Good Morning Brothers and Sisters,

2 Samuel 10:1–19 (NASB95)

¹ Now it happened afterwards that the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son became king in his place. ² Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent some of his servants to console him concerning his father. But when David’s servants came to the land of the Ammonites, ³ the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David is honoring your father because he has sent consolers to you? Has David not sent his servants to you in order to search the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?” ⁴ So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle as far as their hips, and sent them away. ⁵ When they told it to David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly humiliated. And the king said, “Stay at Jericho until your beards grow, and then return.” ⁶ Now when the sons of Ammon saw that they had become odious to David, the sons of Ammon sent and hired the Arameans of Beth-rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and the king of Maacah with 1,000 men, and the men of Tob with 12,000 men. ⁷ When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army, the mighty men. ⁸ The sons of Ammon came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the city, while the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the field. ⁹ Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him in front and in the rear, he selected from all the choice men of Israel, and arrayed them against the Arameans. ¹⁰ But the remainder of the people he placed in the hand of Abishai his brother, and he arrayed them against the sons of Ammon. ¹¹ He said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come to help you. ¹² “Be strong, and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what is good in His sight.” ¹³ So Joab and the people who were with him drew near to the battle against the Arameans, and they fled before him. ¹⁴ When the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans fled, they also fled before Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the sons of Ammon and came to Jerusalem. ¹⁵ When the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together. ¹⁶ And Hadadezer sent and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the River, and they came to Helam; and Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer led them. ¹⁷ Now when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Arameans arrayed themselves to meet David and fought against him. ¹⁸ But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed 700 charioteers of the Arameans and 40,000 horsemen and struck down Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there. ¹⁹ 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.

If I were to title this chapter, it would be “Bad Counsel”.  The Ammonites were severely defeated by Saul in 1 Samuel 11.  They were the ones who demanded that the men of Israel gouge out their right eyes.  The story took a different twist when Saul decided to take on his role as king and rallied Israel against them.  Hanun built some sort of alliance with Israel.  This could have been as a direct result of the defeat in 1 Samuel 11 or it could have been when David was on the run from Saul.  I couldn’t find anything definite on it. 

The suspicion that David was spying out the land hinges on his recent military campaigns which greatly expanded his kingdom.  The Ammonites had good reason to be fearful since David was aggressively conquering surrounding lands.  The mistake that they made was insulting David’s men.  When they shaved off their beards, they made it so that the men were embarrassed to go home.  Cutting their garments off at the waist left their genitals exposed, which was the ultimate insult.  The idea behind “sent them away” carried more of the idea of forced eviction.  Ultimately the treatment of the consolers was a clear message sent to David that the Ammonites rejected the Jewish nation completely.  It was a rejection of the Law, God, David’s throne, and the Jewish people.  The act was clearly an act of war in David’s eyes.  Apparently the Ammonites and hired the “Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacha” (7b) because they realized the message that they sent would probably result in war.

The Ammonite strategy to attack on two fronts was a good one because it split the force of Israel.  It was quickly discovered that even with a split army, Israel had the superior fighting force.  Israel’s strategy of the fight gives a peek into the fighting force that David commanded.  His men were realist, building their offense on clear understanding and properly preparing for unknown problems.  It is also interesting that the results of the battle turned the Ammonites and their vassal nations into slaves of Israel. 

One last thought:  David was finished with his conquest when he sent the men to console.  He was not interested in fighting the Ammonites because of a prior relationship with them.  God used the fear of the Ammonites to draw David into the fight.  The potential enemy was swiftly dealt with.  God set David up for a strong kingdom.  At this point, the Davidic kingdom was at its peak.  Until now we have observed David increasing in strength and power.  God set his kingdom up for peace and stability.  This all hinged on the promise in chapter 9.  David was on the top of the world at this time.  It was a time he could enjoy peace with his borders secure.  The skirmishes were not completely over as we will discover in the following chapters, even though the major campaigns were completed.  The next few chapters are filled with tremendous events that all of us can learn from, so stay tuned…

Father, as we consider the way that You work through circumstances. Help us to realize that even when bad things come our way, You are in control of them.

In Him,

Joe Turner.