In The Word
Read: 2 Samuel 10-11
Ammon and Aram Defeated
10 Now it happened afterward that the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun 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 about his father. But when David’s servants came to the land of the Ammonites, 3 the commanders of the Ammonites said to their lord Hanun, “Do you think that David is simply honoring your father since he has sent you servants to console you? Has David not sent his servants to you in order to explore 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 robes in the middle as far as their buttocks, and sent them away. 5 When messengers informed David, he sent servants to meet them, because the men were extremely humiliated. And the king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back, and then you shall return.”
6 Now when the sons of Ammon saw that they had become repulsive to David, the sons of Ammon sent messengers and hired the Arameans of Beth-rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, and the king of Maacah with a thousand men, and the men of Tob with twelve thousand men. 7 When David heard about this, he sent Joab and all the army, the warriors. 8 And the sons of Ammon came out and lined up for battle at the entrance of the city, while the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were stationedby themselves in the field.
9 Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him at the front and at the rear, he selected warriors from all the choice men in Israel, and lined them up against the Arameans. 10 But the remainder of the people he placed under the command of his brother Abishai, and he lined them up against the sons of Ammon. 11 And 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’s show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and 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 advanced to the battle against the Arameans, and they fled from him. 14 When the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans had fled, they also fled from 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 assembled together. 16 And Hadadezer sent word and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates River, and they came to Helam; and Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer led them. 17 Now when it was reported to David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Arameans lined up against David and fought him. 18 But the Arameans fled from Israel, and David killed seven hundred charioteers of the Arameans and forty thousand horsemen, and struck Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there. 19 When all the kings, servants of Hadadezer, saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Arameans were afraid to help the sons of Ammon anymore.
Bathsheba, David’s Great Sin
11 Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they brought destruction on the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed in Jerusalem.
2 Now at evening time David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. 3 So David sent servants and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 Then David sent messengers and had her brought, and when she came to him, he slept with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. 5 But the woman conceived; so she sent word and informed David, and said, “I am pregnant.”
6 Then David sent word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked about Joab’s well-being and that of the people, and the condition of the war. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the king’s house, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 Now when they informed David, saying, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Did you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?”11 And Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Should I then go to my house to eat and drink and to sleep with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing.” 12 Then David said to Uriah, “Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will let you go back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the day after. 13 Now David summoned Uriah, and he ate and drank in his presence, and he made Uriah drunk; and in the evening Uriah went out to lie on his bed with his lord’s servants, and he still did not go down to his house.
14 So in the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.15 He had written in the letter the following: “Station Uriah on the front line of the fiercest battle and pull back from him, so that he may be struck and killed.” 16 So it was as Joab kept watch on the city, that he stationed Uriah at the place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 And the men of the city went out and fought against Joab, and some of the people among David’s servants fell; and Uriah the Hittite also died. 18 Then Joab sent a messenger and reported to David all the events of the war. 19 He ordered the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling all the events of the war to the king, 20 then it shall be that if the king’s wrath rises and he says to you, ‘Why did you move against the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did a woman not throw an upper millstone on him from the wall so that he died at Thebez? Why did you move against the wall?’—then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.’”
22 So the messenger departed and came and reported to David everything that Joab had sent him to tell. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men prevailed against us and came out against us in the field, but we pressed them as far as the entrance of the gate. 24 Also, the archers shot at your servants from the wall; so some of the king’s servants died, and your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.”25 Then David said to the messenger, “This is what you shall say to Joab: ‘Do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another; fight with determination against the city and overthrow it’; and thereby encourage him.”
26 Now when Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27 When the time of mourning was over, David sent servants and had her brought to his house and she became his wife; then she bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
David is a very interesting study as a king. In chapter 10, we see him extending the same act of kindness to Hanun that was given to him by Hanun’s father Nahash. The act of kindness from Hanun’s father was not mentioned, but it was apparent that it was important to David. David sends over some of his servants to inform Hanun of his decision to extend kindness toward him. Upon seeing David’s servants, some of Hanun’s advisors convinced him that the servants were spies from the house of David. Because of the advice of his servants, Hanun brings the servants of David in, and to humiliate them, cuts their beards (to half their length) and their clothing. This one irrational act sparked a war that could have been avoided.
There are some valuable lessons that could be extracted from this narrative. One of them is this: what you do to someone today could affect your family tomorrow. Nahash probably did not know that his kindness extended to David would someday be a possible saving grace for his son. The other lesson that could be learned is, to not make decisions out of fear, but out of faith. Hanun could have avoided a lot of hurt if he would have just had faith in the fact that David was the leader of the people of God. So, remember the decisions you make today can affect your family’s future, and never allow fear to drive your decisions. Let faith be your guide!