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One grandmother gave this dubious advice to her offspring from her deathbed: “Enjoy life. Never worry about money. Stick together.” King David knew he was about to die. As Moses, Joshua, and Samuel had done before they passed away, David gave this solemn charge to his son Solomon–recorded in 1 Kings 2. “I am going where everyone on earth must someday go,” he said. “Take courage and be a man. Observe the requirements of the LORD your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses, so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. If you do this, then the LORD will keep the promise he made to me. He told me, ‘If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.” God’s promise to David was unconditional, but to later kings, it was conditional. Sadly, Solomon and those later kings failed to follow the LORD wholeheartedly; they led the country into exile. Only Jesus Christ, a descendant of David, obeyed God fully, and will one day restore the “fallen tent” God promised David. Deathbed advice can be good or bad. The very best advice still comes from the Scriptures–God’s written revelation to us.
