The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Kings — Section 52

say as we ren,d, the history of J oab's death. After David, he was by fo.r the gi:eo.test man-the ablest general, the bravest soldier, the most capable statesman-of that age. He was " the Marlborough, the Belisarius of the Jewish empire." He had fought David's battles, won his conquests, captured his citadel, and twice preserved for him his crown. It is a sad and tragic ending of such a brillio.nt career. The idol of the army, the man who was first in the deadly breach (2 Chron. xi. 6), the ever victorious hero, dies miserably, by the thrust of an old comrade. For him the sanctuary of God has no protection. Though he clings to the horns of the alto.r, it avails him nothing. No, the blood of the white-headed wanior, winner of a hun- dred well-fought fields, streams round the consecrated structure and stains the place of the Di'rine Presence. What are the lessons, let us ask, of such a death? And, first- I. WHY Is HE HERE? It is (1) because his conscience has m11de him a cowOll'd. He who never turned his back on the foe, bas fled before a breath, a mere rumow·. He has not been attacked, not even threatened ; but the secret is out, the con- spiracy is discovered, bis head is forfeited. He betrays his guilt by bis flight. Time was when he would have faced almost any danger, when he would have died rather than fled. But then he had a support ap.d stay, in the consciousness of rectitude, which he has not now. Now, his own heart denounces him. "None have accused thee; 'tis thy conscience cries." The man whose conscience is bw·dened with crime has an enemy, a traitor, within the camp. Butwhyhashefledto the sanctuO/l'y; why chosen the tabernacle of God for his refuge ? For J oab has not loved the habitation of God's house. The tabernacle of the Lord could not be " amiable" to that guilty heart. His choice would be " the congregation of evildoers." A stranger to the tabernacle and its services, why is be here? It is (~) because men often betake themselves in adversity to the religion they despised in prosperity. Yes, Joab's is no solitary case. It is too common. Witness the so-called deathbed repentances; witness the cries and prayers which go up in the hour of peril from lips which never prayed before. Men who have neglected God and contemned the ordinances of religion in health often turn to Him and to them in sickness. " It is the fashion of our foolish presumption to look for protection where we have not cared to yield obedience.'' But (8) the alt0/1' of God is for sacrifice, not for sanctuary. The purpose of the altar, its raison d'etre, was that sacrinces, i.e., that worship, might be offered thereon. It was an accident, so to speak, that made of it a sanctuary; the accident of its sacredness. Because it was ordained of God, fashioned after a Divine pattern and employed in the Divine service, it was naturally and rightly regarded as holy, as a structure not to be pro- faned, and hence the manslayer fled thither for protection. But this use of the altar was quite beside its original intention. It was made for worship, for the semce of God, not for the defence of man. Joab disregarded its proper use; he used it for his own convenience. And have we not seen something like this in our own days? Religion is ordained for man to live by. Its primary purpose is the glory of God. It exists that man may offer "spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God • '' that man may be himself " a living s:1crifice.'' But there :1re those who would use it only as a sanctuary, as :1 place to flee to when they can sin no longev. They want the benefits of religion without its obligations; they pervert it from its proper and holy, to a pur~ly selfish purpose;. they w~nt_ it for death and ~t was meant for life. They act, i.e., much as Joab did, and it 1s to be feared then- last end will not be unlike his. The altar they have slighted will not shelter them in the day of evil. II. But let us now ask, secondly, WHY IS BE PUT TO DEATH HE.RE? The altar was never meant to be stained with hum(l/f/, blood. If it was not for sanctuary, still less was it for s}B,ughter. And it has sheltered many ; why may it afford him no asylum? It is (1) Because he has come to it too late. Had he co~': before, and come as a worshipper, he would not have needed to come now as a fugitive. Had he even come, after his great crimes, as a sincere penitent, he might, perchance, have fouuu forgiveness. David was delivered from blood-guiltiness, and why not Joab? OH, IT, 86-46.) THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS. 45