Commentary - 1 Kings 2:28-35

Bird's-eye view

We come now to the final chapter in the life of Joab, a man who lived by the sword and, as the Lord Himself decreed, was destined to die by it. This is not a simple story of political revenge, as our sentimental age would like to frame it. This is a story about the establishment of a righteous kingdom. Solomon is not acting as a petulant son, but as a faithful king, carrying out the last charge of his father David, which was itself an execution of God's own justice. The central issue here is bloodguilt. The land, and specifically the house of David, had been defiled by the treacherous murders Joab committed, and for the kingdom to be established in shalom, in peace, that bloodguilt had to be purged. Joab's desperate flight to the altar is a picture of false religion. He seeks sanctuary in a sacred place, but without repentance, and for sins that the sanctuary itself could not cover. Solomon's decisive action shows us that true justice does not halt at the temple steps. The establishment of Christ's kingdom required a similar, though infinitely greater, purging. The difference is that Christ absorbed the stroke of justice Himself, cleansing His house not with the blood of the guilty, but with His own.

Outline

The Justice of the King

This passage is a direct fulfillment of David's charge to Solomon in verses 5 and 6 of this chapter. David had been unable, for various political reasons, to bring his ruthless general Joab to justice for the murders of Abner and Amasa. But he knew that the bloodguilt remained a stain on his house. He therefore charged Solomon, "do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace." Solomon is not acting out of personal animus. He is acting as the magistrate, the one who bears the sword for the punishment of evildoers (Rom. 13:4). His actions are a necessary and righteous cleansing of the kingdom, making way for the covenantal blessings of peace promised to David's throne. This is a foundational act for his reign, demonstrating that his throne will be a throne of justice.

Key Issues

Commentary

28 Now the news came to Joab, for Joab had followed Adonijah, although he had not followed Absalom. And Joab fled to the tent of Yahweh and took hold of the horns of the altar.

The dominoes are falling. Adonijah is dead, Abiathar is exiled, and Joab, the old warhorse, knows his time is up. He was a pragmatist, a man of power. He stuck with David against Absalom, likely because he saw David as the stronger force. But with David old and fading, he threw his lot in with Adonijah, the heir apparent by custom. He bet on the wrong horse. His flight is not one of repentance, but of sheer panic. He runs to the tent of Yahweh, to the bronze altar. The horns of the altar were a place of refuge, a sanctuary. Under the Mosaic law, one who killed someone unintentionally could flee there and be safe from the avenger of blood until his case was heard (Ex. 21:12-14). But the law is explicit: this protection was not for premeditated murderers. "But if a man acts presumptuously toward his neighbor, so as to kill him craftily, you are to take him even from My altar, that he may die." Joab is trying to claim a mercy he does not qualify for. He is using the furniture of worship as a talisman, a magical shield. This is what false religion always does. It tries to manipulate God's grace without submitting to God's law.

29 And it was told to King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of Yahweh, and behold, he is beside the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, fall upon him.”

Solomon is informed of Joab's location, and he does not hesitate. The fact that Joab is at the altar does not give him a moment's pause. Why? Because Solomon knows the law. He knows that the sanctity of the altar cannot be used as a cloak for unrepentant murderers. His command is blunt and to the point: "Go, fall upon him." This is the language of capital justice. Benaiah, who has already proven his loyalty by executing Adonijah, is once again the king's instrument. A righteous king must have men who will carry out his righteous judgments.

30 So Benaiah came to the tent of Yahweh and said to him, “Thus the king has said, ‘Come out.’ ” But he said, “No, for I will die here.” And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus spoke Joab, and thus he answered me.”

Benaiah acts with propriety. He doesn't simply rush in and cut Joab down. He delivers the king's summons. "Come out." This gives Joab an opportunity to submit to the king's authority and face his judgment outside the sacred precincts. Joab's refusal is telling. "No, for I will die here." This is his last stand. He is daring the king to defile the sanctuary, perhaps thinking this will bring a curse upon Solomon. It is a final act of rebellion, cloaked in a veneer of piety. He would rather make a scene in the house of God than submit to the justice of God's anointed king.

31 And the king said to him, “Do as he has spoken and fall upon him and bury him, that you may remove from me and from my father’s house the blood which Joab shed without cause.”

Here is the wisdom of Solomon. He calls Joab's bluff. "Do as he has spoken." If he insists on dying at the altar, then execute him at the altar. The guilt for any perceived defilement falls on Joab, not the king. Solomon then lays out the central theological reason for this execution. It is to remove the bloodguilt. The word is dam, blood, and it refers to the stain of innocent blood shed unjustly. According to the law (Num. 35:33), unavenged murder pollutes the land, and the pollution can only be cleansed by the blood of the murderer. Joab's sins were not just his own; they were a liability against the entire house of David. For the kingdom to prosper under God's blessing, this stain had to be washed away.

32 And Yahweh will return his blood on his own head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he and killed them with the sword, but my father David did not know it: Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah.

Solomon is clear that he is acting as God's agent. It is Yahweh who is ultimately bringing this judgment. He is simply the earthly instrument. Solomon then names the specific capital crimes: the murders of Abner and Amasa. These were not battlefield killings; they were treacherous assassinations. Joab killed Abner under the pretense of a peaceful conversation (2 Sam. 3:27) and did the same to Amasa, his own cousin and rival (2 Sam. 20:10). Solomon's description of them as "more righteous and better than he" is a formal declaration of their relative innocence and Joab's deep corruption. And crucially, he exonerates his father: "my father David did not know it." This was true of Amasa's murder, and while David knew about Abner's murder after the fact, he publicly mourned and cursed Joab for it, distancing himself and his throne from the deed.

33 So shall their blood return on the head of Joab and on the head of his seed forever; but to David and his seed and his house and his throne, may there be peace from Yahweh forever.”

Here we have the two sides of the covenant: curse and blessing. The principle of federal headship is stark. The guilt of Joab is visited upon his own head and the head of his descendants. Sin has generational consequences. But in contrast, by purging this evil, Solomon is securing a blessing. He prays for shalom, peace, upon the house of David forever. This is not just the absence of conflict, but holistic well being, prosperity, and security from Yahweh. This peace is contingent on justice. You cannot have God's peace while tolerating high handed evil in your midst. This prayer is ultimately messianic. The throne of David finds its fulfillment in the throne of Christ, the Prince of Peace, whose kingdom is established in righteousness.

34 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell upon him and put him to death, and he was buried at his own house in the wilderness.

The sentence is carried out. Justice is done. There is a certain grim propriety to it all. Joab is given a burial, but it is a private one, at his own home "in the wilderness." He is not honored by the state he so faithlessly served. He lived as a man of the sword, a man of intrigue and blood, and he died that way, clinging to an altar he had no right to.

35 And the king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king appointed Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.

The chapter concludes with the reordering of the kingdom. The old guard, compromised and treacherous, is out. The new guard, loyal to the rightful king, is in. Benaiah, the faithful executioner, is promoted to commander of the army. Zadok, the faithful priest who backed Solomon, officially replaces the exiled Abiathar. Solomon has now consolidated his power, not simply through political maneuvering, but by grounding his administration in justice and right worship. The foundation is now set.

Application

The modern reader often recoils at a passage like this. It seems brutal, even unholy, to kill a man at an altar. But this is because we have replaced the biblical God of holy justice with a sentimental grandfather figure of our own making. This passage teaches us that God's holiness is not a get out of jail free card for the presumptuous. You cannot live a life of treachery and then expect the furniture of church to save you in the end.

Joab's story is a warning against all forms of external religion. He grabbed the altar, but he did not grab the God of the altar in repentance. There is only one true sanctuary for sinners, and it is not a place but a person. The Lord Jesus Christ is our refuge. The cross is the true altar, where the claims of justice were fully met. But unlike Joab, we do not come to the cross with our high handed sins, demanding asylum. We come confessing our guilt, laying down our rebellion, and trusting in the blood that was shed there for our cleansing. The peace that Solomon established with the sword was temporary. The peace Christ gives is eternal, for He has removed our bloodguilt from us as far as the east is from the west.