And thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to 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 upon his sandals that were on his feet.
David is dying, and his last words to Solomon name Joab — the general who killed two rival commanders while Israel was at peace. Why raise this only now, on his deathbed — old bitterness, or a kingdom being set right?
The two men named in the verse were not battlefield casualties. The king's own general killed them both, each for a private motive:
Joab was David's nephew and the commander-general of his forces. He showed much warlike courage, but he was vengeful, and all through he seems not to have shared the king's mind. He murdered Abner by treachery, to avenge his brother Asahel — the man Abner had killed in self-defence. He also killed Amasa out of jealousy at having a rival, though David had promoted Amasa to be his general-in-chief. These, according to Solomon, were better men and more righteous than he.
David does not say Joab wronged Abner and Amasa. He says Joab wronged him:
What Joab had done to these men, he had done to David. "You also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me." Perhaps this bloody man thought he was serving his king the whole time he was serving his own interests. Impossible! What a man does in his own interest, he does against God.
The verse dwells on where the blood landed. Those two items carry meaning:
In time of peace the blood of war had stained Joab's belt and sandals — his service and his walk. This was a defilement. War must overtake him in turn. He had to learn that there could be no peace for him, because peace belongs to those who make peace. Neither Solomon's reign of peace nor his reign of righteousness could make room for such men.
Some read this charge as proof of a spiteful old man. One writer disagrees:
Critics have attacked David's character because of this charge. In his history of the people of Israel, Renan even calls the incident "a revelation of the black treachery of his hypocritical soul." However, the charge to Solomon to execute vengeance on these two men is not a stain on King David. The punishment was well deserved... David's own guilt had no doubt forced him to neglect the solemn duty that justice demanded. So he asked Solomon to uphold God's justice and lift it up from the defeat it had suffered.
Rossier names that long silence for what it was, and draws a warning from it:
But this absence of judgment was nothing less than weakness in David... The sinner's act of wrongdoing will find him out — perhaps when his hair is white with age, but it will come back to mind without fail.
David wants a throne set right, not a private score. One detail proves it: Joab had also killed his son Absalom, and David leaves that out.
David wanted Solomon's throne to be established in righteousness — a picture of the righteousness of the coming reign of the Lord Jesus. He will clear out of His kingdom everything that offends... David reminds Solomon that Joab had, in cold blood, murdered both Abner and Amasa. He did not mention Joab's killing of Absalom. Yet Joab did this while Absalom was helpless, when he should have taken him prisoner instead of killing him. Yet David gave no hint that his own feelings lay behind his demand that Joab suffer for his crimes.
One writer reads the change of kings as a change in how God deals with people:
David's reign is marked by grace, Solomon's by judgment... All through his reign David tolerated these men. He showed them grace. But Solomon is charged to put them to death. He must show them no mercy once David's reign of grace is over. David's throne, like God's at present, is a "throne of grace."
Clearing out such men is what makes the new reign stand:
Solomon's own thinking shows in his book of Proverbs: "A king who sits on the throne of judgment winnows all evil with his eyes" (Proverbs 20:8). "Take away the wicked from the presence of the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness" (Proverbs 25:5). When Solomon had executed judgment on Joab and others, the Holy Spirit says, "So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon."
- Crime. Joab killed two better men — Abner out of revenge, Amasa out of jealousy — in cold blood, while Israel was at peace.
- Against the king. David treats the murders as done to himself. What a man does for his own interest, he does against God — whatever service he claims to offer.
- Defilement. Blood on belt and sandals marks a stained service and a stained walk. Peace belongs to those who make peace, so Joab could have none.
- Delay. David's long silence was weakness, not mercy. Delayed justice is not cancelled justice: wrongdoing finds a man out, even when his hair is white.
- Establishment. Judgment on Joab was not private revenge but the clearing of a throne. The kingdom stood firm once the king had put evil away — a picture of the reign still to come.
And thou shalt do according to thy wisdom, and not let his hoar head go down to Sheol in peace.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.