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Every reader of the Bible knows David, and a quick AI check reveals that he is mentioned 970 times in the Bible. David’s rise from shepherd boy to King of a united Israel is overshadowed by God’s ultimate promise to him…
Your house [David’s] and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever (2 Samuel 7:16, ESV).
Yes, we know King David, but how about Joab, his right-hand man?
Joab was David’s friend, confidant, and the commander of his armies. A brilliant military strategist, fiercely loyal to David, but not without flaws. Joab was David’s nephew and probably joined him when David’s father and brothers came to him while he was hiding from King Saul in the cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 22:1).
First mentioned as the commander of David’s armies in 2 Samuel 8:16, Joab had previously exhibited bravery, determination, and brilliance on the battlefield.
In 1 Chronicles 11:4-9, David promises that whoever would defeat the Jebusites (they occupied the city now known as Jerusalem) would become commander-in-chief of the army, and Joab stepped up. Joab also killed 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt (Psalm 60) and, in another battle, simultaneously repelled Ammonite and Syrian forces attacking him from the front and rear (2 Samuel 10:7-13).
Have you ever known a fierce person and thought, “If I’m in a dark alley sometime, I want this guy with me!”? That guy would be Joab to David!
Friends have flaws, and Joab majored in both heroic deeds and misdeeds.
David was first crowned King of Judah, while the rest of Israel resisted his kingship for years. Abner, formerly King Saul’s commander and initially siding with Israel, initiated a union between Judah and Israel with David as ruler of both. A part of the deal was an implied surety of safety for Abner, but Joab, during a mock embrace of unity, withdrew a sword hidden in his robes and stabbed Abner in the stomach.
During the rebellion of David’s son Absalom against him, David commanded that Absalom’s life be spared if Joab and David’s army prevailed against Absalom’s army. After the battle, a defeated Absalom, fleeing the scene riding a mule, caught his hair in an overhanging tree limb and was swaying back and forth when Joab found him and threw three javelins into his heart.
Yes, Joab should be a friend and not an enemy!
Joab also displayed duplicitous loyalty to King David. After David’s stumble with Bathsheba, which resulted in her pregnancy, her husband, Uriah, became a problem. David secretly sent a message to Joab to place Uriah in the forefront of battle and then withdraw from him, assuring Uriah’s death (2 Samuel 11:14-25).
And Joab, complicit, obeyed.
It didn’t end well for Joab. With King David on his deathbed, his son Adonijah proclaimed himself king, and Joab supported him. When Solomon’s mother Bathsheba heard of it, she appealed to David to quickly anoint Solomon, and David did.
Then Joab found himself on the outside — with David dead — and Solomon alive. One of Solomon’s first acts as king was commanding the execution of Joab.
That’s it, a brief overview of Joab, a man of great deeds and misdeeds — and perhaps someone with whom we all identify, because of our deeds and misdeeds!