2 Samuel 10
-After David had shown his kindness to the house of Saul and
blessed Mephibosheth, the king of the Ammonites (people living east of the
Jordan) died. Hanun, King Nahash of Ammon’s son, became the newly crowned king.
David sincerely wanted to show kindness to him just as Nahash, his father, had
shown kindness to him in years past. So King David sent some of his servants to
console Hanun concerning the loss of his father. They were truly offering
support. However, in a huge miscalculation in judgment, the princes of Ammon
convinced their king that David had mischievously sent these servants as spies
to search out the city so that they could overthrow it. Therefore, Hanun took
these Israelites and embarrassed them greatly. He had their beards shaved off
half-way and cut their garments off in the middle as far up as their hips. Then
he sent them away in shame (2 Samuel 10:1-4).
-When they told David what had transpired, he sent to meet
them in Jericho, before they came all the way back to Jerusalem. David verified
every action and intention. The king instructed them to remain at Jericho until
their beards had fully grown back, and then they were to return to Jerusalem,
to the king’s presence (2 Samuel 10:5).
-It did not take long for Ammon to realize that they had now
become odious in David’s sight. They escalated things and began to prepare for
a war by hiring the Arameans of Beth-rehob and of Zobah. 20,000 foot soldiers
were hired along with the king of Maacah with his 1,000 men. Also coming aboard
on their side were the men of Tob. They added 12,000 men to the total alliance.
This was indeed a sizeable force now gathering themselves against the nation of
Israel. Trouble loomed. When David heard of this activity, he decisively sent
for his commander Joab and all the Israeli army, the mighty men. “The sons of
Ammon came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the city (Rabbah).”
They had the Arameans, the men of Tob and Maacah stay by themselves out in the
field. Joab perceptively noticed that the battle was set against him in front
and to the rear. At that point he selected all the choice men of Israel and
arrayed them against the Arameans, who were out in the field and left more
unprotected. The remainder of the Israelis who were with him were placed in the
hand of his brother, Abishai, and arrayed against the sons of Ammon. An
agreement was made between the brothers that if either conflict became too
great for them, they would come to the others’ rescue and help out. A final
exhortation to be strong and courageous was given by Joab for the sake of their
people, their cities, and their God. They prayed for the LORD to do what was
good in His sight, and then they drew near into battle. As this happened, the
Arameans fled from before them. When the sons of Ammon, who were in the city,
saw the Arameans fleeing, they also fled before Abishai and entered into the
protection of their city. “Then Joab returned from fighting against the sons of Ammon and came to Jerusalem (2 Samuel
10:6-14).”
-When the Arameans realized that they had been defeated by
Israel, they reassembled and gathered themselves at Helam, which was northeast
of where they had helped Ammon in Rabbah. Hadadezer, who had previously been
defeated by David (2 Samuel 8:3-10), at this time sent and brought out the
Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates River to Helam with his commander,
Shobach, leading them. When King David became aware of this activity, he again
took bold and decisive action. He gathered all of Israel and crossed the Jordan
coming to Helam. The Arameans arrayed again for battle in this rematch to meet
David and the armies of the Living God. They fought against him, but lost again
fleeing before Israel. 700 charioteers and 40,000 horsemen of the Arameans were
struck down in this brilliantly orchestrated display of the LORD’s power, and
the commander, Shobach, was killed there as well. “When all the kings, servants
of Hadadezer, saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with
Israel and served them. So the Arameans feared to help the sons of Ammon
anymore (2 Samuel 10:15-19).”
-*Application* A couple of things we should learn from this
experience in Scripture. First, don’t let suspicion rule your discernment in
matters. David had intended to show kindness, and distrustful reactions that
were not reality ended up plunging a country into war. Secondly, we have to be
careful as to who we ally ourselves with in life. The Arameans, and others,
ended up losing power, prestige, and peace because they wanted to retaliate for
a previous failure. They would have been better suited if they had not gone
with the sons of Ammon in the first place. Pride will cause us to make rash and
ungodly decisions that hurt us in the end. Seek the LORD, His wisdom, and His
guidance for all alliances and decisions. A final thought today for we as
humans; we will serve the LORD one way or another. It’s better to ally with Him
sooner rather than later.
Verse to Memorize:
2 Samuel 10:19
No comments:
Post a Comment