1 Kings 2:4

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹As the time drew near for David to die, he charged his son Solomon, ²"I am about to go the way of all of the earth. So be strong and prove yourself a man. ³And keep the charge of the LORD your God to walk in His ways and to keep His statutes, commandments, ordinances, and decrees, as is written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you turn, ⁴and so that the LORD may fulfill His promise to me: 'If your descendants take heed to walk faithfully before Me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'⁵Moreover, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me and what he did to Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of the armies of Israel. He killed them in peacetime to avenge the blood of war. He stained with the blood of war the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. ⁶So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. ⁷But show loving devotion to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, because they stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom. ⁸Keep an eye on Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite with you from Bahurim who called down bitter curses against me on the day I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by the LORD: 'I will never kill you with the sword.' ⁹Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You know what you ought to do to him to bring his gray head down to Sheol in blood." ¹⁰Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

That the Lord: Genesis 18:19, Deuteronomy 7:12, 1 Chronicles 28:9, John 15:9, John 15:10, Jude 1:20, Jude 1:21, Jude 1:24

his word: 2 Samuel 7:11-16, 2 Samuel 7:25, 1 Chronicles 17:11-15, 1 Chronicles 22:9-11, 1 Chronicles 28:5-7, Psalms 89:29-37, Psalms 132:11, Psalms 132:12

walk: 1 Kings 3:3, 1 Kings 3:14, 1 Kings 8:23, Genesis 17:1, Leviticus 26:3, 2 Kings 20:3, 2 Kings 23:3, 2 Kings 23:25, 2 Chronicles 17:3, Luke 1:6

with all their heart: Deuteronomy 6:5, Deuteronomy 10:12, Deuteronomy 11:13, Matthew 22:37

fail: etc. Heb. be cut off from thee from the throne, 1 Kings 8:25, 2 Samuel 7:12, 2 Samuel 7:13, 2 Samuel 7:16, Psalms 37:9, Psalms 37:22, Zechariah 14:2

Reciprocal: Genesis 5:22 - General Deuteronomy 26:17 - and to 1 Kings 3:6 - according 1 Kings 6:12 - if thou wilt 1 Kings 9:5 - I will establish 2 Kings 10:31 - took no heed 2 Chronicles 6:16 - saying 2 Chronicles 23:3 - as the Lord 2 Chronicles 31:21 - he did it Psalms 39:1 - I said Psalms 116:9 - walk Isaiah 38:3 - I have Jeremiah 29:13 - with Jeremiah 33:17 - David shall never want 1 Timothy 3:15 - know 3 John 1:4 - walk

Cross-References

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:4
And seeing that the light was good, God separated the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1:28
God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth."

Genesis 1:31
And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning-the sixth day.

Genesis 2:1
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

Genesis 2:2
And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work.

Genesis 5:1
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in His own likeness.

Genesis 10:1
This is the account of Noah's sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, who also had sons after the flood.

Genesis 11:10
This is the account of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad.

Genesis 25:12
This is the account of Abraham's son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's maidservant, bore to Abraham.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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 thy 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 thee 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 1:32.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

That the Lord may continue his word - The original promise given to David indirectly, through Nathan 2 Samuel 7:11-17, and apparently unconditional, afterward was made conditional upon continued obedience. (See the margin reference “f.”) David reminds Solomon of this, in order to impress upon him a powerful motive to continue faithful and obedient.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 2:4. That the Lord may continue his word — The prosperity which God has promised to grant to my family will depend on their faithfulness to the good they receive; if they live to God, they shall sit for ever on the throne of Israel. But alas! they did not; and God's justice cut off the entail made by his mercy.