“And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city. And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters. Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it: lest I take the city, and it be called after my name. And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it. And he took their king's crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on David's head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance. And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem” (2 Samuel 12:26-31).
Introduction
Chapter twelve ends by continuing the story of David’s battle against the Ammonites. Some commentators believe that the war might have lasted for almost two years before it concluded. If we take the chronological timeline of the entire event then we suppose that the victory over Ammon took place after the incident with Bathsheba, therefore the prolonged war might be due to David’s sin.
The city
Joab was finally able to defeat the Ammonites by taking their capital city. It appears that numerous attempts were made to take the city, so obviously the enemy put up a good show of repelling Israel. Joab never gave up but was determined to gain the victory. He informed David that he had taken Rabbah and cut off the water supply. It is possible that Rabbah was split into two parts, thus one being the area where the waterworks were located. This would have brought about a quick surrender of the military.
Regardless of the fact that Joab acted courageously and brought the Ammonites to their knees, we see something of his rebellious heart in the text. At first we might think he is requesting David to help bring about the final victory, but in fact there is a hint of mockery and rebellion in his message. He was basically saying, “If you do not come to the battle, instead of amusing yourself at home, I will take the city myself and call it after my name.” Joab had been involved with David’s command to kill Uriah, and he probably knew what secret sin David was engaged in, therefore he felt at liberty to insult the king in this way.
David realised that he needed to take charge of the whole situation, not only to take Rabbah, but also to quell any possible rebellion from Joab. The last thing he needed at this point was a civil war. Thankfully David was back doing his duty as the leader of the nation, for it was his lack of authority and laziness that had caused all the intervening problems. By gathering the whole army around him, he was able to get his men to focus their attention upon him rather than Joab.
The crown
Though we are not given a full description of the crown that was taken from Ammon’s king, we assume it must have been of great quality since it was gold and encrusted with jewels. It weighed a talent, which would have been between 75 and 100 pounds according to modern estimates, though that does seem rather heavy to wear on the head. John Wesley is probably correct in stating that our text is referring to the value of the crown rather than its actual weight since the word “talent” was used for both. Nevertheless it is possible that the crown, if the weight of it is implied, was never actually worn but, as Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Commentary says, “Its great weight makes it probable that it was like many ancient crowns, not worn, but suspended over the head, or fixed on a canopy on the top of the throne.” Also a great amount of spoil was taken from the Ammonites and brought to Jerusalem. This would have gone into the treasury to be used for and in the future temple.
The condemning
The Ammonites lost everything to Israel including their lives. Several commentators suggest that David humiliated them by making them labourers. While our text might appear to state that the Ammonites were made slaves to work at menial tasks in Israel, the parallel version of this found in 1 Chronicles 20:3 reveals what actually happened to them. “And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes.” This punishment may appear to be cruel and severe, but we must not forget the reason why it happened and that the Ammonites had brought the whole thing upon themselves in the first place. We also have to take into account that Ammon with Syria’s help were attempting the complete annihilation of the Jews, therefore their punishment fitted the crime. It is uncertain if every Ammonite were slaughtered for the usual terms that suggest this are missing from the text. “The words are indefinite, and therefore not necessarily to be understood of all the people; but of the men of war, and especially of those who had been the chief actors of that villainous action against David's ambassadors, and of the dreadful war ensuing upon it; for which, they deserved severe punishments” (John Wesley). Making them go into the brick kiln might be David’s way of revealing his disgust at the Ammonite practice of sacrificing their children to Moloch in their furnaces. The Ammonites continued to be a very cruel and wicked people, which proves that David did not kill them all. “Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border” (Amos 1:13).
Conclusion
A great victory over the enemy of Israel and must have been the cause of rejoicing that day, but for David, his life was about to start being turned upside down by a series of problems. The effects of his sin would hang over his reign for a long time to come.
© 12/6/2010