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Ammonites
In all of David’s conquest, he didn’t attack the
Ammonites because the king had been kind to
him when he was running from Saul. One day,
the king of the Ammonites died and his son ruled
in his place.
David sent a group of men with a message
of comfort to the new king. When the men got
there, the Ammonite leaders said to their king,
“These men aren’t here to show David’s concern
for you. They aren’t here to show respect for your
father. They’re spying on us. They’re scouting out
our city to see where we’re weak.”
So the new king took the men and shaved off
half of their beard. He then cut off their robes,
exposing the lower half of their bodies. The men
went back to Israel deeply humiliated.
David heard about this great insult and sent
word to his men. “Stay in Jericho until your
beards grow back. Then return to us.”
The Ammonites finally realized what they had
done. They had made David extremely angry. So
they started building up their army. They even
hired 33,000 soldiers from other countries.
David sent Joab and his army to fight against
the Ammonites. When they were in place, the
Ammonite army moved to a position where
they were on one side of the Israelites, with the
foreign soldiers on the other. Joab realized he
was in between the two, with front lines on both
sides. Therefore he split the army. He selected
his best troops to fight with him and attack the
foreign soldiers. Everyone else was to fight the
Ammonites under the command of his brother.
Joab said to his brother, “Both of us will be
ready to help the other if there’s a need. Be brave
and fight hard. We must protect our people and
the cities of God. May the Lord’s will be done.”
The battle was decisive. Joab and his elite
troops hit the foreign armies so hard that they
turned and ran. When the Ammonites saw this,
they retreated back into their walled cities. With
this, Joab took his army back to Jerusalem.
The foreign army reorganized and came back
to fight again. This time, David went with his men
and totally defeated them, killing over 40,000
men. Those who escaped went back to their
country and never returned again. David waited
until spring to finish defeating the Ammonites.
Ammonites because the king had been kind to
him when he was running from Saul. One day,
the king of the Ammonites died and his son ruled
in his place.
David sent a group of men with a message
of comfort to the new king. When the men got
there, the Ammonite leaders said to their king,
“These men aren’t here to show David’s concern
for you. They aren’t here to show respect for your
father. They’re spying on us. They’re scouting out
our city to see where we’re weak.”
So the new king took the men and shaved off
half of their beard. He then cut off their robes,
exposing the lower half of their bodies. The men
went back to Israel deeply humiliated.
David heard about this great insult and sent
word to his men. “Stay in Jericho until your
beards grow back. Then return to us.”
The Ammonites finally realized what they had
done. They had made David extremely angry. So
they started building up their army. They even
hired 33,000 soldiers from other countries.
David sent Joab and his army to fight against
the Ammonites. When they were in place, the
Ammonite army moved to a position where
they were on one side of the Israelites, with the
foreign soldiers on the other. Joab realized he
was in between the two, with front lines on both
sides. Therefore he split the army. He selected
his best troops to fight with him and attack the
foreign soldiers. Everyone else was to fight the
Ammonites under the command of his brother.
Joab said to his brother, “Both of us will be
ready to help the other if there’s a need. Be brave
and fight hard. We must protect our people and
the cities of God. May the Lord’s will be done.”
The battle was decisive. Joab and his elite
troops hit the foreign armies so hard that they
turned and ran. When the Ammonites saw this,
they retreated back into their walled cities. With
this, Joab took his army back to Jerusalem.
The foreign army reorganized and came back
to fight again. This time, David went with his men
and totally defeated them, killing over 40,000
men. Those who escaped went back to their
country and never returned again. David waited
until spring to finish defeating the Ammonites.
