When the news came to Joab — for Joab had supported Adonijah although he had not supported Absalom — Joab fled to the tent of the LORD and caught hold of the horns of the altar.
Solomon has executed Adonijah and banished Abiathar, so Joab runs to the tent of the LORD and grips the horns of the altar. Why did this hardened soldier turn religious, and why did the altar do nothing for him when it had spared Adonijah a chapter earlier?
Why Joab Ran
The verse pauses to note that Joab had supported Adonijah but not Absalom. One writer traces the difference back to Joab's own interests.
Leslie M. GrantJoab had not supported Absalom. David was then a strong, active king, and Joab knew that deserting him would not serve his own best interests. But now David was dying, and Joab's natural thoughts drew him to follow Adonijah, David's oldest living son.
Another writer sets Joab's case inside a wider pattern. His earlier loyalty only makes the charge worse.
H. L. RossierSo the reign of righteousness starts with judgment. It falls on those who had God's grace and patience but never used it to bring their hearts and actions into line with that rule... Scripture says plainly that Joab had not turned after Absalom (v. 28), whatever his feelings in that matter may have been. But turning away from the reign of righteousness at its very start was far more serious. It showed no fear at all before the one destined to sit as glorious king on his throne.
What The Horns Meant
The altar was not a random hiding place. Its horns carried a meaning. That meaning explains why a guilty man would grab them, and why they could still fail him.
Edward DennettThe horn is a symbol of strength. So when the blood was sprinkled on the horns, the whole strength of the altar now works for the sinner instead of against him. And that strength is displayed in full. The horns of the altar became a place of refuge, a sanctuary no one could violate. They sheltered everyone who had a right to their protection on the ground of the sprinkled blood. Joab sought this protection when he fled from Solomon (1 Kings 2:28). But he had no claim on it, for he was a murderer, and so he was killed.
The Law Already Ruled On Him
Solomon was not improvising. The law already covered this exact case, and it named the altar.
H. L. RossierJoab flees to the tabernacle and takes hold of the horns of the altar. That cannot save him. The Word of God is against him: "But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die" (Ex. 21:14). Solomon remembers this. Once Solomon has settled the judgment, it is too late for the altar to shelter him.
Fear, Not Faith
Adonijah had made the same move and lived. Joab made it and died. One writer puts the difference in the man, not in the altar.
L. M. GrantWe also read of Adonijah, who for fear of judgment went and caught hold of the horns of the altar (1 Kings 1:50) and was spared at the time. Later Joab attempted the same thing, but having proved himself treacherous, he was killed. For it was not faith that moved him, but fear.
One writer turns the scene toward the reader.
Edward DennettThis is like the sinner who, in desperation, would gladly claim the benefits of the death of Christ to escape the judgment. Yet his heart is still far from Him. But wherever there is trust in the value of the sacrifice offered to God on the altar, no power on earth or in hell can touch that soul. It rests under the shelter and protection of that sacrifice.
Why The Throne Needed This
This was not just tidying up old scores. The blood Joab had spilled stood in the way of Solomon's reign.
Leslie M. GrantSolomon's kingdom could not be established until the innocent blood of Abner and Amasa was avenged on Joab. Joab had shed that blood without David's knowledge (vv. 32-33)... His execution pictures how the coming thousand-year kingdom of the Lord Jesus will be established: in righteousness, which brings peace.
What Was Missing At That Altar
One writer points to the timing. Joab grabbed an altar at a moment when what he needed most did not yet exist.
H J VineJoab fled to the tabernacle of the Lord and caught hold of the horns of the altar. But there was no perfect sacrifice then, and no risen and glorified Saviour on the throne of God. So "Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and killed him."... And the kingdom was established — yes, established for a time, but not forever! Just judgment prevailed temporarily.
Summary
- Grip — Joab grabbed the horns of the altar, Israel's place of refuge, and it did not save him.
- Claim — The horns sheltered only those covered by the sprinkled blood. Joab was a murderer, so he had no claim on them.
- Command — The law had already said a man who kills by cunning is to be taken from the altar and put to death.
- Motive — Fear drove him to the altar, not faith. Only trust in the sacrifice shelters a soul, and then no power on earth or in hell can touch it.
- Contrast — He reached for an altar when there was as yet "no perfect sacrifice... and no risen and glorified Saviour upon the throne of God."