David began his advice to Solomon with a confession of his mortality. It may seem to us as a rather subtle way to say that he was about to die. Yet the words are reminders to us that death is truly the last enemy of which the apostle Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians 15:1–58. David said his death was a departure. He said, I am about to go the way of all flesh.
We have an interpretive choice here concerning the word translated way.
Should we interpret the word to mean road or path, or should it be interpreted as the manner of doing something? The context would permit either choice. The Old Testament often speaks of death as a journey into Sheol, the abode of the dead. Yet, the phrase the way of all the earth
can be understood in the context of the way the people of the whole earth end their lives.
The basic meaning remains the same either way. Death is a journey that we all must take, and it is the way that all people end their life in this world. This is true because of our union in Adam and the guilt of his sin.
David moved from his own circumstances to the advice he wished to give his son. The first thing he said to Solomon was in the nature of a general necessity for a ruler. David encouraged Solomon to be strong in the sense of courage and confidence. In this way, he would prove that he was a man, because the second phrase defines what strength is all about for a king.
There are few things that bring disaster upon a nation more surely than a weak ruler. Lack of courage and confidence is one of the surest ways to exhibit weakness. However, we might ask, In what manner did David urge upon Solomon strength and the proof of manhood? This is a question we need to ask, lest we believe that David advised Solomon to exercise a harsh and brutal rule.
2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man,