And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come in hither. But David took the stronghold of Zion, which is the city of David.
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And David said, Whoever smites the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. And Joab the son of Zeruiah went first up, and was chief.
When David became king over all Israel, the Jebusites still held Jerusalem. He promises the army's top command to whoever attacks them first — and the man who wins it is one David had already branded a wicked man.
This was not just another walled town. Whether David's kingdom could be what God intended hung on it.
When David and his men came to Jerusalem, the stronghold of Zion was still in enemy hands, as it had been all along. Joshua made his conquests, and others achieved more afterwards. Yet in the very middle of the land, in the centre of Jerusalem itself, this stronghold still stood, held by the Jebusites. The time had come to mark a most important change. The kingdom could not be according to God unless Zion was taken back for the king from the enemy who had so boldly defied His people. David felt this in all its force.
Taking that position lifted Joab above every other soldier. The place itself still has a future.
The Jebusites held the key position in the land. The fortress of Zion was in their hands. Joab took it from them; and, according to the word of David, this secured for him the chief place among the mighty men. This capture mattered greatly, because Zion is the chosen centre of government on earth. In a future day, which will outshine the brightest days of the past, "out of Zion shall go forth the law," and then men shall "learn war no more." Strangely, it was the stronghold of the "treaders down", for that is the meaning of the name Jebusites.
The chapter goes on to list David's finest soldiers. Not one of them takes the prize — and one writer finds the reason in Joab's motives.
It is remarkable that Joab steps forward. Not Abishai, not any one of those most honourable three, not Eleazar or Jashobeam, or any of the others. None of them, but Joab. Joab was not among them. The truth is that Joab was an ambitious man. He did not care to expose himself more than was necessary; but when there was anything to be gained, Joab was the man… So Joab goes forward and takes the stronghold, and becomes chief. So it will always be until the true David comes. There will be no Joabs then.
One writer lists what David already knew about Joab before he made that offer.
We have seen Joab's craftiness from the very beginning. David knew his wickedness. He had branded him with the name "wicked man" before all the people. He had called down God's judgment on his head, and had declared him to be "too hard for me". This is the Joab whom David's word gave the opportunity to become general in chief.
The same writer turns this into a warning for us.
One word, not given by the Holy Spirit, stirred up rivalry in the flesh — and these were the consequences it brought. How easily man abuses the power which God has entrusted to him, using it in an independent way! This fact should make us reflect. A word spoken in the flesh often bears more dangerous fruit than an evil act does.
Commentators differ on how to read Joab here, and the reason lies in the text itself.
The account in Samuel leaves Joab out altogether. Here he occupies the first place after David… He is not the ambitious, vindictive man here. He is the man destined, according to God's counsels, to conquer the fortress of Zion for the king… His struggle with Abner, his revenge on that noble captain, the murder he committed — Chronicles passes over them all in silence. Would we not say, if we had only read the account of Chronicles, that Joab was an upright man beyond reproach? The truth is that here Joab is simply the instrument prepared to install the Lord's anointed, the king according to God's thoughts, at Jerusalem.
Being first up the wall made Joab great as a soldier. It did not make him like his king.
Zeal, ability, diligence, devotion to David's interests and quick perception marked him in abundance. But he never learned anything of David's grace… Anyone who stood in the way of what he thought David's honour needed had to go under at all costs. The greater conquests he did not understand… He was a stranger to moral triumphs over self. So he set himself against David's victories through forgiveness, reconciliation and grace.
- First — the fortress had to fall before the kingdom could stand as God meant it to. The enemy holding Zion had boldly defied God's people.
- First up — Joab climbed while the honoured mighty men stood still. One writer sees the mark of a man who moved when there was something to gain.
- First place — the promise made him commander. Chronicles records only the deed, and shows him as the instrument prepared to seat God's anointed in Jerusalem.
- First word — David spoke his offer in the flesh, and one unguarded word can bear worse fruit than a wrong act.
- Last — Joab gained the top post but never gained his king's grace. Zeal won him the post; it never taught him his king's grace.