One of the men … told Joab, "I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree."
Joab said to the man who had told him this, "What! You saw him? Why didn’t you strike him to the ground right there?" — 2 Samuel 18:10-11
Joab had one solution to every problem: death. This paradigm was so deeply ingrained in him that he couldn’t hear David’s instructions to be gentle with Absalom, and he couldn’t understand those among his troops who wished to follow the king’s orders.
In a way, Joab reminds me of the World War II American General George Patton. In a battle, there’s no one you would rather have in command. But, when the occasion called for diplomacy, Geoge Patton was like a stick of dynamite in the hands of a five year old.
We wonder why God spends so much time working on our weaknesses. It is because He doesn’t want us to be another Joab, only useful for a very limited purpose, and getting in the way of God’s plans in every other situation.
Thank God that He is working with us to smooth our rough edges!
Be encouraged!
Dwight
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Visit DwightClough.com for more information. Dwight and his wife Kim are active members of Lake City Church in Madison.