The king of Ammon mentioned in verse 1 was highly likely to have been the same Nahash that was defeated by Saul as recorded in I Samuel 1:1-11. Saul’s victory over the Ammonites at that time was a bright place in his kingship, where God was with Saul.
Moving ahead to David and the Ammonites, David remembers Nahash fondly because at some point (unrecorded in the Bible), Nahash was kind to David. Some suppose that this kindness was when Nahash gave Aid to David while David warred with Ishbosheth, Saul’s son that became king of Israel after Saul’s death.
But no good deed goes unpunished, especially when it comes to political busybodies in Ammonite hierarchy: “And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not rather sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?” II Samuel 10:3
Hanun, impressionable to the point of foolishness, humiliates the comforters David sent due to this supposed threat and shaves off half of their beards and removes half their garments.
David hears of this and sends word to the men that they should wait at Jericho as their beards grew back. This sets off a chain of events where the Ammonites hire mercenaries to help defeat the Israelites, David hears of it, so he sends reinforcements to Jericho to help defend it. Along with his brother Abishai, Joab defeats the hired Syrians and the Ammonites.
The Syrians’ defeat got the attention of Hadadezer, a Syrian king. He sent for more Syrian warriors and brought them closer to David’s kingdom for battle. David, unthwarted and unthreatened, gathers all Israel and comes to Helam. There the army of Israel led by David completely defeats the Syrians.
The net results of all this fracas is that David was able to conquer first, then divide his enemies: “And when all the kings who were servants to Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Syrians were afraid to help the people of Ammon anymore.”
Once more, David has faith in his people, himself, and his God. David’s confidence in the Lord and his commitment to support and be loyal to his subjects rewards the entire nation. What is the lesson for us?
- Steadfastness
- Willingness to do good even to our enemies
- Support and help the weak
- Stand up for the goodness and righteousness of God
Whenever you are discouraged and grow tired of doing good and maintaining righteousness in thought and deed, remember David in this chapter. He did not fail to represent God and the interests of the nation in all of his deeds. So should we be with our responsibilities and our commitment to ourselves and our Creator.
Monday Night Bible Study 