“I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn, so that the Lord may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons are careful of their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ ” 1 Kings 2:2-4 These words were spoken by David to his son Solomon before his death. What words would you speak to your son or daughter before your death? What words of wisdom gleaned from your life would you deem important enough to instill to the generations to come? If you were standing before your parent who was about to die what impact would their final words make on your life?In 1 Kings 1 and 2 David is growing weak as he is gets closer to his death. His next oldest son Adonijah assumes that he will be made king after his father because of his age. Adonijah starts to celebrate his future kingship even before the death of David and without the blessing of his father. What kind of character is shown when you are more excited about your prospect of being king than the impending death of your father?
While Adonijah was feasting in anticipation of his kingdom, the prophet Nathan and David’s wife Bathsheba seek out David to tell him of what his son Adonijah was doing and to remind the aging king that he had promised the throne to his son Solomon. When David hears that Adonijah was assuming he would be made king David holds true to his promise by making Solomon king over Israel. How often do we make good on forgotten promises? Isn’t it easier to just forget a promise made years ago when we are reminded of it? The easiest reaction we can make when we are faced with our own failure is to rationalize it and move on but that is not the example we seen in David’s life. David was true to all he spoke to people because he knew that God would hold him accountable for his actions in both word and deed.
After Solomon was anointed king all the people who were celebrating with Adonijah about his future kingship scatter and flee. Before David dies he reminds Solomon of the actions of Joab the son of Zeruiah and Shimei the son of Gera telling his son to use his wisdom in dealing with them both. In someways it seems like David is leaving it to Solomon to cleanup all the loose ends of his life. Why does David do this? In 2 Samuel 2:39 David speak about Joab’s fate, “I am weak today, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too difficult for me. May the Lord repay the evildoer according to his evil.” and in 2 Samuel 19:23 David swore to Shimei that he would not kill him. David knew the evil deeds of these men but he needed to be true to his word about dealing with them so he is asking his son Solomon to deal wisely with them.
Do you live in fear of punishment? Did Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei live in fear of judgement over their deeds in life? Did these men think that since David was dead that they could continue living their lives without judgement? The actions of these three men were weighted by Solomon and their wickedness brought them to quick deaths. Can sin remain hidden from wisdom and truth? These men choose to live their lives seeking their own gain without concern or care for God. What deeds do you commit that are hidden now that you live in fear of people finding out? How do you change the actions of your life? I don’t have all the answers because I am stumbling along learning as I go but throughout the old testament it is repeated that my relationship with God should be the most important part of my life. If we choose to cling to God and love Him above everything that will be the greatest step we can make towards living a life full of wisdom, strength, and truth.
