The Sanctity of Justice: Joab at the Altar Text: 1 Kings 2:28-35
Introduction: Cleaning House
When a new king takes the throne, there is always a necessary house cleaning. Loose ends from the previous administration must be tied up. Old debts, both of gratitude and of justice, must be paid. This is not a matter of personal vengeance, but of establishing the character of the new reign. For Solomon to establish his kingdom in righteousness, he could not simply sweep the sins of his father's administration under the rug. David, for all his greatness, had left some accounts unsettled, and the most glaring of these was the bloodguiltiness of his nephew and commander, Joab. David had been unable, or perhaps unwilling, to deal with Joab's high handed murders. But what David could not do in his weakness, Solomon must do in his strength. This is a crucial moment in the covenant succession. The torch is passed, and the first task of the new king is to demonstrate that he fears God and will execute justice, without which the throne cannot be established.
We live in a sentimental age, an age that confuses mercy with indulgence and justice with cruelty. We think that turning a blind eye to old sins is a form of grace. But the Bible teaches us that unpunished sin, particularly the sin of bloodshed, pollutes the land. It leaves a stain that only the execution of justice can remove. The scene before us is stark. A hardened, lifelong warrior, a man of countless battles and shrewd political maneuvers, is finally out of options. His last gambit is not repentance, but a desperate, superstitious dash for the tabernacle. He grabs the horns of the altar, hoping that the sanctity of the place will shield him from the justice he so richly deserves. But as we will see, God's altar is a place of refuge for the penitent, not a hideout for the presumptuous. God's law makes a clear distinction between accidental manslaughter and cold blooded murder, and for the latter, there is no sanctuary. Not even the holy place can protect a man from the consequences of his willful rebellion.
This passage is a powerful lesson on the nature of true justice, the limits of sanctuary, and the necessity of purging evil from the commonwealth if there is to be peace from Yahweh. Solomon is not being vindictive; he is being righteous. He is cleansing his father's house and his own throne from the lingering stain of innocent blood, establishing his kingdom on the bedrock of God's law.
The Text
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. 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.” 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.” 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. 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. 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.” 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. 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.
(1 Kings 2:28-35 LSB)
A False Refuge (v. 28-30)
We begin with Joab's final, desperate act.
"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." (1 Kings 2:28)
The news of Adonijah's execution has reached Joab, and he knows his time is up. He had backed the wrong horse in the succession crisis. It is noted that he had not followed Absalom, which shows his political calculus was usually sharp. He was loyal to David's throne, but not necessarily to David's chosen heir. But now his intrigues have caught up to him. So he does what Adonijah had done before him: he runs to the tabernacle and grabs the horns of the altar. The horns of the altar were a place where the blood of atonement was applied. They symbolized the power and mercy of God. For someone who had killed accidentally, it was a place of sanctuary until a trial could be held. But Joab is not seeking mercy in any true sense. This is not repentance. This is a superstitious ploy by a guilty man. He is treating a holy object like a magic charm, hoping to force the king's hand. He wants to create a standoff, assuming Solomon would not dare defile the holy place with blood.
"And it was told to King Solomon... Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, fall upon him.” 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.”" (1 Kings 2:29-30)
Solomon, acting as God's minister of justice, is not deterred. He sends Benaiah, his executioner, with a simple command. Benaiah, respecting the location, first gives Joab the chance to come out. This is an important detail. The state is not riding roughshod over the church. But Joab refuses. "No, for I will die here." This is not the statement of a martyr. It is the defiant last stand of a cornered man. He is attempting to place Solomon in a dilemma: either let him go, or commit what Joab hopes will be seen as an act of sacrilege. He is trying to make his own execution a politically costly move for the new king. He would rather die in a holy place, forcing a crisis of conscience, than face justice in the open.
The Justice of the King (v. 31-33)
Solomon's response is a master class in biblical justice. He does not fall for Joab's gambit.
"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." (1 Kings 2:31)
Solomon calls his bluff. "Do as he has spoken." If Joab insists on dying there, then let him die there. Solomon understands something Joab does not: the sanctity of the altar is meant to protect the innocent, not to shield the guilty from justice. In fact, God's law explicitly commands the opposite. "But if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you shall take him from My altar, that he may die" (Exodus 21:14). Solomon is not violating the law; he is upholding it. The greater sacrilege would be to allow a murderer to go free, thereby leaving the stain of bloodguilt on the land and on the throne. Justice must be done, and the location of the criminal does not provide immunity. The purpose is clear: to remove the corporate guilt, the blood pollution, from David's house.
"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... and Amasa the son of Jether..." (1 Kings 2:32)
Solomon now acts as a judge, publicly reading the charges. This is not a summary execution; it is the carrying out of a long-delayed sentence. Joab's blood is on his own head. He brought this upon himself. The specific crimes are named: the murders of Abner and Amasa. These were not acts of war; they were treacherous assassinations in a time of peace. Joab killed Abner under the pretense of a private conversation to avenge his brother, and he killed Amasa with a kiss, a grotesque parody of friendship. Solomon declares these men "more righteous and better" than Joab, not because they were sinless, but because in these dealings, they were acting in good faith while Joab was acting with malicious deceit. The key phrase is "my father David did not know it." This officially exonerates the throne of David from any complicity in these murders. David had publicly mourned Abner, but had felt powerless to bring his powerful nephew to justice. Now, that failure is being rectified.
"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.” (1 Kings 2:33)
The sentence has two sides. First, the curse of bloodguilt is placed squarely on Joab and his descendants. This is the biblical principle of corporate and generational consequence for high-handed sin. But second, and more importantly, this act of justice secures a blessing. By purging the guilt, Solomon establishes "peace from Yahweh" for the house of David. True peace, true shalom, is not the absence of conflict. It is the presence of righteousness. You cannot have peace with God if you are making peace with unrepentant evil. Justice is the necessary foundation for peace.
Execution and Reordering (v. 34-35)
The sentence is carried out, and the kingdom is reordered according to righteousness.
"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." (1 Kings 2:34)
Benaiah, the civil magistrate acting on the king's authority, executes the sentence. The deed is done. Justice is satisfied. Even in this, there is a measure of dignity afforded. Joab is not left for the dogs. He is buried at his own home. This shows that the act was not one of personal hatred, but of necessary, solemn justice. The penalty was death, not desecration.
"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." (1 Kings 2:35)
The chapter concludes with the essential work of reordering. The old, compromised guard is out. Joab, the murderer, is replaced by Benaiah, the minister of justice. And in the same breath, we are reminded of the other part of this house cleaning: Abiathar the priest, who had also sided with Adonijah, is replaced by the faithful Zadok. Solomon is securing both the military and the priesthood. He is establishing his kingdom with a righteous commander and a righteous priest. The sword and the altar are now in the hands of faithful men. This is the foundation for a godly kingdom: right justice and right worship, both ordered under the authority of God's anointed king.
Conclusion: The Altar and the Cross
Joab's story is a sobering reminder that there is no refuge from God's justice apart from God's provision. Joab tried to use the symbol of mercy to evade the sentence of justice. He wanted the benefits of the altar, the atonement and sanctuary, without the repentance that the altar required. He wanted to cling to the horns of sacrifice without admitting he was the sinner who made the sacrifice necessary.
Many people approach God in the same way today. They want the comfort of Jesus, but not the Lordship of Christ. They want the peace of the cross, but not the death to self that the cross demands. They flee to the church as a sort of social club or a dispenser of therapeutic niceties, hoping its sacred aura will protect them from the consequences of their sin, all while refusing to come out and confess that sin.
But the cross of Jesus Christ is the ultimate altar, and its horns are stained with the blood of the Lamb. It is a true place of refuge, but only for those who come on God's terms. It is a sanctuary for the penitent, for those who plead guilty and throw themselves on the mercy of the court. For those who, like Joab, approach it presumptuously, defiantly, and unrepentantly, it offers no shelter at all. In fact, for them, the cross becomes the ultimate witness against them, because it is the very place where God demonstrated how seriously He takes the sin they refuse to forsake.
Solomon, in his wisdom, cleansed the kingdom so that there might be peace. Our greater Solomon, the Lord Jesus, has cleansed His kingdom, His church, through His own blood. He executed justice on Himself so that mercy might be extended to us. We cannot cling to both our sin and to His cross. We must choose. Like Joab, we can refuse to come out, and die in our rebellion. Or we can come out, confess our sin, and find that the one who is our Judge is also our Savior, the one who removes our bloodguilt forever and establishes in our hearts a kingdom of unshakable peace.