The Lasting Legacy of a Father

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If you were the king about to die, what would you say to your son and heir to the throne? In his final moment, King David was a wise father who spoke important last words to his son, Solomon.

1 Kings 2:2-4

1 When David’s time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and SHOW yourself a man, 3 and KEEP the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; 4 that the Lord may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you a man on the throne of Israel.’

1) The truth about death. v. 2a I am about to ‘go the way of all the earth.’ This is an important reality to teach our children – the way of all the earth is every man dies. Implication: I am going to leave you. When we tell our children we are going to die, we teach them the reality that we are going to leave them.

2) The truth about life. v. 2b Life goes on. Even when a parent dies, the child has to continue living. David charged Solomon to be strong – Be a man. How?

3) The truth about living. v.3 Keep the word of God – walk in his ways, his statutes (written law), his commandments, his ordinances (authoritative law), and his testimonies (what God says of Himself). We live life as children of God following His instructions on how to live – His manual for living is His word.

4) The truth. v. 4 God’s word is truth. He always does what He says. David told Solomon: The Lord promised me that if my sons (you) mind their way – to live righteously faithfully following me with all their heart and all their soul, I shall always have a child of mine as king of Israel.

Application
We parents often have good plans and dreams for our children. We hope that their lives would be well and prosperous. How important it is that we teach them the basics of life and living:

1) That death is the end of life. We need to remind ourselves and our children that we will not always be with them.

2) We need to teach them to live life courageously in the truth of God’s word.

3) God’s word tells us to live with integrity in authenticity before God obeying Him in complete trust. Why should we trust Him?

4) Because surely His promise is that He will always be with us to show us in the way that we should go. God always keeps His promises.


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