1 Kings 2:8-12: a reflection

8“Behold, there is with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by the LORD, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9Now therefore don’t hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood.” 10David slept with his fathers, and was buried in David’s city. 11The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12Solomon sat on David his father’s throne; and his kingdom was firmly established.

This passage records the death of David, one of the towering figures in all of Scripture, the shepherd-king, the man after God's own heart. His final words to Solomon mix wise counsel with the harder instincts of his age, but the passage's larger note is the passing of the great king: David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David; he had reigned forty years. And then, quietly, the story continues: Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established. The great king died, but God's purposes went on.

Notice how even David, for all his greatness, comes to the end. He reigned forty years, accomplished much, loomed large in Israel's story, and then he died and was buried like everyone else. Even great servants of God are mortal; their time ends, and they pass from the scene. But notice what did not end: God's purpose. The throne passed to Solomon, the kingdom was established, and God's story continued beyond David's death.

That holds two truths together for us. First, a humbling one: even the great among us are mortal; our time will end, our work will pass to others, and the world will go on without us. And second, a reassuring one: God's purposes do not depend on any one of us, however important; his work continues beyond our lives, carried on by others he raises up. Hold your own importance humbly, remembering that even David died. And take comfort that God's purposes are larger than your life; his work will go on when you are gone. Serve faithfully in your time, and entrust to God the work that will continue after you.

Lord, even David, the great shepherd-king, the man after your own heart, came to the end of his days and was buried like everyone else, while your purposes continued and the kingdom passed on. Hold both truths before me. Humble me with the reminder that even the great are mortal, that my time will end and my work pass to others, that the world will go on without me. And comfort me that your purposes do not depend on me, however important I feel; your work continues beyond my life, carried on by those you raise up. Help me hold my own importance humbly, serve faithfully in my time, and entrust to you the work that will continue after I am gone. Your purposes are larger than my life; let me rest in that.