1 “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, 3 and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go 4 and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’
Before David dies, he gives a charge to Solomon. This directive is meant to guide Solomon in his life as well as direct Israel in the proper ways to honor and follow God.
1. Be Strong, Act like a man
This directive is meant for Solomon to be strong and confident in his decision-making. We can also connect the dots and figure that David is probably looking back on his own reign. David is calling for Solomon to perhaps be stronger than David ever could be, especially in regards to the sins that allowed David to falter. He is also eluding to the special problems Solomon will encounter in his reign.
2. Walk in obedience to God
We’ve heard this before and will hear again in scripture. You may remember it from 1 Sam 12: 13-15, when Samuel addresses Israel due to their desire to have a king. He tells Israel that it is good to have a king, and if the king sets the example of following God, then Israel will follow and thus Israel will be blessed. It is imperative that Solomon put God first in his life. It is the only way that he will succeed in his kingdom and Israel will have a succession of kings from David’s bloodline, thus keeping the Davidic promise of God to David. God promised this to David unconditionally, but Solomon’s condition is conditional: he and the subsequent kings must follow God in order to secure the dynasty.
Although we have many OT examples of Kings gone bad, we see a constant theme: put God first and our paths will be straightened. We see this in countless examples of scripture (Heb 12:13, Pro 4:26-27, Pro 3:6, Luke 12:31). This message flows through the OT, through the stories of Saul and David and now again with Solomon.
But how do we apply it in our own lives? What does it look like. The best analogy I can give you is that of a relationship. Have you been in a relationship where one person does all of the work? If you are that one person, what ultimately happens? You get tired and you give up. God, the ever present, hopeful God who is waiting for us never truly gives up, but does fade away. He lets us do our thing while he patiently waits. And if we do our thing long enough, he will eventually turn and move away, allowing us to live our lives independent of him. But is always eager to welcome us back into his arms.
A relationship is built on two working towards each others (James 4:8). So, in order to put God first takes effort, sacrifice and a commitment.
The first step towards a deeper relationship with God is to read and study deeper. So we are going to begin to read more outside of church and bible study. You will see a box below that says “Weekly Reading” . This is a chapter that I would like all of us to read throughout the week, every day, and think on it. It will correspond to what we are studying that week, and we will weave it into the study to help us with the deeper aspects of scripture.
3. Follow God’s rules and regulations
This applies to his following of the levitical laws as drawn out from God to the Israelites.
5 “Now you yourself know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood he stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. 6 Deal with him according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.
7 “But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead and let them be among those who eat at your table. They stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom.
8 “And remember, you have with you Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, who called down bitter curses on me the day I went to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord: ‘I will not put you to death by the sword.’ 9 But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom; you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood.”
10 Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. 11 He had reigned forty years over Israel—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 12 So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established.
David also has some items that are left over from his administration that weren’t taken care of. In verse 5 we are reminded of Joab’s treachery and how he has murdered two innocent men. David says that Solomon must take care of this in his term, and not to let Joab’s gray head go to the grave in peace.
This is an essential place for Solomon to begin his reign. In justice, not revenge. Joab was a guy David could never quite corral, but Solomon doesn’t have the same hang ups with Joab as David did. We could argue, too, that Joab perhaps knew that his days were numbered with the house of David and that could be one reason why he joined Adonijah in an attempt to secure the kingship.
The second request of David is for Solomon to extend mercy to Barazillai’s sons. You may remember that Barazillai was the old guy who helped David when he crossed the Jordan when David fled from Absalom. Barazillai was too old to cross into the kingdom with David, so he asked that David extend the invitation to his sons. Here, David calls that Solomon continue the mercy.
Third, David requests that Solomon take care of the scoundrel Shimei. Shimei was the guy who threw rocks at David as he left the kingdom and then manipulated David as he returned to the kingdom. He brought 1000 Benjamites with him and begged for forgiveness and David agreed not to kill him.
These three items Solomon is to take care of to close out David’s reign and bring in his own.
David then dies and is entombed in the City of David and Solomon’s rule is established.
5 “Now you yourself know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood he stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. 6 Deal with him according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.
7 “But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead and let them be among those who eat at your table. They stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom.
8 “And remember, you have with you Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, who called down bitter curses on me the day I went to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord: ‘I will not put you to death by the sword.’ 9 But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom; you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood.”
10 Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. 11 He had reigned forty years over Israel—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 12 So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established.
But we see Adonijah making waves again. If you recall, he rushed into the temple and asked for mercy and Solomon gave it to him. He let him live, but if there is any evil seen in him, he will be killed. Adonijah, ever sneaky, has a plan: he wants Abishag the Shumanite, and instead of asking the king he instead goes to his mother because he knows the king will not refuse her. But this request is treasonous because Abishag is a concubine of David’s, and by default now belongs to Solomon. In this culture you can’t mess with the king’s stuff, and Abishag is certainly one of the king’s possessions. Solomon orders Adonijah’s death for this and he is brought down.
26 To Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not put you to death now, because you carried the ark of the Sovereign Lord before my father David and shared all my father’s hardships.” 27 So Solomon removed Abiathar from the priesthood of the Lord, fulfilling the word the Lord had spoken at Shiloh about the house of Eli.
Solomon then deals with Abiathar, the priest who also sided with Adonijah. Siting his loyalty to David, Abiathar’s life is spared, but he is stripped of the priesthood and sent home.
28 When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah though not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the Lord and took hold of the horns of the altar. 29 King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord and was beside the altar. Then Solomon ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada, “Go, strike him down!”
30 So Benaiah entered the tent of the Lord and said to Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out!’”
But he answered, “No, I will die here.”
Benaiah reported to the king, “This is how Joab answered me.”
31 Then the king commanded Benaiah, “Do as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so clear me and my whole family of the guilt of the innocent blood that Joab shed. 32 The Lord will repay him for the blood he shed, because without my father David knowing it he attacked two men and killed them with the sword. Both of them—Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army—were better men and more upright than he. 33 May the guilt of their blood rest on the head of Joab and his descendants forever. But on David and his descendants, his house and his throne, may there be the Lord’s peace forever.”
Joab hears of this and knows he is next on the chopping block. He hightails it to the temple and tries the same thing Adonijah did, grabbing onto the horns of the altar, but it won’t work for him because he is plainly guilty (EX21:14). He too is struck down in the temple.
Shimei must also be dealt with, but Solomon chooses mercy. He allows Shimei to live, but he is not allowed to leave Jerusalem. Shimei regards this as gracious and lives there for a long time, but when a few of his slaves escape, Shimei follows and retrieves them, thus blowing his parole. Solomon deals with him severely and kills him.
34 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and struck down Joab and killed him, and he was buried at his home out in the country. 35 The king put Benaiah son of Jehoiada over the army in Joab’s position and replaced Abiathar with Zadok the priest.
36 Then the king sent for Shimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. 37 The day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley, you can be sure you will die; your blood will be on your own head.”
38 Shimei answered the king, “What you say is good. Your servant will do as my lord the king has said.” And Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time.
39 But three years later, two of Shimei’s slaves ran off to Achish son of Maakah, king of Gath, and Shimei was told, “Your slaves are in Gath.” 40 At this, he saddled his donkey and went to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves. So Shimei went away and brought the slaves back from Gath.
41 When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, 42 the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and warn you, ‘On the day you leave to go anywhere else, you can be sure you will die’? At that time you said to me, ‘What you say is good. I will obey.’ 43 Why then did you not keep your oath to the Lord and obey the command I gave you?”
44 The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your heart all the wrong you did to my father David. Now the Lord will repay you for your wrongdoing. 45 But King Solomon will be blessed, and David’s throne will remain secure before the Lord forever.”
46 Then the king gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down and he died.
The kingdom was now established in Solomon’s hands.
These all seem like extreme cases of brutality, but they were necessary for Solomon to end the last lingering aspects of David’s reign and begin his own. The last verse in this chapter tells us that a new beginning is at hand: The kingdom is now established in Solomon’s hands.
Before David dies, he gives a charge to Solomon. This directive is meant to guide Solomon in his life as well as direct Israel in the proper ways to honor and follow God.
1. Be Strong, Act like a man
This directive is meant for Solomon to be strong and confident in his decision-making. We can also connect the dots and figure that David is probably looking back on his own reign. David is calling for Solomon to perhaps be stronger than David ever could be, especially in regards to the sins that allowed David to falter. He is also eluding to the special problems Solomon will encounter in his reign.
2. Walk in obedience to God
We’ve heard this before and will hear again in scripture. You may remember it from 1 Sam 12: 13-15, when Samuel addresses Israel due to their desire to have a king. He tells Israel that it is good to have a king, and if the king sets the example of following God, then Israel will follow and thus Israel will be blessed. It is imperative that Solomon put God first in his life. It is the only way that he will succeed in his kingdom and Israel will have a succession of kings from David’s bloodline, thus keeping the Davidic promise of God to David. God promised this to David unconditionally, but Solomon’s condition is conditional: he and the subsequent kings must follow God in order to secure the dynasty.
Although we have many OT examples of Kings gone bad, we see a constant theme: put God first and our paths will be straightened. We see this in countless examples of scripture (Heb 12:13, Pro 4:26-27, Pro 3:6, Luke 12:31). This message flows through the OT, through the stories of Saul and David and now again with Solomon.
But how do we apply it in our own lives? What does it look like. The best analogy I can give you is that of a relationship. Have you been in a relationship where one person does all of the work? If you are that one person, what ultimately happens? You get tired and you give up. God, the ever present, hopeful God who is waiting for us never truly gives up, but does fade away. He lets us do our thing while he patiently waits. And if we do our thing long enough, he will eventually turn and move away, allowing us to live our lives independent of him. But is always eager to welcome us back into his arms.
A relationship is built on two working towards each others (James 4:8). So, in order to put God first takes effort, sacrifice and a commitment.
The first step towards a deeper relationship with God is to read and study deeper. So we are going to begin to read more outside of church and bible study. You will see a box below that says “Weekly Reading” . This is a chapter that I would like all of us to read throughout the week, every day, and think on it. It will correspond to what we are studying that week, and we will weave it into the study to help us with the deeper aspects of scripture.
3. Follow God’s rules and regulations
This applies to his following of the levitical laws as drawn out from God to the Israelites.
5 “Now you yourself know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood he stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. 6 Deal with him according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.
7 “But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead and let them be among those who eat at your table. They stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom.
8 “And remember, you have with you Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, who called down bitter curses on me the day I went to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord: ‘I will not put you to death by the sword.’ 9 But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom; you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood.”
10 Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. 11 He had reigned forty years over Israel—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 12 So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established.
David also has some items that are left over from his administration that weren’t taken care of. In verse 5 we are reminded of Joab’s treachery and how he has murdered two innocent men. David says that Solomon must take care of this in his term, and not to let Joab’s gray head go to the grave in peace.
This is an essential place for Solomon to begin his reign. In justice, not revenge. Joab was a guy David could never quite corral, but Solomon doesn’t have the same hang ups with Joab as David did. We could argue, too, that Joab perhaps knew that his days were numbered with the house of David and that could be one reason why he joined Adonijah in an attempt to secure the kingship.
The second request of David is for Solomon to extend mercy to Barazillai’s sons. You may remember that Barazillai was the old guy who helped David when he crossed the Jordan when David fled from Absalom. Barazillai was too old to cross into the kingdom with David, so he asked that David extend the invitation to his sons. Here, David calls that Solomon continue the mercy.
Third, David requests that Solomon take care of the scoundrel Shimei. Shimei was the guy who threw rocks at David as he left the kingdom and then manipulated David as he returned to the kingdom. He brought 1000 Benjamites with him and begged for forgiveness and David agreed not to kill him.
These three items Solomon is to take care of to close out David’s reign and bring in his own.
David then dies and is entombed in the City of David and Solomon’s rule is established.
5 “Now you yourself know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood he stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. 6 Deal with him according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.
7 “But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead and let them be among those who eat at your table. They stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom.
8 “And remember, you have with you Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, who called down bitter curses on me the day I went to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord: ‘I will not put you to death by the sword.’ 9 But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom; you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood.”
10 Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. 11 He had reigned forty years over Israel—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 12 So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established.
But we see Adonijah making waves again. If you recall, he rushed into the temple and asked for mercy and Solomon gave it to him. He let him live, but if there is any evil seen in him, he will be killed. Adonijah, ever sneaky, has a plan: he wants Abishag the Shumanite, and instead of asking the king he instead goes to his mother because he knows the king will not refuse her. But this request is treasonous because Abishag is a concubine of David’s, and by default now belongs to Solomon. In this culture you can’t mess with the king’s stuff, and Abishag is certainly one of the king’s possessions. Solomon orders Adonijah’s death for this and he is brought down.
26 To Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not put you to death now, because you carried the ark of the Sovereign Lord before my father David and shared all my father’s hardships.” 27 So Solomon removed Abiathar from the priesthood of the Lord, fulfilling the word the Lord had spoken at Shiloh about the house of Eli.
Solomon then deals with Abiathar, the priest who also sided with Adonijah. Siting his loyalty to David, Abiathar’s life is spared, but he is stripped of the priesthood and sent home.
28 When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah though not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the Lord and took hold of the horns of the altar. 29 King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord and was beside the altar. Then Solomon ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada, “Go, strike him down!”
30 So Benaiah entered the tent of the Lord and said to Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out!’”
But he answered, “No, I will die here.”
Benaiah reported to the king, “This is how Joab answered me.”
31 Then the king commanded Benaiah, “Do as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so clear me and my whole family of the guilt of the innocent blood that Joab shed. 32 The Lord will repay him for the blood he shed, because without my father David knowing it he attacked two men and killed them with the sword. Both of them—Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army—were better men and more upright than he. 33 May the guilt of their blood rest on the head of Joab and his descendants forever. But on David and his descendants, his house and his throne, may there be the Lord’s peace forever.”
Joab hears of this and knows he is next on the chopping block. He hightails it to the temple and tries the same thing Adonijah did, grabbing onto the horns of the altar, but it won’t work for him because he is plainly guilty (EX21:14). He too is struck down in the temple.
Shimei must also be dealt with, but Solomon chooses mercy. He allows Shimei to live, but he is not allowed to leave Jerusalem. Shimei regards this as gracious and lives there for a long time, but when a few of his slaves escape, Shimei follows and retrieves them, thus blowing his parole. Solomon deals with him severely and kills him.
34 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and struck down Joab and killed him, and he was buried at his home out in the country. 35 The king put Benaiah son of Jehoiada over the army in Joab’s position and replaced Abiathar with Zadok the priest.
36 Then the king sent for Shimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. 37 The day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley, you can be sure you will die; your blood will be on your own head.”
38 Shimei answered the king, “What you say is good. Your servant will do as my lord the king has said.” And Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time.
39 But three years later, two of Shimei’s slaves ran off to Achish son of Maakah, king of Gath, and Shimei was told, “Your slaves are in Gath.” 40 At this, he saddled his donkey and went to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves. So Shimei went away and brought the slaves back from Gath.
41 When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, 42 the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and warn you, ‘On the day you leave to go anywhere else, you can be sure you will die’? At that time you said to me, ‘What you say is good. I will obey.’ 43 Why then did you not keep your oath to the Lord and obey the command I gave you?”
44 The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your heart all the wrong you did to my father David. Now the Lord will repay you for your wrongdoing. 45 But King Solomon will be blessed, and David’s throne will remain secure before the Lord forever.”
46 Then the king gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down and he died.
The kingdom was now established in Solomon’s hands.
These all seem like extreme cases of brutality, but they were necessary for Solomon to end the last lingering aspects of David’s reign and begin his own. The last verse in this chapter tells us that a new beginning is at hand: The kingdom is now established in Solomon’s hands.