The Joab Spirit has been operating through people on earth since the devil used the snake as a “channel” to tempt Eve in the Garden of Eden. (Gen. 3:1-5; 2 Cor. 11:3; Rev. 12:9)

The Joab Spirit is an evil, undermining, unclean spirit that operates through pride; the same intense pride that caused Lucifer to rebel against God in heaven. Satan is the father of rebellion and the author of confusion, which causes a church, ministry or family to become dysfunctional.

The Joab Spirit is a spirit of disloyalty and betrayal. It tries to undermine and control from within a family, a ministry, a church, or a nation in pursuit of personal ambition and preeminence. This spirit is birthed through soulish or carnal ambition and wants to rule behind the throne. The Joab Spirit wants to weaken the leader’s authority in the home, church or ministry through cautious undermining in order to get its own way.

Judas, Jesus' betrayer, had this unclean evil spirit or demon influencing him. Judas was very clever. He worked subtly behind the scenes, appearing to be loyal; yet, constantly wanting his own way. Judas, like Joab, was part of the inner circle, appearing to be helpful, but always quietly causing dissension within the group. Joab appeared to be David’s friend just as Judas appeared to be a friend of Jesus, but both men were disloyal and betrayed their leaders.

Dr. Ronald Cottle in his book, Anointed to Reign II, defines the difference between faithfulness and loyalty. "Faithfulness is action; it is 'something we do'. Loyalty is attitude; it is 'something we are.' For example, a man’s wife might be 'faithful' to her husband in the sense that she doesn’t commit adultery with another man or flirt with other men. But she might be disloyal to him at the very same time by undermining him around other people with her words or attitudes in public, with the children, or with in-laws. Loyalty alone does not qualify a person for ministry. Its absence, or the presence of disloyalty, instantly and automatically disqualifies a person from ministry. Genuine loyalty is constant and true. It does not undermine, but instead supports another by words, acts and attitudes. Loyalty is tested in times of trouble and stands firm under fire.” (Pg. 172)

Is the Joab Spirit operating in your home, church, ministry or nation? The Joab Spirit does not submit to authority. Instead, because of its intense pride and self-ambition, it demands preeminence. This results in a person who is constantly undermining secretly with their words and attitudes which disrespect the leader, whether it is the pastor of the church, the president of a ministry, or the husband and father of a family. This ambitious, disrespectful person has a controlling spirit that manipulates through jealousy and is a grief to headship. (2 Sam. 3:31-39a) The husband or Senior Pastor is constantly embarrassed because of the attitude of the wife or person living with the unclean spirit guiding them.

Joab was not a loyal member on David’s staff. Joab was the nephew of King David (1 Chron. 2:15-17), and he became the commander of David's armies (1 Chron.11:6), part of his inner circle, and his right-hand man. Joab was a disloyal schemer who, because of jealousy and vengeance, killed two of David’s commanders, Abner and Amasa, (2 Sam. 3:12-30, 19:13; 20:4-13), in cold blood. He also murdered David’s son, Absalom, disregarding a direct command by David not to harm his son. (1 Kings 2:5-6; 2 Sam.18:10-15). Joab's last act of disloyalty against King David was when he joined David’s fourth son, Adonijah, in an attempt to steal the throne of Solomon with a coup, despite the fact that David had chosen his son, Solomon, to replace him. (1 Kings 2:28-34)

Note: A person inhabited by a Joab Spirit will defame, betray, belittle and destroy the reputation and person of an individual who threatens their position of power influencing a family, church, ministry, or nation. Remember Joab was the nephew of King David and the cousin of Amasa, Absalom, and Solomon who he had betrayed because they got in his way, influencing the direction of the nation. If Joab was a wife, he would have belittled her husband through disrespect to him with her words and actions in front of her children and others.

© 2011 World Ministries International