Taming the Joabs

A king that must last on the throne 
must surround himself with very 
loyal people. 
In the Israel of old and even in 
politics all over the world today, 
loyalty is an asset for those in power. 
King Saul surrounded himself with 
members of the Kish household and 
the tribe of Benjamin! 
He knew his interest and that of His 
father’s house were aligned and so 
was the interest of the tribe of Benjamin! 
As for the entire household of Israel, 
some people resisted! 
They remembered that the scepter was 
promised the Judah and Prophet Samuel’s 
choice of a King was not in line with the 
blessings of Jacob in the book of Genesis! 
They didn’t embrace King Saul at the 
beginning 
When Nahash the Ammonite brought war 
to Israel and swore to gouge out the right 
eye of every man in Israel, a king was 
needed and Saul rose to the occasion! 
Nahash was defeated and Saul’s victory 
led to a grudging acceptance by all! 
Prophet Samuel had to take Saul to Gilgal 
to “reaffirm” his kingship! 
It was that bad! 
But this was not how the Kingship and 
royal court of David evolved! 
David attracted members of his household 
due to the persecution of King Saul! 
He was afraid the King would hurt or punish 
his family members in order to get to him! 
Saul was after David and everything was 
fair game. 
David had to move to protect his family 
members and those close to him! 
In addition to David’s family members, 
some of his most trusted allies were 
under his command when he was with 
Saul’s Army! 
And then came the debtors, destitute 
and the distressed! 
Those misfits that found their way to him 
to swell in ranks while he was a fugitive 
with posters of his head and a huge reward 
hanging all over Israel!
David and his men were forged together 
in the flame of adversity 
Their loyalty was not birthed with a cheer!
 It was a matter of life and death! 
They could either run with David and 
hope to reign with him one day or abandon 
him and save their own skins! 
It was not an easy route to take but they 
took that hard route with Him! 
All they had was the promise of God and
 the leadership of David! 
Twice they could have secured their lives 
and families by killing Saul. 
On both occasions, David refused to 
give them the closure they longed for! 
It was like playing Russian roulette in 
which only one person can bite the bullet 
As the reign of Saul came to a close they 
suffered a horrendous loss in Ziklag 
when the Amalekites raided and took 
away their families and possessions 
That was the height of it 
They cried 
They even wanted to kill David
But they recovered all! 
A few days later Saul was killed in battle 
and David returned to Hebron with his men! 
The year of fulfillment had finally arrived! 
David was crowned as led by the 
Men of Issachar vision and his cabinet 
was formed 
The men who had been with him became 
his legal advisers and ministers
Chief among them was Joab the General! 
Joab was related to David by blood, 
he was a fiercely ambitious man who 
took blood very seriously and wouldn’t 
give room to any form of rivalry! 
He was rootless and very pragmatic! 
He wielded a very strong influence in 
David’s royal court!
Twice, David made a deal with people 
who could potentially unseat Joab. 
On both occasions, Joab killed the “rivals”. 
Abner “Saul’s General” and Amasa! 
Joab also killed Absalom after helping 
the young man plot his return from Geshur 
to Israel before dethroning the King! 
When David cried for Absalom and 
refused to celebrate the victory of his army, 
Joab pulled the King by the hair and 
made him see beyond the loss of a 
rebellious son! 
Joab was also with Adonijah as Adonijah 
plotted to take the throne at the twilight 
of David’s life! 
Joab was the definition of a man
who is known after the flesh! 
He had no spiritual quality or leaning, 
this was his ultimate weakness and 
undoing!
 Ambition, power, relevance, political influence 
and currency were all Joab lives for! 
When Joab conquered Jerusalem, he 
refused to ride into the city! 
He said David must take the honour 
When a giant named Ishibinenob wanted 
to kill David in battle, Abishai rescued David 
Joab and the other men retired David from 
fighting in battles that day because 
“David was the hope of Israel and they 
don’t want to lose him” 
David told Solomon Joab must not
die peacefully! 
Solomon capitalized on Joab’s involvement 
with Adonijah’s plot to fulfil his late father’s 
heart desire! 
I have seen many Joabs in the church of 
Jesus 
They are loyal to themselves and their 
pastors for the sake of what they are 
eating and the status it earned them
They have nothing to do with Jesus 
or His Spirit and his church! 
For them the church is a huge pot out 
of which they must feed fat and play 
politics to keep others from taking 
their spot 
The Joabs know themselves 
Members of the church also know the 
Joabs 
This is a call on the Joabs to repent! 
The Kingdom of Jesus is a spiritual kingdom 
The buildings we see and attend daily for 
worship plus the physical dividends shared
 by a few in the church will end here! 
All the gifts of God raised in the church 
whom the Joabs have killed, silenced or
 frustrated will be given a voice one day! 
The Joabs will be judged as David
judges Joab! 
Not on the “good things” he did for David so 
that his own relevance can be secure 
but on the evil things he did just to ensure 
his pocket is lined and his belly full! 
It is not too late to Repent!

PS: I have worked with a church before
and I have seen the Joabs take over
the church while the Samuels. Gads and
Nathans were frustrated out of the church!
The church continued to lose spiritual
relevance due to the ambition of the 
Joabs whose only interest lies in the
tithes and offerings, ordination, transfer
and other bureaucratic issues!
The sick go unhealed and souls go
unsaved due to the antics of these
"Men of Self"
Jesus is coming for a spiritual church
Repent today!