After the sad side-bar of David’s misdeeds, we see him waltzing in at the last moment to take credit in his name.
2 Samuel 12:26-31
26 Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel. 27 Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, ‘I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply. 28 Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I shall take the city, and it will be named after me.’
29 So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it. 30 David took the crown from their king’s head, and it was placed on his own head. It weighed a talent of gold, and it was set with precious stones. David took a great quantity of plunder from the city 31 and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labour with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking. David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then he and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.
Today’s passage closes out the sorry saga of David not going to war, having a child with another man’s wife, and watching that child die as judgement. Meanwhile Joab and his armies have continued to besiege the Ammonite capital, Rabbah. This is the battle David should have been fighting, the war he should have been waging instead of sitting at home being tempted to sin.
But David had been otherwise occupied, not about the Lord’s business, but his own. And he had left Joab to do all the hard work. For all his faults, Joab is loyal to his king. As Rabbah is about to fall, he sends word to David to get himself to the battle so that he can claim the victory in his name. So, David gathers the entire force and attacks Rabbah.
I wonder if the crown that he took, despite its weight, felt hollow. Perhaps all those enslaved Ammonite brickmakers to work on his projects did not fill him with accomplishment. Maybe he got to put his name on the fallen capital, but it had an empty ring to it. David at this point was out of touch with God. The blessings and victories that he had enjoyed on the battlefield would dwindle before the battles with his own family that he had brought upon himself. Even after this battle of Rabbah we do not see David stop to give God the glory, he just wanted to make sure that Joab didn’t get it.
In the midst of this all though, we know that God has not forsaken David. He made a promise that He will keep. And many years from then, a Man would live Who could have put His name on anything, Who could have conquered cities and taken crowns, but Who submitted Himself to the will of the Father, that the Father’s name be hallowed and glorified.
Unlike David, when Jesus won the greatest battle of all, it was not to wear a plundered crown of gold but a crown of thorns. It wasn’t to enslave a nation, but to set the captives free. And it wasn’t to give His name to mere bricks but living stones that would make up His church.
We are so blessed to be servants of the True King! In His Name let us fight against the things that would take us away from God. In His Name let us tell His story to others that they too might know His kingdom.
Head: Have we ever done something just so we get the credit for it – even if somebody else has done all the hard work? As a servant of the King, how can we make sure we give credit to Him?
Heart: There can be times when it feels like our hearts are out of touch with God. Something has drawn us away. Maybe we have sinned and feel like there is no choice but a spiral of despair, clutching at what small victories we can. Think on how God’s grace is sufficient, and His love is new every morning to help us break that cycle of negativity.
Hands: Think of a way we can fight the good fight today. What practical way can you proclaim your King, in conversation, in sharing time?
Prayer: Thank you Lord Jesus for being the victorious King, who won the battle for me through the cross. Forgive me for when I have wanted to put my own name on things, not yours. Help me to fix my eyes on you again, and live under the banner of Your Name. Amen.
A song to listen to: The Passion
Nicole Davenport
Living Church – Carina
