charged and prospering

Now the days of David drew near
that he should die,
and he charged Solomon his son, saying:
“I go the way of all the earth;
be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man.
1 Kings 2:1-2 NKJV

David challenged his son,
as many of us do our children,
to make wise choices, honor God,
and treat people with respect.

But David had much more to say,
much more to pass on...
for he had lived the life of a king,
a very different vantage point.

David had spent the last thirty years
getting most things right,
but some things wrong.

And now, upon his death bed,
David wanted to make certain
his last breaths were used
to give this new king the best advice...
to start him off in his own
years of getting things right.

And keep the charge
of the Lord your God:
to walk in His ways,
to keep His statutes,
His commandments,
His judgments, 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.
1 Kings 2:3

So this, the advice
from one king to the next.
Advice to walk in the ways of the Lord.

Not political advice,
not financial advice,
not marital advice...
not even physical or nutritional advice.

David gave Solomon spiritual advice.
Follow God closely!

Now in this verse,
to keep the CHARGE of the Lord...
the literal Hebrew meaning was
to represent, or follow
the law in it's entirety.
For David knew this well.

And when one was first crowned king,
this was the first obligation...
And when he sits on the throne
of his kingdom,
he shall write for himself in a book
a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests.
Deuteronomy 17:18 ESV

So there was now no excuse
for not knowing the law.
Because as a new king,
you had just written it all out...
by hand, in front of the priest!

But then also, thinking on the phrase
to keep the CHARGE of the Lord...
it conjures up this idea
of restoring energy lost, like
a replacement with fresh batteries,
as if God is filling us with His power.

For when we do walk in His ways...
it is because we have taken the time
to understand His word, the Bible.
We have plugged in, as it were,
and have gotten re-CHARGEd.

Because we know that in this world
we cannot do this in our own strength.
Even following His laws,
His ways and His rules
is impossible
without His strength in us.

We are too weak, in and of ourselves.
We need the CHARGE of the LORD!

That is truly the only way we will PROSPER
in anything we do,
much less, all that we do.

Word of God,
train me, today...
to not try to walk in my own ways, or the ways of this world,
to walk in Your ways, and keep the CHARGE that gives me strength to PROSPER.

Lord, thank You,
for the energy You give.
Thank You for strengthening
me daily as I walk in Your ways.

They may not always seem logical at first,
but I do not need to lean
on my own understanding.
Rather, I trust in Your word Lord,
as a light unto my feet
and a lamp unto my path.