1 Kings 2:5

DAVID'S FINAL WORD REGARDING JOAB; BARZILLAI; AND SHIMEI

"Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did unto me, even what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins and in his shoes that were upon his feet. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoary head go down to Sheol in peace. But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those who eat at thy table; for so they came to me when 50fled from Absalom thy brother. And, behold, there is with thee Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I sware to him by Jehovah, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. Now therefore hold him not guiltless, for thou art a wise man; and thou wilt know what thou oughtest to do unto him, and thou shalt bring his hoar head down to Sheol with blood."

There are conflicting interpretations of this passage, all of the older and more conservative scholars taking the view that David was fully justified in these instructions for Solomon to execute Joab and Shimei. God's law specifically demanded that murderers should be put to death (Genesis 9:6); and that, as long as murder remained unpunished, the whole land was defiled and under a curse (Numbers 35:33); and Hammond believed that David here ordered Joab's execution as a means of removing such a curse from the land of Israel,[5] affirming that, "The law gave the king no power' to forgive such an offense."[6]

Also, with reference to Shimei, his execution is justified on the basis that the king had no power to forgive him of his capital offense in blaspheming the Lord's anointed (Leviticus 24:14ff), and that, "David on his death bed then realized that he was a law-breaker in forgiving Shimei,"[7] and that he resolved to correct his error by ordering Solomon to execute Shimei. Attractive as such explanations may be to many scholars, this writer finds it impossible fully to agree with them. If Israel was under a curse by the shedding of innocent blood until that curse was removed by the death of the murderer, how was the curse that followed the murder of Uriah removed?

And, with regard to David's forgiveness of Shimei, David's remembrance of his oath to Shimei does not correspond with what David was reported to have said in 1 Samuel 19:23, where the text declares that David said, "Thou shalt not die"; but on his death-bed David changed that promise into the proposition that David himself personally would not execute him. In the light of the prior Biblical revelations regarding David's character, and in view of what is plainly stated here, this writer finds it very difficult to disagree with the evaluation of this passage which, "Judged by any standard, (it) places David's character in an unamiable light."[8]

What is really visible here is the evil system that inevitably accompanied Israel's fate under that king which they had demanded. God had warned them that their monarchy would result in all kinds of abuses by their kings. What David was really concerned about on his death bed was the destruction of all potential enemies of Solomon, among whom Joab and Shimei were most certainly included. Our own conviction is that David's genuine hatred of Joab had nothing to do with his shedding "the blood of war in the time of peace," but to his killing Absalom.

If David had been all that interested in the shedding of innocent blood by Joab, he should have mentioned Joab's ruthless murder of Uriah. Yes, Nathan said that God had remitted the penalty of death as it regarded David; but was not Joab equally guilty? Where is the promise that God remitted the penalty due for that act of Joab?

To sum it all up, David received for himself a forgiveness for murdering Uriah the innocent; but he refused to extend it to Joab who was guilty of the same murder, as well as those of Abner and Amasa. The human frailty and imperfection of that man who had once been "the man after God's own heart" are clearly visible in this tragic scene.