2 Samuel 10:6-14
6 Now when the sons of Ammon saw that they had become repulsive to David, the sons of Ammon sent messengers and hired the Arameans of Beth-rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, and the king of Maacah with a thousand men, and the men of Tob with twelve thousand men.
7 When David heard about this, he sent Joab and all the army, the warriors.
8 And the sons of Ammon came out and lined up for battle at the entrance of the city, while the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were stationed by themselves in the field.
9 Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him at the front and at the rear, he selected warriors from all the choice men in Israel, and lined them up against the Arameans.
10 But the remainder of the people he placed under the command of his brother Abishai, and he lined them up against the sons of Ammon.
11 And he said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come to help you.
12 Be strong, and let’s show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what is good in His sight.”
13 So Joab and the people who were with him advanced to the battle against the Arameans, and they fled from him.
14 When the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans had fled, they also fled from Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the sons of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.
Victory Over Allied Forces
Alliance of Ammonites and Syrians
The Ammonites, thinking they had earned David’s hatred, hired chariots and soldiers from the various Aramean (Syrian) kingdoms. In other words, they spent a large sum of money to form a mercenary foreign army (ref. 1 Chron. 19:6). (1) Against this Ammonite-Aramean alliance, David sent a large army under the command of Joab. Because the enemy made the first move, the timing of David’s deployment was significantly accelerated. (2) The enemy split into two forces and positioned themselves to confront Joab’s army. The Ammonites stationed themselves at the entrance of the city gate, while the Arameans positioned themselves in an open field elsewhere. In other words, they planned a pincer attack to strike Joab’s forces from both the front and the rear. (3) In response, Joab assembled an elite force and personally led them to confront the Aramean army. He entrusted the rest of the soldiers to his brother Abishai and directed that force toward the Ammonites. The result was a great victory. The Arameans fled before Joab’s army, and when the Ammonites saw this, they retreated into the city (this city is present-day Amman, the capital of Jordan). At that point, Joab did not continue the battle further and returned to Jerusalem. It is likely that the season had become unsuitable for warfare. Thus, the stage was set for David to commit his sin with Bathsheba.
Lessons for us
Let us learn a lesson from Joab’s strategy. (1) He personally led the troops against the most powerful enemy. This is a fitting attitude for a commander. (2) Furthermore, he made a mutual support agreement with his brother Abishai. (3) Joab understood that this battle was for the defense of the “cities of our God.” In other words, he was convinced that it was a battle grounded in faith. (4) Finally, Joab entrusted the outcome to the Lord. The words “may the Lord do what is good in His sight” are words of faith. We Christians, too, have been called to the Lord’s battles. Let us now examine ourselves: Have we made mutual support commitments with other Christians? Are we doing our utmost through faith and entrusting the results to the Lord? “May the Lord do what is good in His sight” is also our confession of faith.
Today's prayer
Almighty God, please use me abundantly as a soldier of Your Kingdom. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.