“The king answered him, ‘Do what he said — strike him down, and bury him. In this way you will take away from me and my father’s family the blood which Yo’av shed for no reason.‘”-1 Kings 2:31
When we last left off, Joab was hanging onto the horns of the altar at Gibeon.
Solomon’s chief bodyguard, B’nayah, had arrived to kill him per Solomon’s command.
But he was uncertain of the legality of doing so.
So B’nayah returns to Solomon and explains his dilemma.
And thus begins a most fascinating Torah lesson.
The bottom line is that Joab has blood guilt hanging over his head.
This means he has shed innocent blood.
Thus, he is a murderer.
And no sanctuary is provided to a murderer, period.
He slew Amasa and Abner in cold blood, and never paid for those crimes (obviously because the homie was still living).
Let’s take a look at verse 32 for a sec:
“Adonai will bring his blood back on his own head, because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he — he killed them with the sword without my father David’s awareness: Avner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Isra’el, and ‘Amasa the son of Yeter, commander of the army of Y’hudah.”-1 Kings 2:32
That expression, “Adonai will bring his blood back on his own head,” is key here.
It specifically means that there is no other atonement but one’s own life for murder.
The Levitical sacrificial system could atone for things like stealing or assault.
But there was no provision for murder…
Even if you sacrificed a thousand bulls.
Ya feeling me here, homie?
The basis of the sacrificial system was that the life of an innocent animal substituted for the life of a person who sinned.
But for high-handed as all hell crimes such as murder, adultery, and idolatry, there is no acceptable substitutionary sacrifice other than the life of the perpetrator.
These are called “intentional sins” in the Torah.
The blood of the murderer, idolater, or adulterer must be paid in those circumstances.
Here are the Torah references:
“If anyone kills another person,
the murderer must be put to death
on the testimony of witnesses.
One witness alone is not enough
to put a person to death.
Do not accept a ransom payment
for the life of a murderer.
He deserves the death penalty.
He must surely be put to death.”
— Numbers 35:30–31
“If ADONAI your God expands your land,
as He promised your ancestors,
and gives you all the territory,
If you carefully obey these commands,
loving ADONAI and walking His ways,
then you must add three more cities
besides the first three cities.
So innocent blood will not be shed
in the land He is giving you,
and guilt will not remain on you.
But if someone hates his neighbor,
lies in wait and attacks him,
strikes him with a deadly blow,
then flees to one of these cities,
The elders of his own town
must send and bring him back,
and hand him to the avenger,
so he may be put to death.
Do not show pity toward him.
You must remove innocent blood
from Isra’el, so things go well.”
— Deuteronomy 19:8–13
So the takeaway is as clear as day.
While the Lord’s sacrificial system covered pretty much the whole range of misdemeanor-level crimes, from ripping off a Snickers bar at the local 7-11 to assaulting someone…
When it came to high-handed crimes, it’s ridiculous to think you could’ve run to the holy altar, grab its horns like Joab did, and think you can get away with it.
Ya feel me here?
Done.
See ya all next time.
Shalom. Can Rich Oka please answer this for me? It seems to me that the Levitical Priesthood and the Levitical High Priest Laws still stand and have not been done away with. Is that correct? I believe I heard someone say that Messiah is the Hight Priest of the Heavenly but the Levitical High Priest is of the earthly Temple?
Hello not sure if my post was uploaded so I am going to ask again. Can Rich Oka please answer something for me? It appears to me that the Levitical Priesthood and the Levitical High Priest Laws (of the Sons of Aaron) have not been done away with. Is that correct in your view? I think I heard someone say that Messiah is the High Priest of the Heavenly and that the Levitical High Priest is of the earthly Temple. Do you agree? Please let me know. Shalom
Hey Brandon,
Great question.
The Levitical priesthood was established by God and served a real purpose. It hasn’t been “erased.”
But if you believe Yeshua is the Messiah, then you also have to accept that He now functions as High Priest in a greater, heavenly sense—after the order of Melchizedek, not Levi.
That means the earthly system wasn’t the final destination. It pointed forward to something greater.
So it’s not that the priesthood was done away with…it’s that its role has been fulfilled and elevated.
And today, without a Temple, the Levitical system isn’t operating anyway.
Shalom.
Hey Rich. Thanks for getting back to me. I noticed in some other posts you mentioned that the Levitical Priesthood and sacrifices are returning. I think this is brought up in Ezekiel ? This appears to imply that the Levitical Priesthood as well as the Levitical High Priest are not done away with but will return and sacrifices will resume. Would you agree with that? Shalom
Hey Brandon,
The Book of Ezekiel 40–48 does describe a future Temple with Levitical priests and sacrifices functioning again. So I wouldn’t say the Levitical system is “gone forever.”
But here’s the key distinction, and this doesn’t contradict anything:
Yeshua’s role as High Priest (after the order of Melchizedek, as explained in Book of Hebrews) is not a replacement in the sense of “Levi is deleted.” It’s a higher, heavenly priesthood operating in a different sphere.
The Levitical priesthood is earthly and tied to the Temple system.
Yeshua’s priesthood is heavenly and tied to ultimate atonement.
So even if Levitical sacrifices return (as Ezekiel describes), they wouldn’t be functioning as the final means of atonement for sin in the same way people often assume.
That’s why I wouldn’t frame it as “done away with” or “unchanged.”
It’s more accurate to say:
The Levitical system was established by God, continues to have a role in His plan, but was never the ultimate or final layer.
Where a lot of people get tripped up is by trying to force a binary.
They think it has to be that the Levitical system was done away with, or it continues unchanged.
Things aren’t simple.
The Scriptures don’t present it in that black-and-white fashion.
Ya feel me?
I hope this makes sense.
Shalom