Sanctuary Denied

Joab was a great general, but a wicked man.  His killing of Abner was murder, even though it was committed under the gfuise of vengeance on the man who killed his younger brother.  He had had Uriah killed without hesitation to help hide David’s sin.  He had murdered Absalom because of Absalom’s having had his field burnt.  He murdered Amasa simply because he wanted Amasa’s job.   Under the Old Testament Law, murderers were to be executed, as Leviticus 24:17 tells us.  “And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.”  This command was merely a duplication of the earlier command in Genesis 9:5-6.  “And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.  Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.”

Aware that he had deserved death, both for the murders and for committing treason for helping Adonijah, when he learned that Adonijah had been executed and Abiathar had been defrocked as priest, Joab panicked, fleeing to the temple for sanctuary, in I Kings 2:28.  “Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.”

Solomon sent Beniah to execute him, but Joab clung to the altar and refused to leave it, in I Kings 2:29-30.  “And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him.

And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth.

And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.”

Joab thought Solomon would not dare defile the Temple by having him arrested or killed there.  God had said that if the people allowed a murder to go free, they would be held accountable as his accomplices.  The altar was the place where blood was shed to pay for people’s sin, and Solomon ordered Benaiah to kill him right there in payment for his wickedness and to free the rest of the people from guilt, in I Kings 2:31-34.  “And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.  And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.  Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD.  So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.”

The cities of refuge were established to provide a sanctuary for those who had accidentally killed a person, but if they were found outside those cities they could be killed with impunity.  For deliberate killing of a person, ther was to be no sanctuary, but the men of the city of refuge were to see that the murderer was executed on the spot, as we see in Numbers 35.  Solomon was just following that principle when he gave the order.  He was also doing what David had commanded him to do. 

Today, many people believe the Old Testament law no longer applies.  It is true that Christians are no longer subject to the penalties of the Old Testament Law, as Romans 8:1-2 tells us.  “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”   Just because the believers have been forgiven does not mean the law has been revoked.   In Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”  The standards set by the law will remain in effect as long as this present earth remains.   Sanctuary only applies when people unintentionally do wrong.  If the deliberately did it and are allowed to go free, they have been given amnesty instead.