Lesson From Joab's Last Day

Reading: 1 Kings 2:5-6, 28-34

5 Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, [and] what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that [was] about his loins, and in his shoes that [were] on his feet.

6 Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.

28 Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

29 And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD; and, behold, [he is] by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him.

30 And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.

31 And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.

32 And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing [thereof, to wit], Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.

33 Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD.

34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

Introductory Remarks

Verses 5 and 6 of 1 Kings 2 were spoken by David to Solomon, who had just become king Solomon. David is giving Solomon some final advice and a few instructions. At this time David is old and his death is drawing near.

In verse 5 David refers to a man named Joab. Joab was David's nephew and he was the captain of the host of Israel. He was David's number one military commander - let's say he was something like a combination between a prime minister and the head general of David's military - and he had been for at least forty years.

In verse 6, David specifically tells Solomon to have Joab executed. He said, "Let not his hoar head (gray haired head) go down to the grave in peace." In other words, "Son, as soon as I'm gone, you make sure you get this dangerous man out of your way."

Why did David give such instructions? In verse 5 David says, "You know what he did to me." We're not told for sure what all David may have been talking about, but it's very likely that he's referring to the time when Joab disobeyed his orders and killed Absalom, David's son. David also refers to two other men named Abner and Amasa. They were generals who Joab had murdered treacherously in cold blood. Joab had even gone so far as to try to have Adonijah put on the throne instead of Solomon.

Now it was time to pay the price and Joab was going to die. Solomon sent his new captain, Benaiah, on a mission to execute the old general. The main man in Solomon's army (Joab's replacement) was sent to get Joab, so he was in serious, serious trouble.

When Joab heard about all this, starting in verse 28, he fled to the tabernacle and grabbed the horns of the altar. The altar was a place of refuge for people who were considered criminals or under a death sentence for accidentally killing someone, or manslaughter. When you made it to the sanctuary of the altar, you were placing yourself under God's protection, you were appealing for mercy, and you were safe at least for the time being.

When Benaiah got to the tabernacle, he ordered Joab to come out in the name of the king, but there was no way Joab was going to come out. Since he was inside the tabernacle by the altar, Benaiah hesitated to go in. Before he did anything, he sent word back to Solomon reporting that Joab wouldn't come out. Solomon said, "Fall on him and bury him." It looks like Benaiah went into the tabernacle and killed the old soldier right there by the altar.

With Joab's death, a very successful life and career had come to a shameful end. At the same time, we can learn many lessons from his life, his actions, and his death. I want to give you about four very brief thoughts on what we should learn from Joab's life.

I. Joab's life shows us that the wages of sin is death.

A. He murdered three people that we know of and we know from other places that he disobeyed the king whenever he felt like it.

B. Moreover, since David was God's anointed and a type of Christ, any sin against David was a sin against God.

C. Eventually all those crimes against David resulted in Joab's death.

D. What happens when you sin? You die. The wages of sin is death.

II. You can be sure that your sin will find you out.

A. Your sins, whatever they are, will catch up to you and you'll pay for them.

B. Joab had a long life and a long military career, and he got away with all kinds of sins for a long time - or so he thought.

C. At the age of about 70 years or close to it, he was executed for all his crimes.

D. Be sure your sin will find you out. You may make it to be 70 years old before they do, but they will. We could apply that to all kinds of situations. You might make it all the way through this life fooling people into thinking you're a Christian, but you'll be found out as soon as you draw your last breath. Be sure your sin will find you out.

III. Joab had a choice to obey or disobey.

A. All throughout his career he took David's orders. It was completely up to him whether he did what he was told or not.

B. He didn't obey like he should have, and that was a choice that eventually resulted in his death.

C. Today, every man, woman and child has a choice as to whether or not they're going to obey the king. The king has given us all an order to repent and believe the Gospel. He wants us to make His Son Jesus the Lord of our lives, our personal Savior. We have a choice whether we obey or disobey. Obedience results in eternal life, while disobedience is a choice that eventually results in death. If you don't believe it, look at Joab's life.

IV. There will come a time when grace and mercy are no longer offered.

A. Joab ran straight to the tabernacle and took hold of the altar.

B. He was following a Hebrew custom that had been around at least since the Exodus and He was appealing to God.

C. It didn't work. Solomon refused to be merciful. God didn't protect him and he was killed even though he was at the altar.

D. Why? There's a time when grace and mercy are withdrawn.

E. Joab should have taken advantage of grace and mercy years earlier, but he waited until it was too late.

F. One day it's going to be late to repent and trust Jesus, because the offer of grace is going to be withdrawn. When? When you draw your last breath. So, while you are breathing, you need to throw yourself on God's mercy and grace and get prepared for the day when you'll be meeting God. If you're not doing what God wants you to do, repent and do it. If there's a problem between you and God, get it worked out. For heaven's sake, if you're not saved, then get saved. It's not that hard to repent and trust the Lord to save you.

One of these days it's going to be too late. You better take advantage of grace while the offer is still on the table. Joab didn't, and he's dead. I don't think Joab was saved. I hope you will be!

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