“Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, Abner the son of Ner, and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, avenging in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war on the belt around his waist and on the sandals on his feet.
These are David's parting instructions to his son Solomon. The first name he raises is Joab — his own nephew and the commander of his army — and the charge concerns two killings from years before.
The man David names first
One writer weighs Joab's courage against his character:
H. H. SnellJoab was David's nephew and commander-general of his forces. He showed much warlike courage, but was revengeful, and all through seems not to have been in communion with the king's mind. He murdered Abner by treachery, to avenge his brother Asahel, whom Abner had killed in self-defence. He also killed Amasa, whom David had promoted to be his general-in-chief, out of jealousy at having a rival. Later, when the king grew old and feeble, he sided with the self-willed Adonijah, against the will of God and the clear desire of the king.
An offence against the king himself
David does not say Joab wronged Abner and Amasa. He says Joab did this to me. One commentator draws out why a servant's private ambition is never a private matter:
H. L. RossierDavid's weakness had prevented the king from immediately avenging the murder of Abner, and later that of Amasa, but he had not forgotten them. 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 all the while he was serving his own self-interests. Impossible! What a man does in his own self-interest, he is doing against God.
Blood on the belt and the sandals
The verse names two everyday parts of a soldier's dress: the belt at his waist and the sandals on his feet. Joab carried the blood of war on both. One writer explains what those two items stand for:
H. L. RossierIn time of peace Joab's "belt and sandals," his service and his walk, had been stained with the blood of war. This was a defilement. War must overtake him in turn; he must learn that there could be no peace for him, for peace is reserved for those who make peace.
Why judgment waited so long
Joab lived for years with these crimes unpunished. One writer looks past Joab to the delay itself:
H. L. RossierA time is coming when the actions of men will be measured by the standard of righteousness. That standard has long been postponed, and it will not have its way until then. When righteousness reigns, can it appear to ignore sin? Men do not break the laws of a kingdom without consequence. When that kingdom comes in power, those who trampled these laws underfoot during the reign of grace must suffer the bitter results of their revolt. There are no legal exceptions to the law of God as there are to the laws of men. The sinner's act of wrongdoing will find him out — perhaps when his hair is white with age, but without question it will come back to mind.
Not a dying man's revenge
Some read David's charge as the spite of a dying man. One writer answers them:
Arno C. GaebeleinCritics have attacked David's character because of this charge... However, the charge to Solomon to carry out judgment on these two men is not a stain on King David. The punishment was well deserved. Joab had killed Abner and Amasa... David's own guilt had no doubt made him neglect the solemn duty that justice demanded. He therefore asked Solomon to vindicate divine justice and lift it up from the defeat it had suffered.
When the reign of grace closes
One writer sets the two reigns side by side:
C. KnappSolomon's reign, a picture of Christ's, followed that of David. David's reign is marked by grace, Solomon's by judgment... All through David's reign these men were tolerated. Grace was shown to them. But Solomon is charged to put them to death. No mercy is to be shown them once David's reign of grace is over.
Joab's death did more than settle an old score:
Leslie M. GrantSolomon's kingdom could not be set up until the innocent blood of Abner and Amasa was avenged on Joab — blood he had shed without David's knowledge... Joab's execution is a picture. The coming kingdom of the Lord Jesus will be established in righteousness, which brings peace.
Summary
- Peace abused. Joab shed the blood of war in a time of peace, killing two commanders out of revenge and jealousy.
- Peace defiled. Blood marked his belt and his sandals — his service and his walk. A man who stains both cannot claim peace.
- Peace delayed. David's weakness held back the sentence for years. Delay never turns a crime into an acquittal.
- Peace withheld. Old age gave Joab no cover; a man's wrongdoing finds him out even when his hair is white.
- Peace established. The kingdom stood secure once the innocent blood was avenged — righteousness first, and peace as its fruit.