Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20030323.htm

1 AND 2 KINGS: ENJOYING GOD'S BLESSINGS IN AN APOSTATE ERA
Part II: Worthwhile Goals In An Apostate Era As Viewed From The Hearse
(1 Kings 2:1-12)
  1. Introduction
    1. Advice from spiritually godly giants who look back on their long lives is always worth heeding. Such advice in an era of spiritual decline becomes even more priceless for us who follow them.
    2. David's final personal charge to his ruling son, Solomon is supplied in 1 Kings 2:1-12 as David neared his death just before the start of Israel's spiritual decline. We do well to heed it for our troubled era as well:
  2. Worthwhile Goals In An Apostate Era As Viewed From The Hearse, 1 Kings 2:1-12.
    1. Just before he died, the aged spiritual warrior in David advised his successor in Solomon courageously to obey God's Word in his reign, 1 Kings 2:1-3. In doing so, God would bless David's seed in accord with the Davidic Covenant, 1 Kings 2:4 with 2 Samuel 7:12-17.
    2. Then, to illustrate such courageous obedience to Scripture, David charged Solomon to heed God's Word regarding his need to address unfinished, self-critiquing problems left over from errors in David's reign:
      1. First, David charged Solomon to execute the longtime multiple-murderer, his commander, Joab:
        1. David reported to Solomon that Joab, his longtime military commander had murdered men during his career to further his own earthly ambitions, 1 Kings 2:5.
        2. Since such actions violated the Mosaic Law, David urged Solomon to execute Joab, 1 Kings 2:6.
        3. Such a charge was deeply self-critical of his own past actions in league with Joab: (a) Besides several murders done on his own, Joab had followed David's charge to murder Uriah the Hittite so David could take Bathsheba as his wife, 2 Samuel 11:14-17. (b) When Joab reported Uriah's death to David, since it served David's temporal interests with Bathsheba, David glossed over it, a gross sin, cf. 2 Samuel 11:19, 23-25. (c) Thus, to have Joab slain was to critique once again his own sinful involvement with Joab in the murder of Uriah and the other soldiers who fell with him!
      2. Second, David charged Solomon to slay Shimei for cursing the Lord's anointed in king David, a deed David was restricted from doing when he made a quick promise in God's Name not to harm Shimei in the heat of an emotionally "down" moment:
        1. David also told Solomon about Shimei, the man who cursed him when he fled from Absalom, 2:8a.
        2. Yet, when David had returned after the civil war where his son, Absalom had died, when he was full of grief at his loss in this life, he rashly promised in God's Name not to punish Shimei versus Scripture's order re: those who slander the Lord's anointed, 1 K. 2:8b; 2 Sam. 19:15-23; Ex. 22:28.
        3. Thus, David urged Solomon to do what he failed and could not do since he had put himself under an oath in God's Name to the contrary -- to execute Shimei as God's Word required, 1 Kings 2:9.
      3. Third, David charged Solomon to show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, a necessary thing to do in view of his own unpaid indebtedness to Barzillai:
        1. Barzillai had initially kept David's party from possible starvation when he had once fled from Absalom, 1 Kings 2:7 with 2 Sam. 17:27-29 and Ryrie Study Bible, KJV footnote to 1 Kings 2:7.
        2. When David later offered to reward Barzillai for his help, Barzillai had suggested David show kindness to his servant instead of himself, 2 Samuel 19:33-38.
        3. Apparently still emotionally numb from Absalom's death, David rewarded only Barzillai's servant instead of insisting he reward either the elderly man himself or at least his sons.
        4. Realizing rewarding just Barzillai's servant fell short of rewarding Barzillai as he ought, David urged Solomon to reward Barzillai's sons, cf. 2 Samuel 19:33-38 with 1 Kings 2:7.
        5. Thus, David critiqued his own failure to have rewarded Barzillai as he ought to have done!
Lesson: Worthy goals in even an apostate era, ESPECIALLY in view of the BREVITY of THIS life involve HEEDING God OPPOSITE its CONFLICT with TEMPORARY goals or concerns we have!

Application: Since we tend to FUDGE in obeying the Lord when we focus on TEMPORARY goals and concerns, we do well ALWAYS to LIVE as though we are at the END of life so as to value HEEDING God THROUGHOUT our lives. That was David's last word to Solomon, and we do well to heed it also!