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(The views expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
1 Chronicles 20:1–3, “And it came to pass, that after the year was expired, at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it. And David took the crown of their king from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it; and it was set upon David’s head: and he brought also exceeding much spoil out of the city. And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.”
There were certain season of the year where it was better to fight a war and, traditionally, the armies went out to fight at those times. Joab waited for a decent period after the defeat of the mercenary armies so that his own army could recover and rearm properly then he went out to punish the Ammonites. David stayed behind in Jerusalem because it wasn’t always wise for the king to be in battle, after all, he may be killed. (compare 2 Sam 18: 3) Joab devastated the Ammonites and took their kings crown as a sign of victory. The Ammonites were Israel’s sworn enemies because they had tried to destroy Israel when they came out of Egypt. They even hired Balaam to curse Israel. (Deut 23: 3-5) It was, therefore, quite appropriate for Joab’s army to completely devastate them in war. When the Ammonites were utterly devastated the Israeli armies returned home.
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