In 1 Kings, chapter 2, King David is on his death-bed.

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As his time draws near, he gives some final words of advice to Solomon.  Just like in many great movies when a key character is about to pass on, their last words are usually pivotal to the story-line and valuable in life-lesson. David’s words hit that mark! Before moving on, give 1 Kings 2:2-4 a read.

Now Scripture tells us that David was a man after God’s own heart. His final word of advice proves this to be true. David could have just said ‘follow the Law of Moses‘, which would have been perfectly acceptable. However, instead, David chooses to state “keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses“. This is such an important statement and just as pertinent today as it was back then.

So many times, we get caught up with the ‘laws‘ of christian living. Perhaps, we try to follow the ten commandments? Perhaps, we live by Paul’s Epistles? Perhaps, we just hang onto the Gospels? Yet, David’s words should echo into all our hearts, to keep all of God’s “decrees and commands, his laws and requirements“.

Today, we have a wealth of history, wisdom, poetry & eternal truth poured into 66 books, that have been conveniently compiled and bound into one record for us to carry with us and share. In David’s day, Moses’ writings were the only foundational Scripture. If David could speak to us today from his death-bed, he would likely be jealous of the amount of Scripture we possess. Furthermore, he’d probably plead with us to dive into it’s entirety on a daily basis.

David was a man who cared for sheep yet battled a giant. David was a man who fell into adulterous sin yet wrote God-given hymns and praises. David was a man who had to run for his life yet became the greatest king of Israel. When a man of this stature and experience speaks; we should definitely listen.

Finally, its important to note the reasons why we should keep all of God’s “decrees and commands, his laws and requirements“. According to the man after God’s own heart, we will “prosper in all you do and wherever you go“. That’s something we can hold on to each and every day.

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