Ch. 1Ki 2:1-11<\/span>. David’s last charge to Solomon, and his death (Not in Chronicles)<\/p>\n 1<\/strong>. Now the days of David drew nigh that<\/em> he should die<\/em> ] According to the narrative of Josephus ( Antiq<\/em>. 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<\/span> makes special mention of Solomon’s second anointing which, like the first, preceded the death of his father.<\/p>\n The events related in 1 Chr. 2829 had occurred in the interval which separates the last and this present chapter.<\/P><\/p>\n 1Ki 2:1-2<\/span><\/p>\n Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Human equality<\/strong><\/p>\n We have here the dying charge of an old and experienced king to a young one.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>Kings even are not exempt from human mortality.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>Nor from human frailty (1Ki 2:2<\/span>).<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>Nor from human responsibility (1Ki 2:3<\/span>).<\/p>\n David in view of death<\/strong><\/p>\n 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<\/span>). 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<\/span>). 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<\/em>–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<\/span>). 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.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The close of life not to be dreaded by the believer<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/em>)<\/p>\n CHAPTER II <\/P> David leaves his dying charge with Solomon, relative to his own<\/I><\/P> personal conduct<\/I>, 1-4;<\/P> to Joab<\/I>, 5, 6;<\/P> to Barzillai<\/I>, 7;<\/P> to Shimei<\/I>, 8, 9.<\/P> He dies, and Solomon is established in the kingdom<\/I>, 10-12.<\/P> Adonijah requests to have Abishag to wife, and is put to death<\/I><\/P> by Solomon<\/I>, 13-25.<\/P> Abiathar the priest is banished to his estate at Anathoth<\/I>,<\/P> 26, 27.<\/P> Joab, fearing for his life, flees to the horns of the altar, and<\/I><\/P> is slain there by Benaiah<\/I>, 28-34.<\/P> Benaiah is made captain of the host in his stead<\/I>, 35.<\/P> Shimei is ordered to confine himself to Jerusalem, and never<\/I><\/P> leave it on pain of death<\/I>, 36-38.<\/P> After three years he follows some of his runaway servants to<\/I><\/P> Gath, and thereby forfeits his life<\/I>, 39, 40.<\/P> Solomon sends for him, upbraids him, and commands him to be<\/I><\/P> slain by Benaiah<\/I>, 41-46. <\/P> NOTES ON CHAP. II<\/P><\/p>\n 1. David . . . charged Solomon hisson<\/B>The charge recorded here was given to Solomon just beforehis death and is different from the farewell address delivered inpublic some time before (1Ch28:2-9<\/span>). It is introduced with great solemnity.<\/P><\/p>\n Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die<\/strong>,…. The number of his days fixed and determined by the Lord, Job 14:5<\/span>; 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<\/p>\n Ge 47:29<\/span>. 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 1Ki 1:10<\/span>; 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:<\/p>\n and he charged Solomon his son<\/strong>; gave him his last and dying charge:<\/p>\n saying<\/strong>; as follows.<\/p>\n n Bereshit Rabba, sect. 96. fol. 83. 3.<\/p>\n The anointing of Solomon as king, which was effected by David’s command (1 Kings 1), is only briefly mentioned in 1Ch 23:1<\/span> 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 ( 1Ch 29:22<\/span>). – 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 (2Sa 2:4<\/span> and 2Sa 5:3<\/span>), 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 1Ch 29:1-9<\/span> 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.<\/p>\n (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 1Ch 23:1<\/span>: “ These few words (1Ch 23:1<\/span>) 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. ” ) <\/p>\n 1Ki 2:1-3<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> David’s Last Instructions and Death. – 1Ki 2:1-4<\/span>. 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<\/span>), 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. 1Sa 4:9<\/span>) to keep the commandments of the Lord. Just as in 1Sa 4:9<\/span> the object in which the bravery is to show itself is appended simply by the copula Vv<\/em>; so is it here also with . The phrase , to keep the keeping of Jehovah, which so frequently occurs in the Thorah<\/em>, i.e., to observe or obey whatever is to be observed in relation to Jehovah (cf. Gen 26:5<\/span>; Lev 8:35<\/span>; Lev 18:30<\/span>, etc.), always receives its more precise definition from the context, and is used here, as in Gen 26:5<\/span>, 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 , 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<\/span>; Deu 5:28<\/span>; Deu 8:11<\/span>, and served to individualize the rich and manifold substance of the demands of the Lord to His people as laid down in the Thorah<\/em>. , that thou mayest act wisely and execute well, as in Deu 29:8<\/span>; Jos 1:7<\/span>.<\/p>\n 1Ki 2:4-5<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> 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. is grammatically subordinate to in 1Ki 2:3<\/span>. The word which Jehovah has spoken concerning David ( ) is the promise in 2Sa 7:12<\/span>., the substance of which is quoted here by David with a negative turn, , 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. is more precisely defined by … . For the fact itself see Deu 5:5<\/span>; Deu 11:13<\/span>, Deu 11:18<\/span>. The formula is formed after 1Sa 2:33<\/span> (compare also 2Sa 3:29<\/span> and Jos 9:23<\/span>). “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 2Sa 7:16<\/span>, “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 (1Ki 8:25<\/span>; 1Ki 9:5<\/span>), 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 2Sa 7:12<\/span>.). The second in 2Sa 7:4<\/span> 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.<\/p>\n After a general admonition David communicated to his successor a few more special instructions; viz., first of all (2Sa 7:5<\/span>, 2Sa 7:6<\/span>), to punish Joab<\/em> 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 (2Sa 3:27<\/span>) and Amasa the son of Jether (2Sa 20:10<\/span>). The name is written in 2Sa 17:25<\/span>. 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 2Sa 3:28<\/span>, 2Sa 3:37<\/span>). “and he made war-blood in peace,” i.e., he shed in the time of peace blood that ought only to flow in war ( in the sense of making, as in Deu 14:1<\/span>; Exo 10:2<\/span>, 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<\/em>, 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 (2Sa 3:29<\/span>). 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.<\/p>\n 1Ki 2:6<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> “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.<\/p>\n 1Ki 2:7<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> 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<\/em> the Gileadite, and make them companions of his table; because Barzillai had supplied David with provisions on his flight from Absalom (2Sa 17:27<\/span>., 2Sa 19:32<\/span>.). , “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 2Sa 9:10-11<\/span>, 2Sa 9:13<\/span>, we have to express this, makes no material difference. According to 2Sa 19:38<\/span>, 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 2Sa 17:27<\/span>, where Barzillai alone is named, though, as he was a man of eighty years old, he was certainly supported by his sons.<\/p>\n 1Ki 2:8-9<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> On the other hand, Shimei<\/em> the Benjamite had shown great hostility to David (cf. 2Sa 16:5-8<\/span>). He had cursed him with a vehement curse as he fled from Absalom ( , vehement, violent, not ill, heillos<\/em>, from the primary meaning to be sick or ill, as Thenius supposes, since it cannot be shown that 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 (2Sa 19:19-24<\/span>), 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 ( , 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.<\/p>\n (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<\/em>, ii. p. 221.) <\/p>\n It follows from the expression , with thee, i.e., in thy neighbourhood, that Shimei was living at that time in Jerusalem (cf. 1Ki 2:36<\/span>).<\/p>\n 1Ki 2:10-11<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> 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<\/span>).<\/p>\n (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<\/em> fr<\/em> die<\/em> histor<\/em>. Theol<\/em>. 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<\/em>, and obliquely opposite to the spring of Siloah. This is in harmony with the statement of Theodoret ( quaest<\/em>. 6 in iii. Reg.), to the effect that Josephus says, ( ) , although this statement does not occur in any passage of his works as they have come down to us.) <\/p>\n On the length of his reign see 2Sa 5:5<\/span>.<\/p>\n David’s Dying Charge; David’s Death and Burial.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 1015.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 1 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2 I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man; 3 And keep the charge of the LORD<\/B> 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 prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: 4 That the LORD<\/B> may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel. 5 Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and<\/I> 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 war upon his girdle that was<\/I> about his loins, and in his shoes that were<\/I> on his feet. 6 Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. 7 But show kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, 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. 8 And, behold, thou hast<\/I> with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite 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<\/B>, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. 9 Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art<\/I> a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood. 10 So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. 11 And the days that David reigned over Israel were<\/I> forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.<\/P> David, that great and good man, is here a dying man (v.<\/I><\/span> 1<\/span>), and a dead man, v.<\/I><\/span> 10<\/span>. It is well there is another life after this, for death stains all the glory of this, and lays it in the dust. We have here,<\/P> I. The charge and instructions which David, when he was dying, gave to Solomon, his son and declared successor. He feels himself declining, and is not backward to own it, nor afraid to hear or speak of dying: I go the way of all the earth,<\/I> v.<\/span> 2<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. Heb. I am walking in it.<\/I> Note, Death is a way; not only a period of this life, but a passage to a better. It is the way of all the earth,<\/I> of all mankind who dwell on earth, and are themselves earth, and therefore must return to their earth. Even the sons and heirs of heaven must go the way of all the earth,<\/I> they must needs die; but they walk with pleasure in this way, through the valley of the shadow of death,<\/I> Ps. xxiii. 4<\/I><\/span>. Prophets, and even kings, must go this way to brighter light and honour than prophecy or sovereignty. David is going this way, and therefore gives Solomon directions what to do.<\/P> 1. He charges him, in general, to keep God’s commandments and to make conscience of his duty, v.<\/I><\/span> 2-4<\/span>. He prescribes to him, (1.) A good rule to act by–the divine will: “Govern thyself by that.” David’s charge to him is to keep the charge of the Lord<\/I> his God.<\/I> The authority of a dying father is much, but nothing to that of a living God. There are great trusts which we are charged with by the Lord our God–let us keep them carefully, as those that must give account; and excellent statutes, which we must be ruled by–let us also keep them. The written word is our rule. Solomon must himself do as was written in the law of Moses.<\/I> (2.) A good spirit to act with: Be strong and show thyself a man,<\/I> though in years but a child. Those that would keep the charge of the Lord their God must put on resolution. (3.) Good reasons for all this. This would effectually conduce, [1.] To the prosperity of his kingdom. It is the way to prosper in all thou doest,<\/I> and to succeed with honour and satisfaction in every undertaking. [2.] To the perpetuity of it: That the Lord may continue<\/I> and so confirm his word which he spoke concerning me.<\/I> Those that rightly value the treasure of the promise, that sacred depositum,<\/I> cannot but be solicitous to preserve the entail of it, and very desirous that those who come after them may do nothing to cut it off. Let each, in his own age, successively, keep God’s charge, and then God will be sure to continue his word. We never let fall the promise till we let fall the precept. God had promised David that the Messiah should come from his loins, and that promise was absolute: but the promise that there should not fail him a man on the throne of Israel<\/I> was conditional–if his seed behave themselves as they should. If Solomon, in his day, fulfil the condition, he does his part towards the perpetuating of the promise. The condition is that he walk before God in all his institutions, in sincerity, with zeal and resolution; and, in order hereunto, that he take heed to his way.<\/I> In order to our constancy in religion, nothing is more necessary than caution and circumspection.<\/P> 2. He gives him directions concerning some particular persons, what to do with them, that he might make up his deficiencies in justice to some and kindness to others. (1.) Concerning Joab, v.<\/I><\/span> 5<\/span>. David was now conscious to himself that he had not done well to spare him, when he had made himself once again obnoxious to the law, but the murder of Abner first and afterwards of Amasa, both of them great men, captains of the hosts of Israel.<\/I> He slew them treacherously (shed the blood of war in peace<\/I>), and injuriously to David: Thou knowest what<\/I> he did to me<\/I> therein. The murder of a subject is a wrong to the prince, it is a loss to him, and is against the peace of our sovereign lord the king. These murders were particularly against David, reflecting upon his reputation, he being, at that time, in treaty with the victims, and hazarded his interest, which they were very capable of serving. Magistrates are the avengers of the blood of those they have the charge of. It aggravated Joab’s crime that he was neither ashamed of the sin nor afraid of the punishment, but daringly wore the girdle and shoes that were stained with innocent blood, in defiance of the justice both of God and the king. David refers him to Solomon’s wisdom (v.<\/I><\/span> 6<\/span>), with an intimation that he left him to his justice. Say not, “He has a hoary head; it is a pity it should be cut off, for it will shortly fall of itself.” No, let it not go down to the grave in peace.<\/I> Though he has been long reprieved, he shall be reckoned with at last; time does not wear out the guilt of any sin, particularly that of murder. (2.) Concerning Barzillai’s family, to whom he orders him to be kind for Barzillai’s sake, who, we may suppose, by this time, was dead, v.<\/I><\/span> 7<\/span>. When David, upon his death-bed, was remembering the injuries that had been done, he could not forget the kindnesses that had been shown, but leaves it as a charge upon his son to return them. Note, the kindnesses we have received from our friends must not be buried either in their graves or ours, but our children must return them to theirs. Hence, perhaps, Solomon fetched that rule (Prov. xxvii. 10<\/span>), Thy own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not.<\/I> Paul prays for the house of Onesiphorus, who had often refreshed him. (3.) Concerning Shimei, 1Ki 2:8<\/span>; 1Ki 2:9<\/span>. [1.] His crime is remembered: He cursed me with a grievous curse;<\/I> the more grievous because he insulted him when he was in misery and poured vinegar into his wounds. The Jews say that one thing which made this a grievous curse was that, besides all that is mentioned (2 Sam. xvi.<\/span>), Shimei upbraided him with his descent from Ruth the Moabitess. [2.] His pardon is not forgotten. David owned he had sworn to him that he would not himself put him to death, because he seasonably submitted, and cried Peccavi–I have sinned,<\/I> and he was not willing, especially at that juncture, to use the sword of public justice for the avenging of wrongs done to himself. But, [3.] His case, as it now stands, is left with Solomon, as one that knew what was fit to be done and would do as he found occasion. David intimates to him that his pardon was not designed to be perpetual, but only a reprieve for David’s life: “Hold him not guiltless;<\/I> do not think him any true friend to thee or thy government, nor fit to be trusted. He has no less malice than he had then, though he has more sense to conceal it. He is still a debtor to the public justice for what he did then; and, though I promised him that I would not put him to death, I never promised that my successor should not. His turbulent spirit will soon give thee an occasion, which thou shouldst not fail to take, for the bringing of his hoary head to the grave with blood.<\/I>” This proceeded not from personal revenge, but a prudent zeal for the honour of the government and the covenant God had made with his family, the contempt of which ought not to go unpunished. Even a hoary head, if a guilty and forfeited head, ought not to be any man’s protection from justice. The sinner, being a hundred years old, shall be accursed,<\/I> Isa. lxv. 20<\/I><\/span>.<\/P> II. David’s death and burial (v.<\/I><\/span> 10<\/span>): He was buried in the city of David,<\/I> not in the burying place of his father, as Saul was, but in his own city, which he was the founder of. There were set the thrones, and there the tombs, of the house of David. Now David, after he had served his own generation, by the will of God, fell asleep, and was laid to his fathers, and saw corruption,<\/I> Acts xiii. 36<\/I><\/span>, and see Acts ii. 29<\/span>. His epitaph may be taken from 2 Sam. xxiii. 1<\/span>. Here lies David the son of Jesse, the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel,<\/I> adding his own words (Ps. xvi. 9<\/span>), My flesh also shall rest in hope.<\/I> Josephus says that, besides the usual magnificence with which his son Solomon buried him, he put into his sepulchre a vast deal of money; and that 1300 years after (so he reckons) it was opened by Hircanus the high priest, in the time of Antiochus, and 3000 talents were taken out for the public service. The years of his reign are here computed (v.<\/I><\/span> 11<\/span>) to be forty years; the odd six months which he reigned above seven years in Hebron are not reckoned, but the even sum only.<\/P> <\/p>\n 1 Kings 2 AND 1 Chronicles 29<\/strong><\/p>\n David’s Charge, <\/strong>1Ki 2:1-11<\/span> AND <\/strong>1Ch 29:26-30<\/span><\/p>\n Shortly before his death <\/em>David called Solomon into his presence again to further charge him. When he spoke of going the way of all the earth he used terminology again reminiscent of Joshua (Jos 23:14<\/span>), meaning that it is the lot of sinful man to live out a span of years, die, and go into eternity (Heb 9:2<\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n Every time such passages are read they serve to remind the reader of his own inevitable appointment. But David was concerned for the future, especially as it regarded his influence continuing on his son and successor.<\/p>\n Solomon should exercise manliness and strength of character. He should keep the charge of the Lord in observance of all His commandments, judgments, statues, and testimonies, as given by Moses.<\/p>\n If he was to have the Lord’s prosperity on him he must do this in whatever direction he should turn. The promises concerning David’s children and the continuance of his throne were contingent on the keeping of the Lord’s word.<\/p>\n David also assigned to Solomon three specific commandments <\/em>to be carried out after his death. The first was a decree of death on Joab, his longtime captain of the host.<\/em><\/p>\n Joab had long been due the death penalty, but David had not inflicted it. It began with his murder of Abner, the captain of the host under Saul, whom he and his brother Abishai had killed in retaliation for Abner’s slaying of their brother, Asahel, in battle, in self defense. At that time David had said, “I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too hard for me” (2Sa 2:18-23<\/span>; 2Sa 3:26-27<\/span>; 2Sa 3:39<\/span>).<\/p>\n The Scriptures nowhere reveal what it was that caused David to allow this crime to go unpunished. Then many years later, Joab, again with the connivance of Abishai his brother, had slain Amasa, whom David had appointed to be in Joab’s place following the death of Absalom by Joab’s hand in battle (2Sa 20:8-10<\/span>). David called it the shedding of blood of war in time of peace. Though Joab was old and gray headed Solomon in his wisdom is to execute the old warrior for his crimes.<\/p>\n Next David cited the friendship of <\/em>the family of <\/em>Barzillai the Gileadite, who had befriended David during the time of the trouble concerning Absalom.<\/em><\/p>\n David had then proffered his kindness to Chimham, the grandson of Barzillai, because it was declined by the aged Barzillai (Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
I. <\/strong>That all men are equal in the sight of God; because–<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>That obedience to the will of God inevitably issues in prosperity, in the best sense of the word. (Pulpit Analyst.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\nFuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n