Now that we have reviewed each of these five accounts and drawn some important conclusions, there yet remains the need to take an overall look at this matter of law and mercy. On the day that Yahweh first began to show this man about these truths regarding David and Joab, I knew there was one problem that yet stood before me. The law/mercy conflict was clearly apparent, with Joab prevailing; but in the end David asked for the judgment of Joab, which resulted in his death. So how did the final death of David and Joab fit in to all of this?

Later that morning when the sun began to rise on these truths, I was explaining to my son, Micah, what Yahweh had shown me. But we both recognized this same obvious ceiling or impasse in it all. To him it seemed that the prophetic testimony came to an end at the death of Joab and could not be considered an ongoing part of the testimony, as in all cases there are limits to the bounds of any prophetic picture. But within I knew this could not be the case, and as we talked, something Micah said (and I cannot remember now what it was) exploded into truth and the answer was wonderfully real and apparent. Before I share this with you, let me share a little about my son.

Even since that morning that brought the dawning of my understanding of this entire matter, as Micah and I have talked further, additional truth has been added. I greatly enjoy and very much appreciate my son. He is to me like an obedient Isaac, and I enjoy a father and son relationship much like that revealed in the account of the conversation when Abraham went up to sacrifice Isaac. But this relationship is not something that has not been tested. At the time of this writing my son is 18, and has already hit the hormone rebellion temptation.

A few years ago Micah went to a music camp, and from being around all the other youth his age, decided he really did not like his family. Sometime after that, he also went to a seminar that taught on some of the problems that youth deal with, and there realized he needed to change and not follow in that course. But later, he told us that what really changed him was a price he paid that I required of him. Let me share this with you. It is an example of what we have been seeing concerning this matter of law and mercy.

Since Yahweh revealed to this man the truth of the Remnant in 1994, our family government has been to hold all things in common. Thus any money anyone has is for the common good, even as it was in the first Remnant. As Micah got older, he began making money and thinking about getting married some day, and thus wanted to open his own savings account to begin to prepare for that day. By this time I had experienced several disappointments in my intercessions per the Remnant, and was sympathetic to the pain my family had gone through. As one might expect, since my nature and emphasis is more on the law side, I married a girl who is on the mercy side. Thus when Micah wanted to start his own savings, my wife sympathized with this and in the logic of man opened an account in their names.

I went along with this for a while, but finally knew that this would not work in the long run. A house divided against itself cannot stand, and with our family government being that of holding all things in common, no matter how good it sounded, I knew that in time this division would ruin our family. But on the other hand, I also feared that I would drive my son away from me. But as I have said earlier, I have learned to seek to do the will of Yahweh and leave the results to Him, and this I did.

I went to Micah and talked with him about this, reviewing our family government and why it exists, and told him that he could no longer regard that money as his alone but for the common good. To my relief, he accepted this. Later, his tie to that account was tested, as it became needed to provide for the family. Frankly, it pained me very greatly to use it, but he released it without recourse or regret.

But most importantly, recently as he shared with someone about rebellion, he related that it was that event that turned his heart from rebellion, and since then Yahweh has given him the heart of his father. Can you imagine the joy this is to me to hear my son say that he has the heart of his father? Oh what joy it is! He is fully persuaded and confident that my input into his life is Yahweh's purpose for him, and that he is to obey. Oh sure, he has his tests; but he has the power to get the victory as well. Why? Because he paid the price of sacrifice for the reward of obedience. (And may I say here, this price of sacrifice does not apply to rebellion alone, for in paying a similar costly price, I too have obtained the reward over other weaknesses of the flesh.)

But let us look at this in light of this David/Joab matter. Was it my wife's mercy to support Micah's separate and governmentally conflicting account that gave him power over rebellion? No, for as with the example of David, mercy alone cannot overcome rebellion, but only encourages it. Rather, it was the fatherly Joab law work that led to Micah's power over rebellion. The Joab work is in fact the only remedy for rebellion. Some today call it "tough love." Call it whatever, but it is the Yahweh Father aspect of the ways of Yahweh and not mercy that always "kills" rebellion. This leads us to this matter at hand. How is it that Joab must die?

One thing that was MOST outstanding in all of this law and mercy, Joab and David, issue, was that even though David asked Solomon to deal with Joab in wisdom, and as a result Joab was killed, Joab was not put to death until David died first. What could this mean? Concerning the relationship of the Father and the Son, it is rather obvious that Yahshua was by far the mercy element, whereas the Father is the law element. The mere fact that Joab is "Yahweh Father" is evidence enough to this, and Yahshua's teachings are very strongly mercy. But how did this work out in the works of Yahweh? How is it that the death of Yahshua mercy precedes the death of Yahweh law?

The standard Christian answer that Yahshua fulfilled the law was not enough. This was too trite and did not address the fact that even now Yahweh Father continues to judge kingdom men who claim the blood of Yahshua. Paul said to the Corinthians - "For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep (i.e., they too were dying, even like rebellious Amasa, Absalom, and Abner). But if we judge ourselves rightly, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world" (1 Corinthians 11:29-32). In speaking of Yahweh's relationship with "His people," Hebrews 10:31 tells us that "It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God." And equally in Hebrews 12:6 we read - "For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives."

No, this trite "under the blood" response of Christianity was no answer. If Yahshua's death put away the Joab work, the correcting Father work, then how does one explain the verses we just read, along with others? There had to be more, but it was not obvious until Micah spoke.

The great answer to this matter lies in that which is required in order for the Joab Yahweh Father law to no longer be necessary; and the ONLY way that Joab law will not be necessary is for man to not transgress any more. When will this happen? Only when men get out of this earthly flesh, when we can be "born from above"! Then we will have the law of Yahweh truly written on our hearts so that we might not sin. Until we put off this flesh that is the seat of sin, the "wretched man" that is at enmity with God and serves Satan, and put on an immortal body with His law written on our hearts, then the one who is "too difficult" for us must and will ALWAYS be there, ALWAYS!

Let us draw a personal contrast here as an example of this. My relationship with Rebekah at the time of this writing is quite simple - I have no contact with her until she is willing for me to be her father. That was the judgment I set forth. When she is willing for me to be her father, then I will be her father. Until then, I give her no affectionate hugs as does a father. I do not tell her that I love her. I do not buy her anything, nor do I give her any counsel. In fact, I neither see her nor talk to her. Christi's obedience to me became the Christ work that allows the rest of the family to see her and communicate with her, but I do not. Because of Rebekah's rejection of me as a father, sadly and painfully my relationship with her is bound. I may want to do all of these things, but I cannot because of her rebellion.

I have told Rebekah - your relation with me affects and even determines my relation with you. It binds me to be someone that I do not even want to be, even someone that you do not want me to be. Paul told the Corinthians - "For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not what I wish and may be found by you to be not what you wish" (2 Corinthians 12:20). This describes exactly that which Rebekah and Christi have found me to be to them; but I would even add to that which Paul stated here, that it is a way that I wish I did not have to be. I have said many times before that being a real father is the hardest job in the world; for since a man's wife and all of his children which he brings into this world are all in flesh bodies, it is certain he is going to have to be a Joab at some time. And no one who transgresses likes that one who is "too difficult." There have been many lonely, difficult, painful, and even reproached times when I wish I did not have to be a Yahweh Father. It is much harder to be a Joab than a David. I have had to stand alone when others criticized and accused me and called me names. No one likes a Joab in those times. But what is right is right, and a Yahweh Father must do that which is right and leave the results to Yahweh.

On the other hand, I greatly rejoice to hug my son and tell him I love and appreciate him. I delight in doing things with him and for him and seeing him prosper and do well. I delight to seek with him the will of the Father for his life and enjoy sharing the things of Yahweh together with him. Though I will always have to reserve the option of that Joab Yahweh Father relationship with my son because he too is still a flesh man, on many occasions that Joab is dead and I do not have to deal with him in that way. In fact, if my son never did anything wrong, we could even put old gray headed Joab (he's been around a long time) in Sheol permanently. And this is precisely the point!

So why did David have to die before Joab could die? Remember, David often lamented over Joab and even tried to displace him. The answer is because Yahshua is mercy, and He indeed died so that we can be born from above, even as He told Nicodemus. Yahshua died in order that we can enter into immortality; this is our hope for the death of Joab law and judgment. But this period in the last 2,000 years has been a long and difficult breach in that purpose, and Joab has had to remain commander over Yahshua. Now with the hope that the church's 3,000 years will be cut short to 2,000, there is finally the possibility that men will enter into that sinless transgressionless position where that for which Yahshua died will finally be realized. After 2,000 years, Yahshua's death as mercy will make it possible for Joab to be put to death as well, when a Remnant people enter into immortal bodies.