1 Chronicles 20:1-3--The Capture of Rabbah

1 Chronicles 20:1-3
English Standard Version

The Capture of Rabbah
20 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, Joab led out the army and ravaged the country of the Ammonites and came and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. And Joab struck down Rabbah and overthrew it. 2 And David took the crown of their king from his head. He found that it weighed 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. 3 And he brought out the people who were in it and set them to labor with saws and iron picks and axes. And thus David did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

---

This is the only Ammonite city mentioned by name in the Bible, so it is likely the capital city of the Ammonites, given that the king's crown was there.  Joab went out in the springtime to make war with the Ammonites (to pick up where they had left off), and the LORD gave Isael a great victory over the Ammonites so that their army was defeated, and their general populace was taken captive to work in forced labor with saws and iron picks and axes.  David never had to use Jewish men for such labor because the LORD provided workers from among all the nations that Israel conquered, and it was these forced laborers who collected the resources necessary to build the Temple.

David did not go out directly into the battle against Rabbah, but he did take the spoils of the war that Joab waged against Ammon, and David did to all the smaller cities in Ammon what had been done to Rabbah--besieging the cities, killing those that would fight, and taking everyone else captive.  After the LORD had given David complete and total victory, he returned to Jerusalem.

I haven't included pictures for a while, but you'll see the area of Ammon in a light green color on this map.  The LORD has been gracious to let the people of Amon live for this long as He could have ordered Moses and Joshua to destroy them during the time of the Exodus.  Hopefully this map gives you some idea as to the extent of what was "Israel" under the reign of David, and it will be a much larger territory under the reign of King Solomon (I'm sure I'll post and image later about that).  Though not everyone goes back to maps like these to establish Israel's ancient claims on the Land, I do, though we don't even need the maps of the military victories as we have the boundaries clearly laid out for us in the passages in Genesis, Deuteronomy, and Ezekiel where the LORD makes the covenant and renews the covenant with Israel regarding the Land.  We should be careful to argue that the Bible is historically accurate and authoritative in these matters.  We need no other justification for why Israel has a right to live in the Land other than the LORD--the Creator of Heaven and Earth and all that is in them, the owner of everything, gave this Land to them by divine covenant.  Moreover, He renewed this covenant with them several times and specifically said that it was an everlasting covenant that He swore by Himself, and He is both eternal and immutable--He will not change His mind on this matter.  It's really that simple.  God drew the boundary lines, and He is the one who establishes kings and kingdoms.  He has the authority to raise them up and to tear them down.  We see Him doing both here as He is tearing down the godless kingdom of Ammon and transferring their land and resources to Israel.  Once the transfer is complete, Israel rightfully owns that land and those resources, not because they were stronger and won it in battle, but because God gave it to them as part of the Abrahamic covenant.  It's always belonged to them since then, but it has just taken longer for some of the land and resources to be transferred to them as the LORD has been patient with some of these people groups living in the Promised Land.  He made sure that they become so wicked that no one would question that they got the judgment that they deserved when He destroyed them.