This now leads us to the fifth and final account, where we are going to see something quite different, but all the more speaking truth to us.

In each case thus far, Joab has prevailed over David's ill decisions with decisive and vital success. Three times he has put down destructive rebellions that were both condoned and even encouraged by David. Joab's actions in preserving the attesting two-part remnant from the pestilence caused by David numbering the people was equally necessary. But the fifth testimony regarding Joab is quite different.

Remember that Joab is the law, in contrast to David who is mercy. Because of repeated rebellion and the necessity of preserving the remnant, Joab's law work was essential. But per the fulfillment of the true Remnant in the church, though on one hand law is critical in order to uphold that which is right and essential for the establishment of Yahweh's kingdom, in the end law will have to be overruled and mercy prevail. In reality, at some point Joab will not be able to prevail. The fact is, without mercy that seems to violate the law, a Remnant will never be able to ascend alive into heaven. And this is the continuing message of our man Joab and his mercy king, David.

Both might and religious order, as well as popularity and good looks, supported Adonijah in his bid to become king. Joab, the commander of the army, supported Adonijah, as well as Abiathar, the high priest (1 Kings 1:7). Furthermore, all Israel thought he would become king (2:15). Also, his attempts to follow his father as king were never concealed; and David, having never discouraged him in this overture, seemingly affirmed him as his choice. After all, he was the next born after Absalom, who had been killed, and now his father was about to die. In the natural and undoubtedly in the legal selection of a king, as stated later in the words of Adonijah to Bathsheba - "the kingdom was mine," and everyone knew it; that is, everyone but Nathan the prophet and Bathsheba, Solomon's mother.

Following in the practice of Absalom, Adonijah equally had fifty men to run before him - his own Pentecost effort as well. As David's death drew near, Adonijah invited Joab and all the commanders, Abiathar, and all his brothers and the king's servants to a banquet. Everyone was anticipating Adonijah's rise to the throne, and were declaring - "Long live King Adonijah!" But there was one problem with this. David had promised Bathsheba that her son, Solomon, would be king after him and would sit on his throne.

Nathan knew this, and during Adonijah's great banquet he went to Bathsheba, and the two of them went to David to remind him of his promise. David confirmed his promise and had Solomon anointed king of Israel at a place called Gihon, meaning "bursting forth," and there they blew the trumpet (the "last trumpet") and the people declared - "Long live King Solomon!" He then had Solomon to return and sit on his throne.

When Joab heard the trumpet, as commander of the army he wondered why a trumpet was being blown. Soon the entire gathering received the news regarding Solomon and quickly disbursed in fear.

We will not go into all that was involved here in this transition of the kingdom to Solomon except to consider the fate of Joab. Just before David died, he gave instructions to King Solomon, including this regarding Joab:

Thus we find two of our subject characters referenced here - Abner and Amasa. But who could miss that the message here was intended for far more than just the natural? As stated at the first of this writing, all Scripture is prophetic; and when one reads that Joab was to be dealt with because he put blood on his belt and on his sandals, clearly much more is being said here than what meets the eye. Yahweh is prophesying, He is telling a riddle; and if we have eyes to see and ears to hear, we can discern what He is telling us.

One of the first writings placed on this web site is the one titled - The Sandals and the Staff. In it we see that clearly sandals have the prophetic message of bringing forth the fruits of the kingdom. If a man died and his brother refused to bring forth offspring in his deceased brother's name, his brother's widow was to go to him in the presence of the elders and remove his sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and declare to him - "Thus it is done to the man who does not build up his brother's house" (Deuteronomy 25:9). We see then that prophetically, this matter of Joab putting blood on his sandals speaks of blood on the works of bringing forth the fruit of the kingdom.

But David also said Joab placed blood on his belt; so what is the belt? When considering the account where Joab offered the man a belt for killing Absalom, that belt speaks of prophecy, and specifically relates to Elijah and John the Baptist, the two men identified in the Bible by their belt. This is likewise the prophesying that took place in the wilderness with the 70 and 2, even the prophesying that ended with the death of the first Remnant and takes place again with the second Remnant. The first Remnant and the second Remnant have the belt of prophecy, as well as the glory evidenced in the hair. (This is the glory seen on Moses and Elijah on the mount of transfiguration.)

So we see here that when Joab placed blood on his belt and blood on his sandals, prophetically he placed blood on the prophetic word, or in fact the fulfillment thereof, and on efforts to bring forth the fruits of the kingdom. And in order to fulfill Yahweh's prophetic word and bring forth these fruits, of necessity rebellion had to be dealt with, evidenced by both Abner and Amasa. Let us consider further this important understanding.

As we seek to understand Yahweh Father, what is it that we see here regarding Him and His ways. How can Yahweh Father have blood on His prophetic works and on His works to bring forth the fruits of the kingdom? This is quite simple and revealing.

All of Yahweh's works are declared in advance (prophecy, or the belt), and He is indeed working to bring forth the fruits of His kingdom (the sandals). And as Yahweh Father, as testified by Joab, He must act out of law and discipline all rebellion against His works toward His declared purposes. Thus, in His Father place of discipline, in order to fulfill His word and plans, and to bring forth the fruits of the kingdom, HE MUST DISCIPLINE! Oh yes, like Joab He does extend mercy; but, if He repeatedly allowed the kind of mercy David extended, His kingdom would entirely fail, even as David's would have failed.

Thus we see that in order for Yahweh to fulfill His kingdom and bring forth the fruits thereof, Joab-type discipline must always prevail where necessary, always! Yes, mercy can and needs to be extended, but as we see here with Joab, not at the expense of Yahweh's word nor the necessity of fruitfulness. The only way these fruits can come forth is if Joab Yahweh Father correction prevails. And this is true in the home as well, even as I have learned and trusted throughout my role as a father, including my present relationship with Rebekah, as well as my older daughter Christi.

Now in their twenties, neither of these girls have liked my place as a Joab. But of necessity, for the sake of the home, for the sake of the kingdom, for their sake, I am a Joab. Both of these girls want me to be mercy, mercy. Why? Because they want "freedom" to do their own will. And while Christi has been more compliant to me and has been a blessing to me in that she has served me despite the difficulty thereof, because of their emphasis and focus on mercy, I am indeed "too difficult" for them. The solution to this problem will be covered in the next two sections.

On a previous occasion, I asked Christi to do something that was extremely hard for her, extremely hard! But even so, she obeyed me. When I talked to her on the phone about this, with great emotion she cried out that I was "a father of blood." The context of her statement was that which Moses' wife declared regarding her husband.

Yahweh had called Moses to go to Egypt and deliver the sons of Israel who were in bondage. In prophetic truth, Moses was Yahshua, the deliverer. And as Yahshua, specifically at His second coming, "the way" had to be prepared for him, or in other words, an Elijah work had to first take place in order that Yahweh would not act in wrath (Malachi 4:5-6). What was to be that Elijah work? Let us read in Exodus 4:24-26 when Moses was in fact on his way to Egypt as the "messiah," the deliverer, the one who would overrule the government and set Yahweh's people free.

This is why Christi screamed at me that I was "a father of blood." I was requiring something of her that was like the spilling of blood. I was being a Joab to her that was being "too difficult," placing blood on my belt and sandals. In this specific occasion, which I will not completely go into, she was wanting me to have mercy (the David thing) on Rebekah; but my heart and my soul longed to be satisfied with only one thing, one thing, and that was obedience.

This is that which Christi provided me. True to her name, Christi became a "Christ" and satisfied my wrath against Rebekah, keeping me from having to fulfill something that would have been too much for us as a family. "God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tested beyond what you are able; but with the testing will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it" (1 Corinthians 10:13). Christi was the "way of escape," provided so that I/we might be able to bear the wrath that I had to carry out on Rebekah after she did not respond to my extended mercy.

Even as this was in no wise easy for Christi, and provoked her to call me a father of blood, it provided me a clear understanding and even feeling for how the Father feels about us. He longs for our obedience, and His soul even demands it, and His soul MUST be satisfied. But we as mere men cannot obey Him. We are all like Rebekah who, despite the offer of mercy, cannot obey and we rebel against Him. Therefore as Yahweh Father, His heart must be satisfied with obedience or He will have to carry out wrath on us. How will His heart be satisfied? By the obedience of Christ, even as my heart was satisfied with Christi's obedience and my wrath thus averted against Rebekah.

So we see that Yahshua is in truth a satisfying Elijah work, even a blood work, that prepares the way for Yahweh to come to man and deliver him. Why is this so? Because a blood work must equally prepare the way for the Son of God. Make no mistake about it, Yahshua was everything that relates to the kingdom of God. He was body and bride intercessorally; and, He was in fact an Elijah blood sacrifice work as well. But insomuch that He was all of these things, His work was never intended and cannot be the end of Yahweh's kingdom work, but in fact begins that restorative work - not an end, but a beginning! This fact has been a sore error in Christianity, for they see Yahshua's work as the end (and criticize this writer for looking beyond). But His work began that which must take place both in and through man.

It is most significant that Yahweh came to kill Moses as he performed his messiah journey to Egypt. Yet Yahweh did not kill Moses, but instead Moses' son shed the blood necessary to satisfy Yahweh's wrath. In like manner, and this is very important, Yahshua is going to come as the true Messiah to mankind to deliver man from his Egypt. But once again, Yahweh must require the blood of someone to fulfill His wrath. This cannot be Yahshua, the Moses, but has to be another, and that is - Yahshua's "son." Who is this son? It is the Elijah work that in truth prepares the way for the return of the Son of God, even as Moses' son's circumcision prepared the way for him. The blood of the circumcised son must this time be the Remnant Elijah. This is the same blood work evidenced by Joab having blood on his belt and his sandals.

How is the Remnant the blood work? A new writing will follow this writing that addresses the matter of water and blood. 1 John 5:6 says that His coming is by water and blood. It is a writing with incredible confirming truth in it that has not been seen before. But basically, the two Remnant are the water and the blood. The first Remnant is the water work, and the second Remnant is the blood work. (You will see more about this in the writing.) But in fact the two Remnant are one, and thus are often interchangeable in identity. Though the first Remnant is the first bird in Leviticus 14 and was slain over the running water of Pentecost (they all died), and the second Remnant is that bird that ascends alive, having been dipped into the blood of the first Remnant bird, in truth the second Remnant is even more so identified as the blood. Why? Because it is the blood work that must immediately precede and prepare the way for the return of Yahshua. "You are a bridegroom of blood to me," identifies the "son" work that is the blood work that makes it possible for the Messiah to complete His journey to Egypt, or the world.

This truth and testimony is also seen in the fact that the second Remnant is identified specifically with Passover. Of all the feasts, Passover is particularly identified with blood. At the Passover meal with His disciples, Yahshua gave them the cup and said - "This is My blood of the covenant." Equally, He said to the two whose mother asked that they sit on His right and His left, representing the two-part Remnant - "You do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They responded that they were able, to which He replied - "My cup you shall drink" (Matthew 20:20-23). To what extent the blood shed by the first Remnant will fulfill this cup, we will have to see. We do know that that cup cannot lead to our physical death, for as the second bird we must be the Elijah who ascend alive. But make no mistake about it, we too will drink the cup, even as Yahshua declared. We must for we are the Passover blood work, the circumcised son work, that must immediately precede the coming Messiah.

What then is the circumcision of the uncircumcised boy, the work of the Elijah, that must take place in the second Remnant today? It is undoubtedly at least two things. First, it is the circumcision of our hearts and the fleshly things in our own lives; it is obedience. This is the circumcision that Christi experienced in the pain of not doing her own will but the will of her father. But even further, for much more is required, the second Remnant MUST ascend alive, and with the first Remnant have our old earthly bodies circumcised away and receive our immortal bodies. In the words of Yahshua, we must be "born from above." This is the highest and much needed fulfillment of this promise and hope of circumcision, bringing us fully into the family of faith, fully identifying us as His covenant people (which was the testimony of circumcision - Genesis 17:11). Once the two-part Remnant are circumcised of our flesh (and only our Zipporah, our mother Jerusalem above, can perform this), then the Messiah can proceed to Egypt to deliver man. Oh what marvelous truth our eyes are being opened to see here!

Now are you beginning to see why Joab had blood on his belt (prophecy) and on his sandals (fruits of the kingdom)? The second Remnant MUST be a people who will obey Yahweh, even as Christi obeyed me, and satisfy Yahweh's yearning soul. (I know this feeling personally. I am an intercessor, much to my family's pain and lack of understanding.) Our flesh too must be circumcised in order that the Messiah can complete His way to Egypt. Because Yahshua the bridegroom is coming, many will soon find that He is a "bridegroom of blood" to us, and we will anguish, if necessary, even as did Christi.

There are some issues remaining regarding Adonijah that briefly need to be dealt with before closing this section. What we find here in this account regarding Adonijah and Solomon is a clear testimony of Christianity and the Remnant, or more specifically - Who will receive the rights to the throne of David? Will Christianity receive those rights, or will the Remnant? In every regard, Christianity is an Adonijah. They seem to be heir apparent. They are good looking with all of their fine church buildings and prominent place in the gate. They are supported by everyone in the kingdom. They are supported by power and legal rights (the commander, Joab), and by religious order (the high priest, Abiathar). With the failure of Judaism, they seem to be the next in line to take the throne. They too have their fifty man forerunners, their Pentecost, to identify them in their kingly bid. It seems that in every regard, like unto Adonijah's sentiments - the kingdom is theirs. But, while everyone in Christianity is celebrating their anticipated soon rise to the throne in their "rapture," Yahweh has other plans for a Solomon.

While Christianity has in ever regard the seeming right to the throne of David, and it seems that their rights have never been contested, Yahweh is being reminded by our mother, Jerusalem above, that He has promised that throne to the Solomon Remnant. He will send His son of promise to "bursting forth," anoint him, and blow a trumpet, and the festivities of Christianity will suddenly come to an end. Thus the Remnant will rightly receive the throne of David.

But what about Joab? All along, of necessity, he has prevailed in His Yahweh Father actions; but here in the end we now see his actions for the first time being wholly overturned by David. Why is it that David mercy now prevails over Joab law? Again, because at some point regarding the Solomon Remnant, David mercy must prevail.

Ask yourself - Can earthly flesh ever enter into heaven? Absolutely not! That which is earthly can never enter into that which is heavenly. What is the solution? Yahweh's mercy. Even as it is written - "mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13) - so in the end, even as we see here regarding Joab and David, mercy must prevail.