1 Kings 2:1-7: a reflection

1Now the days of David came near that he should die; and he commanded Solomon his son, saying, 2“I am going the way of all the earth. You be strong therefore, and show yourself a man; 3and keep the instruction of the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn yourself. 4Then the LORD may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your children are careful of their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you,’ he said, ‘a man on the throne of Israel.’ 5“Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, even what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his sash that was around his waist and in his sandals that were on his feet. 6Do therefore according to your wisdom, and don’t let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. 7But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table; for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother.

As David comes to the end of his life, he gives his son Solomon a charge; and notice what he puts first. Before any practical instruction about the kingdom, David says: 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 and his commandments. Facing death, what David most wants to pass on to his son is this: be strong, and keep the ways of God. That is his deepest priority at the end.

Notice what David, at the end of his life, treats as most important to pass on. He does not make his son's success or wealth or security the first thing; he makes faithfulness to God the first thing. Be strong, and keep the ways of the LORD, David says, as the counsel above all others for the road ahead. At the end, with the perspective that facing death brings, what mattered most to David was that his son walk faithfully with God. That was the priority he wanted to leave behind.

That priority, faithfulness to God above all, is worth adopting as our own, and passing on to those who come after us. When we consider what matters most, what we would most want to leave to those we love, it is easy to think first of their success, security, or comfort; but David, at the end, put first that his son keep the ways of God. Consider what you treat as most important, for yourself and for those you love; is it faithfulness to God, as it was for David at the end, or have lesser things taken first place? Let faithfulness to God be your deepest priority, and what you most want to pass on to those who come after you, as David, facing death, charged his son above all to be strong and keep the ways of the LORD. What David treated as most important at the end is what is most important still; make faithfulness to God your first priority, and commend it to those you love, as David commended it to Solomon.

Lord, as David came to the end of his life, he gave his son Solomon a charge, and put this first: I am going the way of all the earth; be strong therefore, and keep the charge of the LORD your God, to walk in his ways. Facing death, what David most wanted to pass on was that his son be strong and keep your ways. Show me what David, at the end, treated as most important. He did not make his son's success or wealth the first thing; he made faithfulness to you the first thing. At the end, with the perspective that facing death brings, what mattered most was that his son walk faithfully with you. Help me adopt that priority as my own, and pass it on to those who come after me. When I consider what matters most, what I would most want to leave to those I love, it is easy to think first of their success, security, or comfort; but David put first that his son keep your ways. Help me consider what I treat as most important, for myself and for those I love; is it faithfulness to you, or have lesser things taken first place? Let faithfulness to you be my deepest priority, Lord, and what I most want to pass on, as David charged his son above all to be strong and keep your ways. Make faithfulness to you my first priority.