II Samuel 10:1-19 – Kingly Vocation
The Living Word With Chuck Davis
II Samuel 10:1-19 – Kingly Vocation
"Welcome to the Living Word with Chuck Davis." 2 Samuel 10, 1-19, Kingly Vocation. After this, the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanon, his son, reigned in his place. David said, "I will deal loyally with Hanon, the son of Nahash, as his father dealt loyally with me." So David sent by his servants to console him concerning his father, and David's servants came into the land of the Ammonites. But the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanon, their Lord, "Do you think because David has sent comforters to you that he is honoring your father? Has not David sent his servants to you to search the city and spy it out and to overthrow it?" So Hanon took David's servants and shaved off half the beard of each, and cut off their garments in the middle at their hips, and sent them away. When it was told David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed, and the king said, "Remain a Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return." When the Ammonites saw that they had become a stench to David, the Ammonites sent and hired Syrians of Beth Roheub, and Syrians of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and the king of Makkah, with the thousand men, and the men of Tob, 12,000 men, and when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the host of the mighty men, and the Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the gate, and the Syrians of Zobah and Roheub, the men of Tob and Makkah were by themselves in the open country. When Joab saw that the battle was set against him, both in front and in the rear, he chose some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Syrians. The rest of his men, he put in the charge of Abishai, his brother, and he arranged them against the Ammonites. He said, "If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. Be of good courage. Let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him." So Joab and the people who were with him drew near to battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him, and when the Ammonites saw the Syrians fled, they likewise fled before Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem. But when the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together and had the desert sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the Euphrates. They came to Helam and Shobak, the commander of the army of Hadadazar, at their head, and when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan and came to Helam. The Syrians arrayed themselves against David and fought with him, and the Syrians fled before Israel, and David killed of the Syrians, the men of 700 chariots and 40,000 horsemen and wounded Shobak, the commander of the army, so that he died there. And all the kings who were servants of Hadadazar saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them. So the Syrians were afraid to save the Ammonites anymore. We move from David showing incredible chasset inside the Israel to showing a similar form of chasset to those outside. He tries to work with deep loyalty, and the response of the leader of the Ammonites is to exact an act of shame upon David's servants, cuts their robes in the middle and shaves half of their beard off. David in his graciousness allows these servants to remain in Jericho until that shame is taken away. David works then towards establishing his alliances again, and to secure the peace for Israel by entering into war. This text is set here. It may have been a few years earlier than what we get to experience in the next chapter, but the next chapter is going to open with these words when all the kings were out at war, David was in the palace. This is the cleverness of the writer, getting us ready. We have no theological sense of David except his loyalty, his has said, his loving kindness to others, but we do see David's wisdom as a leader. And so this becomes the turning point in the story. David operates with a clearer movement of wisdom, but also revelation from the Lord as he inquires of the Lord. The text has this declaration from David's generals, "Be of courage and let us be courageous for our people and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good in him." They've seen this type of living by David, that he lives for other people, and his trust is in the Lord. The soul what of this passage is, once again, getting back to that same place that we've been at before, of maintaining our trust in the Lord, that he is the one that we count on, not on our own efforts and our own abilities to accomplish things. And so Lord, we come to you this day and we choose to seek out godly counsel around us. We take advantage of the things that you've put before us to strengthen us and make us more effective, but at the end of the day, our confidence and strength is in you. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. name. Amen.