1 Kings 2:2

I go the way of all the earth,.... A path which is the path of death (o), which all pass in, kings and peasants, high and low, rich and poor, great and small, good and bad; none are exempted, all

I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man; I go the way of all the earth - a beautiful and impressive periphrasis for death. Be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man.

Of all the earth, i.e. of all men upon the earth. Compare . Be thou strong; for to govern his people according to the law of God, as it here follows, requires great fortitude or strength of mind; to arm himself against the subtle devices and evasions of some; against the flatteries and importunities of others; against terrors and dangers from revengeful men, and especially against himself and his own weakness, partiality, through fear or favour; and against all those evil thoughts and passions to which the temptations of their great wealth, and glory, and uncontrollable power naturally expose them. See . Show thyself a man, in manly wisdom, and courage, and constancy, though thou art but young in years, .

1 Kings 2:2 I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;Ver. 2. I go the way of all the earth.] Behold, I die, as Genesis 48:21. Be thou strong, therefore, and show thyself a man.] sc., In understanding and courage, making up thy want of years by thy virtues, and not prevaricating either for fear or favour. The least deviation in the greatest and highest orb is both most sensible and most dangerous.

(2) I go the way of all the earth.—Comp. Joshua 23:14.

Verse 2. I go the way of all the earth] I am dying. All the inhabitants of the earth must come to the dust. In life, some follow one occupation, some another; but all must, sooner or later, come to the grave. Death is no respecter of persons; he visits the palace of the king as well as the cottage of the peasant. Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas, Regumque turres. - HOR. Odar. lib. i., od. iv., ver. 13. "With equal pace, impartial fate Knocks at the palace as the cottage gate." FRANCIS. _________ Sed omnes una manet nox, Et calcanda semel via lethi. - Ib. od. xxviii., ver. 15. "One dreary night for all mankind remains, And once we all must tread the shadowy plains." Ibid. There is no respect to age or youth more than to station or external circumstance: - Mixta senum ac juvenum densantur funera: nullum Saeva caput Proserpina fugit. - Ib. od. xxviii., ver. 19. Thus age and youth promiscuous crowd the tomb; No mortal head can shun the impending doom." And it is not merely man that is subjected to this necessity; all that have in them the breath of life must lose it; it is the way of all the earth, both of men and inferior animals. __________ Terrestria quando Mortales animas vivunt sortita, neque ulla est Aut parvo aut magno lethi fuga. Vive memor quam sis aevi brevis. HOR. Sat. l. ii., s. vi., ver. 93. "All that tread the earth are subject to mortality; neither great nor small can avoid death. Live therefore conscious that your time is short." It is painful to the pride of the great and mighty that, however decorated their tombs may be, they must undergo the same dissolution and corruption with the vulgar dead; for the grave is the house appointed for all living: man is born to die. Omnium idem exitus est, sed et idem domicilium. "For all have the same end, and are huddled together in the same narrow house." Here emperors, kings, statesmen, warriors, heroes, and butchers of all kinds, with peasants and beggars, meet; however various their routes, they terminate in the same point. This and all other kindred sentiments on the subject are well expressed in that excellent little poem of Mr. Blair, entitled THE GRAVE, which opens with the following lines: - While some affect the sun, and some the shade; Some flee the city, some the hermitage; Their aims as various as the roads they take In journeying through life; the task be mine To paint the gloomy horrors of the tomb, The appointed place of rendezvous, where all These travellers meet. Show thyself a man] Act like a rational being, and not like a brute; and remember, that he acts most like a man who is most devoted to his GOD.

2. I go the way of all the earth] i.e. Of all who live on the earth, viz. to the grave. The same expression is used by Joshua (Joshua 24:14), and, though the Hebrew noun is not the same, we may compare Job 16:22 ‘I shall go the way whence I shall not return.’ be thou strong therefore] Compare the oft-repeated injunction to Joshua, Deuteronomy 31:7; Deuteronomy 31:23; Joshua 1:6-7 &c. The circumstances are not very dissimilar. Moses, soon to be taken away, was giving his charge to his successor (Deuteronomy 31:23), as David to Solomon, and the language is identical. Cf. also 1 Chronicles 22:13. shew thyself a man] The age of Solomon at the death of his father cannot be exactly known. He must have been considerably younger than Adonijah, who was the fourth of those six sons born to David before the conquest of Jerusalem (2 Samuel 3:4). And he may have been so young that his father’s words mean, ‘though a youth in years, yet prove yourself a man in prudence and wisdom.’ This is somewhat supported by Solomon’s language about himself (1 Kings 3:7), ‘I am but a little child.’ But it may also be understood as a general exhortation to exhibit the courage which would be necessary, since a party had been formed in the kingdom for the support of another claimant to the throne.

David appears to have in his thoughts the divine address to Joshua. Without following it servilely, he reproduces several of its leading expressions and sentiments (compare the margin reference).

DAVID’S DYING CHARGE TO SOLOMON, AND HIS DEATH, 1 Kings 2:1-11. 2.