Books and seminars on success are commonplace. Walk into any large bookstore, and you will encounter an entire section devoted to "success" books. Motivational speakers have become wealthy by hawking various "secrets of success." Clearly, most people would like to be more successful in life—and there is a ready market for those who purport to teach how to achieve it.
On the other hand, you do not generally find many books telling you how to fail. It seemingly takes no great effort or amount of study to achieve failure in life. Of course, those who are deemed failures did not set out to achieve failure. They simply found themselves at that point, and most never understand how they achieved their failure.
Yet, just as there are laws that lead to success, so also are there laws, or keys, that lead to guaranteed failure!
As important as physical success may be, spiritual success is infinitely more important. Just as God's word reveals principles that lead to success, so also does it reveal keys to failure. One of these principles might even be described as "the most vital key to long-term failure." Even if you practice all the laws of success, practicing this one vital principle will guarantee failure, no matter what else you may have going for you!
Was Joab a Success?
Joab was the best known and most outstanding of the mighty men who served King David. He was the commanding general of Israel's armies for more than three decades. Joab had many outstanding traits of leadership, and exemplified many of the lessons of success—so much so that, for many years, he seemed to epitomize success. Whatever would happen in the political intrigues of his time, Joab would emerge still hanging on to his old job. He had clear-cut goals, and a great deal of drive, determination and tenacity. Through education he prepared himself for excellence, and he displayed great resourcefulness. He demonstrated wisdom and perceptiveness about people and situations. King David usually listened to what Joab suggested, and relied on him greatly. Joab seemed to love David genuinely, and was loyal when others let him down. He was, in short, a man who could be counted on for results.
Yet we must ask whether or not Joab proved to be a real success—in the true sense of the word. Did his life end on a successful note? More importantly, was he a spiritual success? There is no hint that Joab ever engaged in pagan practices, or that he ever worshiped any but the God of Israel. Yet we search in vain to find him mentioned later in Scripture as a great role model. We are told that King David will be king over all of Israel in tomorrow's world, but there is no indication that Joab—David's chief lieutenant during his years as Israel's monarch anciently—will play an important role in that future realm. Joab is not mentioned in Hebrews 11, nor does any other passage of Scripture single him out for his positive qualities.
Instead, we find that one of Solomon's first acts as king was to order the execution of Joab (1 Kings 2). Even though Joab applied many laws of success in his life, a fatal flaw in his character undercut those noble qualities. That fatal flaw will also be a vital key to our own failure, if we do not root it out of our lives.
The fatal flaw that prevented Joab from becoming a true and lasting success was that his life was ruled by self-will. No life regulated by self-will can truly be successful! We might change many aspects of our thoughts and deeds, but perhaps the quality hardest for any of us to truly give up is self-will.
Lessons from Joab's Life
Joab and his brothers Abishai and Asahel were nephews of King David. They were the sons of David's older sister, Zeruiah. All three brothers had supported David loyally from the time that he had to flee from Saul and hide out in the wilderness. The brothers loved and honored their uncle, and willingly risked their lives on his behalf. While exiled, David once expressed his longing for home by wishing that he could just have a drink of water from the well at Bethlehem. Abishai and two friends took it upon themselves to plan a covert mission (1 Chronicles 11:16–20). Risking their lives, they sneaked through enemy lines to Bethlehem, and brought David back a drink of water! How often do we encounter such boldness and devotion?
Joab must have been even more outstanding than his brother, as 2 Samuel 2 makes clear that Joab was the leader not only of the brothers, but also of all David's men. Yet Joab was also a hard and vindictive man, as we see from his assassination of Abner, Saul's army commander. Abner had earlier slain Joab's brother Asahel in battle. When Joab heard that Abner had come to make peace with King David, he became suspicious and assassinated him without the king's knowledge (2 Samuel 3:26–27).
For the first seven years after Saul's death, David ruled only over Judah. Seven years later, as king over all 12 tribes, David determined to take the Jebusite stronghold of Jerusalem and make it his new capital. He promised that whoever could gain entry to the seemingly impregnable stronghold and lead the army to victory would become the new army commander. Perhaps Joab had been demoted following Abner's assassination, but this did not last long, as Joab once again proved himself to be seemingly indispensable. He led a successful assault on the Jebusite castle, gaining access by using a water channel (which many archaeologists today identify as Warren's Shaft) that stretched from Gihon Spring to the ancient hill of Zion (2 Samuel 5:7–8, 1 Chronicles 11:4–6). As we read of David's exploits in the conquest of his enemies, we see the important role that Joab played as army commander.
King David had so much confidence in Joab's personal loyalty to him, that he wrote to Joab personally when he sought to get rid of Uriah the Hittite (after his adultery with Uriah's wife Bathsheba, and her subsequent pregnancy). Joab obeyed David's instruction to put Uriah in a part of the battle where he would be killed, and then sent the king word of what happened.
Later, Joab played a key role in trying to reconcile David with Absalom, following the latter's flight from his father upon killing his brother Amnon. We read, in 2 Samuel 14, that Joab tried to trick David to win his agreement in inviting Absalom back. Joab was clearly very perceptive, and not shy about intervening in situations when he was convinced that he had the right answer to a problem.
When Absalom launched a revolution to overthrow his father, Joab remained staunchly loyal to King David. Prior to the armies' battle, David had talked to all of his leading men. He personally asked them to be gentle with Absalom, for his sake. Later, as the army under Joab proved victorious, a young soldier brought word that Absalom had become entangled in an oak tree while trying to flee on his mule. Joab asked the soldier whether he had killed Absalom. "Of course not," the young man replied, "I heard the king give instructions to save his son alive." Joab, however, believed that David was being too "soft" on a troublemaker, so he went and executed Absalom himself. In his mind, Joab "knew" that he had to do this to solve the problem once and for all, regardless of the king's instructions (2 Samuel 18:10–14).
When King David learned that his army had been victorious, but that Absalom was dead, he was overwhelmed with grief. "Oh my son Absalom," he cried out, "would to God that I had died in your stead." While David spent the day mourning his personal loss, the people with him grew restless and discouraged. It was Joab who then told the king that he had to put his personal grief aside, and come down to thank his supporters for what they had done on his behalf. "If you don't do this," Joab told him, "you're going to find yourself in worse trouble than you have ever been in your life." David recognized that this assessment was probably correct, and followed Joab's advice (2 Samuel 19:1–8).
While putting the nation back together, David decided to place Amasa, formerly the commander of Absalom's forces, over Judah's army (2 Samuel 17:25). Amasa, however, was late in reaching the appointed place, and David sent out the army under the command of Joab's brother Abishai. When Amasa caught up to the main army, Joab called him aside and quickly assassinated him, then led the army to a resounding victory over David's enemies (2 Samuel 20). In Joab's mind, he had "won" again, because he had been victorious in battle, and had his old job back. Once again, he had sought to prove himself the indispensable man.
When Satan stirred up David to number Israel (1 Chronicles 21:1), Joab was placed in charge of the census. Joab was opposed to the idea, however, and as a result did not do a thorough job (v. 6). Even though Joab was correct in perceiving what should and should not be done, he was self-willed about it, and did things his own way.
Finally, near the end of King David's days, Joab made a decision that ultimately cost him his life. Once again, Joab's hardheaded, self-willed approach came to the fore. As David was on his deathbed, a question arose about succession to the throne. David had previously told his close associates that Solomon was to succeed him. Though the Bible does not tell us Solomon's exact age at that time, putting the whole story together from the Bible makes it clear that Solomon was still a teenager, probably no more than 15 years old. Joab plainly thought that King David had made a mistake, and that Solomon was too young and inexperienced to take on such a job. Joab decided instead that Adonijah—one of David's older sons—was the right man for the job, and plotted with Adonijah to make his succession to the throne a fait accompli before anyone could do anything about it. Of course, God had other plans; He ensured that Adonijah's succession was thwarted and that Solomon took the throne (1 Kings 1).
This event marked the end of Joab's career. One of Solomon's first acts as king was to order Joab's arrest and execution. Joab finally paid with his life for his stubbornness and self-will. Even though Joab was very capable and possessed sound judgment, he was always determined to do things his own way. He got away with it many times, because he was successful. Friend and foe alike saw him as indispensable to the king. However, his self-will was the key to his ultimate failure and ignominious death. Inevitably, that is where self-will leads!
The Root of Self-Will
Self-will flows from a desire to protect and promote the self. It is "natural" to be concerned about ourselves, but God's law teaches us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves (Leviticus 19:18). Christ reiterated to His followers the importance of loving our neighbor, emphasizing that it was second only to the command to love God with our whole heart (Matthew 22:36–40). Self-will is a manifestation of pride, and is a roadblock to true success. God cannot and will not allow anyone into His kingdom who is governed by self-will. It does not matter what percentage of the time you may be "right." After all, Joab was probably right most of the time!
David, like Joab, was tested on the matter of self-will. He was anointed as king while still in his teens, yet had to wait until age 30 to be crowned king over Judah—and seven years beyond that to become king over all of Israel. For about 10 years, David was on the run hiding from Saul—who was trying to kill him. Saul, increasingly paranoid, had become convinced that if he could get rid of David, all of his problems would be over. During those years, David had opportunities to kill Saul, and his followers pressed him to do so. Yet he did not. Rather than taking matters into his own hands, he trusted God to elevate him at the right time and in the right way. This attribute of looking to God, waiting on God, and trusting God set David apart from his nephew Joab. It was a difference of the heart that made the difference between the ultimate success or failure of these two men.
Those with self-will resist or refuse to listen and learn. Once, when David became very angry because of Nabal's arrogance and insolence, he decided to strike back. Propelled by momentary anger, David was prepared to take vengeance, when Nabal's wife Abigail, came to him, humbly pointing out the mistake he was about to make. Did David become angry with her, and resist her entreaties? No! He acknowledged that she was right— and he even apologized. Then, he became thankful to God that he had not allowed his temper to lead him into a serious mistake (cf. 1 Samuel 25). David had the humility to learn from others, and was willing to take correction. Self-will stands in the way of such a response.
Nehemiah 9 describes how, immediately after the Feast of Tabernacles, the people of Judah assembled before God to fast and to renew the covenant. As they listened to the history of their nation, they heard a recurring theme—that in spite of God's repeated warnings, through His prophets, they "refused to obey," "hardened their hearts" and "dealt proudly." Pride led to self-will, and stood in the way of humbly accepting correction, acknowledging error and changing. Is this true of us?
In Titus 1:7, Paul instructed the young minister Titus about the qualities to look for when selecting elders to take spiritual oversight of a congregation (the Greek word translated "bishop" literally means "overseer"). Paul explained that one ordained to such a leadership position must be "not self-willed." Later, when the Apostle Peter wrote the final epistle of his life, he pointed out the judgments that God would deliver to the godly and the ungodly. Peter mentioned that the ungodly are "presumptuous" and "self-willed" (2 Peter 2:9–10). Being self-willed is a deadly fault. It led to Joab's physical death. If not recognized— and turned away from—it will lead to our spiritual death!
The One who most perfectly rejected self-will was Jesus Christ. On the night of His final Passover, as He agonized in the garden prior to His arrest, He totally avoided self-will. "Nevertheless, not My will but Your will be done," He prayed (Matthew 26:39. KJV). Jesus did not come to the earth to pursue self-will, but rather to pursue the Father's will (John 6:38). He never sought His own will, but continually sought the will of the One who had sent Him (John 5:30).
Are we following Jesus' example, or Joab's? No matter how many of the laws of success we may apply in our lives, if we are self-willed we will ultimately fail. To humbly let go of the way that seems right to us, we must walk by faith. We must believe that God knows what He is doing, and we must be willing to trust Him to accomplish His purpose—even when we do not see how circumstances can work out. If we will truly trust in the Eternal with all of our heart, and not lean to our own understanding, He will bring about ultimate success in our lives!