The Charge of a Dying King
1 Now the days of David came near that he should die; and he commanded Solomon his son, saying, 2 “I am going the way of all the earth. You be strong therefore, and show yourself a man; 3 and keep the instruction of Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn yourself. 4 Then Yahweh may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your children are careful of their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you,’ he said, ‘a man on the throne of Israel.’ 5 “Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, even what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his sash that was around his waist and in his sandals that were on his feet. 6 Do therefore according to your wisdom, and don’t let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. 7 But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table; for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother. 8 “Behold, there is with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by Yahweh, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9 Now therefore don’t hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood.” 10 David slept with his fathers, and was buried in David’s city. 11 The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12 Solomon sat on David his father’s throne; and his kingdom was firmly established.
David's last words to his heir: keep the law and the promise stands — and then a list of two men to deal with, which is harder to read.
“I am going the way of all the earth. You be strong therefore, and show yourself a man;
The charge opens where Joshua's did Joshua 23:14, and its first half is unimpeachable. Keep the instruction of Yahweh, walk in his ways, keep the statutes according to that which is written in the law of Moses 1 Kings 2:3 — a king pointed at a text rather than at his own judgment, exactly as the law required of him Deuteronomy 17:18–19.
Then Yahweh may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your children are careful of their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you,’ he said, ‘a man on the throne of Israel.’
And here David states the covenant in its conditional form. This needs care, because the promise of 2 Samuel 7:16 was unconditional — a house established forever, with discipline rather than rejection for sin. The two are not in conflict: the dynasty's existence is guaranteed, and any given generation's occupancy of the throne is not. History proved both halves. David's line was never cut off, and it also stopped ruling for centuries. What David presses on his son is the part Solomon can affect.
5 “Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, even what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his sash that was around his waist and in his sandals that were on his feet. 6 Do therefore according to your wisdom, and don’t let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.
Then the second half, and readers should feel its difficulty rather than explain it away. Joab's case is a real charge with a real basis: he murdered Abner and Amasa in peacetime under a pretense of friendship 2 Samuel 3:27 2 Samuel 20:10, and shed the blood of war in peace — unpunished blood-guilt that the law says defiles the land and attaches to the house that tolerates it Numbers 35:33 Deuteronomy 21:8–9. David admits by this charge that he never did his duty; he is handing his son a debt he was too weak to collect 2 Samuel 3:39.
Now therefore don’t hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood.”
Shimei is harder still. David swore not to put him to death 2 Samuel 19:23 and keeps the letter of that oath by dying first — and the instruction leaves the method to Solomon's wisdom, which is what Solomon takes it as 1 Kings 2:36–37. It is legally deft and morally uncomfortable, and the account offers no defense of it. Between the two charges stands a third that is nothing but gratitude: kindness to Barzillai's sons, who fed him in the flight from Absalom 1 Kings 2:7 2 Samuel 17:27–29. All three are on the same deathbed list, and the man who wrote them is the same man throughout — this history's refusal to tidy him up is why it can be trusted.
David slept with his fathers, and was buried in David’s city.
Forty years, seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem, and the epitaph the rest of the book will use as its ruler: kings are measured, from here on, against David.
held with reason What this mark means