1Ki 2:1-4 | Clarke | STEP | David leaves his dying charge with Solomon, relative to his own personal conduct, ; to Joab, , ; to Barzillai, ; to Shimei, , . He dies, and Solomon is established in the kingdom, . Adonijah requests to have Abishag to wife, and is put to death by Solomon, . Abiathar the priest is banished to his estate at Anathoth, , . Joab, fearing for his life, flees to the horns of the altar, and is slain there by Benaiah, . Benaiah is made captain of the host in his stead, . Shimei is ordered to confine himself to Jerusalem, and never leave it on pain of death, . After three years he follows some of his runaway servants to Gath, and thereby forfeits his life, , . Solomon sends for him, upbraids him, and commands him to be slain by Benaiah, .

1 Kings 2:1-4

Introduction

David leaves his dying charge with Solomon, relative to his own personal conduct, 1Kgs 2:1-4; to Joab, 1Kgs 2:5, 1Kgs 2:6; to Barzillai, 1Kgs 2:7; to Shimei, 1Kgs 2:8, 1Kgs 2:9. He dies, and Solomon is established in the kingdom, 1Kgs 2:10-12. Adonijah requests to have Abishag to wife, and is put to death by Solomon, 1Kgs 2:13-25. Abiathar the priest is banished to his estate at Anathoth, 1Kgs 2:26, 1Kgs 2:27. Joab, fearing for his life, flees to the horns of the altar, and is slain there by Benaiah, 1Kgs 2:28-34. Benaiah is made captain of the host in his stead, 1Kgs 2:35. Shimei is ordered to confine himself to Jerusalem, and never leave it on pain of death, 1Kgs 2:36-38. After three years he follows some of his runaway servants to Gath, and thereby forfeits his life, 1Kgs 2:39, 1Kgs 2:40. Solomon sends for him, upbraids him, and commands him to be slain by Benaiah, 1Kgs 2:41-46. Verse 2

I go the way of all the earth - I am dying. All the inhabitants of the earth must come to the dust. In life, some follow one occupation, some another; but all must, sooner or later, come to the grave. Death is no respecter of persons; he visits the palace of the king as well as the cottage of the peasant.

Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas,

Regumque turres. -

Hor. Odar. lib. i., od. iv., ver. 13. "With equal pace, impartial fate

Knocks at the palace as the cottage gate."

Francis. - Sed omnes una manet nox,

Et calcanda semel via lethi. -

Ib. od. xxviii., ver. 15. "One dreary night for all mankind remains,

And once we all must tread the shadowy plains."

Ibid.

There is no respect to age or youth more than to station or external circumstance: -

Mixta senum ac juvenum densantur funera: nullum

Saeva caput Proserpina fugit.

Ib. od. xxviii., ver. 19.

Thus age and youth promiscuous crowd the tomb;

No mortal head can shun the impending doom."

Ibid.

And it is not merely man that is subjected to this necessity; all that have in them the breath of life must lose it; it is the way of all the earth, both of men and inferior animals. - Terrestria quando Mortales animas vivunt sortita, neque ulla est Aut parvo aut magno lethi fuga.

Vive memor quam sis aevi brevis.

Hor. Sat. l. ii., s. vi., ver. 93. "All that tread the earth are subject to mortality; neither great nor small can avoid death.

Live therefore conscious that your time is short."

It is painful to the pride of the great and mighty that, however decorated their tombs may be, they must undergo the same dissolution and corruption with the vulgar dead; for the grave is the house appointed for all living: man is born to die.

Omnium idem exitus est, sed et idem domicilium. "For all have the same end, and are huddled together in the same narrow house."

Here emperors, kings, statesmen, warriors, heroes, and butchers of all kinds, with peasants and beggars, meet; however various their routes, they terminate in the same point. This and all other kindred sentiments on the subject are well expressed in that excellent little poem of Mr. Blair, entitled "The Grave," which opens with the following lines: -

While some affect the sun, and some the shade; Some flee the city, some the hermitage; Their aims as various as the roads they take In journeying through life; the task be mine To paint the gloomy horrors of the tomb, The appointed place of rendezvous, where all These travelers meet.

Show thyself a man - Act like a rational being, and not like a brute; and remember, that he acts most like a man who is most devoted to his Good. Verse 3

Keep the charge of the Lord - Keep what God has given thee to keep.

1. Walk in his ways. Not in thine own, nor in the ways of a wicked, perishing world.

2. Keep his statutes. Consider all his appointments to be holy, just, and good; receive them as such, and conscientiously observe them.

3. Keep his commandments. Whatever he has bidden thee to do, perform; what he has forbidden thee to do, omit.

4. Keep his judgments. What he has determined to be right, is essentially and inherently right; what he has determined to be wrong or evil, is inherently and essentially so. A thing is not good because God has commanded it; a thing is not evil because he has forbidden it. He has commanded the good, because it is in its own nature good and useful; he has forbidden the evil, because it is in its own nature bad and hurtful. Keep therefore his judgments.

5. Keep his testimonies. Bear witness to all to which he has borne witness. His testimonies are true; there is no deceit or falsity in them. His testimonies refer also to future good things and good times; they are the significators of coming blessedness: as such, respect them.

That thou mayest prosper - If thou hast God's approbation, thou wilt have God's blessing. If thy ways please him, he will not withhold from thee any manner of thing that is good. Verse 4

That the Lord may continue his word - The prosperity which God has promised to grant to my family will depend on their faithfulness to the good they receive; if they live to God, they shall sit for ever on the throne of Israel. But alas! they did not; and God's justice cut off the entail made by his mercy.