When Solomon learned where Joab had gone, he sent Benaiah to carry out the order of execution. This order shows that the king did not regard Joab’s action as a deterrent to the execution of the death sentence. In this response, Solomon shows that he had the wisdom to discern the difference between true piety and repentance from a hypocritical attempt to manipulate the feelings of Joab’s opponents, if not the population of Jerusalem.
Noteworthy is the fact that the report that came to Solomon makes mention only of Joab being beside the altar, and nothing is said about his grasping its horns. If we are to consider the act of grabbing the horns as the essential component of Joab’s behaviour, then its omission in the report is hard to understand.
The order to “strike him down” required the shedding of Joab’s blood. We should not consider it unimportant by what method Joab would be killed. The shedding of blood brought the guilt of blood upon the land and its removal required the shedding of blood by the one responsible for the guilt (Deuteronomy 19:10).
29 And when it was told King Solomon, “Joab has fled to the tent of the LORD, and behold, he is beside the altar,” Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.”