Famous Last Words

David was not a perfect man.  He was a wonderful military leader and he led Israel through her greatest days ever but he was not perfect.  I am glad Scripture is honest about that.  None of us are perfect either.  I truly believe we get the real account of these people's lives in Scripture to show that the imperfect can serve the Lord.  The only way we can serve is to seek His Face often.  David did that.  The Psalms are full of poems and songs he wrote through the overflow of spending time with God. I think it also requires pointing folks in the right direction.  David did a lot wrong.  One of the greatest weaknesses he had was fatherhood.  He was so tied up with leading the world in battle and other pursuits with wrong motives that his kids ran somewhat wild.  He did not correct them as needed.  He did not set a good example for them all the time.  However, as he closed out his life, he did the best he could for the circumstances that he had created.  We talked the other day about how he prepared the way for Solomon to build the Temple.   That is not all.  Notice I Kings 2:1-4  -When David's time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, ² “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, ³ and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, 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, ⁴ that the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ (www.lifejournal.cc)
The lasting memory in Solomon's mind of his dad was his father's preparation and his dad's words.  David simply told him, "Follow the Lord and the Lord will lead you."  The same is true for us.
Let's live on that advice today and pass it down to future generations by our actions and our words.