Faithful to the end

And the king swore, saying, "As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity, as I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel, saying, 'Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,' even so will I do this day."
1 Kings 1:29-30

The ascension of Solomon to the throne of Israel begins in crisis and ends in confirmation. David is old, feeble, and clearly in his last days upon the earth. His son, Adonijah sees the chance to claim the throne and sets up a quiet revoluton. But news of Adonijah's actions reaches the palace, and Bathsheba comes before the king, along with Nathan the prophet to inform David of the problem. His last official act as king would be the setting up of a successor.

It is in that act that we see the faithful heart of David. First and foremost, he is faithful to the God Who has given him such a long life and allowed him such a long reign. His lifetime from boyhood on has been lived in service to the throne of Israel. And he has faced all kinds of adversity, always finding God to be His deliverer. He began his official proclamation by affirming the faithfulness of God. David has stayed "a man after God's own heart", even as he saw the end of his service to the throne of Israel.

David was also faithful to his promises. Bathsheba was aware that David had seen the potential in their son, Solomon. And David had promised her that Solomon would succeed him as king. And so he did. David kept his faithful promise to her. This is not how we might expect the story of David and Bathsheba to end, but God's grace made of even that difficult relationship, began in sin, something that had a really good end with the anointing of Solomon as king in the place of his father, David.

Faithful David served a faithful and gracious God. And that is what would carry God's work and David's legacy into the next generation.

- Posted on an original iPad.
prepare your minds for action...
1 Peter 1:13