Bird's-eye view
This passage details the outbreak of a significant war between Israel, led by David, and an alliance of the Ammonites and various Aramean (Syrian) kingdoms. The conflict is triggered by the Ammonites' foolish and insolent humiliation of David's ambassadors, an act which they rightly surmise has made them "odious" to Israel. Rather than repenting of their folly, they double down, hiring a massive mercenary force to confront the inevitable response. David, hearing of this military buildup, dispatches his entire professional army under the command of his nephew and top general, Joab. The ensuing battle is a master class in tactical leadership by Joab, who finds himself caught in a pincer movement. He divides his forces, entrusting one contingent to his brother Abishai, and delivers a memorable speech that is a model of pious courage. The central theme is the intersection of human responsibility and divine sovereignty in the crucible of war. Joab does everything a competent general should do, while simultaneously entrusting the ultimate outcome to the will of Yahweh. The result is a decisive victory for Israel, demonstrating that God honors both prudent preparation and faithful reliance upon Him.
This conflict is not a minor border skirmish. It is a major regional war that solidifies David's empire and demonstrates the folly of provoking God's anointed king. The Ammonites, having made themselves stink in David's nostrils, now find that they have stirred up a hornet's nest, and their hired help is no match for the armies of the living God.
Outline
- 1. The Folly of Doubling Down (2 Sam 10:6-8)
- a. The Stench of Sin (2 Sam 10:6a)
- b. Hiring Pagan Muscle (2 Sam 10:6b)
- c. David's Decisive Response (2 Sam 10:7)
- d. The Enemy's Disposition (2 Sam 10:8)
- 2. Joab's Pious Generalship (2 Sam 10:9-14)
- a. Facing a Two-Front War (2 Sam 10:9)
- b. A Calculated Division of Forces (2 Sam 10:10)
- c. A Plan for Mutual Support (2 Sam 10:11)
- d. A Theology of Battle (2 Sam 10:12)
- e. The Rout of the Mercenaries (2 Sam 10:13)
- f. The Contagion of Cowardice (2 Sam 10:14)
Context In 2 Samuel
This chapter follows directly on the heels of David's kindness to Mephibosheth in chapter 9, where we see the king displaying covenant faithfulness (hesed). Chapter 10 provides a stark contrast. David attempts to show the same kindness to Hanun, the new king of the Ammonites, in memory of his father Nahash. But this kindness is repaid with grotesque insult. This incident serves as the catalyst for the war that dominates this chapter and sets the stage for David's great sin with Bathsheba in chapter 11. It is precisely while this Ammonite war is ongoing, during the siege of Rabbah, that David will remain in Jerusalem and fall into adultery and murder. So, this chapter is not only an account of a military victory but also the crucial backdrop for David's most profound personal and spiritual failure. It demonstrates the strength and reach of David's kingdom, while also providing the circumstances for the king's own tragic downfall.
Key Issues
- The Law of Unintended Consequences
- The Relationship Between Human Strategy and Divine Sovereignty
- The Nature of Pious Courage
- The Role of Mercenaries in Ancient Warfare
- Corporate Responsibility and National Sin
- The Character of Joab
Stinking Before the King
The text tells us that the sons of Ammon saw that they had "become odious to David." The Hebrew verb here is the one used for something that stinks, that has a foul odor. They had behaved so shamefully toward David's envoys, treating an act of kindness as an act of espionage, that they knew they now stank in the king's nostrils. This is how sin works. It is not just a violation of an abstract rule; it creates a stench. It makes the sinner odious before a holy God, and in this case, before God's anointed king. And notice their response. It is not repentance. It is not an attempt to send their own ambassadors with sackcloth and ashes to plead for forgiveness. No, their response is to hire 33,000 mercenaries. This is the response of the unregenerate heart. When confronted with its own stench, it does not seek to be cleansed. It seeks to overpower the opposition with brute force. They try to solve their sin problem with a military solution, which is like trying to solve a grease fire with gasoline.
Verse by Verse Commentary
6 Then the sons of Ammon saw that they had become odious to David. So the sons of Ammon sent and hired the Arameans of Beth-rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and the king of Maacah with 1,000 men, and the men of Tob with 12,000 men.
The Ammonites have a moment of clarity. They realize their outrageous insult to David's ambassadors has crossed a line. They stink, and they know it. But their reaction is not to seek peace but to prepare for war. They recognize their own military weakness against the seasoned army of Israel, so they do what wealthy but weak nations have often done: they hire mercenaries. They assemble a formidable coalition of Aramean, or Syrian, city-states. This is a massive army, 33,000 strong, hired to defend them in a war they started through sheer arrogance. They are throwing good money after bad, compounding their initial sin of insolence with the sin of defiant rebellion.
7 Then David heard of it and sent Joab and all the army, the mighty men.
David's response is swift and decisive. He doesn't send a delegation; he sends the whole army. The text specifies he sent "all the army, the mighty men." This isn't just the local militia; this is the professional core of his military, the elite veterans, the special forces. And he sends them under the command of Joab. David is taking this threat seriously. A coalition of this size on his eastern flank cannot be ignored. The Ammonites wanted a war, and David is about to give them one.
8 And the sons of Ammon came out and arranged themselves for battle at the entrance of the gate of the city. But the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the field.
Here we see the tactical disposition of the enemy forces. The Ammonites, the ones who actually started the fight, take up a defensive position at the gate of their capital city, Rabbah. They are fighting on their home turf. Their hired guns, the Aramean mercenaries, are deployed separately out in the open country. This separation of forces will prove to be a critical mistake. It allows Joab to deal with the two armies sequentially, but it also creates the immediate tactical problem for him of a battle on two fronts.
9 Then Joab saw that the battle was set against him from the front and from the rear. So he chose from all the choice men of Israel, and they arranged themselves to meet the Arameans.
Joab arrives on the scene and immediately assesses the situation. He is caught in a classic pincer movement. He has the Ammonites in front of him at the city gate and the massive Aramean force behind him (or to his flank) in the open field. A lesser commander might have panicked. But Joab is a shrewd and experienced general. He doesn't retreat; he adapts. He takes the initiative. He decides to split his own elite force, "the choice men of Israel," and personally lead them against the more dangerous threat: the Aramean mercenaries in the field.
10 But the remainder of the people he put in the hand of Abishai his brother; and he arranged them to meet the sons of Ammon.
Having taken command of the first division, he entrusts the second division to his brother, Abishai. Abishai was also one of David's "mighty men," a proven warrior. His task is to keep the Ammonites pinned down at the city gate. The plan is sound military strategy: divide the enemy's forces and defeat them in detail. Joab is tackling the hired professionals first, likely reasoning that if the mercenaries break, the Ammonites, who have less stomach for the fight they started, will lose their nerve.
11 And he said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall save me, but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come to save you.
This is a mark of a good commander. Joab not only devises a plan but also builds in a contingency. He establishes a principle of mutual support. He and his brother are in this together. If one force gets into trouble, the other is to come to its aid. This requires courage, trust, and good communication. It demonstrates a realistic understanding that the battle's outcome is not certain. He is preparing for the possibility of failure in one sector, and ensuring that it does not become a total rout.
12 Be strong, and let us show strength for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God; and may Yahweh do what is good in His sight.”
This is the theological heart of the passage, and one of the finest pre-battle speeches in all of Scripture. It is a perfect synthesis of human responsibility and divine sovereignty. First, the exhortation to human action: "Be strong, and let us show strength." They are not to be passive. Courage is a command. They are to fight with everything they have. Second, the motivation for their action: "for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God." They are not fighting for personal glory or for plunder, but for the defense of God's covenant people and God's holy land. Their cause is righteous. Third, the submission to divine sovereignty: "and may Yahweh do what is good in His sight." Joab has done all he can do. He has assessed the threat, devised a strategy, deployed his troops, and motivated his men. Now, he places the outcome entirely in God's hands. He does not presume upon God's favor. He simply trusts that God's will, whatever it may be, is good. This is the essence of faithful action in a fallen world.
13 So Joab and the people who were with him drew near for the battle against the Arameans, and they fled before him.
Talk is cheap, but Joab backs up his speech with action. He leads the charge himself against the Arameans. The result is immediate and decisive. The mercenaries, who are fighting only for money, have no deep-seated commitment to the Ammonite cause. When faced with a determined charge from Israel's elite soldiers led by a fearless commander, their morale shatters. They break and run without what appears to be any significant engagement.
14 Now the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans fled. So they also fled before Abishai and came into the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the sons of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.
Courage is contagious, but so is cowardice. The Ammonites, watching from their defensive position at the gate, see their hired army disintegrate. Their confidence evaporates instantly. They don't even wait for Abishai to attack; they simply turn tail and flee back into the safety of their walled city. The battle is over before it really began. Joab, having won a stunning victory and scattered the enemy coalition, does not press the siege at this time. The immediate threat is neutralized, so he returns to the capital, Jerusalem, to report to David.
Application
There are several profound points of application for us in this passage. First, we see the folly of dealing with sin by worldly means. The Ammonites' stench of sin led them not to repentance, but to hiring a bigger army. How often do we do the same? When our sin is exposed, instead of confessing it, we try to cover it with worldly solutions: public relations, legal maneuvering, or just plain bluster. The only solution for the stench of sin is the cleansing blood of Christ, and the only appropriate response is humble repentance.
Second, Joab's speech in verse 12 is a model for Christian living. "Be strong, and let us show strength... and may Yahweh do what is good in His sight." This is the biblical balance we must all strive for. We are called to work, to plan, to strive, to fight the good fight with all our might. We are not to be passive fatalists. We must use the means God has given us, whether in our jobs, our families, or our churches. But having done all we can, we must peacefully and faithfully entrust the outcome to God. We do our duty, and God does His work. We plant and water, but God gives the increase. We fight, but the victory belongs to the Lord. This frees us from both laziness on the one hand and anxiety on the other.
Finally, we see that a righteous cause and courageous leadership can put a thousand to flight. The Aramean mercenaries had no heart for the battle because their cause was unjust and their motivation was mere greed. The Israelites were fighting to defend their homes and the honor of their God. As Christians, we are engaged in a spiritual war. Our cause is the most righteous cause in the universe: the glory of God and the advancement of His kingdom. Our commander is the risen Lord Jesus. Therefore, let us be strong and show strength, fighting valiantly against sin, the world, and the devil, knowing that the Lord of Hosts is with us, and He will do what is good in His sight.