2 Samuel 10:1 – 19 “Sometime later, the king of the Ammonites died and was succeeded by his son Hanun. And David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.”
So, David sent some of his servants to console Hanun concerning his father. But when they arrived in the land of the Ammonites, the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, “Just because David has sent you comforters, do you really believe he is showing respect for your father? Has not David instead sent his servants to explore the city, spy it out, and overthrow it?”
So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away.
When this was reported to David, he sent messengers to meet the men, since they had been thoroughly humiliated. The king told them, “Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown back, and then return.”
When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zoba, as well as a thousand men from the king of Maacah and twelve thousand men from Tob.
On hearing of this, David sent Joab and the entire army of mighty men. The Ammonites marched out and arrayed themselves for battle at the entrance to their city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the open country.
When Joab saw the battle lines before him and behind him, he selected some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Arameans. And he placed the rest of the forces under the command of his brother Abishai, who arrayed them against the Ammonites.
“If the Arameans are too strong for me,” said Joab, “then you will come to my rescue. And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to your rescue. Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and for the cities of our God. May the LORD do what is good in His sight.”
So, Joab and his troops advanced to fight the Arameans, who fled before him. When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they too fled before Abishai, and they entered the city. So, Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem. When the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they regrouped. Hadadezer sent messengers to bring more Arameans from beyond the Euphrates, and they came to Helam with Shobach the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.
When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, and went to Helam. Then the Arameans arrayed themselves against David and fought against him. But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred charioteers and forty-thousand foot soldiers. He also struck down Shobach the commander of their army, who died there.
When all the kings who were subject to Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them. So, the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.”
George Santayana is frequently quoted as having said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Too bad that Hanun, son of Nahash, never learned that lesson. Somehow, David and King Nahash had become friends, perhaps during the time that David was escaping from King Saul. At any rate, David sent a delegation to honor Nahash upon his death. But Hanun, Nahash’s son, failed to ask his older advisors, who could probably have recounted the entire story. Instead, Hanun listened to presumably younger advisors who claimed that David’s delegation was actually nothing but a bunch of spies. Full of his own importance, Hanun chose to humiliate David’s peaceful delegation as much as possible, shaving half of each man’s beard, and cutting off their garments at the hips, so that their genitalia would be exposed. This decision would prove to be disastrous.
When David found out what happened to his poor delegates, he ordered them to remain in Jericho until their beards grew back. Presumably, they would have already secured appropriate clothing. In the meantime, the Ammonites belatedly realized that they had created a major mess for themselves, so they rapidly hired 33,000 Aramean mercenaries to bolster their own army. While those numbers might have been impressive, the mercenaries proved no match for the Israelites. The Ammonite army guarded the city gate while the Arameans were in the open country. The Israelites routed both groups, with the Arameans taking to their heels while the Ammonites retreated back into their capital city.
King Hadadezer sent for the rest of his army as well as Shobach, his commander; meanwhile, David gathered the entire army of Israel and met them at Helam on the east side of the Jordan. The Arameans suffered a humiliating defeat. David’s army slaughtered 40,000 foot soldiers and 700 charioteers. Even Shobach, the Aramean commander, died during the battle. At that point, the Arameans lost all desire to assist the Ammonites any further and made peace with Israel.
APPLICATION: The numbers in this story seem huge, but we must remember that climate change is not a recent phenomenon. Many of the countries that are now semi – arid supported much larger populations in the ancient world.
Why is this story included in the Old Testament? This story documents one of the most decisive victories David ever accomplished. But David was beginning to rely more on himself instead of God and to listen to those willing to flatter him. It is important to note that there is no mention of David having thanked the Lord after this amazing victory.
It’s incredibly easy to become a legend in your own mind! All that’s needed is a few major successes and you might feel that you can do nothing wrong. Did David make a mistake in sending a delegation to Hanun in the first place? There might have been more than one kings named Nahash; however, it was one King Nahash whose threats to the people of Gilead led to Saul’s first major battles. That King Nahash was threatening to rip out the right eye of every man in Gilead. Was this the king whom David befriended? We can’t tell.
God delivered David and Israel from the Ammonites and the Arameans, but David was changing spiritually, and it wasn’t for the better. Perhaps David was beginning to listen to too many of those ballads the people were singing in the streets.
There are several lessons for us here. Be careful of those with whom you form alliances. If God gives you incredible successes, remember that it’s God who is magnificent, not you. Tomorrow we will learn of David’s worst mistake, one that would blight the rest of his life.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to remember that You are the One who gives success and protects us, and that it’s not because of our efforts. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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