Verse 33
“ So will their blood return on the head of Joab, and on the head of his seed for ever, but to David, and to his seed, and to his house, and to his throne, will there be peace for ever from YHWH.”
Solomon’s hope by this was that, as a result of Joab’s execution, the blame and blood guilt for both these deaths should fall squarely on Joab, and on his descendants, and be fully removed from David and his descendants, with the consequence that David’s house would receive wellbeing from YHWH. The house of Joab was to bear the guilt, relieving the house of David from all responsibility. He was clearly hoping by this means to quieten any feelings of resentment among Abner’s and Amasa’s sympathisers. And he may well have felt the blame that was being placed on the house of David to be a heavy burden.
‘ Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell on him, and slew him, and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness (grazing land)’
Benaiah then went, as Solomon had said, and slew Joab and arranged for him to be buried in ‘his own house’, the burial to take place in land not suitable for producing grain (wilderness, grazing land). Here too Solomon showed mercy. Joab’s body was disposed of with honour, and not treated like that of a traitor. Solomon was not being vengeful. He was simply doing what was necessary for the good of the kingdom.
‘ And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the host, and Zadok the priest did the king put in the place of Abiathar.’
Benaiah was then given the position of commander-in-chief, while Zadok replaced Abiathar, moving from being joint High Priest to sole High Priest. (While rarely used up to this point this alternative title of ‘High Priest’ cannot seriously be denied to ‘the leading Priests’ of Israel. The position of ‘the Priest’ is described as that of High Priest in Numbers 35:25; Numbers 35:28, and in those days every nation had its ‘High Priest’. There are therefore no grounds for seeing Israel as an exception).
It was a sad day when these two loyal servants of David had to be swept aside because of their disloyalty to his son. It should be a reminder to us constantly that ‘he who does not honour the Son, does not honour the Father Who has sent Him’ (John 5:23). Now that our Lord Jesus Christ has come, and has taken His throne we must ensure that our total loyalty is to Him, and that we do not allow ourselves to be drawn aside to other things. And this warning especially applies when we are growing old in the service of God. We must ensure that we hold fast the confession and manifestation of our faith without wavering.
The Execution Of Shimei. The Man Who Had Cursed David (1 Kings 2:36-46 a).
Having demonstrated the folly of Joab, and following his subsequent execution, (in accordance with David’s advice in 1 Kings 2:5-6), the writer then describes (topically and not necessarily chronologically) the execution of Shimei in accordance with David’s advice in 1 Kings 2:8-9. Shimei had been confined to Jerusalem so that he could be carefully watched, both because he was a known plotter with great influence among the tribe of Benjamin, and because he was known to be very bitter about how the house of Saul had been dealt with by David. He was therefore an acknowledged troublemaker and, because of his widespread influence in Benjamin, dangerous. There is, however, no reason for linking him with the plotting described above, and what follows probably occurred over two years afterwards.
Simei was warned that if he ever left Jerusalem, especially in the direction of Benjamin over the Wadi Kidron, he would certainly die. But the ban was not just about going to Benjamin, it was against ‘going anywhere’, for no one would know where he had gone once he left Jerusalem. This would not have been welcome news to Shimei for it separated him off from his family, fellow-tribesmen and lands, and therefore from the security of local custom and tribal loyalty, making him instead subject to the clear cut laws of Jerusalem as determined by the king, and therefore more vulnerable. But it did at least ensure him of his own personal safety. No blame, however, can rest on Solomon for this restriction, for he was newly made king over a kingdom which was certainly not fully united, and he had to guard against very possible danger, especially so close to Jerusalem. Indeed it could be argued that he was being more merciful to a known troublemaker than many kings in neighbouring countries would have been. Within wider Jerusalem Shimei had complete freedom.
For three years Shimei obediently remained in Jerusalem, leaving his family and servants to watch over his lands and their produce, free from worries, and as far as we know free from harassment. Solomon was as good as his word. But then news reached Shimei that two of his bondservants had fled to Aachish, king of Gath, (who was probably the grandson of the Aachish whom David had been familiar with). It was in those days normal practise for many countries to extradite bondsmen who had fled to their country, because it was seen to benefit everyone (except the bondservants), although Israel was an exception, probably on the grounds that they themselves had been bondservants in Egypt (Deuteronomy 23:15-16; compare 1 Samuel 30:15). Shimei therefore rather foolishly set out from Jerusalem in order to negotiate for their return, something in which he succeeded, although unfortunately for him, without consulting king Solomon. Perhaps he thought that his innocent reason would automatically be accepted, or he may even have thought that his absence might not be noted (a rather foolish hope in view of Solomon’s spy system), for an innocent man often feels that what he is doing in innocence cannot possibly be blamed. But he was undoubtedly breaking the terms of his probation, the conditions of which were quite clear. He no doubt went himself so that he could use his undoubted influence in order to obtain the extradition of the bondservants.
We should recognise in Solomon’s defence that Shimei might well (at least in theory) have been negotiating with the king of Gath about something very different, such as an agreement to invade Israel. Such things were constantly happening when people were disgruntled, and Solomon had no reason for thinking differently of a man like Shimei. And there is no doubt that Shimei had breached his probation, and knew what the penalty would be. Thus we should not be surprised at what followed when Solomon carried out the terms of his probation and executed him, even if we feel that it was a little harsh in the circumstances. Solomon may well have felt that no one would have taken the risk that Shimei had, merely over a couple of slaves (and he may have been right).
Analysis.
a And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and do not go forth from there anywhere, for on the day you got out, and pass over the brook Kidron, know you for certain that you will surely die. Your blood will be on your own head” (1 Kings 2:36-37).
b And Shimei said to the king, “The saying is good. As my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days (1 Kings 2:38).
c And it came about at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Look now, your servants are in Gath” (1 Kings 2:39).
d And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish, to seek his servants, and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath (1 Kings 2:40).
e And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again (1 Kings 2:41).
d And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not adjure you by YHWH, and protest to you, saying, ‘Know for certain, that on the day that you got out, and walk abroad anywhere, you will surely die?’ And you said to me, ‘The saying that I have heard is good’. Why then have you not kept the oath of YHWH, and the commandment that I have charged you with?” (1 Kings 2:42-43).
c The king said also to Shimei, “You know all the wickedness which your heart is privy to, that you did to David my father, therefore YHWH will return your wickedness on your own head” (1 Kings 2:44).
b “But king Solomon will be blessed, and the throne of David will be established before YHWH for ever” (1 Kings 2:45).
a So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out, and fell on him, so that he died (1 Kings 2:46 a).
Note that in ‘a’ Shimei was warned that if he left Jerusalem he would die, and in the parallel he was executed for that reason. In ‘b’ Shimei dwelt permanently in his house in Jerusalem, and in the parallel Solomon was sure that the throne of his house would be permanent before YHWH for ever. (It is significant that the writer knew that by the end of his writing even Solomon’s ‘house’ would not be dwelling in Jerusalem). In ‘c’ the description of the wickedness of the servants of Shimei is described, and in the parallel the wickedness of David’s servant, Shimei. In ‘d’ Shimei left Jerusalem and went to Gath, and in the parallel he was questioned as to why he had not obeyed the king. Centrally in ‘e’ Solomon learned of Shimei’s gross disobedience.
‘ And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and do not go forth from there anywhere.”
In the case of Shimei Solomon had called for him (possibly not long after David had given his warning) and informed him that he was to build a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and not leave Jerusalem to go anywhere. It was a clear indication to him that he was ‘on probation’ and was being watched.
Be the first to react on this!
