”Then news came to Joab, for Joab had defected to Adonijah, though he had not defected to Absalom. So Joab fled to the tabernacle of the Lord, and took hold of the horns of the altar. And King Solomon was told, “Joab has fled to the tabernacle of the Lord; there he is, by the altar.” Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.” So Benaiah went to the tabernacle of the Lord, and said to him, “Thus says the king, ‘Come out!’ ” And he said, “No, but I will die here.” And Benaiah brought back word to the king, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.” Then the king said to him, “Do as he has said, and strike him down and bury him, that you may take away from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood which Joab shed. So the Lord will return his blood on his head, because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword—Abner the son of Ner, the commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, the commander of the army of Judah—though my father David did not know it. Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab and upon the head of his descendants forever. But upon David and his descendants, upon his house and his throne, there shall be peace forever from the Lord.” So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck and killed him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.“ I Kings 2:28-35 NKJV
a. And took hold of the horns of the altar: Joab supported Adonijah in his treasonous attempt to gain David’s throne. Now, he imitated Adonijah’s attempt to find refuge by taking hold of the horns of the altar (as Adonijah did in 1 Kings 1:50-53).
i. “He did not know where to fly except he fled to the horns of an altar, which he had very seldom approached before. As far as we can judge, he had shown little respect to religion during his lifetime. He was a rough man of war, and cared little enough about God, or the tabernacle, or the priests, or the altar; but when he was in danger, he fled to that which he had avoided, and sought to make a refuge of that which he had neglected.” (Spurgeon)
ii. “The laying hold upon the literal horns of an altar, which can be handled, availed not Joab. There are many – oh, how many still! – That are hoping to be saved, because they lay hold, as they think, upon the horns of the altar by sacraments.” (Spurgeon)
b. Go, strike him down: Although it was almost a universal custom in the ancient world to find sanctuary at a holy altar, Solomon knew that this ancient custom was not used in Israel to protect a guilty man. 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). Since Joab refused to leave, Solomon had him executed right at the altar.
i. “It would have been an insult to justice not to have taken the life of Joab. David was culpable in delaying it so long; but probably the circumstances of his government would not admit of his doing it sooner.” (Clarke)
c. But upon David and his descendants, upon his house and his throne, there shall be peace forever from the LORD: This was only true as David’s descendants followed the LORD. Our destiny is not determined by our ancestors, but by our current relationship with God.
i. David reinforced this principle with Solomon earlier in this chapter by reminding him what the LORD promised: If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul… ‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel (1 Kings 2:4). (Guzik)
“The horns of the altar by sacraments”
Do you believe my friend that you can be saved by the horns of the altar by sacraments as Joab? No! There is more to salvation than the sacraments! Unfortunately if you do, God will deal with you in the same way as Joab. For it is written:
”Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.“ John 14:6 NKJV
And,
”And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.“
Revelation 20:15 NKJV
How can you be sure your name is written in the Book of Life?
Blessings
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