1 Kings 2:28

1 Kings 2:28 says, 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.  Though Joab had not followed Absalom in his attempt to claim the throne, he had followed Adonijah in his.  David was close to his death by this time, so Joab may have thought it best to put his allegiance in the one who was actively claiming to be his successor.  When Joab heard that Solomon had be ordained king, he fled to the Temple and grabbed the horns of the altar.  If we have never really accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, when He returns no religious symbol is going to save us.  Verse twenty-nine adds, 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.  When Solomon was told what Joab had done, he sent Benaiah to fall upon him, or bring him out.  Being in the temple on the altar was not going to save him, because Joab had always been more faithful to himself than to David.   Being in a church building at the altar with a Bible in our hands will do us no good when Christ returns if we have never accepted Jesus Christ.   Verse thirty continues, 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.  When Benaiah went to get Joab, he said he wouldn't come out, but he would die where he was instead.  When Jesus returns, it will be too late to be saved, and we will die where we are.   Benaiah returned to Solomon and told him what Joab said.  When it comes to dealing with sinners who refuse to accept the salvation of Christ, we need to leave their fate up to God.  Verse thirty-one states, 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.  Solomon told Benaiah to go and slay Joab and bury him, because he had shed innocent blood for him when David was king.  Our sins will one day be dealt with forever, and if we do not have forgiveness through putting our faith in Jesus Christ, which is the only way to have forgiveness, we will face God's punishment.  Verse thirty-two adds, 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.  Solomon said that Joab would then pay for shedding the innocent blood of Abner and Amasa, which David did not know about.  One day, those sins that no one may know about will come to light.  Verse thirty-three continues, 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.  Solomon said that Joab’s sins would therefore be upon his head and upon his descendants forever, but not on David and his descendants, who would live at peace with God forever.  Of course, we are all individually responsible for our own sins.  The only way to be forgiven and live at peace with God is through faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse thirty-four says, 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.  Benaiah killed Joab and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.  Unless Jesus Christ returns first, we will all one day die, and what we have decided about Jesus Christ will make all the difference.  Verse thirty-five adds, And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar. Solomon put Benaiah in charge of the army and Zadok in the place of Abiathar.  God today will call people to replace those who have died or those who were really never faithful to start with.  Verse thirty-six continues, And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.  Solomon confined Shimei to his own house and told him if he went out too far that he would die.  God will allow us to live in our own house of sin if we reject salvation, but one day we will be called out to answer for our sins. Verse thirty-seven adds, For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.  We can be certain that if we are not washed in the blood of Jesus that responsibility for our sins rests on our head.  Verse thirty-eight continues, Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.  Shimei said what Solomon had decreed was good, and we need to acknowledge that what God says is good, whether we accept it or not.