2 Samuel 12:26-31--Rabbah Is Captured

2 Samuel 12:26-31
English Standard Version
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Rabbah Is Captured
26 Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and took the royal city. 27 And Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah; moreover, I have taken the city of waters. 28 Now then gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called by my name.” 29 So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah and fought against it and took it. 30 And he took the crown of their king from his head. The weight of it was a talent of gold, and in it was a precious stone, and it was placed on David's head. And he brought out the spoil of the city, a very great amount. 31 And he brought out the people who were in it and set them to labor with saws and iron picks and iron axes and made them toil at the brick kilns. And thus he did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

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This text deals with David's unfinished business with the Ammonites, specifically the city of Rabbah where Uriah was murdered.  Joab fought to take that city, the royal city of the Ammonites, though it appears Joab did this without direct instructions from David (understandable since David has had a lot going on at home).  Joab sends the message, “I have fought against Rabbah; moreover, I have taken the city of waters. Now then gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called by my name.”

Basically, Joab is giving David a chance to come out with the regular army and take credit for the victory even though Joab and his special forces had already secured it.  Joab knew David needed the victory and feel that he had given Rabbah retribution for what had happened to Uriah the Hittite.  David gathered the people together, went to Rabbah, and took it.  He took the crown of gold from their king--a crown weighing a talent in gold, that is, about 75 pounds (very heavy).  It was also had a precious stone.  David seized the city and all the riches in it.  The people that lived there became slaves doing forced labor for the Israelites.

All the cities of the Ammonites were subjugated--yet another people group that the LORD has allowed them to have victory over.  There are still some peoples that needed to be defeated that were around at the time of Moses and Joshua, but most of those people groups are now defeated or at least subjugated and Israel will live in relative peace with its neighbors for most of the rest of 2 Samuel--the battles will now shift to internal issues within the house of David just like the LORD promised that were a direct result of David's sin with Bathsheba.  David will have to deal with sons that will openly rebel and wish to take the throne from him and he will even have to leave Jerusalem for a time.  It will not be until Chapter 21 when we will again see war break out with the Philistines (because they see the political turmoil happening inside David's house and will try to take advantage of it).  The last few chapters speak of the last acts of David and another mistake that David will make in taking a census that the LORD did not command, for David started to trust in the numbers of his armed forces instead of the arm of the LORD for his protection.