Show thyself a man. The religion of God is the religion of man. True religion is the perfecting of our humanity. I. MAN WAS MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD . This is His essential characteristic. The more He reflects this image, the more truly manly He is. The religion of the Bible restores His manhood. II. THERE IS NO FACULTY IN MAN WHICH DOES NOT FIND ITS COMPLEMENT AND ITS DEVELOPMENT IN GOD . His reason finds in God alone the truth... read more
A charge from a dying king. The utterances of dying men naturally have weight. Those who stand on the border line between time and eternity have less temptation to disguise the truth, and are more likely than others to see things in their true relations. When those who speak to us thence are men who have long loved us, and who have ever proved worthy of our love, we must be callous indeed if their words are powerless. Exemplify by the mention of any whose whole future destiny turned upon... read more
And keep the charge [lit; "watch the watch" ( custodies custodiam Jehovae ) , or, "serve the service." Bähr paraphrases, "be a true watcher in the service of Jehovah." The words are constantly employed to denote a strict performance of the service of the tabernacle or of the duties of the priests and Levites (Le 1 Kings 8:35 ; 1 Kings 18:30 ; Numbers 1:53 ; Numbers 3:7 , Numbers 3:8 , Numbers 3:25 , Numbers 3:28 , Numbers 3:32 , Numbers 3:38 ; Numbers 31:30 ; 1... read more
That the Lord may continue [rather, "establish" ( ut confirmet ) , as it is rendered in 2 Samuel 7:25 , where this same word of promise is spoken of. Cf. 1 Kings 8:26 ] His word which He spake concerning me [by the mouth of Nathan, 2 Samuel 7:12-17 (cf. Psalms 89:4 ); or David may refer to some subsequent promise made to him directly. In the promise of 2 Samuel 7:1-29 . there is no mention of any stipulations, "If thy children," etc. But both here and in Psalms 122:1-9 ... read more
David appears to have in his thoughts the divine address to Joshua. Without following it servilely, he reproduces several of its leading expressions and sentiments (compare the margin reference). Solomon’s youth clearly constituted one of the chief difficulties of his position. If he was about nineteen or twenty, and known to be of a pacific disposition 1 Chronicles 22:9, then to have to rule over the warlike and turbulent Hebrew nation, with a strong party opposed to him, and brothers of full... read more
The “statutes” have been explained to be the positive ordinances of the Law; the “commandments” the moral precepts, not to steal, etc.; the “judgments” the laws belonging to civil government; and the “testimonies” the laws directing the commemoration of certain events. Compare Psalms 19:7-8. read more
That the Lord may continue his word - The original promise given to David indirectly, through Nathan 2 Samuel 7:11-17, and apparently unconditional, afterward was made conditional upon continued obedience. (See the margin reference “f.”) David reminds Solomon of this, in order to impress upon him a powerful motive to continue faithful and obedient. read more
1 Kings 2:1-2. The days of David drew nigh, that he must die As he himself was sensible. And he charged Solomon his son After the example of Abraham, the father of the faithful, Genesis 18:19. I go the way of all the earth Even the sons and heirs of heaven must go the way of all the earth, of all who dwell thereon. But they walk with pleasure in this way, through the valley of the shadow of death. Prophets, yea, kings, must go this way to brighter light and honour than prophecy or... read more
1 Kings 2:3-4. And keep the charge of the Lord thy God Here we find David inculcating, in his last moments, the great ruling principle; the foundation-stone of the Hebrew state, and which in some measure distinguishes it from all other governments that have ever subsisted. For the whole strength and stability of that state was built, not upon the riches or forces of the kingdom, but upon a strict observance of the statutes and commandments of the Lord. As it is written in the law of... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 2:1-11
Holy Scripture gives us many a touching and pathetic description of the death of the father of a family, showing how it at once sanctions and sanctifies natural affection. The farewells of David remind us of those of Jacob. Death sometimes seems to fill the men of God of the old covenant with the spirit of prophecy, as if the summit of the earthly life was illuminated with a purer radiance falling upon it from a higher sphere. Death is indeed to all the messenger of God to reveal to us great... read more