1 Kings 2:1-11

[0:00] We're 1 Kings. We didn't leapfrog 1 Kings. We were in 2 Samuel, so we're in 1 Kings. But we are in 1 Kings chapter 2. So you had the two right, those of you that were talking about it.

[0:10] We're in 1 Kings chapter 2 is where we'll be at this evening. We'll be in the first 11 verses, verses 1 through 11. 1 Kings chapter 2, verses 1 through 11.

[0:22] We could have taken this to the 12th verse, but really that verse pertains to either one, that which precedes it or that which follows. So we'll allow the 12th verse to be with that which follows.

[0:33] So 1 Kings chapter 2, verses 1 through 11 is where we will be at this evening. Let's pray. Lord, I'm so thankful. Thankful that we have the opportunity of gathering. Thankful that we have the opportunity of, Lord, just spending time in fellowship.

[0:48] Lord, midweek encouraging one another, just enjoying being with our church family. Lord, we thank you for that. We thank you for providing this time. Thank you for providing this opportunity. Lord, we thank you that we have the chance to open up the Word of God.

[1:00] Pray as we open it up with one another, Lord, that we would see it as it is, not as just the thoughts and opinions of man's, but the very Word of God, which is fit to teach and instruct us in the way of godliness.

[1:11] So, Lord, I pray as we look at it, even in the Old Testament, Lord, as we study the history of your interactions with your people, that we would be moved by it to have a greater glimpse of who you are and what you've called us to do.

[1:23] Lord, we thank you and we praise you and we ask it all in Jesus' name. Amen. 1 Kings 2, verses 1 through 11 is where we will be at this evening.

[1:36] The Word of God says, As David's time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, I am going the way of all the earth.

[1:48] Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. Keep the charge of the Lord your God to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to what is written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn, so that the Lord may carry out his promise, which he spoke concerning me, saying, If your sons are careful of your way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.

[2:20] I also know what Joab, the son of Zariah, did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner, the son of Ner, to Amasa, the son of Jether, whom he killed.

[2:32] He also shed the blood of war in peace, and he put the blood of war on his belt, around his waist, and on his sandals, on his feet. So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his hair go down to Sheol in peace, but show kindness to the sons of Barzillah the Giladite, and let them be among those who eat at your table.

[2:52] For they assisted me when I fled from Absalom your brother. Behold, there is with you Shimei, the son of Gerah, the Benjamite of Baharum. Now it was he who cursed me with a violent curse on the day I went to Mahanim.

[3:06] But when he came down to me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put you to death with the sword. Now therefore do not let him go unpunished. You are a wise man, and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to Sheol with blood.

[3:23] He slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. The days that David reigned over Israel were 40 years. Seven years he reigned in Hebron, and 33 years he reigned in Jerusalem.

[3:37] Let's go ahead and read the 12th verse, right? And Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established. We'll probably read that again when we get to the text which follows this.

[3:49] Here we have 1 Kings 2, verses 1 through 11, and I want you to see the last testimony of King David. The last testimony of King David. The very last thing that we have recorded of him saying, it's not recorded for us in the 1 Chronicles account.

[4:01] In fact, there are some events that are not recorded in either 2 Samuel or 1 Kings. 1 Chronicles does record. If you were here Sunday night, we looked at the difference between 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles.

[4:14] We looked at the author had different intentions. We looked at the author writing from a different perspective. 1 and 2 Kings, more than likely, is the author's unknown, but there's much within the text.

[4:25] It kind of gives us some context, which seems to allude that it was probably Jeremiah. The reason we think that it was Jeremiah is because some of the wording, the situation, and we know that it was compiled right before or right at the beginning of the Babylonian exile.

[4:40] Jeremiah would have been present at that time, and it wasn't uncommon for the prophets, the school of the prophets, to be record keepers. That's why we have so much history recorded there. And the author and the intent of 1 and 2 Kings, which was one book at that time, was to record the history of God's people and to show how the division and even the failure came about, which led to captivity.

[5:02] 1 and 2 Chronicles, again, we're not 100% who the author is, though there are clues in the text that say it was probably Ezra. Think Ezra, book Ezra, Ezra and Nehemiah.

[5:13] Again, a chronicler, a historian, one who would have had access to the archives of the people of Israel. It is not written because they're going into captivity. It is written because they're coming out of captivity.

[5:25] And the focus in 1 and 2 Chronicles is on the lineage of David. There's not much mentioning there of the northern kingdom. The kingdom of Israel is not much mentioned of, I mean, it's, you know, mentioned, but there's not a lot of time given to it the way we have in 1 and 2 Kings.

[5:38] But Chronicles is concerned about the right king at the right place and the temple and the priest and all those things. So what Chronicles includes for us is before David did this, he made all the preparations for the construction of the temple.

[5:52] He gathered all the supplies. He stored them up. He charged his son Solomon. He prayed and he made sure that Solomon was ready to construct the temple. We don't have that recorded for us in 1 Kings.

[6:06] We don't have it recorded for us in 2 Samuel at the end. But the one thing that we do have is this final testimony that David gives to Solomon shortly before he dies. And I know as we study these things and we look at a lot's been said about the last words of people throughout the ages and we can spend a lot of time on that, but we want to see this last testimony of King David.

[6:28] The first thing that catches our attention when we're reading this is a reality. And it's this reality which if we're not careful, we just go right past it, especially in, you know, the realm of the Old Testament.

[6:41] We don't see it as something significant, but when we turn the pages and we get into the New Testament, we find that this is a very significant truth. And it is this truth that is stated right at the very beginning.

[6:55] As David, as David's time to die drew near. Here's the reality. David's about to die. He said, well, yeah, he's old. Chapter before this, he can't stay warm.

[7:06] They're putting bedcloths on him. They have a nurse for him. He's really dilapidated. He's old. Well, think about this. As David's time to die drew near. And then we read, David says, I'm going the way of all the earth.

[7:18] That is, he's going to die. And then we end in the 10th verse where it says, and David died. He slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. There's the reality. David dies. You say, well, why is that significant?

[7:30] Well, because when you open up the pages of the New Testament, you find that the fact that David died is overstated again and again and again and again and again.

[7:41] It is this reality that that man, David, is dead. He's not the hope. He's not the expectation. He's not the long-forward Messiah.

[7:52] There are many prophecies and there are many promises attached to the lineage of David. David. David's not them. Because if we look, you don't have to go very far, right?

[8:03] When you read the genealogy of Matthew, remember we've talked about this and we preached through Matthew. We talked about it at Christmas and I know sometimes you get tired of hearing about it. But when you read the genealogy of Matthew, Matthew is a Jewish individual, writing to Jewish individuals and he's trying to show that Jesus is the rightful heir to the throne of David, right?

[8:21] That he's king. And Matthew is very strategic in his genealogies. Genealogies. He gives us 14 generations until David and then 14 generations after David because when you add the numerical value of David's name, it's 14.

[8:34] Everything seems to be centered around David because that's how the Jewish people of that time mattered. David was the ideal king. He's a man after God's own heart. He's the one who brought security and stability and expounded it.

[8:47] He's the one that blessed the nation, prospered the nation. Well, here's the reality. David dies. I mean, he dies. So he cannot be the hope we're looking for, right?

[9:01] He cannot be the fulfillment of every promise that has been ascribed to him. Jesus himself says, who do you say that the Messiah is?

[9:14] And of course, the religious leaders say, well, he's the son of David. And you remember, I'm paraphrasing a little bit. Jesus asked the question, said, well, if the Savior or the Messiah is David's son, then why does David say, I said to my Lord, the Lord said to my Lord, said at my right hand.

[9:29] And he's alluding to the fact that David's not the one the psalm is declaring to be the Lord, right? That it is the seed of David. Paul says in Acts, you say, no, Paul didn't write Acts.

[9:40] No, Paul is saying in Acts chapter 13, it's on his missionary journey. Luke, as he's writing here, he is quoting for us Paul. Paul says in Acts chapter 13 that David fulfilled the purposes of God in his generation, which is an astounding testimony, by the way.

[9:59] I have that underlined. I believe it's Acts 13, verse 36. David fulfilled the purposes of God in his generation. What's the one thing that we ought to strive to do? This is a complete side note. Fulfill the purposes of God for you in your generation.

[10:12] That's it. God's not asking you to do everything for all time's sake. He's asking you to fulfill the purpose of God for you in your generation. Paul makes this declaration concerning David.

[10:24] David fulfilled the purposes of God in his generation, and then he died. The book of Acts, we're told over and over and over again that David died. Why are we told so much that David died?

[10:36] Because the death of David signifies for us that's not the one we're looking for. The death of David is always the arrow that is highlighting that Jesus is the one.

[10:50] It's a reality that we need to understand, right? The expectation, the longing, not only of the Jewish people, but all of the world, is that there would be a king of the lineage of David that would sit upon the throne forever.

[11:05] It's not David. Now, we know when we open up the Old Testament, it's not going to be Solomon. It's not going to be any of the other ones either, right? Each one's going to let us down. But this is here to remind us that for all of the great and grand things David did, for the fact that he was a man after God's own heart, the fact that he had the faith to slay the giants, the fact that he was reconciling people, sure, he sinned and he messed up and he failed.

[11:30] He repented of those things too. God blessed him after his repentance. In all of that, David's still not the one we're looking for. Because he does.

[11:43] And you say, well, pastor, you keep saying that over and over again. It's because when you open up the book of Acts and even the Gospels, it is this constant reminder to you that David's not here.

[11:55] I believe they say that David died and he laid his bones in the ground and they have decayed. Right? So every promise we find attached to him in the book of Psalms or all through the working of the Old Testament, God's attaching promises to the family of David or to David.

[12:12] It's really not about David. He's a foreshadow of the one to come. It's this reminder that there's a greater one than David coming.

[12:24] So that's a reality that we just have to accept from the very beginning. We get upset because David sins so greatly. We get upset because David messes up. We get upset because for one minute, he's slinging stones and knocking out giants and cutting their heads off.

[12:38] And the next minute, he's counting people he shouldn't count. And we're like, man, why is there so many ups and downs in this man's life? Well, you just said it because it's a man's life. He's not the Savior.

[12:50] He's not the Messiah. He's not the perfect one. The reality is he goes the way of all the earth. And he does. Right? The second thing that we notice in this passage is not only this reality, there's a reassurance.

[13:05] He's talking to Solomon and David knows his time is drawing near. He knows he's about to go the way of all the earth. And it says there very quickly, in the second verse, I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man.

[13:17] It's almost a repetition of the church which Moses gives to Joshua. Right? Be strong. Do not be afraid. We read that over and over again. There are only a number of people, a handful of people in the Old Testament that we have their final words recorded for us.

[13:32] David is one of them. Moses is one of them. Joshua is one of them. There's only a few of them. And they seem to have the same theme that seems to be resonating here. And David's looking at Solomon and says, you know, I'm about to die.

[13:45] He knows what's going on. He's a realist, right? He understands it. And he tells him to be courageous and to be strong and to show yourself a man. Other translations say the literal meaning of it is just, I believe you have to go to the Legacy Standard Bible to get the real meaning.

[14:00] It's just be a man. He says, you know, be strong and be a man. Now, that's encouraging. And the reason it's encouraging, we don't know exactly how old Solomon is.

[14:13] Right? There's people who try to do the math and try to count it up. But we believe that Solomon is somewhere between the ages of 12 and 19. He's somewhere between the ages of 12 and 19.

[14:26] He's about to be made king of the nation of Israel, God's people. David knows everything that's going on. We're going to see this in just a minute. He's going to talk about everything that Solomon's about to inherit. Right?

[14:37] And he looks at this 12 to 19 year old. He says, be strong and be a man. Right? He reassures him that he can do it, that he can bear the burden, that he can take on the calling that God is giving him.

[14:55] Now, you can call this hyper-masculinity or whatever you want to, whatever the new phrase is today. But I love the fact that in Scripture, the youthfulness of the individual is never seen as an excuse for laziness.

[15:10] I love the reality that the calling of God supersedes even the age of the individual. And there's a reassurance that you can do what God's calling you to do.

[15:25] Even if you are 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 year old. My daughter is child and family development. I'm sorry. It's something different now.

[15:36] Health and human services or something of that nature. I can't remember. They changed her major. And she was reading something to me the other day, another statistic, and was talking about adolescence and said something, adolescence between the age of something and 25. I said, wait a minute.

[15:47] When did a 25-year-old become an adolescent? I'm not trying to be upset here. And I know they are allowed to be adolescents. But when you look at them in Scripture, I'm in Scripture and David is reassuring them.

[16:02] You want to know how it happened? It's because we're not reassuring them that they can do what God is calling them to do. We're not reassuring them that they can be strong, be the man or the woman that God's calling them to do.

[16:15] I'm not talking about pushing them out and being hard on this other stuff. I'm just expecting that what God is asking of them, they can accomplish. Listen, society is not going to do it.

[16:29] They're not. But the people of God ought to be able to come along beside our youth and to reassure them that maturity is not a scary thing.

[16:40] There may be some scary things waiting for you on the other side of maturity, but you can always be strong and be the person that God's called you to be. It's not to be overly tough or do all this other stuff.

[16:51] Listen, you don't have to go out and cut down trees with an axe. I mean, if you want to, that's cool. I enjoy that. You can do whatever God's wired you, but you can be that person at that time. I prefer to use a chainsaw.

[17:01] If you want to use an axe, you can do it. But anyway, some of you like to hug trees. I do too, as they're going down and I put them on a sawmill and cut them up. But anyway, however we work it out, I love this fact.

[17:14] Sure, over and over and over again, the calling of God and the expectation of God always exceeds the provisions and the expectations of society.

[17:26] And I know some of you say, well, pastor, that was a different day and time. And it was different back then. Well, the reason it was different back then is because the people of God expected more back then.

[17:40] And that was just the way it was. And it wasn't a bad thing. It wasn't anything other than that. I know one thing that we always try to do is to encourage people that they can do a lot more than what they think they can.

[17:58] Because your natural self, just to be honest, naturally, we want to take the easy road. Right? I want the path of least resistance. I'm kind of like water. I don't want to do anything that makes me uncomfortable or pushes me or, you know, I just don't like.

[18:13] But we need people reassuring us to tell us to be strong, be the man or the woman that God's called you to be. And I love that one of the last things David did to Solomon was reassure him that he could do it.

[18:26] And just quite frankly, I know this isn't very popular. I'm okay here saying it, I think. It wouldn't be very popular. This world doesn't need anybody coming beside people telling them just take it easy.

[18:38] It needs believers coming beside them and reassuring them that when you go out there, there's going to be some Joabs and there's going to be some people like that, but it's okay. Be strong.

[18:49] Be the man and woman God's called you to be and you can handle it. Right? This reassurance. This reassurance. It's an astounding thing.

[19:01] The third thing that we see from our text, this reality that David dies, which is just driven home all throughout scripture. This reassurance that Solomon, even though he's got older brothers, he's the youngest in the family.

[19:14] There's others born right after him, but he's one of the younger in the family. He's got all this responsibility being cast upon him, but David reassures him that he can do it. And then we see the third thing and it is that responsibility, the actual thing that he needs to do.

[19:28] Right? You would think, okay, he's about to be king of the land. King David is dying and King Solomon's already on the throne. Remember that he's already been anointed as king. He's already been, he's already set upon the king's mule.

[19:40] He's already been driven. The trumpets have already been played. He's already set upon the throne. He's already king. Right? And you can think of any list of things that David could have told him he should have done. Chronicles tells us that the very first thing that David told him he needs to do is construct the temple because his greatest responsibility was not to organize a big army.

[19:58] His greatest responsibility was not to make sure that all these things fell into place, was not to take care of political affairs. The nations come to him, by the way. We see that later on in Solomon's life, right? They keep coming to him and they bring gifts when they come to him.

[20:11] It is not to take care of public affairs or foreign affairs. It's not to do any of those things. But David tells him that his greatest responsibility in verse three, keep the charge of the Lord your God. With everything that he's about to face, now I know the story, Solomon fails.

[20:30] Right? We know that. But we're looking at what he's commissioned and called to do at the last testimony of the king. I mean, you're thinking about wisdom here.

[20:42] I've learned this. There's a lot to be learned from the people who've walked the steps before us, right? David's been there and he's succeeded greatly and he's also failed greatly. And after all the experience, he looks at Solomon and tells him the best thing he can do, the greatest thing he can do, the best responsibility he has is keep the charge of the Lord his God.

[21:03] He says, keep the charge and walk in all his ways, right? Walk in his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances and his testimonies. And he declares to him that as far as they have it as the word of God, which he says is the law of Moses, the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch, which every king was to read and every king was to recite and every king was to record and to write down the book of Deuteronomy according to the book of Deuteronomy.

[21:26] They were to hand transcribe it. Every king was to do that. We don't ever have it recorded that any did that, but they were supposed to. They were supposed to take that Deuteronomy and just embed it within their being that David tells him, obey those things.

[21:41] The very first responsibility you have is to obey them and he tells them why. He says, because by doing it, you will ensure that you are prospering everywhere you go and wherever you turn. True prosperity is always connected to biblical obedience.

[21:57] Always. And it doesn't necessarily just mean prosperity of the world, even though we know that Solomon prospers by the world's standards. Go read the book of Ecclesiastes. I mean, more than likely that Solomon writing, he had at his expense and at his pleasure anything anybody could ever want.

[22:14] And in the end he says, vanity of vanities. By the way, I like the book of Ecclesiastes. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. You know, everything is useless. The only reason I like the book of Ecclesiastes is the last two verses. That's why I like it.

[22:26] Because after you read what all is vain, he says, the end of the matter is this, is to follow the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. Right. He says, at the end of all that, everything he's tried, everything he's experienced, everything he's done, everything he's spent his money, he's built libraries, he collected books and scrolls, he built a recreation, he did all that, everything that money could get him, all the prosperity he had.

[22:48] He said, none of this really matters and he went back to this charge because then you will prosper in all your ways. True prosperity is always connected to biblical obedience.

[23:05] And then David goes a step further, he said, and by doing so, you will ensure that what the Lord has promised me will come about, that if your sons obey my law and they keep my commandments, then you will not fail to have a son set up on the throne of Israel forever.

[23:20] The first time Nathan comes to David and declares to him that God's going to bless him with a kingdom, an everlasting kingdom, it seems to be unconditional. But the time God speaks to David himself, David puts this condition upon it, right?

[23:32] And it's not that the Davidic covenant is a conditional covenant, even though it kind of appears that way. It's completely given by the Lord God, it's completely orchestrated by the Lord God, and it's completely ordained by the Lord God.

[23:43] But God makes this declaration. By the way, any legal covenant that we see, Mount Sinai, think about that. There's a condition there too, right? I will be the Lord your God and you will be my people.

[23:54] And then you remember that big two-letter word? If you follow me and obey me and keep all my commands, right? And then all of a sudden when we come to the Davidic covenant, we have the same thing. You will not fail to have a son on the throne if they follow the law and keep my commandments.

[24:09] Right? So what David is saying here, and he's given this responsibility to Solomon that the greatest motivation for faithful obedience is not that it's going to cause us to prosper.

[24:21] The greatest motivation for faithful obedience is that by doing so, we will ensure that we will be able to see the fulfillment of God's promises. That's a long way of saying, do you want to see God do what he's promised you would do?

[24:35] Then walk in faithful obedience to him. Pretty straightforward, right? David says, if you obey, if you keep the charge, if you walk in his ways, and if you follow him, this isn't a prosperity gospel, this isn't a name and acclaiming, God's going to keep his word.

[24:54] Right? Because faith is living as if God will keep his promises even when circumstances make it appear as if they will never come about.

[25:06] It is the assurance, the Bible says, of things hoped for, things not seen, but it's also the reality that it is greater to trust in the promise of God than the perspective of man.

[25:20] So to live in faithful obedience is to ensure that God fulfills his promises. And it's astounding. You know, we see that all throughout. The last book of the Old Testament, the book of Malachi, God says, trust me and see if I want.

[25:35] He's talking about tithes and storehouses, right? Bring your tithes into the temple and see if I want to open up the windows of heaven and pour out my blessings upon you. It's amazing when we see that, right? We see this responsibility that Solomon has given and his responsibility is to follow the Lord, his God.

[25:55] But the last thing that we notice here is also a reminder. There's a reality that David dies. And since David dies, our hope and our expectations and all of our eternity is not resting upon David.

[26:10] It's on a seed of David. There's the reassurance that Solomon can do what God's calling him to do even at the age of youthfulness. There's a responsibility that he's given and there's the reminder.

[26:27] David is doing so much more than just fulfilling monarch responsibilities at the end of his life because David brings up to Solomon. He says, now you also know what Joab, the son of Zariah, did to me.

[26:42] He brings up Joab, right? Now, all of David's troubles and problems are about to become Solomon's troubles and problems. Joab has just taken part in a failed takeover of the kingdom with the other brother, the older brother of Solomon.

[27:02] Joab has greatly harmed and he's greatly helped David. We just need to be honest. There have been times where he's been a great ally. There's been times where he's been a great enemy. But as we've seen, Joab is not a man that we want to base our righteousness upon.

[27:17] And here, David just highlights two things that he did, two innocent people that he killed, two leaders of God's people. He reminds him how he killed these two, how he killed the commanders of Israel's army, Abner, the son of Ner, and Amasa, the son of Jether.

[27:36] Two people that were innocent and both times Joab took them by trickery and killed them. He reminds him that he had shed innocent blood. He doesn't even bring up Absalom's death, although he brings up Absalom's revolt in just a moment.

[27:53] And it seems as if David is just saying, okay, I didn't want to take care of it, but I'm going to let you take care of it. No, it's this reminder that though David had extended grace, David had allowed Joab to exist and Joab had dirt on David too because we know he took place in the killing of Uriah.

[28:15] We know he was there. Though David had spared Joab's life, sin had not been forgotten. The penalty of sin may be delayed, but it is always certain.

[28:32] And the law of God had declared that the man who shed innocent blood, his blood shall be shed too. And what he was calling Solomon to do was to bring about the judgment of God upon the man Joab.

[28:46] You say, well, what about David? David had done things too, right? David had paid for his penalty fourfold by the time his oldest son, next oldest son, dies at the end of this chapter.

[28:59] David also had repented of his sin. Joab never does. David realizes this reality that he is reminding Solomon that God has a holy standard.

[29:13] But that standard is that though the penalty of sin may be delayed, it is always, always certain. And then he brings up Shammai, the one who cursed him.

[29:24] And we don't want to get ahead of ourselves. He ends up dying too, but he tells him to deal wisely because he is a Benjamite of the house of Saul, who is one who, when he cursed David, wanted the kingdom to go back to the lineage of Saul and he is the one who would come up.

[29:39] He reminds him of those who had failed. He reminds them of those who had held on to sin and he cautions him on how he should deal with them. But he also reminds him of those who had helped him.

[29:52] Because just like the penalty of sin is not forgotten, the blessing of faithfulness is not either. He reminds him of those who had helped him on the way, those who had brought him assistance and those whom sons should be at his table.

[30:08] Right? There's this reminder because the king doesn't forget. And the last thing he tells Solomon is here are those who deserve judgment and here are those who deserve blessing.

[30:25] And he reminds them of these realities. Why? Because these are about to be Solomon's responsibilities. The kingdom is shifting. Solomon, we know. The ways of the world will choke out to pleasures of the things of the Lord and he will be entrapped by the desires of his flesh and he will fall miserable and the kingdom will be divided.

[30:46] God will stay faithful. Solomon's not the one we're looking for. We're looking for not the seeds of David but the seed of David singular.

[30:58] Just as it is the seed of a woman singular who will crush the head of the serpents. It is the seed singular of Abraham that will be a blessing to the nations and the world.

[31:12] And it is the seed singular of David who was set up on the throne of David for all of eternity and his kingdom shall have no end. See, Scripture is pointing us to the man. That man is Jesus Christ.

[31:24] But when that king got ready to depart we know his departure wasn't one where he would be like David and his bones would still be in the body rotting and decaying because he's resurrected on the third day.

[31:37] We know the story. But when that king departed he gave a charge too. He called his apostles together and he spoke to them in one of the greatest passages in all of Scripture I believe.

[31:50] And he shared with them his reality. He was about to die to pay for their penalty. He gave them the reassurance that he was sending them out. He commissioned them and told them that they could do greater things than he has done.

[32:01] He entrusted these I mean think about those last words of that king the king of kings those who are about to fail him he said you're going to do greater things than me. He reassured them that he had prayed for them, right?

[32:12] He gave them a responsibility to take the gospel message and he reminded them that they would live among enemies and friends. See David's a type he's pointing to another king and when we see the last testimony of King David we're reminded of the last testimony of the king of kings and lord of lords who's called us to live in full obedience as well.

[32:38] And we see it in 1 Kings chapter 2 verses 1 through 11. Thank you my brothers. Thank you my brothers. Thank you.

[33:21] Thank you. Thank you.

[34:21] Thank you. Thank you.

[35:21] Thank you. Thank you.

[35:52] Thank you. Thank you.