2 Samuel 12: 1 – 31
You just named your punishment
12 Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. 4 And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! 6 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.” 7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! 9 Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. 10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ 13 So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.” 15 Then Nathan departed to his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill. 16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!” 19 When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore, David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” 20 So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” 22 And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” 24 Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife and went in to her and lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now the LORD loved him, 25 and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD. 26 Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the people of Ammon and took the royal city. 27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, “I have fought against Rabbah, and I have taken the city’s water supply. 28 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.” 29 So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah, fought against it, and took it. 30 Then he took their king’s crown from his head. Its weight was a talent of gold, with precious stones. And it was set on David’s head. Also he brought out the spoil of the city in great abundance. 31 And he brought out the people who were in it and put them to work with saws and iron picks and iron axes and made them cross over to the brick works. So, he did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
In Leviticus 26, the Lord God set before Israel the blessings they could receive if they kept His commandments and the punishments they would receive if they disobeyed. Deuteronomy 27–28 tells how Moses spoke to the Israelites about these same blessings and commandments, since they were children at the time of the events in Leviticus 26. This time, however, Moses gave more detailed instructions and used an “object lesson.” The object lesson began with a command to go to two mountains in the land of Canaan, Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, which were very close together. Six tribes were assigned to one mount where they were told to declare the promised blessings while the other six tribes stood on the other mount and responded by proclaiming the cursing’s. This event was to help remind the children of Israel that they were privileged to choose their future by their obedience.
A punishment is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon a group or individual, meted out by an authority. For us who are believers in Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High Who Is our Authority over all things.
In the book of Exodus our Lord pointed out this important punishment for stealing, “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.”
I want you please to take note of the repayment necessary for someone who has stolen someone else’s lamb? The thief must repay fourfold.
In today’s chapter will we will read how the prophet Nathan declares David’s sin using a story of the theft of a lamb. With his own mouth David declared this law in God’s Holy Word as to what punishment should be done to this thief. He had declared his own judgement which will result in him losing four sons due to his sin.
As we progress through the upcoming verses please consider the nature of some of the consequences that fell upon David:
The son to be born will die (1st son).
Amnon, David’s firstborn, will rape his half-sister (David’s daughter) and then reject her (13.11-16). Absalom, David’s third son, will arrange for the murder of his brother Amnon (2nd son).
Absalom, beloved of his father, will, partly because of his resulting estrangement from his father and recognition that he will probably no longer be allowed to succeed David, rebels against David and seeks to take the throne by force. Civil war will break out with the Absalom being killed by Joab (3rd son).
Adonijah, David’s fourth son, no doubt having Absalom’s rebellion in mind, will scheme to pre-empt the succession to his brother while his father is still alive (1 Kings 1.5-11) resulting in his own death on the orders of Solomon. (4th son)
Thus, from this time on there would be no settled peace for the house of David in respect of which so much had been promised. It will be riddled with both sexual misbehavior and violence.
David should have been aware that YHWH knew his secret sins. He said so often enough in his Psalms. But it is a sign of how hardened even the most spiritual person can become to the truth about himself that David appears to have felt no qualms about the appalling behavior in which he had been involved. After all, the war was going well at Rabbah, he now had Bathsheba as his wife, he was looking forward to the birth of (hopefully) a new son, and all seemed well. Thus, when he learned that Nathan the Prophet wanted to see him he probably felt quite at peace.
But he was soon to be disillusioned. For with a vivid and moving parable Nathan brought home to him the despicable nature of his sin, and that Yahweh God knew all about it. And he made him condemn himself, after which he was to learn of the judgment of Yahweh that was to be upon him.
12 Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him.
The previous chapter has been full of the ‘sending’ of people. Now it was Yahweh’s turn. This sending would appear to have been after the birth of the child (verse 14). Thus, David had had a few months in which to consider his ways and repent. But instead he appears to have been impervious to the situation. The godly David of old had seemingly disappeared and had been replaced by this arrogant sinful schemer.
How dangerous it is to be successful and to live at peace. For then it is not long before the conscience goes to sleep, unless we keep very close to God.
However, God was not only displeased, He was also gracious. He sent Nathan because He was concerned for David’s wellbeing. He wanted to bring David back to Himself. And so, within the words of judgment we discover a core of mercy. David was not to receive the judgment that he was due. He would not die. Nevertheless, there had to be consequences.
We should acknowledge the courage of Nathan in coming boldly to confront the king. He would have been quite aware that with David in the state that he was he might easily be executed. He approached him with great forethought. It was determined but carefully worked out. He had to get him to condemn himself for his sins. (How careful we must be in our witnessing that we do not just blast people with our message, but think how we can approach them to lure them into seeing their wrongs or sins themselves)
The beauty and applicability of this parable, comparing the position of the rich man in contrast with the poor man, cannot be denied, and it would especially appeal to the heart of David the shepherd. The rich man (David) has a great many flocks and herds (wives and concubines) the poor man has only one little ewe lamb (Bathsheba). But because the poor man only had the one lamb he especially cherished it and loved it. It became the pet of the family and ate and drank with them and was like a daughter to him. Such treatment of pet lambs was quite common among pastoral people, especially those who had few possessions. Remember that David spent a lot of time with little lambs out in the fields.
4 And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
The story says that when a traveler arrived at the rich man’s house the rich man did not want to spare any of his own lambs, and so he sent his servants to take the cherished lamb of the poor man, with the result that that little pet ewe lamb was killed and dressed to satisfy the traveler. The poignancy of the story can hardly fail to come over to us. Who with any heart would not have condemned the rich man? For the rich man’s act was clearly one of despicable arrogance and unforgivable callousness - Just like David’s.
Who do you think the traveler was? Let me give you a passage from the book of Job in chapter 4 where one of his friends Eliphaz also had a visitor, “12 “Now a word was secretly brought to me, and my ear received a whisper of it. 13 In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, 14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake. 15 Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair on my body stood up. 16 It stood still, nut I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; There was silence; Then I heard a voice saying: 17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker? 18 If He puts no trust in His servants, if He charges His angels with error, 19 How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before a moth? 20 They are broken in pieces from morning till evening; They perish forever, with no one regarding. 21 Does not their own excellence go away? They die, even without wisdom.’
The bible says that we face the world, the flesh, and the devil. I believe as David looked upon the woman bathing the enemy showed up and fed David his lies which assisted David in pursuing sin.
5 So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! 6 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”
Not recognizing that it was speaking about himself David was absolutely livid at what the rich man had done. Why, it was inexcusable. What kind of a man could do a thing like that? He was so incensed that he declared that such a man deserved to die but as that was not permissible under the Law he should instead fulfil the Law and restore the lamb fourfold as the Law required of a thief (Exodus 22.1).
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus, says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more!
Then to David’s total discomfort and shock Nathan looked him straight in the eye and declared, “YOU ARE THE MAN!” The words must have come crashing into David’s heart like a thunderbolt. He had thought that his sins had been covered up and now he realized that Nathan knew, and what was worse, it meant that Yahweh knew, the Holy One Whom he had conveniently been forgetting. He felt totally ashamed and mortified as to what he had done. Oh yes, he had still attended regular worship, and had played his part as a loyal subject. He had even no doubt been married in the presence of Yahweh but his conscience had been carefully anaesthetized and he had probably convinced himself that for a king his action had not been so bad after all. But now he was being made to recognize the truth about himself.
Nathan then proceeded to give him a tongue-lashing from Yahweh. He reminded him of all that Yahweh, the God of Israel, had done for him. In truth he was a no body. The Holy God had anointed him as king over His people Israel, He had delivered him from the hand of Saul, He had handed over to David the royal household that had been Saul’s and He had given him Saul’s wives and concubines (they naturally came with the crown. No king could allow a former king’s wives to be available to anyone else, for it could represent a threat to the throne. It did not necessarily mean that he treated them as wives on an intimate basis, only that he took them under his protection. But they were equally available to him if he wanted them). The Holy Father Yahweh had given him the whole of Israel and Judah so that he could be king over them. And if that had not been enough He would have given him anything that he asked for as long as it was within the Law. (Can you see the significance of that promise. Lord sign me up for that promise) There was nothing that Yahweh would not have done for him.
9 Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon.
And in appreciation for all that our Holy Ruler did what had David done in return? He had despised the word of Yahweh by doing what was evil in His sight. He had caused to be smitten with the sword his faithful and loyal servant and friend Uriah the Hittite, a man of the highest integrity, simply in order to hide his own sin. He had taken Uriah’s only beloved wife and, while Uriah was still alive, had committed adultery with her, and then he had finally taken her as his wife, after having arranged for Uriah to be slain with the sword of the children of Ammon, a victim to barbarians.
10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’
And now, because of what he had done, violent death and the sword would never depart from his house, and this was because he had despised Yahweh and had taken Uriah’s wife to be his wife, in a way that was completely contrary to the Law.
It is a serious lesson to us all that to sin is to ‘despise God’. Perhaps if we recognized more what sin is we would sin less. But the truth is that we despise God by assuming on His grace.
11 Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.
And not only would his house be plagued with violent death, but Yahweh would raise up evil against David himself. He would take his own wives before his eyes and give them to one who was close to him, and the one who was close to him would lie with them openly in the sight of the sun, where all could see,
12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’
And whereas David had taken Uriah’s wife secretly so that no one knew, his wives would be taken openly in such a way that everyone knew, both in earth and heaven (before all Israel and before the sun). This would be literally fulfilled when Absalom lay with David’s concubine wives in broad daylight and in the sight of all Israel (16.21-22).
Now we must stop and think about this action for a moment. There was a very exceptional advisor in David’s staff by the name of Ahithophel. It is very likely that this man was present when Nathan came and spoke with David. A point of interest is that we find out that this man was Bathsheba’s grandfather. Here he is hearing all that David had done for the first time. I would venture to guess that he was very upset at what David had pulled.
Hearing the words of Nathan regarding what Nathan had just said about someone from David’s family rising to dethrone him was stored in his memory. With this information let us jump ahead and catch Ahithophel’s assistance in making this happen.
“20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give advice as to what we should do.” 21 And Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; and all Israel will hear that you are abhorred by your father. Then the hands of all who are with you will be strong.” 22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the top of the house, and Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. 23 Now the advice of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if one had inquired at the oracle of God. So was all the advice of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.”
13 So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
Faced with the unexpected accusation and aware of how far he had fallen David made no denials. He had suddenly been brought to a halt in his wayward tracks and was now turning back to his old allegiance to Yahweh. Nathan saw before him a broken man. He humbly acknowledged with a penitent heart that he had sinned deeply, and that against The Holy One of Israel. Once he recognized what he had done he repented deeply and sought Yahweh’s forgiveness, a repentance brought out in his words in Psalm 51, ‘against You, You only, have I sinned’.
Then Nathan declared that in view of his repentance Yahweh would not demand the death penalty that his sin deserved. He had indeed already put away his sin and would therefore not cause him to die.
14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.”
In truth we never just sin alone. Someone else is affected by our actions. Our Holy Father would also take the blame for his sin because what he had done had given occasion to Yahweh’s enemies (the sceptics in the land as well as foreign enemies) to blaspheme and mock at believers of the Righteous Living Ruler of the Heavens and Earth. Therefore, the son who had been born to him because of his adultery with Bathsheba would certainly die. That would be the first consequence of his sin. All would see that his sin was being punished.
15 Then Nathan departed to his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill.
Having faithfully delivered his message Nathan strode from the palace leaving David to consider his ways, which we know from Psalm 51 he did thoroughly. David had now happily been shaken out of his religious complacency and had come back to Yahweh.
We may ourselves see certain events as indicating God’s judgment on us, while at the same time recognizing that those events happen within the natural course of events. God’s judgments and natural happenings are often to be intertwined. The earthquake may occur naturally, but what it signifies to us may well be that it is a sign of the judgment of God, for God has built His judgments into creation.
16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.
Recognizing that the baby might die from its illness David went before Yahweh and pleaded for the child’s life. And to that end he fasted, and prayed all night, lying on the earth before God. He was no longer the arrogant king, but the humble suppliant.
17 So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them.
The leading servants in the household came to him to try to persuade him to rise and eat some food, but he refused to do either and continued in his attitude of prayer. He would not desist while the baby was alive and there was hope.
18 Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!”
After seven days the baby died. The servants were afraid to tell David because of what they feared that the news might do to him. In their view, as he had not listened to him while the baby was alive, he would be so distraught that the baby was dead he would be even less likely to listen to them. So, they quietly discussed the matter among themselves, baffled as to what to do, and concerned for David’s reaction.
19 When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore, David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.”
David, however, saw them whispering together, and probably saw them looking at him in a worried way, and it made him realize that it could only mean one thing, and that was that the baby was dead. And so, he asked them straightly, ‘Is the baby dead?’ to which they replied, ‘Yes, he is dead.’
20 So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate.
Then to their surprise instead of being so distraught that he collapsed, he arose, washed and anointed himself, changed his clothing and went into the house of The Lord and worshipped. Then he returned to his house, and when he required it they gave him food and he ate. To their great surprise he was behaving as though nothing had happened.
21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.”
His servants were amazed. To them it his actions all seemed wrong. In their view he should have fasted and wept when the baby died. So, they asked him why it was that he had fasted and wept for the baby while it was still alive, but then arose and ate food when he heard that it was dead.
22 And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”
David’s reply was that while the baby had been alive he had hoped by his fasting and praying and weeping to cause Yahweh to reveal His goodness and compassion towards him by allowing the baby to live. After all the baby was the innocent one in all the sins of David and Bathsheba. So, what was the use of praying and fasting further? For he knew that he could not bring him back again by prayer. And he was then sure that while one day he would go to be with the baby, there was no way in which the baby would return to him on earth. He was simply referring to the grave, not to what lay beyond it. He would go to the grave just as his son had, but his son would not emerge from the grave (unlike his Greater Son Who would do just that).
It is a reminder that to David, once he was in his right mind, prayer was a meaningful exercise which he saw as being effective, not just a ritual to be gone through at the recognized times.
David might easily have begun to despair of the future as he remembered how sinful he had been and the dreadful things that he had done. Perhaps this would be the end of his hopes and of his success? But Yahweh now graciously gave him two signs that his future in Yahweh was secure, the first lay in the birth of another son, who was stated to be ‘the beloved of YHWH’, which convinced him that all was still well between him and Yahweh God, so much so that he called him Solomon, which means ‘peace’. The second lay in his personal success against the people of Ammon, which would prove that Yawheh was still with him.
In this small passage he is assured that Yahweh has set His love on Solomon, the son of David and Bathsheba, and has chosen him, and as evidence of that He sent Nathan to give the child a special name from Him. The name was Jedidiah, a name that meant ‘beloved of YHWH’. This was the special proof that, despite his sins, YHWH had not rejected the house of David as he had rejected the house of Saul.
24 Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife and went in to her and lay with her. So, she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now the LORD loved him, 25 and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So, he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.
David comforted his wife Bathsheba after the death of their first baby. And he once again had sexual relations with her, and eventually she again bore a son, and David called his name Solomon, which meant ‘peace’ or ‘wellbeing’, for it demonstrated to him that God still looked on him in blessing.
Yahweh also loved Solomon from the day of his birth. This idea of being loved very much includes the idea of his being chosen (compare Deuteronomy 7.6-8). Yahweh therefore sent His prophet Nathan to give the baby the extra name of Jedidiah, ‘beloved of YHWH’, a sign of His great love for him, and a sign that he was the chosen successor of David. It was also a further sign to David that he was truly forgiven, and a seal on the everlasting covenant. It was evidence that his royal house was to continue. It is interesting that the name Jedidiah is never again applied to Solomon. It was seen not as a name to be used, but as a sealing of his future by Yahweh. From then on, he was recognized by David as the chosen one, and therefore the guarantee of the fulfilment of Yahweh’s everlasting covenant with David (7.9-16), which explains why David would finally choose him to be his heir. He was the chosen of YHWH.
26 Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the people of Ammon and took the royal city.
While all this personal incident were going on Joab continued with the siege of ‘Rabbah of the children of Ammon’, and eventually took part of the city. The name Rabbah means ‘large’ or ‘main city’ and thus ‘the main city of the children of Ammon’. Today it is called Amman and is the capital city of Jordan.
27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, “I have fought against Rabbah, and I have taken the city’s water supply.
Once Joab had taken the section of the city containing its water supplies (the city of waters) he rapidly dispatched messengers to David calling on him to come personally so that he could take the credit for capturing the whole city.
28 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.”
Joab’s aim was that David should gather ‘the rest of the people’, that is, the men of Israel who were not yet involved in the fighting, so that he could lead an army both to seize what remained to be taken of Rabbah in order to conquer the whole of Ammon. The importance of a great king being present when a city was forced to yield was widely recognized. Only then could he be the victor. Joab was not suggesting that Rabbah would be renamed Joab, but that if David was not present the defeat of Rabbah would be remembered throughout the world as the work of Joab. Thus Joab, and Yahweh, were ensuring that David’s name would be made great, just as Yahweh had promised (7.9).
29 So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah, fought against it, and took it.
So David gathered ‘all the people’ who were not yet involved in the siege and went to Rabbah and completed its subjection. This personal activity of David was important as a further evidence of his change of heart. He was no longer lingering in Jerusalem.
30 Then he took their king’s crown from his head. Its weight was a talent of gold, with precious stones. And it was set on David’s head. Also, he brought out the spoil of the city in great abundance.
Once the city was taken the ceremonial crown of the king of Ammon was taken ‘from off his head’ and set on David’s head. It was a crown of pure gold encrusted with jewels and was very heavy. It was thus probably a ceremonial crown and not for everyday usage. The ‘talent of gold’ was presumably a light talent of around 66 pounds. As well as taking the crown a huge amount of spoil was taken from the city. It was openly apparent that Yahweh had again caused David to prosper.
31 And he brought out the people who were in it and put them to work with saws and iron picks and iron axes and made them cross over to the brick works. So, he did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
Then after their long resistance the people of Ammon were brought out and put to forced labor. It was common practice for the warriors of a city which had resisted a siege to be put to death (Deuteronomy 20.12-14). This was done to encourage cities to surrender without a siege, and also so as to ensure that once the army had moved on to further conquests it could not be attacked from behind. The provision in Deuteronomy was merciful as well as being practical, for many conquerors would slaughter all the inhabitants, apart from those whom they took away as slaves. But David was powerful enough, and merciful enough, not to need to do either of these, and instead he set the inhabitants of the city to forced labor.
What we see here is something important in today’s world. If you ever reviewed the United States in their wars and conflicts with other nations we set about to rebuild them at our expense. Here David forces the people in all the Ammonite cities to get to work and rebuild their own cities by their own labor.
I like what our current President said should have happened in Iraq. We should have seized their oil wells and rebuilt their country using the funds from their oil not at US taxpayer expense.
