I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to 1 Kings 2:1-4
1 Kings 2:1-4 (NIV)
1 When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge
to Solomon his son.
2 "I am about to go the way of all the earth," he
said. "So be strong, show yourself a man,
3 and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in his
ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written
in the Law of Moses, 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 man on the throne of
-- The
story is told of an old man named Fred who had been a faithful Christian all of
his life and was in the hospital, near death -- the family called the preacher
and asked them to come and be with them at this time
-- when the
preacher arrived, the room was quite crowded and the preacher had to make a
place to stand near the head of the bed -- immediately after he got there,
Fred's condition appeared to deteriorate and he motioned frantically for
something to write on-- the preacher handed him a pen and a piece of paper -- and Fred used his last bit of energy to scribble a note -- he handed the note to the preacher and just a few moments later, he died -- in the chaos and aftermath of Fred's death, the preacher took the note and put it in his pocket without reading it
-- later, at the funeral, as the preacher was finishing his message, he realized he was wearing the same jacket that he was wearing when Fred died -- and he thought about that note Fred had given him
-- he said, "You know, Fred handed me a note just before he died -- I haven't looked at it, but knowing Fred and knowing the man he was, I'm sure his last words will be an inspiration to all of us"
-- he slowly pulled the note out of his pocket and opened it up and read the last words of Fred out loud to the congregation -- "Move! -- You're standing on my oxygen tube!”1
-- as you
all know, I am active in the Emmaus and Chrysalis moments and I have served on
the spiritual team on many of these three-day spiritual weekends -- now the
weekends are built around a series of talks -- there are ten talks by laypeople
and five talks by clergy -- and while we say that each one is important and
builds upon the next, to be honest, there are some talks that are just more
coveted because they seem more important and there are some talks that no one
wants to give because they seem to be less important -- the last talk of the
weekend is one that no one ever wants to give because the weekend has basically
wrapped up by this time -- everyone is getting ready to go home -- and no one
is listening
-- but my
thoughts on this talk changed a few years ago when I heard a young man at a
Chrysalis Journey make a point about this talk -- when he got assigned Talk
#15, one of his friends said, "Man, that's a bummer -- you got the last
talk"
-- He
replied, "Are you kidding? -- that's the best talk -- I get to speak into
these men's lives the last words they will hear before they leave this
weekend"
-- last
words are important -- last words can be profound -- they can sum up the life
of a person who is passing away on their deathbed -- they can be the final
legacy of a life well-lived
-- history
records for us the last words of many great men and women -- some last words
are quite profound, like the last words from John Newton, the former slave
trader turned Presbyterian minister and author of the hymn “Amazing Grace” --
as he was preparing to die, Newton said, “I am still in the land of the dying;
I shall be in the land of the living soon.” -- other times last words are not quite that profound
-- Lady Nancy Astor, the first woman member of the British Parliament, woke up for just a moment from her deathbed to see her entire family surrounding her -- she looked around and said, “Am I dying or is this my birthday?”
-- The very last words of P.T. Barnum, the world famous circus promoter and entertainer, were, “How were the receipts today in
-- Just before he died, Pancho Villa, the Mexican Revolutionary General, said to a friend, “Don’t let it end this way. Tell them I said something.”
-- and the last words of Marie Antoinette, spoken as she stepped on the toes of her executioner on the way to her death, are recorded as “Pardon me sir”2
-- in this
passage we see recorded for us the last words of King David as he passed the
throne to his son Solomon -- as you know, David had been given the throne of
Saul by God, and had taken a divided nation beset by war on all sides and
barely clinging to life, and had unified it and strengthened it and expanded
its borders and won peace with all his neighbors
-- David
had gone from being a poor shepherd boy in the hills of -- even now, almost 3000 years later, we find these words to be good advice for us as we seek to live our lives in this 21st century
-- let's take a moment to look at David's last words and see what we can learn from them to apply to our lives today
II. Scripture Lesson (1 Kings 2:1-4)
-- verses
1-2a
1 When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge
to Solomon his son.
2 "I am about to go the way of all the earth," he
said.
-- as this
chapter opens we see David preparing to die -- or, as he puts it, going the way
of all the earth
-- it is a
fact of nature that all things on the earth today are going to die -- this is
not something we like to talk about -- it's certainly not something we dwell on
-- but it's a fact -- we are all going to die at some point -- which begs the
question, "What is the purpose of life?"-- as Christians we live to die -- as Christians we should be living this life in preparation for the next -- as John Newton said in that quote I just gave you from his deathbed, "I am still in the land of the dying; I shall be in the land of the living soon"
-- physical death is not the end -- it is only the beginning of our eternity -- and the lesson to learn from David at the start of this chapter is to live life with eternity in mind -- to not live life only for what you can enjoy at the moment -- to not live life only for what you can get out of it -- but to live life as a preparation for what is to come
-- to put your effort and energy and time into the things that will last -- your spirit -- your character -- your integrity -- your legacy
-- just a
couple of weeks ago, Zach Sobiech passed away -- Zach was only 18
years old when he died from terminal bone cancer -- when he received the
diagnosis at 17, Zach knew he did not have long to live, so he sought to make
the most of it -- to prepare himself for eternity and to leave a legacy of
inspiration and direction to those who were left behind
-- Zach
wrote the song, "Clouds," as his swan song -- as his anthem to living
life to get ready to die -- let me share with you the opening verse:-- "Well, I fell down, down, down, into this dark and lonely hole -- there was no one there to care about me anymore -- and I needed a way to climb and grab a hold of the edge -- and you were sitting there holding a rope
-- "and we'll go up, up, up -- but I'll fly a little higher -- we'll go up in the clouds because the view is a little nicer"
-- in these
verses we see that David has realized what Zach was singing about -- all of his
accomplishments -- the kingdom he had built -- the wives that he had -- the
life he had lived -- all of this was going to fade away -- the only things that
mattered here at the end of his life were the things of eternity -- and so he
tries to pass this knowledge on to his son Solomon in his final words
-- look back
at the second part of verse 2b-3a
2b "So be strong, show yourself a man,
3 and observe what the LORD your God requires:
-- David
left Solomon with the charge to do three things with his life -- let's look at
these separately
-- first,
be strong
-- what is
strength? -- I see guys at the gym chasing that elusive word,
"strength" -- they spend hours at the gym, working out, toning their
muscles, building up their strength -- they think that big muscles is what
makes them strong-- but is that what David is talking about here? -- I don't think so -- I think the strength David is talking about here is strength of character -- doing what is right in the eyes of God regardless of the cost
-- in the Bible, when it talks about strength, it begins and ends with God
-- Exodus 15:2 says, "The Lord is my strength" -- Psalm 18:32 says, "God has equipped me with strength" -- and, of course, Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me"
-- to be strong means to stand up in the power of God -- it implies resilience and perseverance in times of adversity -- to be strong means that when the times get tough, you don't give up, you stand and fight and overcome through God's power in your life
-- David knew Solomon would be tested -- already two of David's sons had tried to usurp the throne -- one by force and one by favor -- and it was likely the others would try to wrest the kingdom from Solomon once David had passed -- Solomon would have to be strong to keep the kingdom intact
-- but Solomon's tests were not just going to be limited to the throne -- he would be tested spiritually -- and David tells him to be strong in the power of the Lord
-- second, be
a man -- David tells him, "Man up, Solomon" -- don't forget, Solomon
was not like David -- he was as different from David as Jacob was from Esau
-- David
was a man of the fields -- a shepherd boy who became a warrior-king -- a man's
man-- Solomon was not -- Solomon was a man of the palace -- he was raised in the palace of the women and only knew the palace life -- he had never been to battle -- he had never fought in anger -- he had never spent time outside doing manly things -- his was the world of politics -- the world of pleasure -- the world of comfort
-- David tells Solomon, "It's time to grow up -- it's time to be a man -- it's time to accept the mantle of responsibility that being a man and a king requires"
-- I hate
to go all Duck Dynasty on you again, but I've been watching that show a lot and
there's a lot of wisdom on that show -- one thing I have noted time and time
again is the grandfather Phil's concern for his grandchildren -- he is
concerned they are growing up "citified" -- he is concerned they do
not understand the culture they come from and have lost the appreciation for
the things of nature and God's creation that most men his age grew up with --
time and time again I have seen Phil carry his grandsons out into the woods or
in the swamps and basically tell them the same thing David is telling Solomon
here, "Be a man -- learn what it means to stand up and take on the mantle
of leadership and responsibility for your family"
-- being a
man doesn't just mean you are big and strong -- it doesn't just mean you can
make a fire without a match -- being a man means you protect and care for your
family -- you put their needs above yours -- you serve them and defend them
from this hostile world
-- for the
men here, that means we stand up and take care of our family -- but for
Solomon, when David told him to be a man, he was reminding him of his
responsibility as king -- Solomon was accountable, not only for his family, but
also for the nation -- every person in the kingdom of Israel would look to Solomon
to lead them and protect them and serve them-- the best picture we have of this is Jesus -- Jesus was a man's man -- He gave of Himself for others -- He led those who followed Him -- He showed them what it meant to live a life fully sold out for God -- and He paid the ultimate price by giving up His life and suffering the punishment of the cross so we would not have to
-- this is what it means to be man -- and this what David was trying to get Solomon to understand
-- finally,
be faithful -- David tells Solomon to "observe what the Lord your God
requires"
-- look
back at verse 3-4
3 and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in his
ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written
in the Law of Moses, 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 man on the throne of
-- God had
made a covenantal promise to David that his descendants would always sit on the
throne of Israel
-- David
had taken a divided nation, unified it under his leadership, and expanded its
borders, making it the most powerful nation in the world at that time -- and
now the time has come to pass that kingdom on to his successor -- the promise
of God was to be fulfilled-- but the promise of God was not in reference to a specific individual -- the promise to Solomon to hold the throne of David was a conditional promise that depended on his relationship with God -- if Solomon did not walk in the ways of God -- if he did not keep God's decrees and commands -- he would be removed and another would replace him
-- this charge to Solomon to be faithful is a charge to all of us -- to enjoy the blessings of the inheritance -- to step into the grace God has bestowed upon us through Jesus -- we must uphold our part of the covenant
-- we must
be faithful in our lives -- we must walk in the ways of God -- to walk in the
ways of God means more than just coming to church on Sundays and Bible studies
during the week -- in the Bible your walk is synonymous with your life -- we
are to live in the ways of God Sunday through Saturday -- 24/7 -- 365 days a
year
-- to walk
in the ways of God means to obey His commands and His decrees -- to do what He
says -- as we talked about a couple of weeks ago, we don't live on legalism --
we don't live our lives on the written commandments -- but we base our lives on
the law of God written on our hearts and on what He tells us to do as we spend
time with Him-- David tells Solomon that being faithful is the key to life -- it is the key to prosperity and success -- not necessarily worldly success -- but eternal success
-- walk faithfully before God with all your heart and soul and God will bless you and pour out His grace on you and the legacy you leave behind will be everlasting
III. Closing
-- the
Bible tells us that Solomon did not heed the final words of his father David --
although he was the richest king to ever live -- although he maintained David's
kingdom and strengthened Israel's alliances with other nations -- although he
built God's temple in Jerusalem and many palaces -- although he was known as
the wisest man in the world -- although he was deemed a success by this world,
Solomon failed in what truly mattered
-- he
allowed his heart to be turned to other gods by his wives and did not walk in
the ways of God all his life -- he spent his life chasing wealth and power and
prestige -- and at the end of his life, as he reflected on all that he had done
and all he had created and what he was leaving behind, he summed it up in these
words from Ecclesiastes, "Meaningless, meaningless -- a chasing after the
wind"
-- the
quality of a life is not measured by the size of your checkbook -- the quality
of a life is not measured by the things you have accumulated or the accolades
of your career -- all of this will pass away at the end
-- no, the
quality of a life is measured by how well you fulfill the charge of David to be
strong -- to be a man or, if you prefer, to be a woman -- and to be faithful-- these are the components of a well-lived life -- these are the legacy you want to carry on into eternity
-- be strong -- be a man -- be faithful
-- let us
pray
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1Illustration modified from sermon by David
Owens, "Famous Last Words," [http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/famous-last-words-david-owens-sermon-on-examples-of-faith-138882.asp]
2Modified from sermon by Scott Carmer, "Be
Strong, Be Courageous, Be Faithful" [http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/be-strong-be-courageous-be-faithful-scott-carmer-sermon-on-david-91723.asp?page=0]
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