1 Kings 2:30
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. 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.
The verse belongs to the account in 1 Kings 2 of Solomon carrying out after David's death the measures David charged him to take to secure the throne. It stands near the close of a continuous narrative from 2 Samuel 8 through 1 Kings 2 recording the war that continued between Israel and Judah. In that war the friends of Saul sought to keep Saul's son on the throne after the manner of the surrounding nations while God showed that He Himself selects the rulers of His people. It ends with David triumphing and becoming the beloved king over all the tribes.
It belongs to the account of Adonijah's attempt to take advantage of David's old age to seize the throne and its defeat. Nathan acted according to the Lord's will and the king's mind, Solomon was crowned king, and the plot ended in Adonijah's overthrow and death. Joab was slain together with Adonijah, and Shimei who had cursed David was also put to death for failing to abide by his conditions of life. It forms part of the subsequent history after David's great wickedness in the case of Uriah, showing the judgments that came upon him and how completely Nathan's denunciation was accomplished. It continues the fulfillment of the word that the sword would not depart from David's house. The record does not cover up or excuse the transgression but leaves it with the denunciation and David's own humble confession.
In the verse Benaiah comes to the tabernacle of the Lord and commands Joab in the king's name to come forth. Joab refuses to leave and chooses to die there. Benaiah brings the king word again of what Joab said and how he answered. Joab's flight to the Lord's altar did not protect him from the king's command, for the altar is no sanctuary for a presumptuous offender and fleeing there did not prevent punishment. Joab's death at the sanctuary shows his belief in Jehovah.
Joab's death was punishment for his disloyalty to his king in joining Adonijah's unholy ambition to seize the throne. Joab's death was the final outcome of his jealousy, which grew in him and showed itself as a regrettable weakness that led at last to his death.