cannot cease to live whom God does not cease to love. And so he goes into the gloom and the shadows with the trust of a child that holds the father"s hand; he approaches the grave

As one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.

We have a far nobler creed a livelier hope than his. Jesus Christ has "brought life and immortality to light." We have heard of the rest of Paradise; of the resurrection; of the beatific vision. Shall we then dread to die? Shall we be put to shame by a Jew? The Mohammedan calls death the "terminator of delights and the separator of companions." Socrates said, "Whether it is best to live or die, the gods only know." Shall we act as if we had no better belief? Surely our beneficent religion, and its gospel of immortality, should make us brave to die.

1. He bids us be mindful of our mortality. There are Christians who will not think, will not speak of death. Not so David. He saw the end approaching, and he faced it. It is well we should have from time to time, as we constantly have in daily life, in the dispensations of God"s providence, a memento mori. Pagan and Moslem monarchs have had their heralds daily and publicly remind them of their frailty. The ancient Egyptians would bring a mummy to their feasts. The Kaffars ever keep the boards for their coffins in their houses. With their dismal and often hopeless creeds, they yet remember death. Shall we, who know that death is but the gate of life, ostrich like, shut our eyes to it, and all "think all men to be mortal but ourselves?

2. He teaches us in death to think of duty; to remember those who will come after us our friends, enemies, church, and country. He leaves a son "young and tender." He is concerned for his piety, for his prosperity; and through him, for the piety and prosperity of the nation. He knows that the words of the dying have weight. He will not depart without a solemn dying charge. It is the last best gift he can bestow. The Christian must not die selfishly. Even in pain and feebleness, he must care for others. If he can, he ought to charge his children and connexions; to warn them, to bless them. Should he be less jealous for their present and eternal welfare, or less concerned for the honour and glory of God, than was this dying Jew?

3. He reminds us that men die as they have lived. David has kept the law, "save in the matter of Uriah," etc. His death is of a piece with his life it is the natural outcome, the good fruit from a good tree. During life, he has been very zealous for the Lord God of Israel. The ruling passion displays itself in death. The great desire of the man who has kept the law is that his son may keep it. To die well, one must live well. The last struggle works no change in the character. Deathbed repentance is generally delusive. They deceive themselves, who,

Dying, put on the weeds of Dominic, Or as Franciscans think to pass disguised.

4. He warns us to set our house in order, to pay our debts and square our accounts before we die. David, we read, "prepared abundantly (for the temple) before his death." He has made royal provision for the house that should be built. But he remembers at last that three debts of his are still undischarged; a debt of gratitude to the sons of Barzillai, a debt of retribution to Joab, and another to Shimei. "Due punishment of malefactors is the debt of authority" (Bp. Hall). He will not, like some, "go on sinning in his grave;" he will have these debts discharged. He cannot depart in peace while they burden his conscience. And we, too, go where "there is neither work, nor device, nor knowledge," where wrongs cannot be redressed, where accounts cannot be settled. Have we any crime unconfessed, or injury unrepaired, any enemy unforgiven? "What thou doest, do quickly." But let us now consider

II WHAT DAVID DOES NOT SAY. The silence of Scripture is often golden, is sometimes as instructive as its voices. Here is a case in point. The most spiritual of Old Testament saints the man after God"s own heart is dying, and he knows it. He gives his son his parting counsels, and what are they? They are all of this world. Observe

1. There is no mention of a future life; no "hope full of immortality," no talk of reunion, but rather a sad vale, vale in aeternum vale. The most remarkable feature in David"s last words is, that there is not one word about another fie. The Christian could not die thus. Even "half-inspired heathens" have expressed a livelier hope witness Cicero"s "O praeclarum diem cum ad illud divimun animorum concilium coetumque proficisear and how immeasurably higher than this, again, is St. Paul"s desire to depart and be with Christ! "I go the way of all the earth it is like the sound of the clods upon the coffin, without the faintest whisper of a "Resurgam. What a contrast between this and the apostle"s exultant cry, "Death is swallowed up in victory!" And the very humblest Christian could hardly depart as David did, with absolutely no reference to the realm of the future. There would assuredly be some comforting word about the many mansions, the rest for the weary, the gates of pearl, the streets of fine gold. Of all this David said nothing, neither in life nor death, because he knew nothing. He had hopes, anticipations, convictions almost, as some of the Psalms show, but he had not what the Christian has, the "full assurance of faith," the "sure and certain hope of a resurrection to eternal life." In this respect how much greater was Addison, how much more "full of all blessed conditions" his death. In this respect, every Christian deathbed has a glory and a consecration and a triumph which we miss in the death chamber of the sweet Psalmist of Israel, the most saintly and spiritual of the Jews. As Coleridge,

Is that a deathbed where the Christian lies? Yes, but not his; "tis death itself there dies.

1. There is no idea of a future recompense. Hence, partly, his urgent demand for the punishment of Joab and Shimei. He does not know of a "judgment to come; of any distribution of rewards and punishments after death. He has been taught that the righteous and the wicked alike are to be "recompensed in the earth, and therefore Joab and Shimei, albeit old and greyheaded, must not die in peace. If they do, justice, he thinks, will be robbed of its due. How different the conception of the Christian! He views with calmness the miscarriage of justice; he sees the wicked in great prosperity; he "bears the whips and scorns of time," "suffers the stings and arrows of outrageous fortune," knowing that this world is not all; that "God is patient because he is eternal, and that "the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain," at the judgment seat of Christ.

2. There was no hope of a kingdom and a crown. David"s idea was that he was leaving a kingdom; St. Paul"s that he was going to one. "Remove the diadem and take off the crown this was the message of death to the Hebrew kings. And to us death brings a crown (Rev_2:10, Rev_3:11; 2Ti_4:8; Jam_1:12, etc.) a throne, (Rom_3:21) a sceptre, (Rev_2:27) a kingdom (Dan_7:18; Luk_22:29; Heb_12:28, etc.) To the Jew death was practically the end of life and of glory; to the Christian it is the beginning of both.

Vers. 1-11.

Eikon Basilike.

The king, the close of whose chequered and romantic career is narrated in this section, was the pattern king of the Hebrew people, and is in many respects a model for all kings. The portrait drawn here and in the Psalms is a veritable Eikon Basilike, both truer and worthier of regard than that "Portraiture of his sacred Majesty," so famous and so influential in the history of our own country. We see him gathered to his fathers. Let us honestly frame his eulogium.

I HE WAS ONE OF NATURE"S KINGS. The first king of Israel seems to have been chosen because of his physical, the second because of his moral, qualifications. His was a kingly soul. "Kind hearts are more than coronets yes, and more than crowns. Few nobler and greater men have ever lived. Witness his magnanimity, his chivalry, his loyalty, his bravery, his tenderness, his forgiveness of wrongs. See the records of 1Sa_16:12, 21 27:32-37, 50 18:14-16 22:23 24:5, 22 25:16 26:9-25; 2Sa_1:11-15 2Sa_2:5, 6 3:31-39 4:9-12 9:1 16:10, 12 18:33 19:22. Such a man, had he lived and died among the sheepfolds, would have been "king of men for all that.

II HE WAS ONE OF HEAVEN"S KINGS. "The powers that be are ordained of God." All legitimate monarchs reign de jure divino. But not all equally so. He was expressly chosen of God (1Sa_16:1; Psa_89:20) was taken from the sheepfolds and from perilous watches against the lion and the bear to be the viceroy of Heaven. And he proved himself a king after God"s own heart. He is the standard with which subsequent monarchs are compared, and by which they are judged, (2Ki_11:4, 33 15:3-5, 11; 2Ki_14:3, etc.)

III HE WAS FAITHFUL TO THE KING OF KINGS. "He did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only," etc.. (1Ki_15:5) "His heart was perfect with the Lord his God". (1Ki_11:4) He kept God"s commandments and statutes (ver. 34). He was qualified to govern by having learnt to obey. He required nothing from his subjects which he did not himself render to his sovereign Lord.

IV HE FAITHFULLY EXECUTED THE JUDGMENTS OF A KING. The powers that be are appointed "to execute wrath on him that doeth evil." The Church at her altar prays "that they may truly and indifferently minister justice, to the punishment of wickedness and vice." "A wise king scattereth the wicked and bringeth the wheel over them." "The execution of justice on the guilty is essential even to the exercise of mercy to those whose safety depends on the maintenance of the law" (Wordsworth). David was never more kingly than when he "cut off all wicked doers from the city of the LORD". (Psa_101:8)

V HE WAS A KING TO THE LAST. "David did never so wisely and carefully marshal the affairs of God as when he was fixed to the bed of his age and death" (Bp. Hall). It is the king speaks in this dying charge. It was because he was king, and as such owed obedience to the King of kings, and owed protection and the vindication of law to his subjects, that he could not pardon Joab and Shimei. A private person can forgive private wrongs; a king may not forgive public injuries, for he may not give away what is not his to give. It is true the son of David prayed for the forgiveness of his murderers. It is true that we are to forgive those who have wronged us. But we are not to defeat the ends of justice, and bid the malefactor go free. Nor will the Son of David forgive conscious and inveterate rebellion. He it is, the fount of all mercy, who will say, "Those mine enemies, who would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me". (Luk_19:27)

VI HE SOUGHT AND FOUND MERCY FROM THE KING OF KINGS. He was not perfect, not sinless. "Save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite." It is not the "fierce light that beats upon a throne" discloses David"s imperfections; it is his own confessions. In Psalm 51. he has himself recorded his sin and his profound penitence; in Psalm 32, he tells us of his pardon. The king of Israel tells us how the King of Heaven forgives. And here most of all, perhaps, is he a pattern for all kings, for all men, to the end of time. This Eikon Basilike has many goodly and noble features, but the fairest lineament of all is the story of his sin and its forgiveness. (2Sa_12:1-18)

HOMILIES BY E. DE PRESSENSE.

Vers. 1-11. Holy Scripture gives us many a touching and pathetic description of the death of the father of a family, showing how it at once sanctions and sanctifies natural affection. The farewells of David remind us of those of Jacob. Death sometimes seems to fill the men of God of the old covenant with the spirit of prophecy, as if the summit of the earthly life was illuminated with a purer radiance falling upon it from a higher sphere. Death is indeed to all the messenger of God to reveal to us great truths; it is a great prophet.

I Death shows to us WHERE ENDS THE WAY OF ALL THE EARTH. (1Ki_2:2) Pascal says, "However brilliant the tragedy may have been, the end is always death. From every grave which is dug comes a voice crying, Memento mori.

II DEATH TEACHES US TO LOOK AT OUR PAST EXISTENCE AS A WHOLE, as from a height we look down on the plain below. It brings out the great object of life, the essential truth too often drowned in the busy hum of the world. David thinks no more at this hour of the glory or of the pleasures of life. Its one great end stands out more clearly before him to walk in the ways of the Lord, to keep His statutes and His commandments. This is wisdom and prudence.

III DEATH REMINDS THE SERVANTS OF GOD THAT THEIR WORK DOES NOT PERISH WITH THEM; that none of them, not even the greatest, is an indispensable instrument of the work; that they are only links in the chain. Thus the torch which is to enlighten the world is passed from hand to hand.

IV THE INHERITANCE OF A HOLY WORK TO BE CARRIED ON is the best of those blessings which, according to God"s promise, are to rest upon His people to the third and fourth generations. (Exo_20:6) A great responsibility rests upon a Christian family, and their education ought to be conducted with a view to it. This succession in piety, in living and acting faith, is more important and more real than the succession by means of official ordination.

V Every servant of God, in his death, may say with Jesus Christ, "IT IS EXPEDIENT FOR YOU THAT I GO AWAY;" "YE SHALL DO GREATER THINGS THAN THESE." It is well to know, when our work is done, that it will be carried on by another. With Solomon, the Jewish theocracy received a new development, such as it had never known in the time of David. It is well for us to die, even for the sake of the work of God, which we are called to accomplish up to a certain point, but no further.

VI How much BETTER STILL IS IT FOR US TO DIE, when we look at it in the light of eternity. "David slept with his fathers (ver. 10), but only like them to be carried home to God, to rest in Abraham"s bosom". (Luk_16:22) For ourselves, we may say with St. Paul, "To depart, and be with Christ is far better". E.DE P. (Php_1:18)

HOMILIES BY J. WAITE

Vers. 1-4.

A royal father"s last words.

David"s eventful life is drawing to a close. He has proved himself to be "a man after God"s own heart." Not perfect man, for he had grievous defects. But, in the main, he recognized the grandeur of his position as "the Lord"s anointed." He lived by the inspiration of a Divine purpose. He "served his own generation by the will of God". (Act_13:36) His very faults bore witness to the native force of his character. The height of the precipice measures the depth that frowns beneath it. Great natures are most capable of great temptations, great sorrows, and great sins. But now great David dies, and the sovereignty of Israel must pass into other hands.

I THE CALMNESS OF A GOOD MAN IN THE FACE OF DEATH. "I go the way of all the earth." There is a tone of quiet composure and satisfaction in these words remarkable feature of the way in which most of the Old Testament saints confronted death. More than mere Oriental courage, mere passive submission to the inevitable, faith in the Unseen and Eternal fortitude of a soul that has found nobler inheritance than earth supplies peaceful self surrender into the hands of the Living God. Yet not like the clear and certain vision of Christian faith. Compare this, "I go the way," etc., with St. Paul"s "I have fought a good fight," etc.. (2Ti_4:7, 2Ti_4:8) He who has a living hold on Christ can say, not merely "I go the way of all the earth," but "I go my way to the eternal home of the redeemed." "Absent from the body; present with the Lord." Composure in the face of death very much a matter of natural temperament dependent on physical conditions to be distinguished from the higher, triumph of faith. Men of faith sometimes in "bondage through fear of death." Live much with Christ, and when the fatal hour comes the sting and the terror shall be taken away.

II THE CARE OF A GODLY FATHER FOR THE WELL BEING OF HIS SON. Often in the life of David we see, through the garb of his kingly character, the throbbing of the true fatherly heart. The spirit of fatherhood here takes the form of wise and solemn counsel befitting the time. Fine touch of nature in this. The true father desires that his sons should be nobler, better, happier than himself. He lives over again in their life, and would have them to avoid the errors and evils into which he has fallen. David"s yearning for Solomon is at once intensified and hallowed by the remembrance of his own wrong doing. "Be strong and shew thyself a man." Solomon"s youth, gentle disposition, heavy responsibilities, alike demanded such counsel. Supreme lesson of life for the young the path of obedience to the Divine law is that of safety and prosperity. The wisdom and strength God gives will enable the "little child" in the noblest sense to "play the man." Each generation on a vantage ground as compared with those that went before it children "heirs of all the ages," Best legacy the fathers leave them the great principles of truth and righteousness, as illustrated by their own living history. Chart of the ocean of life in the children"s hands; rocks and shoals and hidden currents traced by the care and toil and suffering of those who sailed before them. Let them use it wisely if they would have a safe and prosperous voyage.

III THE STEADFASTNESS OF GOD"S PURPOSE AMID ALL THE CHANGES OF HUMAN HISTORY. David dies in the faith that "the Lord will continue His word." The "everlasting covenant ordered in all things and sure" is not fluctuating and perishable as the things and beings of earth. Steadfast order of the heavenly bodies and of the seasons a symbol of the sure covenant. (Jer_33:20) The frailty of man often serves to deepen our impression of the eternity of God. Human life a tale soon told, but "the counsel of the Lord standeth fast," etc. This is our security for the triumph of the cause of truth and righteousness in the world, "All flesh is grass," etc.. (1Pe_1:24) Man dies, but God lives; and the hope that stays itself upon His word can never be put to shame.

IV THE CONDITIONAL NATURE OF DIVINE PROMISES. "If thy children take heed," etc. All Divine promises are thus conditional. Faith and practical submission needed to place us in the line of their fulfilment. God "continues His word" to those who continue in His ways. The promises are "Yea and amen" in Christ. Be "in Him" if you would realize them. W.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

David's charge to Solomon ver. 1-9. His death and burial, with the beginning of Solomon's reign, ver. 10-12. He puts Adonijah to death, ver. 13-25. Deposes Abiathar from the high-priesthood, ver. 26, 27. Puts Joab to death, ver. 28-35. Confines Shimei, to Jerusalem, ver. 36-38. Puts him to death, ver. 39-46.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The Death of David

v. 1. Now, the days of David drew nigh that he should die; he felt that death was approaching rapidly; and he charged Solomon, his son, saying,

v. 2. I go the way of all the earth, walking on the way which led to death, Jos 23:14. Be thou strong therefore and show thyself a man, a true watchman in the service of Jehovah;

v. 3. and keep the charge of the Lord, thy God, that which was entrusted to him in his kingly office, that he might perform it, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His judgments, and His testimonies, the sum total of the Law in all its different aspects, in its various relations to men, whether this had special reference to the children of Israel or not, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper, be skilful, use wise care, in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself, performing all things in such a manner as to have the approval of Jehovah and therefore be a partaker of true prosperity;

v. 4. that the Lord may continue His word which He spake concerning me, saying, if thy children take heed to their way to walk before Me in truth, in faithful adherence to His covenant, with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee, shall not be cut off to thee, (said He) a man on the throne of Israel. The Messianic promise 2Sa 7:12-13 implied, of course, an unbroken succession of descendants of David, through whom the family of David might be continued. The posterity of David was not to be exterminated, for it was a branch out of his root who was to be the Messiah of the world.

v. 5. Moreover, thou knowest also what Joab, the son of Zeruiah, did to me, since he, with his strange influence in Israel, often acted counter to the wishes of the king, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner, the son of Ner, and unto Amasa, the son of Jether, whom he slew, in willful and malicious murder, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, 2Sa 3:27-28; 2Sa 20:8-9, and in his shoes that were on his feet, these articles of apparel being named as those of a warrior, the former serving to hold up the sheath of the sword, the latter for marching. Joab had soiled with innocent blood the very insignia of his rank and dignity as general and soldier.

v. 6. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, in choosing the right moment when Joab might give occasion, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace, to punish him for his blood-guiltiness in such a manner as not to provoke murmuring on the part of the people.

v. 7. But show kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, Chimham being even now one of those enjoying the bounty of the king, 2Sa 19:40, and let them be of those that eat at thy table; for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom, thy brother, 2Sa 17:27.

v. 8. And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei, the son of Gerah, a man connected with the same occasion, 2Sa 16:5-6; 2Sa 19:21, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse, with a heinous and horrible malediction, in the day when I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the Lord, 2Sa 19:23, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. He had forgiven the insult to his person, but the disgrace heaped upon the royal office must be avenged.

v. 9. Now, therefore, hold him not guiltless, he had a duty to perform as king and judge and as representative of the divine right; for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood. Punishment must be visited upon him, only the time and manner of inflicting it was left to Solomon’s discretion.

v. 10. So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David, in the city of Zion.

v. 11. And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years, in round numbers; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem. Thus the believers, having finished their course, fall asleep in peace and join the number of those that are in the presence of the Lord.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I am going the way of all the earth

This is a polite way of saying "I am going to die." (See: Euphemism)

show yourself a man

The ellipsis can be filled in. AT: "show everyone that you are a man" or "live so that everyone can see you are a good man" (See: Ellipsis)

walk in his ways

Walking on a path is a metonym for the way a person lives. AT: "live the way he commands" (See: Idiom)

so you may prosper

"so you may succeed" or "so you may do well"

may fulfill his word

"do everything he promised he would do"

If your sons ... you will never cease

Yahweh is talking to David, so the words "you" and "your" refer to David.

to walk before me faithfully

Yahweh is talking to David, so the word "me" refers to Yahweh.

with all their heart and with all their soul

The idiom "with all ... heart" means "completely" and "with all ... soul" means "with all ... being." These two phrases have similar meanings. AT: "with all their being" or "with all their energy" (See: Idiom and Doublet)

you will never cease to have a man on the throne of Israel

The word "throne" is a metonym for the king who sits on the throne. The litotes "will never cease to have" can be stated positively. AT: "your descendants will never cease to be kings of Israel" or "one of your descendants will always be the king of Israel" (See: Metonymy and Litotes)

translationWords

David

command

Solomon

Yahweh

God

walk

statute

decree

law

fulfill

word

faithful

heart

soul

throne

Israel

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.