The last words of a man are most often his wisest. When you have lived a long life, having experienced what is common to man, you strongly strongly desire to pass on, to anyone who will listen, the knowledge which you have gained. Everyone who has an ear to hear can learn from a sage's last words. They become the legacy that is carried forward, wisdom to the next generation.
King David was about to die, and he had just appointed and anointed his son, Solomon, as the new king of Israel. What he had to say to his son was the legacy of his own life. He didn't speak of his accomplishments, nor his failures. David spoke to Solomon the ageless truths of walking with the God of the Ages.
David challenged Solomon to be a strong man. David knew that there would be many difficult decisions that he would have to make as king, but just as many difficult decisions regarding his own life. "Be a man," David said to Solomon. Life is no place for shallow and weak living.
Then David's words turned and focused on the LORD God, and Solomon's obedience to every word which God spoke. David spoke of 3 ways that Solomon must live in order to experience the blessing of success in all that he did and wherever he would go. We, too, should order our lives by these three principles for successful Christian lives:
- Consider God to be your Commander ("keep the charge")
- Follow in the footsteps of Jesus ("walk in His ways")
- Obey all that He says ("keep His statutes, commandments, ordinances and testimonies")
This is the way that David lived his life. Though he was not a perfect man, David had a God-ward heart, and he greatly desired his son, the heir to the throne, to follow in his footsteps. David recalled to Solomon the promise that God had spoken to him long ago. That promise was that David would always have a blood relative on the throne of Israel if his sons were obedient to God. Full obedience was the condition that God required if the promise was to be carried out. This is exactly what God said,
". . . if your sons are careful of their way, to walk before Me in truth (faithfulness) with all of their heart and with all of their soul. . ."
The condition of the promise was a king's heart that was fully following in the faithful footsteps of their father. This king would be blessed, his kingdom would be blessed, and they would keep a man on the throne if their hearts totally belonged to God.
God is still looking for those who will totally surrender themselves to Him. He doesn't desire a part of our heart and soul. He wants us to give Him all of it. And when we do, our lives reflect to others the blessing of God upon us. The lost of the world can only see the amount of God in us that we have surrendered to Him. On a scale of 0 - 100% how much of your heart truly belongs to God? What legacy are you leaving for others to follow? Can they see your footsteps?
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