Then Joab sent messengers to David to say, "I have fought against Rabbah and have captured the water supply of the city. Then Joab sent messengersJoab, the commander of David's army, is a pivotal figure in the narrative of 2 Samuel. His actions often reflect both loyalty and ambition. The sending of messengers indicates a formal communication, a common practice in ancient times to convey important news. The Hebrew root for "sent" (שָׁלַח, shalach) implies a deliberate action, emphasizing Joab's authority and the significance of the message. This act of sending messengers underscores the structured military hierarchy and the importance of relaying strategic information. to David
David, the king of Israel, is the central figure in this narrative. His leadership and decisions are crucial to the unfolding events. The mention of David here highlights his role as the ultimate authority and decision-maker. Historically, kings were often removed from the battlefield, relying on trusted commanders like Joab to execute military campaigns. This separation underscores the king's role in governance and strategic oversight rather than direct combat. to say
The phrase "to say" introduces the content of the message, indicating that what follows is of great importance. In the Hebrew text, the verb "to say" (אָמַר, amar) is frequently used to introduce direct speech, emphasizing the weight and intention behind the words. This sets the stage for the critical information that Joab is about to convey, highlighting the urgency and significance of the message. I have fought against Rabbah
Rabbah was the capital city of the Ammonites, a significant enemy of Israel. The phrase indicates a military engagement, with Joab leading the assault. The historical context reveals that Rabbah was a fortified city, making its capture a strategic victory. The Hebrew word for "fought" (נִלְחַם, nilcham) conveys the intensity and effort involved in the battle, reflecting the ongoing conflict between Israel and its neighbors. and have captured the water supply
The capture of the water supply was a strategic move, as water was a critical resource for any city, especially during a siege. In ancient warfare, controlling water sources often determined the outcome of a siege. The Hebrew term for "captured" (לָכַד, lakad) implies a successful conquest, highlighting Joab's tactical acumen. This action not only weakened Rabbah's defenses but also demonstrated Joab's understanding of warfare's logistical aspects. The capture of the water supply symbolizes a turning point in the siege, foreshadowing the eventual fall of the city. Persons / Places / Events 1. JoabThe commander of King David's army, known for his military prowess and loyalty to David, though sometimes acting independently. 2. DavidThe King of Israel, a man after God's own heart, who is dealing with the consequences of his sin with Bathsheba at this time. 3. RabbahThe capital city of the Ammonites, located in present-day Jordan, which was under siege by David's forces. 4. Water SupplyA strategic asset in ancient warfare, controlling it often meant controlling the city. 5. MessengersIndividuals sent by Joab to communicate the progress of the siege to King David. Teaching Points The Importance of Leadership AccountabilityJoab's message to David underscores the need for leaders to be informed and involved, even when delegating tasks. Consequences of SinThe siege of Rabbah is a direct consequence of David's sin, reminding us that our actions have far-reaching effects. Strategic Wisdom in WarfareCapturing the water supply demonstrates the importance of strategic thinking in overcoming challenges, applicable to spiritual battles as well. God's Sovereignty in Human AffairsDespite human failings, God’s plans prevail, as seen in the eventual capture of Rabbah, fulfilling His purposes for Israel. Repentance and RestorationDavid's journey from sin to repentance and restoration is a powerful reminder of God's grace and the possibility of redemption. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Joab's role in the siege of Rabbah reflect the importance of delegation and communication in leadership? 2. In what ways does the capture of Rabbah illustrate the consequences of David's earlier actions with Bathsheba? 3. How can we apply the strategic wisdom seen in capturing the water supply to our spiritual lives today? 4. What does the eventual victory over Rabbah teach us about God's sovereignty and His ability to use even our failures for His purposes? 5. How does David's experience in 2 Samuel 12 encourage us to seek repentance and restoration in our own lives, and what other scriptures support this process? Connections to Other Scriptures 2 Samuel 11Provides context for the siege of Rabbah, as it began during the time of David's sin with Bathsheba. 1 Chronicles 20:1-3Offers a parallel account of the capture of Rabbah, highlighting the importance of the event in David's reign. Psalm 51David's psalm of repentance, written after Nathan confronted him about his sin, which is the backdrop for the events in 2 Samuel 12. Proverbs 21:1Relates to the sovereignty of God over the hearts of leaders, as seen in how God orchestrates events for His purposes. People Ammonites, Bathsheba, David, Jedidiah, Joab, Milcom, Nathan, Saul, Solomon, Uriah, UrijahPlaces Jerusalem, RabbahTopics Captured, David, Fought, Joab, Jo'ab, Messengers, Moreover, Rabbah, Saying, Supply, War, Waters, Water-town, Yea, YesDictionary of Bible Themes 2 Samuel 12:26 5254 citadel Library David and Nathan
'And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin.'--2 SAMUEL xii. 13. We ought to be very thankful that Scripture never conceals the faults of its noblest men. High among the highest of them stands the poet- king. Whoever, for nearly three thousand years, has wished to express the emotions of trust in God, longing after purity, aspiration, and rapture of devotion, has found that his words have been before him. And this man …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureThou Art the Man
'And David said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die; because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.'--2 SAMUEL xii. 5-7. Nathan's apologue, so tenderly beautiful, takes the poet-king on the most susceptible side of his character. All his history shows him as a man of wonderfully sweet, chivalrous, generous, swiftly compassionate nature. And so, when he hears the story of a mean, heartless selfishness, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Letter vi. In My Last Two Letters I have Given the State of the Argument as It...
My dear friend, In my last two Letters I have given the state of the argument as it would stand between a Christian, thinking as I do, and a serious well-disposed Deist. I will now endeavour to state the argument, as between the former and the advocates for the popular belief,--such of them, I mean, as are competent to deliver a dispassionate judgment in the cause. And again, more particularly, I mean the learned and reflecting part of them, who are influenced to the retention of the prevailing …
Samuel Taylor Coleridge—Confessions of an Inquiring Spirit etc The Blessings of Noah Upon Shem and Japheth. (Gen. Ix. 18-27. )
Ver. 20. "And Noah began and became an husbandman, and planted vineyards."--This does not imply that Noah was the first who began to till the ground, and, more especially, to cultivate the vine; for Cain, too, was a tiller of the ground, Gen. iv. 2. The sense rather is, that Noah, after the flood, again took up this calling. Moreover, the remark has not an independent import; it serves only to prepare the way for the communication of the subsequent account of Noah's drunkenness. By this remark, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Cleansing.
As there are conditions requiring to be complied with in order to the obtaining of salvation, before one can be justified, e. g., conviction of sin, repentance, faith; so there are conditions for full salvation, for being "filled with the Holy Ghost." Conviction of our need is one, conviction of the existence of the blessing is another; but these have been already dealt with. "Cleansing" is another; before one can be filled with the Holy Ghost, one's heart must be "cleansed." "Giving them the Holy …
John MacNeil—The Spirit-Filled Life That the Ruler Should not Set his Heart on Pleasing Men, and yet Should Give Heed to what Ought to Please Them.
Meanwhile it is also necessary for the ruler to keep wary watch, lest the lust of pleasing men assail him; lest, when he studiously penetrates the things that are within, and providently supplies the things that are without, he seek to be beloved of those that are under him more than truth; lest, while, supported by his good deeds, he seems not to belong to the world, self-love estrange him from his Maker. For he is the Redeemer's enemy who through the good works which he does covets being loved …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great The Unchangeableness of God
The next attribute is God's unchangeableness. I am Jehovah, I change not.' Mal 3:3. I. God is unchangeable in his nature. II. In his decree. I. Unchangeable in his nature. 1. There is no eclipse of his brightness. 2. No period put to his being. [1] No eclipse of his brightness. His essence shines with a fixed lustre. With whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.' James 1:17. Thou art the same.' Psa 102:27. All created things are full of vicissitudes. Princes and emperors are subject to …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity How the Poor and the Rich Should be Admonished.
(Admonition 3.) Differently to be admonished are the poor and the rich: for to the former we ought to offer the solace of comfort against tribulation, but in the latter to induce fear as against elation. For to the poor one it is said by the Lord through the prophet, Fear not, for thou shalt not be confounded (Isai. liv. 4). And not long after, soothing her, He says, O thou poor little one, tossed with tempest (Ibid. 11). And again He comforts her, saying, I have chosen thee in the furnace of …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great Of Antichrist, and his Ruin: and of the Slaying the Witnesses.
BY JOHN BUNYAN PREFATORY REMARKS BY THE EDITOR This important treatise was prepared for the press, and left by the author, at his decease, to the care of his surviving friend for publication. It first appeared in a collection of his works in folio, 1692; and although a subject of universal interest; most admirably elucidated; no edition has been published in a separate form. Antichrist has agitated the Christian world from the earliest ages; and his craft has been to mislead the thoughtless, by …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Thirdly, for Thy Actions.
1. Do no evil, though thou mightest; for God will not suffer the least sin, without bitter repentance, to escape unpunished. Leave not undone any good that thou canst. But do nothing without a calling, nor anything in thy calling, till thou hast first taken counsel at God's word (1 Sam. xxx. 8) of its lawfulness, and pray for his blessings upon thy endeavour; and then do it in the name of God, with cheerfulness of heart, committing the success to him, in whose power it is to bless with his grace …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety The Preparatory Service; Sometimes Called the Confessional Service.
In our examination of the nature and meaning of the Lord's Supper, we have found that it is indeed a most important and holy Sacrament. It is in fact the most sacred of all the ordinances of the Church on earth. There is nothing beyond it--nothing so heavenly, on this side heaven, as this Feast. Nowhere else does the believer approach so near to heaven as when he stands or kneels, as a communicant at this altar, the Holy of Holies in the Church of Christ. What a solemn act! To approach this altar, …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church The Right Understanding of the Law
Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.' Exod 20: 3. Before I come to the commandments, I shall answer questions, and lay down rules respecting the moral law. What is the difference between the moral laud and the gospel? (1) The law requires that we worship God as our Creator; the gospel, that we worship him in and through Christ. God in Christ is propitious; out of him we may see God's power, justice, and holiness: in him we see his mercy displayed. (2) The moral law requires obedience, but gives …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments The Sixth Commandment
Thou shalt not kill.' Exod 20: 13. In this commandment is a sin forbidden, which is murder, Thou shalt not kill,' and a duty implied, which is, to preserve our own life, and the life of others. The sin forbidden is murder: Thou shalt not kill.' Here two things are to be understood, the not injuring another, nor ourselves. I. The not injuring another. [1] We must not injure another in his name. A good name is a precious balsam.' It is a great cruelty to murder a man in his name. We injure others in …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments The Eighth Commandment
Thou shalt not steal.' Exod 20: 15. AS the holiness of God sets him against uncleanness, in the command Thou shalt not commit adultery;' so the justice of God sets him against rapine and robbery, in the command, Thou shalt not steal.' The thing forbidden in this commandment, is meddling with another man's property. The civil lawyers define furtum, stealth or theft to be the laying hands unjustly on that which is another's;' the invading another's right. I. The causes of theft. [1] The internal causes …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments Samuel
Alike from the literary and the historical point of view, the book[1] of Samuel stands midway between the book of Judges and the book of Kings. As we have already seen, the Deuteronomic book of Judges in all probability ran into Samuel and ended in ch. xii.; while the story of David, begun in Samuel, embraces the first two chapters of the first book of Kings. The book of Samuel is not very happily named, as much of it is devoted to Saul and the greater part to David; yet it is not altogether inappropriate, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links 2 Samuel 12:27 NIV2 Samuel 12:27 NLT2 Samuel 12:27 ESV2 Samuel 12:27 NASB2 Samuel 12:27 KJV
2 Samuel 12:27 Commentaries
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