verse 31
There are several ways to interprete this verse. One interpretation is that David enslaved the people of the city and put them to work at heavy labor, labor which involved using saws, axes, and working with hot molten metal. The other interpretation is that David killed these people, particularly the leaders who had humiliated his ambassadors, using painful methods such as saws, axes and burning alive. It is likely that the Ammonites practiced child sacrifice to Molech, the god of fire, so this would be a way to pay them back for doing this to their own children. If David did use such a cruel form of punishment, there could be two reasons. Firstly, since David was trying to set a confederation of peaceful nations under the leadership of Israel, it was of crucial importance that the representatives of Israel be respected. The Ammonites had disrespected the ambassadors of David in chapter 10. Secondly, many times it seems that the narrative in the Bible switches from strictly chronological to thematic, when it pursues an important storyline to its logical conclusion. Therefore, this event may have occurred when David was still unrepentant from his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of her faithful husband. if that were the case, it would show that sin leads to more sin, and this may have been a factor in the punishment which David later suffered. God wanted to stop David from continuing in this dangerous direction.
