John Gill Commentary 1 Kings 2

Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die
The number of his days fixed and determined by the Lord, (Job 14:5); and which might be perceived as drawing nigh, both by himself and others, through the growing infirmities of old age, decline of nature, and various symptoms of an approaching dissolution which were upon him; see (Genesis 47:29) . Abarbinel observes, that he is called only David, not King David; because Solomon his son was now anointed king, and reigned in his stead; so in (1 Kings 1:10 1 Kings 1:11) ; but there is another reason given by some Jews ^F14 , that no man, even a king, has power in the day of death; he is no king then, he has no rule over that, but that rules over him:

and he charged Solomon his son ;
gave him his last and dying charge:

saying ;
as follows.

FOOTNOTES:

• F14: Bereshit Rabba, sect. 96. fol. 83. 3.

I go the way of all the earth
A path which is the path of death ^F15, which all pass in, kings and peasants, high and low, rich and poor, great and small, good and bad; none are exempted, all must die, and do; it is the appointment of God, a decree which can never be reversed; all experience confirms it: this same phrase is used by Joshua, from whom David seems to have borrowed it, and shows that that book was written in his days, (Joshua 23:14) ;

be strong therefore ;
not discouraged at your death, being a common thing, and to be expected; nor at being left alone, the Lord can give you wisdom and counsel, assistance and strength, protection, and defence; take heart therefore, and be of good courage:

and show yourself a man ;
in wisdom and understanding, and in fortitude of mind, though so young a man; which were necessary for the government of so great a people, and to guard against the secret intrigues of some, and the open flatteries of others, and the fear of attempts against his person and government, and the temptations he might be liable to, to do wrong things; and especially they were necessary to enable him to keep the commands of God, as follows; which required great strength of mind and of grace, considering the corruptions of nature, the temptations of Satan, and the snares of men; see (Joshua 1:7) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F15: "------ omnes una manet nox, Et calcanda semel via lethi". Horat. Carmin. l. 1. ode 28. ver. 15, 16.

And keep the charge of the Lord your God
Which may in general respect his whole walk and conversation, and his obedience to the law and will of God; and in particular his just government of Israel committed to his charge:

to walk in his ways ;
directed to in his word:

to keep his statutes and his judgments ;
his laws, ceremonial, moral, and judicial:

and his testimonies ;
as the above laws, which testify of his mind, and declare what he would have done and observed:

as it is written in the law of Moses ;
which a king of Israel was obliged to write a copy of, keep by him, and read it, and rule according to it, (Deuteronomy 17:18–20) :

that you may prosper in all that you do, and wherever you turn yourself ;
to reign in righteousness, and according to the law of God, is the only way to have a prosperous and happy reign: or "that you may act wisely" ^F16 ; the law of God furnishing the best rules of government and maxims of policy; see (Deuteronomy 4:6Deuteronomy 4:7) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F16: (lykvt Neml) "ut prudenter agas", Montanus, Tigurine version; "ut intelligas universa", V. L.

That the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning
me
his word of promise concerning the kingdom of David, and the succession of it, and confirm and establish it:

saying, if your children take heed to their way ;
they are directed to walk in, even the way of the Lord, and not turn to the right hand or the left:

to walk before me in truth :
in the sincerity and integrity of their hearts, according to the word of truth, and under the influence of the spirit of truth:

with all their heart, and with all their soul ;
in the most cordial manner, with the strongest affection and zeal; with all eagerness and earnestness; with their whole hearts engaged in every duty performed by them: then the Lord said,

there shall not fail you a man on the throne of Israel ;
one to succeed him in the throne; this, with respect to his throne, literally considered, was conditional; but, spiritually considered, was absolute, and had its fulfilment in the Messiah, whose throne is for ever; see (Luke 1:32Luke 1:33) .

Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did unto me. In slaying Absalom, contrary to his orders, and in behaving insolently towards him on account of his mourning for him, and at other times; but as these things might not be personally known to Solomon, only by hearsay, this may respect his disloyalty towards him, in joining with Adonijah, who set himself up for king in his lifetime, and without his knowledge and consent; or it may respect the instances next mentioned, in which he did injury to the interest, honour, and character of David:

[and], or "even", what he did to the two captains of the host of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew; to Abner who was under Ishbosheth, and Amasa under David, who had not only the promise of the post, but was actually in it when Joab slew him; and indeed out of envy to him for it: and shed the blood of war in peace; when they were at peace with him, as if they had been in open war; and even under a pretence of friendship to them, asking of their peace and welfare, as if he meant nothing less than to behave peaceably towards them; hence the Targum is, ``whom he slew in craftiness:''

and put the blood of war upon the girdle that [was] about his loins, and in his shoes that [were] in his feet; which particularly respects the affair of Amasa, whose blood he shed with his sword, that dropped out of its scabbard, girded upon his loins, and into which he put it again, all over bloody, and wore it girded upon his loins; and which he also stooped for when it fell, as if he was going to unloose or buckle his shoes, and into which the blood ran down when he stabbed him; and after this barbarous action marched on without any shame or remorse, with his bloody sword on his loins, and the blood of the murdered in his shoes.