I go the way of all the earth be of good courage therefore, and be a man;
David is dying, and his last act as king is not to arrange his funeral but to hand his son a charge. His charge is short — be strong, be a man — and the next verse says what that means: keep the charge of the Lord.
David uses his last words to arm his successor for what lies ahead.
As he dies, David leaves a command with his son Solomon, and insists on his responsibility. It is, so to speak, the old king's last will and the fruit of his long experience... At the start of his reign, Solomon must first of all be armed against whatever could hinder or ruin it.
David's eye is on what will remain when he is gone.
As David was about to die, his words to Solomon carried real weight. Paul (2 Tim. 4:1-6) and Peter (2 Pet. 1:12-15) cared about the testimony of the Lord after their death. So did David. Selfish motives did not move these men. They cared about God's glory among His people.
The charge echoes words the Lord once spoke to Joshua. It also shows what this strength rests on.
There are many parallels between David's words to his son and the Lord's words to Joshua (Joshua 1). First of all, the king must be strong and show himself a man. Obedience to the Lord and dependence on Him are the proofs of this strength, and he is to use it to walk in God's ways. The Word of God directs that walk.
The next verse says what such strength has to do.
So David urged Solomon, "Be strong, and show yourself a man" (v. 2). To do that, he would have to keep the charge of the Lord, walk in His ways, and keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments and His testimonies written in the Law of Moses.
David piles up four words for God's word, and each carries its own weight. Rossier breaks them down:
His statutes are the things He has established, and His authority stands behind them. His commandments express His will, and we are bound to submit to it. His ordinances (or judgments) are the principles He passes on and acts by. His testimonies are the thoughts He has told us, and faith must receive them. For the Israelite all this made up "the law of Moses," and it was to be the divine standard for the walk of the faithful.
The same call comes again in the New Testament. One writer traces it back to what man was made for.
"Act like men": at creation God made man in His image, and so gave him the place of representing God in a hostile world. Let us not think little of such dignity and honor. "Be strong": whatever our natural weakness, strength is available in Christ.
(Older translations read "quit you like men" here; the ESV reads "act like men, be strong.")
The same holds true for us.
Our life finds its food and its strength in the Word of God. Only by keeping it can we travel through a hostile world without fear and see all we do prosper. It teaches us to walk in God's way. Can there be a greater blessing than to find a perfect path here on earth — the path of Christ, the path the eyes of God rest on with delight?
The charge came with a promise, and the promise had a condition.
The Lord had told David that if his sons took care to walk before Him in truth with all their heart and soul, David would never lack a descendant to sit on his throne. David reminded Solomon of this conditional promise (v. 4). Sadly, David's sons did not meet the conditions. Solomon began well, but he soon turned away from the truth of Scripture, and his sons went further still.
- Charge. David's dying words arm Solomon against whatever could ruin his reign.
- Motive. The concern is not personal legacy but God's glory among His people after the leader is gone.
- Strength. Here strength means obedience and dependence — the same call the Lord once gave Joshua.
- Standard. Statutes, commandments, judgments and testimonies make up the whole Word. Strength keeps all of it, not a part.
- Outcome. The promise had a condition. Solomon began well, then turned aside — which shows how much he needed the charge.
and keep the charge of Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his ordinances, 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;
David is dying, and the last thing he hands his son is not a strategy for the throne but a standard for it. The charge sets one condition over the whole reign: God's written word, kept day by day. Does obedience really decide whether a life goes well?
At the end, David's concern is God's testimony after he is gone. One writer places him beside two apostles who felt the same:
As David was about to die, his words to Solomon have serious significance. Paul and Peter cared about the testimony of the Lord after their death, and so did David. None of them acted from selfish motives. Each was moved by concern for God's glory among His people.
Verse 2 tells Solomon to be strong. Verse 3 tells him what strength looks like. The Lord said much the same to Joshua when he took command after Moses:
There are many similarities between David's words to his son and the Lord's words to Joshua. The king must first of all be of good courage and be a man. Obedience to the Lord and dependence on Him are the proofs of this strength. He must use that strength to walk in His ways. The Word of God directs the walk itself, as we see here and in Psalm 119.
The verse piles up terms: statutes, commandments, rules, testimonies. Each names a different side of God's word, and together they make up the whole:
The Word has different characteristics and it is necessary to pay attention to all of them… His statutes are the things He has established, and His authority stands behind them. His commandments are the expression of His will, and we must submit to them. His ordinances (or judgments) are the principles He conveys and according to which He acts. His testimonies are the thoughts He has communicated to us, and faith must receive them. All this made up "the law of Moses" for the Israelite and was to be the divine standard for the walk of the faithful.
"As it is written in the Law of Moses" points to something Solomon could hold. Every king of Israel had a standing duty about that book. Neglecting it did damage long after Solomon:
Before Israel entered the land, the Lord gave a rule for the day when the people would have a king: "when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law… And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God." Suppose every ruler in Israel had obeyed this instruction. Suppose each had made his own copy of the law and read it all the days of his life. Then the long line of evils King Josiah later had to face would never have existed.
"That you may prosper" is the promise attached. One writer takes it as a rule that outlasts Solomon's throne, and says what kind of prosperity is in view:
Simple obedience to the word of God always has been, is now, and always will be the deep and real secret of all true prosperity. For the Christian, of course, the prosperity is not in earthly or material things, but in heavenly and spiritual things. And we must never forget this: it is the height of folly to think of prospering or making progress in the divine life if we are not giving wholehearted obedience to all the commandments of our blessed and adorable Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
The same principle reaches us now, and it shows where such a life gets its strength:
Our life finds its nourishment and its strength in the Word of God. Only by keeping it can we travel through a hostile world without fear and see all we do prosper. It teaches us to walk in the way of God. Can there be a greater blessing than to find a perfect path here on earth? It is the path of Christ, and the eyes of God rest on it with delight.
Solomon did not keep the charge. What followed shows the cost when a condition is dropped:
The Lord had told David that his sons must be diligent to walk before the Lord in truth, with all their heart and soul. If they did, David would never lack a descendant to sit on his throne. David reminded Solomon of this conditional promise. Sad to say, David's sons did not meet the conditions. Solomon began well, but very soon turned away from the truth of scripture, and his sons turned further still.
- Charge — David's dying concern was God's testimony after him, not his own name.
- Courage — verse 2 calls for strength; verse 3 shows what it is. Obedience and dependence, the same word once given to Joshua.
- Contents — statutes, commandments, rules and testimonies make up the whole Word. All four need attention.
- Copy — the standard was in writing. Kings had to copy out the law and read it for life. Skipping that bred later ruin.
- Consequence — obedience is the real secret of prosperity. For the Christian that prosperity is spiritual. Solomon started well, dropped the condition, and his sons fell further.