1 Kings 2:10-12

4. David’s death 2:10-12

David and Saul each reigned for 40 years (cf. Acts 13:21). The differences in their personal lives and administrations were not due to differences in the time they ruled. The course of their careers sprang from God’s response to them that their response to Yahweh’s will determined. David experienced God’s blessing as a warrior, poet, musician, military commander, administrator, and man of God. His most significant characteristic, I believe, was his heart for God.

David was 70 years old when he died (2 Samuel 5:4). Saul may have been 80 when he died. [Note: See my comments on 1 Samuel 13:1.] However, the deaths of these two kings, as well as their lives, contrast dramatically. David died in peace, Saul in battle. David died in victory, Saul in defeat. When David began to reign, the Philistines dominated Israel. When Solomon began to reign, Israel was at peace and in control of her neighbors (1 Kings 2:12).

This section (1 Kings 1:1 to 1 Kings 2:12) provides a bridge between David and Solomon’s reigns. [Note: For an extended treatment of the two halves of chapter 2, see Jeffrey S. Rogers, "Narrative Stock and Deuteronomistic Elaboration in 1 Kings 2," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 50:3 (July 1988):398-413.] Much in it is transitional, dealing with the transfer of power. When Solomon began to reign as sole king in 971 B.C., he had a strong foundation on which to build because of the blessing God had brought to Israel for David’s commitment to God and His Law.