2 Samuel 10:1-19
And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. 2 Then said David, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon. 3 And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it? 4 Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away. 5 When they told it unto David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed: and the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return. 6 And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Bethrehob and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and of king Maacah a thousand men, and of Ishtob twelve thousand men. 7 And when David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the host of the mighty men. 8 And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entering in of the gate: and the Syrians of Zoba, and of Rehob, and Ishtob, and Maacah, were by themselves in the field. 9 When Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians: 10 And the rest of the people he delivered into the hand of Abishai his brother, that he might put them in array against the children of Ammon. 11 And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee. 12 Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the Lord do that which seemeth him good. 13 And Joab drew nigh, and the people that were with him, unto the battle against the Syrians: and they fled before him. 14 And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, then fled they also before Abishai, and entered into the city. So Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem. 15 And when the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel, they gathered themselves together. 16 And Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river: and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them. 17 And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together, and passed over Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him. 18 And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there. 19 And when all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were smitten before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.
Throughout his time in 1 and 2 Samuel, there were periods of David’s life where he faithfully demonstrated true faith and lived in such a way that he reflected the character of the Lord, but there were other times in David’s life when he did not. He serves as perhaps the greatest of types (pictures) of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Old Testament because he was a man after the Lord’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14) and because of the work the Lord did through him. 2 Samuel 5-10 contains one of the brightest periods of his life. In these chapters, David was made to reign over all of Israel and drive the enemies of Israel out (2 Samuel 5); moved the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem to reestablish true worship in Israel (2 Samuel 6); received an amazing promise of an everlasting dynasty in response to his desire to build the Lord a temple (2 Samuel 7); led the people of Israel to conquer and subdue their surrounding enemies all the way up to the Euphrates River (2 Samuel 8); and faithfully kept his promises to Saul and Jonathan by showing kindness to Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9). In each of these ways, David typified the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. In 2 Samuel 10, the passage before us today, the kindness that David showed toward Mephibosheth would be extended outside the borders of Israel to the Ammonite king, Hanun. In the passing of Hanun’s father Nahash, David sent messengers to comfort and show kindness to Hanun because of the past help that Nahash had given to David. Whereas Mephibosheth responded in humility and receptivity to David’s kindness, Hanun would do the opposite. In this account, we learn about the kindness of Christ that is extended to the lost world through the gospel message and how that kindness is often rejected by the lost world. This passage teaches us three ways in which you and I are called to respond to “The King of Kindness” today.
First, we are to receive His kindness. The word “kindness” used here is once again the Hebrew word hesed. It is a very common word in the Old Testament and it is used to describe God’s covenant mercy, love, and faithfulness. Just as David fulfilled his promise to show kindness to the descendants of Jonathan, he desired to show kindness to Hanun, the son of Nahash. The only record we have of Nahash is from 1 Samuel 11 when Saul delivered the people of Jabesh Gilead from the hands of the Ammonites. It seems that Nahash had somehow aided David later on during his time on the run from Saul and David sought to show kindness to his son Hanun by comforting him in the death of his father. When David sent the messengers to bring comfort to him, Hanun responded by having half of their facial hair shaved, their garments cut to expose them, and them sent away. All three of these actions were actions that brought great shame to the king’s messengers. They were humiliated and sent away. Hanun did this because his advisors manipulated him into thinking that David had sent these messengers under a duplicitous motive to secretly spy out Hanun’s kingdom to try to bring him down. Of course, that was not David’s motive and Hanun unwisely rejected the kindness that David sought to show to him and his kingdom. In this story is both a beautiful picture of the kindness of God through His Son Jesus Christ being extended to a lost world for salvation and also a picture of the sinful, foolish rejection of the same lost world to His saving grace. Just as the Ammonites were enemies of Israel throughout their history, so the lost world is at war with God, but just as David extended kindness to Hanun, God has extended the call of the gospel so that the lost world might be saved. Like the servants of David, Christians are called today to live in light of this same covenant love by extending the message of the gospel to the lost world so that they might be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:17-21) and find true comfort in Christ. We are also called to respond to their persecution with blessing (Matthew 5:43-48) and leave the matter of vengeance to our King (Romans 12:17-21). From Hanun and his response, we learn that the first call in response to the kindness of the King is to receive it. To reject it leads to disaster and destruction.
Next, we are called to serve His kingdom. Verse 6 tells us that the children of Ammon realized “that they stank before David.” That means that they realized that what they had done had made them detestable to David. They knew that, as a result, disaster was on the horizon for them. Under David’s rule, Israel had effectively conquered and defeated all of the other powers in the region and subdued them. The Ammonites, on their own, stood no chance against the Lord’s anointed and so they recruited help from the Arameans (Syrians) in the amount of 33,000 total soldiers. The Arameans had previously been defeated by David in 2 Samuel 8 and were quick to unite with the Ammonites over a mutual enemy. David’s response here was not one of personal vengeance, but one of acting on behalf of the honor of his messengers that were humiliated, his kingdom that was disrespected, and God’s faithful kindness that had been rejected. It was his job as king to act in this way against the Ammonites. The messengers did not take personal vengeance against Hanun, but left the matter to their king. In the same way, as we have previously stated, personal vengeance is not the role of God’s servants and messengers, but it is the job of King Jesus. We are freed to bless those that persecute us for our faith and leave the matter of vengeance to our King (Romans 12:17-21). David sent Joab and the Israelite forces out to meet the army of Arameans and Ammonites that had been assembled and the two groups were actually divided. To fight the two fronts, Joab divided the Israelite forces between himself and his brother Abishai and they each fought a front. Joab’s words in verse 12 serve as a call, not only for the Israelite soldiers of their time to “play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God,” but it serves as a call to God’s people in every age to “earnestly contend for the faith” (Jude 3) and faithfully serve and represent our King Jesus in this world. Paul wrote to Corinth, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13). As we do so, we also take to heart Joab’s words of faith when he said “the Lord do which seemeth Him good” in that we trust that Christ will have His will accomplished as we serve Him faithfully.
Lastly, we are called to submit to His rule. When the Arameans realized that they were fighting a losing battle, King Hadarezer sent for reinforcements under the command of Shobach, his general. When this happened, David gathered “all Israel” (probably the largest part of his remaining army) and went out to fight them. That day, the Lord gave David and Israel a resounding victory. The Syrians lost their general Shobach and the kings that were in league with them surrendered to David to “made peace with Israel, and served them.” This means that, like the many nations around Israel that David subdued, they would be subjugated to Israel and pay tribute to them. This victory over the Arameans left the Ammonites alone and it would be just a matter of time before they would be defeated. The lesson here is that the Arameans wised up and submitted to King David and Israel when they realized that they were fighting a losing battle. The call of Psalm 2, a Messianic Psalm of David, is to “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way,” (Psalm 2:12). The phrase means to submit to and make peace with God’s Son, His anointed King, before it is too late. As God’s kingdom grows in this lost world and the promise of His kingdom coming one day stands unthwarted, He is extending mercy and grace to the world to embrace His Son before it is too late. The gospel call is extended and people have opportunity, but one day at Christ’s coming that door will close. Those who refused to be at peace with God and His kingdom will reap what they have sown. Today, the call goes out to submit to His rule.
David’s kindness toward Hanun and the subsequent battles that were fought teach us about the importance of how we and the world around us respond to the kindness of God’s King, the Lord Jesus. One day, all will bow before Him and acknowledge Him as Lord and God (Philippians 2:9-11) and He graciously extends the gospel of peace in His kindness to the lost world today, calling all who will to come to receive Him as Savior and Lord (Romans 10:13). We must ask ourselves: Have we received His kindness or are we stubbornly rejecting it? Are we serving His kingdom or building our own? Are we submitted to His rule or living our lives our own way apart from Him?