1 Kings 2:28-34 – Authority is derived through submission

When Joab heard of the news of Adonijah’s death and Abiathar’s banishment, he knew that he was next on the line of the people Solomon wanted to destroy. Expecting the worst, 1 Kings 2:28-30 tell us that Joab beelined for the tent of the Lord and laid his hand on the horns at the brazen altar of burnt offering. Like Adonijah earlier, he was seeking refuge at the altar.

When Solomon was told what Joab had done, he sent Benaiah to go and strike him down where he was. The latter set out immediately. But when he came to where Joab was, instead of going for the jugular, he told him to come out of the tent. But Joab refused. He insisted that he would rather die at the altar. Not wanting to be responsible for violating the policy of sparing someone seeking refuge at the horns of the altar, Benaiah was forced to return to Solomon with Joab’s plead. But the king was in no mood to spare Joab. So he insisted that he be killed regardless. And that was exactly what Benaiah did.

First kings 2:31-33 then gave the justification for the destruction of Joab. Solomon ordered his death to rid the bloodguilt from the Davidic line. For he had unjustifiably killed Abner and deceptively murdered Amasa. In so doing, Solomon was also fulfilling David’s dying wish. With the removal of Joab, Solomon had removed people who were against him who had the potential of starting a coup. From verse 35, we are told that Solomon wisely rewarded those who had helped him to the throne. Zadok was made the high priest replacing Abiathar, and Benaiah became the commander of his army replacing Joab.

For all his talent and commitment, Joab was a misguided man who was overly shrewd and prideful for his own good. He had the snag of taking matters into his own hand. In 2 Samuel 3, we saw how he murdered Abner without David’s consent, He did it under the pretext of doing it for the nation’s good. However, his real motive was to avenge the death of his brother Asahel whom Abner had killed. Joab was a man who had relied too much on his own judgment, hence he had a problem with absolute loyalty. There were moments in his life when he was convinced that his ways were better than the king’s. As a result, he failed to see that he was a man under authority. The Bible makes it clear that all our authority is derived from proper submission to the authority set over us. If we do not submit to God’s ordained authority over our lives, we can never be right in exercising the authority delegated to us. This principle applies whether we are a father, a mother, a leader, or a boss. There is a need for us to be like the centurion whom Jesus met in Matthew 8.  We are people under authority, we can only rightly exercise our authority aptly when we submit to those whom God has assigned over us.  Exercise authority, but be sure to submit to the authority set over us!