1 Kings 2:32
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.
The Lord would bring back upon Joab himself the guilt for murdering Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah, striking down with the sword two men more upright and honorable than himself without David knowing it, and Joab was afterward put to death for it. This sentence was carried out as part of Solomon's securing of his throne after David's death, when he checked the ambition of Adonijah. Joab fell because after standing by David through other trials he joined Adonijah in grasping at the throne from aged David, a final fruit of jealousy in him, and fleeing to the horns of the altar did not shield him from just punishment for deliberate bloodshed. His end, with Adonijah's overthrow and death, shows the sword not departing from David's house as Nathan had declared after David's sin in the matter of Uriah, a sin the history records openly with David's humble confession.
Meaning and Historical Setting
The Lord would return blood upon Joab's own head for falling upon two men more righteous and better than he and slaying them with the sword. Those two were Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah. Joab killed them without David knowing of it, his father David not knowing thereof. Joab's own blood would therefore be charged to his own head, and the chapter later records Joab's execution.
The verse belongs to the history of Israel's kings beginning with Solomon's accession and extending to the Babylonian Captivity. Within that history it stands in the section on Solomon's reign and the undivided kingdom. The first eleven chapters of 1 Kings give the life of Solomon. They follow Saul, whose history is in 1 Samuel, and David, whose kingdom under him is in 2 Samuel. They come before the division at Solomon's death, when Rehoboam took the kingdom and lost a large portion to form the separate kingdoms of Israel and Judah, which continued until Israel was obliterated in 721 B.C. and Judah was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar and carried captive in 606 B.C. and finally in 588 B.C.
The verse is part of Solomon's execution, after David's death, of his father's charge to secure the throne. It belongs to Solomon's accession to the throne of Israel and the checking of the aspiring Adonijah.
Judgment Fulfilled and Vindicated
The record in 2 Samuel 11-24 and 1 Kings 1-2 openly sets forth David's great wickedness in the case of Uriah without covering it up or excusing it, while preserving alongside it David's own humble confession of his sin for all future time. The judgments that fell upon David are the complete accomplishment of the prophet Nathan's terrible denunciation against him after that transgression, that the sword would not depart from his house. Adonijah's attempt to seize the throne, ending in his overthrow and death, continues that fulfillment.
Joab was slain after he failed in loyalty to his king by supporting Adonijah, another son driven by unholy ambition to take advantage of David's old age and seize the throne. He had stood true in all other trials of David's life and then followed Adonijah, to his regret. His death was the last result of jealousy in him that developed and showed itself as a regrettable weakness.
Nathan the prophet acted from knowing the Lord's will and the king's mind to stop Adonijah's plan, and Solomon was crowned king. A little later Joab was slain together with Adonijah, and Shimei who had cursed David was also put to death for failing to abide by the conditions of his life. Seeking refuge at the horns of the altar did not protect Joab from punishment for his presumptuous wrongdoing when he was taken from the altar, for his blood returned upon his own head for killing Abner and Amasa, men more righteous than he, without David's knowledge. He accepted his death sentence as just after the custom of those days, and the place of his death at the altar shows his belief in Jehovah.
The verse presents Shimei's punishment as the just reward for his wickedness, with blood guilt returned upon his own head because he had killed Abner and Amasa, men more righteous than he, without David's knowledge.