“Yo’av fought against Rabbah of the people of ‘Amon and took the royal city. Yo’av sent people to David with this message: “I have fought against Rabbah and captured its water supply. Therefore, assemble the rest of the people; lay siege to the city; and capture it. Otherwise, I will capture the city; and it will be named after me!” -2 Samuel 12:26-28
Verse 26 represents the end of the whole David and Bathsheba affair…finally!
While David was caught up in all the hanky-panky back at the palace…
The war against Rabbah had continued to rage on….
And now had reached a significant turning point.
Under Jo’ab’s rule, the Israelite army had succeeded in capturing the city’s water supply.
This was game over for the enemy.
Without a consistent water supply, it was only a matter of weeks before the people had to give up or die of thirst.
Rabbah was divided into the main city and the royal city.
The water supply was located in the royal city.
Now, when we read Yo’av’s message that he sent to David…
It might sound disrespectful to our modern ears.
Like Yo’av was telling David…
“Get your butt down here and lead the army like a king is supposed to!”
That wasn’t the case at all.
Yo’av was doing David a huge favor.
He wanted to make sure David got credit for this great war victory that was right around the corner.
This win would greatly repair his reputation after the whole Bathsheba mess.
So David had to move and move QUICKLY.
If he didn’t, Yo’av would automatically get all the credit.
Rabbah was about 50 miles from Jerusalem.
So David gathered up a large contingent of men and marched out for the final attack.
This shows that David had learned something.
He was finally behaving like a proper king, which was to show up and lead.
Having said that, the battle was already virtually won.
All David had to do was show up to get credit.
On top of that, we all know he had ulterior motives.
He needed some good PR at this time.
And there’s nothing better than a war victory to redirect the citizens’ attention from one thing to another.
So here’s your takeaway for today.
Jo’av did a wise thing when he informed David that victory was near, allowing him to claim the win as his own.
Sometimes, letting your boss take the credit…
Especially when the damage to his reputation runs deep…
Is the smartest political move you can make.
Even if David didn’t earn the win…
Giving him a shot to “save face” would stabilize a shaky kingdom…
Calm the public…
And keep everyone moving forward.
Yo’av knew that.
So as much of a scoundrel as he was…
Yo’av was being a clever dog here.
He wasn’t just finishing a war
He was protecting the crown.
I believe that, overall, Yo’av was a loyal and faithful commander.
I am sure that he believed when he killed Avner and did the other things that David didn’t want done, or did what David wanted done when they shouldn’t have done them (i.e., the census), he was acting in the best interest of Israel and David.
Agreed. But as I said on the Facebook thread, I think he was also a conniving dude who was always seeking to protect his best interests.