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II Samuel
Chapter
12 (Continued)
20~~Now
David got up from the floor
and
he both washed and put on lotions
before
he changed his clothes
{good grooming is a part of thoughtfulness of others - if you don't
have good clothes - fine; but if you do, then wearing clean and
nice clothes for a worship service is a part of having good
manners},
and
went into the house of the Jehovah/God
{this is the tabernacle also on Mount Zion at this time},
and
worshipped
{motivation of worship is the filling of God the Holy Spirit in the
Church Age - content is from thought - must have doctrine
resident in your own soul to properly worship}.
Then he {David} came to his own castle.
And
when he demanded service {shocking his servants},
they
set food before him and he ate {first time in 7 days}.
21~~Afterwards
his staff/servants said to him {David},
"Why
are you behaving this way?
While
the child was alive,
you
fasted and wept.
But
when the child had died,
you
got up and ate food?"
22~~Consequently,
he {David} replied/said,
"While
the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept . . .
for
I thought to myself, 'Perhaps/Possibly . . .
{idiom: literally 'Who can tell . . .'}
Jehovah/God
will be gracious to me . . .
{actually this is an 'arrogance hangover' of David's year in the
interlocking gates of arrogance. His idea of 'grace' here if for God
to give him what HE wants - instead of what God's justice
demands. It is only by the grace of God that David himself is still
alive!}
that
the child may live?'
23~~But
now that he has died,
why
therefore should I fast?
Can
I 'resuscitate him'/'bring him back again'?
I
will be going to him
{David will see his son in 19 years - after death at age 70
David does not mourn as those who have no hope . . .},
but
he will not return to me."
24~~And
David comforted {nachim - Piel intensive stem}
Bathsheba
his wife,
and
approached her,
and
copulated/'had sexual relations' with her {shakab}
with
the result that she bore a son.
And
he {David}
called
his name Solomon {Sh@lomoh - peace, prosperity}
and
this anticipated the fact that Jehovah/God would him.
25~~Therefore
He {God}
sent
a message by the hand of Nathan the prophet
{the office of prophet - David had the gift of prophecy but not the
office of prophet};
and
so that he called his name
{Solomon's nickname}
Jedidiah
{name means 'beloved of Jehovah/God' or 'darling of the Lord'},
{see Psalm 127:2 where Solomon refers to his nickname in a Psalm}
because
of Jehovah/God.
{Capture
of the 'Royal City' Section of the City of Rabbah}
26~~Meanwhile
Joab besieged Rabbah . . .
belonging
to the citizens/children of Ammon,
with
the result that he captured the Royal City
{the siege has lasted over 2 years and now only took the 1st part
of Rabbah}.
{Note: RBT says the city of Rabbah was divided into three parts with the river Jabbok running through the middle of it. The river runs through a valley and the middle area will be referred to as 'the Water City'. So, Rabbah is really three cities in one. On the south is a fortified part of the city called here the 'Royal City'. It is south of the Water City of Rabbah. Then in the North is a very high steep mountain fortification, we will call the Acropolis (Greek for 'a citadel on a hill') or the Citadel. So, in all the area of Rabbah, there are fortified bridges with forts and a heavily fortified city we will call the Acropolis on the north. The whole area was defensible in full and each 'compartment' could be defended separately. All three were self-sustaining and all difficult to defeat.}
27~~And
Joab sent 'a staff officer' to David, who reported,
"I
have attacked Rabbah,
and
I have now taken the City of Waters
{now Joab has taken the middle area - only the Citadel, the
toughest, remains to be taken}.
{Note: Joab to this point was a very spiritually mature believer. He was humble and not arrogant at all. He is contacting David out of the grace in his soul.}
28~~Now
therefore I {Joab} strongly suggest
that
you mobilize the entire army
that
you {king David} may besiege the city and capture it
{imperative of strong assurance - Joab is sure it will happen} . . .
lest/otherwise
{an unfavorable alternative in Joab's opinion}
I
{Joab} will capture the city,
and
'I will get the credit'."
{idiom: literally: 'it will called after my name' - integrity +
loyalty =
honor . . . the honorable intention of Joab is for David to get the
credit}
{Note: Joab wants the credit of the taking of the Ammonites to go to David and the entire army. This is great wisdom. This stops malcontents from wanting to use Joab to overthrow David. Also, military officers should not usually have political aspirations. It is a combination for disaster. Joab was humble and very content with his position in life. He had no arrogance and no approbation lust.}
{Fall
of the Acropolis}
29~~Consequently,
David mobilized the entire army,
and
marched to Rabbah,
so
that he both besieged it {the Acropolis}
{the remaining 1/3 - the Acropolis - the great hilltop fortress},
and
'captured it bit by bit' {lakad - imperfect tense}.
30~~Then
he {David}
seized
the crown of their king from over his head.
Now
the weight thereof . . . was a talent of gold . . .
including
the precious stones -
{this is the reason it was not on his head but suspended over his
head - a talent of gold weighs 93lbs and 12 oz - the king probably
had two slaves holding the crown suspended over his head - it is
too big for most humans to really wear on his head - the king is
probably lying in a pool of his own blood right now - Per principals
of Deuteronomy 20:10 and following. Og the king of Bashan (see
Deuteronomy 3:11). He was a giant - from a race the Ammonites
called the Zamzummims (see Deuteronomy 2:20). . Og held this
area before the Ammonites conquered him. This was most likely his
crown originally.}
And
it was suspended above David's head
{the slaves were men so they were also killed - it was two of
David's men who now suspended the crown}.
Furthermore,
he {David}
took
a great amount of plunder from the city
{as is the biblically correct reward for taking a city - per
Deuteronomy 20 shares would be given to David and to each of his
men . . . with special rewards for acts of great courage}.
{Wages
of National Arrogance in Ammon}
31~~And
he {David} caused the males who were in it {Rabah}
to
be brought out and he forced them against the saw
{Per Deuteronomy 20, all the men were to be killed in a contested
siege so David is now cutting these men in pieces}
and
with iron 'farming tools'/plows,
and
with axes of iron
{terrible ways for these men to die - thousands died this way
the message is to others - don't mess with Israel - and it was a
great deterrent}.
And
caused them {others - VIP's}
to
pass through the brick-kiln/'brick mold' {malben} . . .
{the Ammonites worshiped their chief god Moloch/Melek with human
sacrifice in furnaces - so here they probably threw in the priests
of Moloch - 'it was their turn' type thing}.
And so he {David} did to all the cities of the children of Ammon.
Afterward, David and his entire army returned unto Jerusalem.
{Note: Amos Chapter 1:13-15 explains some of the activities of the Ammonites against the Jews. Their harsh judgement was ordained by God and therefore was perfect justice for all they did. Had they been permitted to live, they would have destroyed the entire human race. Also Jeremiah prophesized about the downfall of the Ammonites in Jeremiah 49:1-5.}
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